Mob

Mobs are living, moving game entities. The term "mob" is short for "mobile" and has been used as a general term referring to any moving entities in games since the first MUDs surfaced.

General behavior
Mobs are affected by the environment in the same ways as the player: they are subject to physics, and they can be hurt by the same things that harm the player (catching on fire, falling, drowning, attacked by weapons, etc.). Some mobs may be resistant or immune to certain hazards, such as Nether mobs which are immune to fire. Mobs can ride minecarts and other mobs, and can climb up ladders. When mobs are killed, they drop items which may be useful resources. Most mobs have an advanced pathfinding system that allows them to traverse complex mazes to get to the player.

Each type of mob in Minecraft has a certain AI (Artificial Intelligence) system with different behaviors and mechanics. Mobs will ordinarily wander around at random if there is a player nearby and usually avoid walking off blocks high enough to cause falling damage. Passive mobs will flee in random directions after being hurt, while hostile mobs will face and chase/attack the Player as soon as they come close. Neutral mobs will remain neutral until a player or mob attacks it, at which point the neutral mob will turn hostile toward and attack the entity that hit it.

Mobs come to exist by spawning in various ways. They naturally spawn in groups with mobs of the same variety. Players can spawn most mobs by using spawn eggs in creative mode. Most mobs are aware of players within 16 blocks of them, but some can see farther. Mobs will not spawn on transparent blocks, in water (except for squid and guardians), in lava, or on half blocks (slabs, stairs). The exception is monster spawners, from which they can spawn on any block including air. Mobs can not see through semi-transparent blocks such as ice, glass, or glass panes.

List of mobs
Mobs are listed and classified by their nature below. For more details on a particular mob, click and view their individual page.

''Note: The list below is categorized according to the PC edition. May vary between different platforms.''

Unused or removed mobs
Unused mobs are found in the source code, but are not being used at this time. It is still possible to spawn them with the command, but they will have no AI. Removed mobs are no longer in the PC version's game code, and can be found only in certain older versions.

Issues

 * For issues unique to specific mobs, see that mob's issues section.

Trivia

 * Renaming a mob "Dinnerbone" or "Grumm" using spawn eggs or name tags will flip them upside down.
 * When a mob walks off a block they will sometimes turn around and get back on as if they didn't mean to get off of it, then walk off yet again and continue on their way. This can be useful when trying to get distance between you and a hostile mob (particularly creepers).
 * When mobs die, they emit puffs of white smoke. This gives them the appearance of them turning to dust or vanishing in a puff of smoke.
 * Mobs can be heard up to 16 blocks away. Most hostile mobs can track players up to 16 blocks away. Therefore, if the player hears a hostile mob, it is likely that the mob is aware of the player.
 * Players can approach a hostile mob without being detected if they ensure that there are solid blocks between them and the mob.
 * Players can hide from hostile mob that pursuing the player in 2 blocks tall non-solid block (i.e. sugar cane) even if the mob saw the player going in it (this will not work on spiders).
 * After killing a player, or if a player dies while hostile mobs are pursuing the player, the hostile mobs will gather around the player's deathplace, attempting to attack the player. This is because the player has been made invisible and non-solid, but still exists in that position. (evident by the "You Died!" screen still remaining in that position).
 * A player can use this to their advantage by holding a large number of hostile mobs over their deathplace while another player may pass by unnoticed. This quirk can also work against the player in these cases:
 * Ghasts will continue to fire at the player, possibly destroying more blocks or dropped items.
 * If a creeper ignites itself when a player dies, the creeper's fuse will not stop, so it explodes and destroys the player's items.
 * The targeting of the player by hostile mobs is canceled once the player logs out, quits, or respawns.
 * If a hostile mob is tracking a player, the player can separate him or herself and the mob through a wall, relog, and the mob will no longer be tracking the player.
 * Mobs will not walk on top of rails unless pushed on to the rails by another mob. This can be used to trap small amounts of mobs, to create a wall between the player and a mob, or to prevent mobs from interrupting minecarts as they travel down rails.
 * Mobs can be spawned with armor using the command. The armor does not appear on the body of all mobs, but will still work.