Talk:Monster Spawner

Mob spawners resetting in SMP server (NBTEdit related)
I host a SMP server for me and my friends to play on. Recently I have been using the in-game NBTEdit mod to create custom mob spawners. Everything works fine here. However, every time when I shut down the server and start it up again, those custom mob spawners reset into normal pig spawners. And when I check them with NBTEdit, all my custom tags for the spawners are gone. It would be very frustrating for me to edit those spawners every single time. How can I fix this problem? Is there a way to keep them unchanged after restarting the server? 14.198.117.118 08:08, 22 April 2013 (UTC)


 * The wiki generally doesn't provide support, especially for mod-related issues; you'll get a better response by posting in the relevant forum thread. -- Orthotope 08:25, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Decompiled source
Aren't you not supposed to distribute Minecraft code? I am not very knowledgeable in this area if the question may seem stupid to you.

--68.187.156.141 02:56, 11 July 2013 (UTC)NFWright

They're not. Pseudo-code is, essentially, just a description of what some code does. It's not Minecraft code.

Lets take for example this example from the Page:

if (spawner delay == -1) {       reset spawner delay }

This is not valid Java, which is what Minecraft is coded in. In Java, your variable names ("spawner delay") can not include spaces. Also, "reset" is not a valid command in Java. There is no indication that it's a defined function in Java because it would take the form of function_name(parameters), so in our example case it would be: reset(spawner_delay) -- of course, after fixing the invalid variable name.--70.185.228.203 12:40, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

hmmm
if you use a silk touch enchantment will you get a monster(I don't mean human) spawner? 99.174.200.114 03:16, 15 July 2013 (UTC)
 * No. Like the article says, a spawner can't be retrieved at all in survival mode.  --Mental Mouse 03:35, 15 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Mental Mouse is right you cant even with a solk touch 127 pick (the ledgends are true!).  LABHOUSE (talk) 22:50, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

Creepers
Why does the article say that naturally spawners will not spawn Creepers? I found a Creeper spawner in a legit vanilla world.--96.227.140.85 03:47, 18 July 2013 (UTC)


 * If you're certain no mods or world editors were involved, post the world seed and coordinates so other people can confirm this. -- Orthotope talk 05:21, 18 July 2013 (UTC)


 * The net seems to insist that creeper spawners used to occur naturally, but we can see from the code that they don't today. I wonder when they were removed, and why? Courtes 09:15, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Who is "the net" that's insisting on this? I seriously doubt there were even creeper spawners in vanilla survival, and certainly not in dungeons.  Besides being OP, there's a little problem that the first time someone goes in there, they'll blow up their own spawner block.  Of course, adventure-mode maps are another story -- there are ways to finess those issues for a non-random map.  --Mental Mouse 10:45, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

Blaze spawners have a glitched active range.
I have confirmed in 1.6.2 on SMP and SSP, that blaze spawners are not always active when within 16 blocks of the spawner block. The cage will light on and spin correctly when in that range, but does not necessarily spawn new mobs. The horizontal range seems to act correctly, but vertical distance is glitched. You need to be about 14.5 blocks below the spawner, or 17.5 blocks above the spawner for it to make new mobs.

It appears that the 16 block radius is shifted focus above the actual spawner. This only affects blazes and I can confirm that my distances are correct, because I used a mini map way-point.--71.185.114.250 15:10, 24 July 2013 (UTC)


 * This bug has been on the tracker for a while now: MC-13381. It seems to me that visual spawner activity (light, spinning) is determined by your head's distance from the spawner block, while its generation of mobs is triggered by your feet being within range (the F3 screen gives you both). Thus, it does kind of matter horizontally (see screenshots in the bug report). Plus, I suspect that this is an issue with every type of spawner; at least it is easily reproducible with a pig spawner in creative single player. It's most annoying with blazes, because of the funnel-shaped XP farm design ... Thilo77 22:55, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

yeah i've noticed that after i've built the grinder - they aren' spawning at 16 blocks below in 1.7.294.143.240.176 12:50, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

