Witch

The witch is an uncommon hostile mob that uses harmful splash potions as ranged weapons against players and utility mobs and beneficial positive potions on itself and illagers. Witches may be a major source of brewing ingredients and were at first added to the 2012's halloween with the Pretty Scary Update, the 1.4 version of Java Edition. When ascribing witches as the second Overworld ranged mob, Nathan Adams gone for a less traditional witch look and have an "offshoot villager" based on Baba Yaga, a slavic witch from eastern Europe's folklore, who also lives in a swamp hut. Witches cannot utilize housing or open wooden doors, unlike villagers; witches' nose wiggles and has a wart and they periodically produce unique spell particles. They spawn in the darkness, in swamp huts with its black cat, during raids and when lightning strikes villagers.

Natural generation
A witch can spawn in the Overworld above opaque blocks at a light level of 7 or less. They spawn in all Overworld biomes except mushroom fields. Witches are the least common of the non-biome-specific monsters.

Swamp huts
Every swamp hut spawns a witch and a black cat inside during world generation, which never despawn. Otherwise, $$ only witches (which may despawn) spawn in the 7×7×9 (x×y×z) volume that is the hut. This is the size of the roof and one block over the porch, from one level below the floor of the hut to two blocks above the roof. $$, witches respawn on only one block within the swamp hut.

Villagers
When lightning strikes within 4 blocks of a villager, it transforms into a witch. A witch transformed from a villager cannot despawn or be changed back into a villager.

Raids
Witches can spawn as part of raids starting from wave 4 $$ or wave 3 or 4 $$ depending on the world difficulty.

Drops
Witches have the largest loot table of any mob in the game. Witches may drop:
 * (12.5% chance)
 * (12.5% chance)
 * (12.5% chance)
 * (12.5% chance)
 * (12.5% chance)
 * (12.5% chance)
 * (25% chance)

They make 1–3 drops of 0–2 items each, for a maximum of 6 items total. The odds of a witch dropping the maximum amount of items possible (6 items total) without a Looting enchantment are 1 in 81 (1.2%).

Each level of Looting increases the maximum items dropped by one for each of the 1–3 drops, leading to a maximum of 5 items per drop, and a maximum of 15 items total. No Looting averages 2 items per kill, Looting I averages 3, Looting II averages 4, and Looting III averages 5.

Potions
The command can be used to spawn a witch with a persistent potion with no effects.

If a witch is killed while drinking a potion, the potion has a 8.5% chance of dropping, increased by 1% for every level of Looting. They can drop one of the following:

Behavior
Witches cannot open doors or use cauldrons despite being similar in appearance to villagers

Witches pursue players within 16 blocks. They use potions in combat, throwing splash potions offensively and drinking normal potions defensively. These potions are the same as ones obtainable through level-one brewing, i.e. they have the same potency and duration.

They are passive toward villagers and wandering traders.

$$, witches can locate targets within 64 blocks, even if they are behind blocks and are hostile to snow and iron golems.

Offense
Each potion is thrown in a 3-second interval within 10 blocks.
 * They throw a splash potion of slowness if the player is at least 8 blocks away and does not already have the slowness status effect.
 * They throw a splash potion of poison if the player's health is at least and is not already poisoned.
 * They have a 25% chance of throwing a splash potion of Weakness if the player is within 3 blocks and does not already have the weakness status effect.
 * If none of the above conditions are true, witches default to using a splash potion of harming, which does magical damage in the area.

Defense
On each tick (0.05 second) when the witch is not already drinking a potion, it may choose to equip and drink a potion. Drinking the potion takes 1.6 seconds and slows down its walking speed. It does not attack during this time.
 * In the current java combat test, it drinks in 1 second.
 * When 80% under water and lacking water breathing, there is a 15% chance of drinking a potion of water breathing.
 * When on fire or the last damage taken in the past 2 seconds was fire damage, 15% chance of drinking a potion of fire resistance.
 * When not at full health, 5% chance of drinking a potion of healing, which heals.
 * In the current java combat test, it heals.
 * When 11 or more blocks from a target and lacking swiftness, 50% chance of drinking a potion of swiftness.

$$, witches are 85% resistant to some types of magical damage, including poison, instant damage, evoker fangs and the thorns enchantment.

$$, witches are immune to poison, fatal poison and to their own thrown harming potions.

Riding
In Java Edition, witches can ride any mob via commands, including boss mobs.

In Bedrock Edition, witches cannot ride ravagers, as the witch are not considered an illager.

Like other villager-like mobs, witches don't stick their legs forward when riding a minecart, boat or another mob. Their legs seem to sink in these entities visually.

Two block tall gaps
Witches can fit through two block tall gaps in both editions, despite them being taller than two blocks including their hat.

Raids
If the raiders kill all the villagers in a village, witches celebrate their victory by jumping and laughing.

Witches are passive to villagers in both editions, although their negative potions might still hit a villager by accident.

$$, witches that participate in a raid seek out illagers and ravagers and throw splash potions of Regeneration (45 seconds) or Instant Health if they have or less.

$$, witches do not retaliate when attacked by evoker fangs, illagers or harming potions from other witches. Instead, they drink a healing potion.

In Bedrock Edition, witches throw negative splash potions at any mob that attacks it, including illagers, which leads to vicious fights if an illager hits the witch by accident. Witches also attack other witches that accidently threw a negative potion at the witch, despite them being the same mob.

Particles
Witches have a 1.5% chance every second (or 0.075% every tick) to spawn 10 to 44 purple particles around their heads. These particles are named "witch" $$ or "witchspell" $$.

ID




Entity data
Witches have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

Trivia

 * When the subject of witches dropping sticks was brought up, Dinnerbone jokingly replied that it's because witches are made of wood. He later explained that it was a reference to this scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * Witches do not use the equipment in their swamp huts, but they can be used by players.
 * Witches are extremely difficult to kill via suffocation or cacti (though not impossible), due to their frequent use of healing potions.
 * When drinking a potion, a witch's nose lifts up and points forward.
 * Witches have small mouths hidden under their noses. During their potion-drinking animation, this mouth becomes visible from the side.
 * Witches have an unused purple hat layer in their texture file, similar to the illusioner's hat.
 * The same hat layer is also present in the vindicator and evoker's texture files, where it is also unused.
 * These hat models also used to exist in the nitwit, librarian and priest's textures before the Village and Pillage update.
 * In the Village and Pillage update artwork banner, the witch in the picture has its arms unfolded like a pillager, despite this being impossible ingame.