Creeper

The Creeper is a green, near-silent, ambush/kamikaze mob that was first introduced in Survival Test version. Upon getting close enough to the player, it will let out a loud hissing sound and detonate after 1.5 seconds. Creepers do not have an idle sound, and they do not catch fire when in direct sunlight, unlike Zombies and Skeletons.

The count-down can be halted if the player moves out of the creeper's blast radius. It will cancel its detonation and gradually reset its timer at the same rate that it counts down (for example, if it has been counting down for 1 second, it will take 1 second to "cool down".) Players can take advantage of this by hitting the Creeper, retreating and hitting it again until it is defeated. The player can also get close enough to a Creeper from above to hit it with a melee weapon without the Creeper's detonation being activated. Killing the creeper before this countdown starts or finishes will not cause the creeper to detonate.

Creepers are 1/4 less powerful than TNT, with explosion power of 3. The harder the surrounding material, the less damaging the explosion will be, meaning that secure homes should be built out of a highly explosion-resistant material. As with TNT, all drops in the explosion radius will be destroyed, so be careful if you die and want to collect your items back.

Creepers were given a new taking damage sound after the Halloween Update.

Behavior
A Creeper's path-finding algorithm seems to be a little more complex than most other hostile mobs. They will avoid directly approaching the player whenever possible, and seem to prefer standing in an alcove or around a corner from the front door of a fort or staircase. They likely determine this position by pathing as close to the player as possible, and then choosing a hiding spot after they hit a dead end. The creeper will then rush in and ambush the player the next time they can find a path. Creepers are also capable of climbing ladders and swimming up waterfalls, although only when the pathfinding runs them right into one.

Multiple creepers targeting one area will choose different hiding spots as the closest ones fill up, so ambushes with 2 - 5 creepers hiding in different places will often occur. If the player is just barely out of the creepers sight (about 3 blocks) and shoots the creeper with an arrow the creeper will notice the player and charge at him/her.

Strategy
Due to their stealthy nature, the player must remain vigilant at all times when exploring caves and the surface at night time. When confronting a creeper, distance fighting is the safest confrontation. This is only possible with a bow and a stock of arrows. Alternatively, due to their straight-forward path finding, the player can dig three-block-deep pits to lure the creeper into and then strike from above. While two blocks may seem sufficient, there is a risk of having the creeper "boosted" up out of the pit when struck. If the player would like to finish off the creeper quickly, carrying a diamond sword would be essential, as it only takes two hits to be defeated and the "retreat-hit" maneuver in accordance with the weapon would guarantee safety.

Music Discs
If a creeper is killed by a skeleton's arrow, it will drop a Music Disc. How the creeper gets hurt before does not matter, as long as the final blow is made by a skeleton. The easiest way to achieve this is to hit a creeper with four arrows, and have a skeleton shoot it after. However, if the creeper is hit but not killed, and near the skeleton, it will attack the skeleton by exploding, and therefore not drop a disc.

Besides a creeper, the only way to achieve a music disc is from a dungeon.

History


In Survival Test, the creeper's default look has a darker shade of green and will flash to a lighter green upon getting hit. It behaved much like a zombie, except its attack deals only two hearts worth of damage instead of three. After taking some damage, it flashes, indicating that it is about to detonate. Upon being killed, it causes a 4x4x4 spherical explosion, leaving a small crater, destroying plenty of blocks and will hurt the players if they are in the way. This does not destroy stone, however, so it is not possible to blow up the map. Before they saw the player their heads would "droop" down.

The creeper was once worth 250 points when killed. It was later decreased to 200 points.

Drops
Survival Test:
 * No dropped items
 * 200 points

Alpha and Beta:
 * 0-3 units of Sulphur
 * 1 Music Disc (when killed by a skeleton)

Trivia

 * Creepers are capable of climbing ladders even though they have no arms.
 * The creeper design is based on a failed attempt to make a pig model, hence the four legs.
 * The creeper was the first official Minecraft meme.
 * Notch has described Creepers as "being crunchy, like dry leaves".
 * This could have to do with the naming of the Creeper, as the word creeper can refer to various vines.
 * The Minecraft profile picture on Facebook is that of a Creeper's face.
 * Like all explosions, if a Creeper detonates whilst surrounded/in water, its explosion has no effect on blocks, but will still cause damage to players and other mobs.
 * In multiplayer, Creepers have been known to detonate after being hit away from a player by a sword. It is usually caused by lag or ping, but still worth noting.
 * It is entirely possible to detonate a creeper without taking damage.
 * If the Creeper's countdown starts, and you turn the difficulty mode to peaceful, the Creeper won't explode.