The spawning range seems to be 16 blocks from the center of the spawner block, so spawning can only be expected when the player's feet are no more than 15.5 blocks below the bottom of the spawner block. BTW, the bug mentioned above seems to be fixed in current snapshots (14w04a and later) - now the spawner's visual activity and the generation of mobs seem to be consistent (the feet pos, now the only player coordinates available in the F3 screen, triggers both). This doesn't make an actual difference for the generation of mobs, but players are no longer lured into waiting endlessly for blazes (too far) below a visually active blaze spawner. --Thilo77 (talk) 21:41, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Squids!
How do you get other spawners like squid or Iron Golem? I saw it in a map. Hehe, you need a WorldEdit program like MCEdit. Follow this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dRidXHMYRE --NecropoGames 13:36, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Bro... c'mon. You can just right click a spawner with a spawn egg and it becomes a spawner of that mob. Iron golems... I dunno though. There's probably commands for it, I don't think you need MCEdit to do it. At least what I'm talking about works in Pocket Edition, mob eggs and stuff. Bubblespluscream (talk) 01:53, 3 October 2015 (UTC)
 * I'd don't think iron golem spawners can be created without mods. The BlobsPaper.png 01:57, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

Nah, you can do it with very specific commands, I used to code maps and I used to make mob spawners that would spawn a chicken riding a skeleton with a pumpkin head or whatever. If you know the commands, you can do just about anything. This one places one below you /execute @p ~ ~ ~ /setblock ~ ~ ~ mob_spawner 1 0 {EntityId:VillagerGolem} --Hambo325 (talk) 18:25, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Ender Dragon Spawner
Could someone give me a give or summon command for for a non-hostile, tamed, saddled ender dragon spawner? I'm asking since we can spawn basically any mob spawner with basically any properties according to the page. If there is a way to do this please let me know. Also, if it's possible maybe a command string for the same ender dragon spawner mentioned above with chest equipped like that of a donkey. Please. Brickticks (talk) 21:05, 20 November 2013 (UTC) If it's even possible. Brickticks (talk) 23:42, 20 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Not possible. Only horses (including all variants), wolves, and ocelots can be tame; only horses and pigs can have saddles. Yes, you can spawn other entities with those tags, but the game won't do anything with them. -- Orthotopetalk 02:31, 21 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Oh, OK. Brickticks (talk) 16:16, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

Kinds Of Mobs
Uh I need a little help on how to switch mobs from pigs to well anything just HELP!!!! PLZ!!!!--Hhawa (talk) 17:55, 26 November 2013 (UTC)

Keep in mind this involves replacing the spawners, not changing their tags. Try

Or if you want to keep it simple just replace everything in the brackets with "EntityId:Zombie". Long commands may require using command blocks (which in turn requires creative mode). Also these commands won't replace a block with the same type of block so you need to either pick a new spot or break the pig spawners. 24.68.154.229 07:13, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

Don't forget that most mobs have weird Entity ID Tags like for the Iron Golem, it's "VillagerGolem" so you might have to look some up --Hambo325 (talk) 18:28, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Monster spawned on PE
I just got the update and was messing around with monster spawners. If one of the mobs is spawned on top of the spawner, they all will be at that same level. I don't know if this is a bug only on PE or in all of the games. 50.80.134.121 07:11, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Changes in 1.8
I've heard in a 1.8 review that not only the exclusion zone was reduced, but the spawning zone was also increased to 9x9. --Morenohijazo 21:26, 6 September 2014 (UTC)


 * The exclusion zone was fixed to allow Y values to be set by the range, rather than always being 4. As for the spawning zone, there was a bug fixed that would seem to change that, but it does not seem to be true. --KnightMiner  (t 20:17, 6 September 2014 (UTC)


