Witch

Witches are common hostile mobs that use prejudicial splash potions as their ranged weapon. They use beneficial potions on themselves defensively and are a major source of potion ingredients.

Natural generation
A single witch spawn anywhere in the Overworld at a light level of 7 or less.

Witch huts
Every swamp hut spawns a witch and a black cat inside during world generation, which never despawns. Otherwise, only witches (which may despawn) spawn in the 7×9×7 area that is the witch 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.

Witch huts generated before 1.8.1 have a spawn zone of only 7×9×5. Witch huts spawned on high ground also have a reduced or eliminated spawn zone height.

Villagers
When lightning strikes within 4 blocks of a villager, the baby or adult villager dies and a witch spawns in its place, giving the effect of it turning into a witch.

Raids
Witches are able to spawn starting at wave 3 as part of raids. They cannot spawn in easy difficulty.

Drops

 * (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.

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.

They drop 5 experience when killed by a player or tamed wolf.

Potions
Witches have an 8.5% chance to drop a potion as an equipment drop if killed while drinking that potion.

They drop one of the following: Looting increases the chance by 1% per level.

Behavior
Despite being human-like mobs, witches cannot open doors or utilize housing.

Witches use tier I splash potions offensively, remaining up to 10 blocks away from the player, and drink potions defensively. They have a search radius of 16 blocks.

Offense

Each potion is thrown in a 2 seconds interval.


 * 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. This effect lasts for a maximum of 1 minute 29 seconds.
 * They throw a splash potion of poison if the player's health is at least and is not already poisoned. This effect lasts for a maximum of 44 seconds.
 * 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. This effect lasts for a maximum of 1 minute 29 seconds.
 * If none of the above conditions are true, witches default to using a splash potion of harming, that causes magical damage.

Defense

On each AI 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 slow down its walking speed. It does not attack during this time.


 * When 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, and lacking Fire Resistance, 15% chance of drinking a potion of Fire Resistance.
 * If damaged, 5% chance of drinking a potion of Healing, which 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.

Raids
Witches that spawn during a raid heal other illagers that have low health ( and below) with regeneration and healing splash potions.

If raiding witches or other mobs kill all the villagers in a village, they celebrate their victory by jumping and laughing.

Bedrock Edition
Witches are immune to Poison and Fatal Poison. Like spiders, witches can locate targets even if they are behind blocks, and are hostile to iron golems.

They are the only mobs that can fight back against ghasts when hit by their fireballs. Witches can be attacked by undead mobs if they accidentally provoke them using splash potions of poison, weakness and slowness.

During raids, they spawn at wave 4.

Particles
Witches rarely (1.5% each second) spawn 10–45 purple magic particles above their heads. These particles are named Witch or Witchspell.

Data values
Witches have entity data associated with them that contain various properties of the mob.

Trivia

 * If a witch hits another witch with a potion, the witch who is hit becomes angry and targets the other witch, however it is impossible for either witch to kill the other (without help from a player), due to their use of Healing potions and their resistance to each other's splash potions.
 * Witches do not use the equipment in their swamp huts, but they can be used by players.
 * The odds of a witch dropping the maximum amount of drops possible (6 items total) without a Looting enchantment are 1 in 81 (1.2%).
 * Witches throw healing potions at illagers even if they attack them.
 * 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.
 * The player can see the short mouth of a witch from the side, only if they are drinking a potion and lifting their nose.
 * 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.
 * The witch is based on a Slavic folklore called Baba Yaga, which is why it lives in a swamp hut.