 * I take that back, in my spawner test area I found zombies within a 9x9 area, it seems that was fully fixed. --KnightMiner  (t 20:25, 6 September 2014 (UTC)
 * The exclusion zone was reduced horizontally from being twice the spawn range to being the same as the spawn range; the Y change came later. The spawning zone was adjusted to be horizontally centered on the center of the block rather than on the northwest corner, so instead of being -4 to +3 (8 blocks) it's -3.5 to +3.5 (still 8 blocks, but "rounds" to 9). Anomie x (talk) 22:12, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

Light
How much light do spawners emit in pocket edition?75.165.49.48 02:02, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Drops
Monster spawners drop nothing, but the digging table indicates that it does. Experience doesn't count because it is not an item. Besides, you would get much more experience by letting it spawn mobs and killing the mobs.75.165.49.48 02:02, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * No, it is correct, just because there are better ways of getting experience does not mean it drops nothing. All the other blocks that drop nothing will yield exactly nothing, not even experience. – KnightMiner  (t·c) 02:15, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Rename to "Mob Spawner"
I propose the page be renamed to "Mob Spawner" rather than the existing "Monster Spawner", simply because the code easily exists in the game for mob spawners to spawn any sort of mob, not exclusively monsters, while they only appear in the world as monster spawners. –Preceding unsigned comment was added by 73.43.144.74 (talk) at 1:20, 03 March 2015 (UTC). Please sign your posts with


 * We name article based on in game name, and if you either check the .lang file or give yourself one ingame, it displays the name of "Monster Spawner". – KnightMiner  t/c 01:31, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

Rewrite for Style
This page is the last one that needs to be rewritten in the blocks category of the Rewrite for Style project. I think that much of the technical details do not really need to be in the Usage section. E.g. the following text is very technical and many users will probably not need to know the spawning algorithm to such specific depth: ''While mobs are spawned at fractional x and z-coordinates (i.e. not aligned to blocks), they are spawned at an integer y-coordinate. Horizontally, a mob can spawn with its center point anywhere within the 8×8 range, but vertically, mobs will spawn with their legs at either the same layer as the spawner block, one block above it, or one block below it.'' However, some of this more technical information could still be useful, albeit perhaps in a subpage or tutorial rather than on the page itself. Thoughts? –Goandgoo ᐸ Talk Contribs 08:04, 8 June 2015 (UTC)
 * People do need that level of detail. I can't recall how many times I've had to refer to that level of technical information from forum or reddit posts where someone is asking (or spouting nonsense about) how exactly stuff works. OTOH, there may not be a need for two sentences that say the same thing in different words as in your example. If you insist on moving it to some other article, please make sure it's extremely clear in this article where that other article might be. Anomie x (talk) 11:18, 8 June 2015 (UTC)


 * Are there any other thoughts on this from other people? –Goandgoo ᐸ Talk Contribs 07:27, 13 June 2015 (UTC)


 * I think that the technical info at I on is needed as I do not want to have to look through MCP to find out details such as the exact spawn range of a spawner. However, the usage sections shouldn't have this level of detail. I would suggest moving the technical information to a new section named, for example, 'mechanics' or 'technical information', but keeping so me basic idea info in the usage section, e.g. 'The monster spawner spawns mobs in an 8*8*3 area around it when the player is within 16 blocks'; the tables, differences in mob centres etc. would be moved. FM22 (talk) 08:56, 13 June 2015 (UTC)


 * I mostly agree with FM22. I would personally suggest leading the usage section with a few basic details (spawn area size, cap, number spawned at once, etc.) and any details not related to spawning (transparency uniqueness, spawn eggs, etc.). After that, I would use either using a subsection or additional section to describe more advance details, such as the failure percentage and more advance description of the spawn cycle. – KnightMiner  t/c 13:43, 13 June 2015 (UTC)


 * That makes sense FM22 (talk) 14:36, 13 June 2015 (UTC)
 * 71.212.10.80 13:49, 13 June 2015 (UTC)
 * . – LauraFi -  talk  18:03, 13 June 2015 (UTC)

You can or you can't in creative?
The page contradicts itself by saying first, "It is also not in the creative inventory, except in Pocket Edition, and as such must be obtained with commands" in Obtaining, paragraph 2, but in paragraph 2 of Usage says, "Spawners can be found in the player's inventory in Creative mode, and when placed will spawn pigs in computer edition, or will appear empty in Pocket Edition." History says nothing about this subject, except for Pocket Edition. So who's right? Can you obtain them in Creative? Or does it differ between updates?

Thanks,

Minceraft001 (talk) 17:55, 4 October 2015 (UTC)


 * It is not in the creative inventory, that part is correct. The other line most likely was referencing the common misbelief that commands only work in creative mode. I fixed it. – KnightMiner  t/c 00:20, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Mining a spawner ??
The article says you can't obtain a mob spawner, then the next sentence says "the proper tool to mine with is pickaxe". I thought mining means breaking stuff to obtain loot ?

Either reword it or explain how to "properly" mine a spawner, rather than just destroy it. –Preceding unsigned comment was added by 96.23.166.33 (talk) at 08:46, 6 February 2016 (UTC). Please sign your posts with
 * The "proper tool" means the one that you have to use to mine it quickly. Anomie x (talk) 12:22, 6 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I reworded the sentence. The BlobsPaper.png 23:39, 6 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Shouldn't it be yellow, since it doesn't drop anything? Or does the experience count? –Majr ᐸ Talk Contribs 10:45, 7 February 2016 (UTC)


 * I personally am neutral on whether to count experience here or not (it is a drop, but not an item), though but setting it to yellow would be less confusing for people who don't know about proper tools not always dropping the block. – KnightMiner  t/c 22:07, 7 February 2016 (UTC)


 * When I mine the block in the new update (Better Together), I get the monster spawner as a drop in survival. Hambo325 (talk) 19:05, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

Exclusion Zone
The wiki doesn't mention the zone the spawner checks to see if the area is full. The talk page mentions that 1.8 changed this zone to be the same as the spawning zone, but I feel it should be mentioned at least, in the page itself. 172.68.59.131 07:29, 17 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes it does: "If, at the time of spawning, 6 or more mobs of the spawner's type are present within a 9×9×9 area, centered on the spawner block, the spawner "poofs" without creating any mobs and then waits for the next cycle." Anomie x (talk) 11:28, 17 August 2016 (UTC)

So a pig spawner (or in my case: a chicken spawner) have a vertical range of 3 blocks, but where should I place the floor for maximum spawning space? I want to use 2 floors if possible S = Spawner [] = testing place for a spawn B = Blocks

Example: [ ] [S] [ ]

So where should I place the floor? (2 floors if possible) [ ] [S]B [ ] B

or instead: [B] [S] [B]

Don't Know if it's a bug or not
So, when I mine a monster spawner with my pickax on the new Xbox One update (Better Together), it drops as a block. I don't know if your information is wrong but I'm in survival and I can legitimately get this block but I can't "use" it (no spawn eggs in survival) Can anyone explain? Hambo325 (talk) 19:01, 10 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Can't reproduce on Win10 (Better Together). --Pepijn (talk) 20:03, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

Can someone try it on Xbox? --Hambo325 (talk) 18:29, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Disabling spawners with torches.
I removed the claim that a single torch on top of a spawner will disable spawning since it isn't entierly true. Firstly it's the light level in the spawning block that matters, not the level in the spawner meaning that a wall placed next to the spawner can allow spawning on the other side even if the spawner itself is well lit. Secondly a single torch on top of the spawner doesn't provide enough light in the bottom corners of the spawning volume. As a matter of fact, even torches on top and on all four sides didn't completely stop spawning from a cave spider spawner with the floor dug away 5 blocks around it.