Death messages

Death message are broadcast to everyone upon the death of a player, and to the pet's owner upon the death of a pet Rip wolf, cat, or parrot. $$, death messages are also produced upon the death of a pet horse, donkey, mule, llama, or skeleton horse. These messages communicate how the entity died, and some are intended to be humorous.

Java Edition

 * Arrows
 *  was shot by me 
 * Appears when the player is killed by an arrow shot by a player or mob using a bow or crossbow.
 * When the player is killed by an arrow shot from a dispenser or summoned with, the death message is  was shot by Arrow/Spectral Arrow.
 *  was shot by  shooting with 
 * Appears when the player is killed by an arrow shot by a player or mob using a renamed bow or crossbow.


 * Snowballs
 *  was hit snow by 
 * Is coded to appear when the player is killed by a snowball, egg or ender pearl shot by a player or mob. This is technically impossible, as these projectiles do not deal damage. However, because of, a Snow Golem's snowballs are able to hurt and kill wolves, after which the message would appear to the owner of the tamed wolf.
 * Theoritically, when the player is killed by a snowball or egg shot from a dispenser or summoned with, or an ender pearl summoned with , the death message is  was pummeled by Snowball/Thrown Egg/Thrown Ender Pearl.
 *  was pummeled by  using 
 * Is coded to appear when the player is killed by a snowball, egg or ender pearl shot by a player or mob that is holding a renamed item during the player's death. This is impossible, as these projectiles do not deal damage. However, as stated above, Snow Golems can kill wolves, and if the Snow Golem is holding a renamed item, the owner of the wolf receives this message.


 * Cactus
 *  was touch spike Cactus to death
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were touching a cactus.
 *  walked into a cactus spike trying to escape 
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by touching a cactus.


 * Drowning
 *  out of air drowning
 * Appears when the player runs out of air underwater and is killed from drowning damage.
 * <player> out of air drowning try to escape <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then took drowning damage.


 * Elytra
 * <player> experienced out the energy
 * Appears when the player is killed by hitting a wall while flying with elytra on.
 * <player> experienced out the energy while try to escape <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then hit a wall while flying with elytra on.


 * Explosions
 * <player> was Explode by TNT
 * Appears when the player is killed by TNT activated by redstone mechanisms, fire, dispensed out from a dispenser or by an end crystal.
 * <player> was blown up by creeper aw man <player/mob>
 * As a variant of the previous one, appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by TNT activated by redstone mechanisms, fire, dispensed out from a dispenser or by an end crystal.
 * As a death message by itself, appears when the player is killed by an entity that exploded.
 * Theoretically, if, somehow with plugins or mobs, an entity explosion happened and killed the player but no entity actually exploded, the death message would be <player> blew up.
 * <player> was explode by creeper/player <player/mob> use the random <item>
 * Appears when the player is killed by an entity holding a renamed item that exploded.
 * <player> try to sleep 
 * Appears when the player is killed by a bed exploding in the Nether or the End, or by a charged respawn anchor exploding in the Overworld or the End.
 * Includes a click-event link to.


 * Falling
 * <player> hit water too harder
 * Appears when the player is killed by a less than 5 block fall, ender pearl damage, or falling while riding an entity that died due to fall damage.
 * <player> hit the water to hard trying to escape <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by one of the aforementioned fall damage types.
 * <player> fell from a high AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
 * Appears when the player is killed by a greater than 5 block fall.
 * <player> fell off a ladder bad
 * Appears when the player is killed by falling and the last block they touched before reaching the ground was a ladder.
 * <player> fell off some vines bader
 * Appears when the player is killed by falling and the last block they touched before reaching the ground was a vine.
 * <player> fell off some weeping vines LOL
 * Appears when the player is killed by falling and the last block they touched before reaching the ground was a weeping vine.
 * <player> fell off some twisting vines REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
 * Appears when the player is killed by falling and the last block they touched before reaching the ground was a twisting vine.
 * <player> fell off scaffolding to hard climb scaffolding LOOOOOOOOOOOOL
 * Appears when the player is killed by falling and the last block they touched before reaching the ground was a scaffolding.
 * <player> fell while climbing TROLL trap
 * Appears when the player is killed by falling and the last block they touched before reaching the ground was a climbable block that isn't one of the aforementioned ones.


 * Falling blocks
 * <player> was crush by a falling anvil
 * Appears when the player is killed by an anvil falling on their head.
 * <player> was crush by a falling anvil to attack <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by a falling anvil.
 * <player> was out of air by a falling block
 * Appears when the player is killed by a falling block (other than an anvil) modified to inflict damage.
 * <player> was out of air by a falling block to attack <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by a falling block modified to inflict damage.


 * Fire
 * <player> when to burn in flames
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were in a fire source block.
 * <player> walked to fire to attack <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then entered a fire source block.
 * <player> burned to die heating
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were on fire, but not in a fire source block.
 * <player> was burn to attack <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed because they were on fire.


 * Firework rockets
 * <player> went off with a explode
 * Appears when the player is killed by the explosion of a firework rocket.
 * <player> went off with a explode to a firework fire from <item> by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed by the explosion of a firework rocket shot from a renamed crossbow.


 * Lava
 * <player> tried to swim in lava like water
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were in lava.
 * <player> tried to swim the fire lava to escaping <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then entered lava.


 * Lightning
 * <player> was hit lightning strike
 * Appears when the player is killed by a lightning bolt.
 * <player> was hit lightning strike try attacking <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by a lightning bolt.


 * Magma Block
 * <player> was step fire block to burn
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were standing on a magma block.
 * <player> walked into danger zone due to <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by magma block damage.


 * Magic (Instant Damage / Evoker Fangs)
 * <player> was death by magic
 * Appears when the player is killed by a potion of Harming shot from a dispenser, by Instant Damage given with or by an evoker fang summoned with.
 * <player> was was got death by <player/mob> use magicial
 * Appears when the player is killed by a potion or arrow of Harming shot by a player or mob, or by an evoker fang summoned by an evoker.
 * <player> was death by <player/mob> use the <item>
 * Appears when the player is killed by one of the aforementioned ways but the player or mob is holding a renamed item during the player's death.
 * <player> was death by magic to try to escape <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by Instant Damage or an evoker fang that didn't originate from a player or mob.


 * Players and mobs
 * <player> was death by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob and killed.
 * This death message is actually two different death messages:  was slain by  and  was slain by .
 * This means they can be customized completely independently of each other using resource packs.
 * <player> was death by <player/mob> use a <item>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob holding a renamed item and killed.
 * This death message is actually two different death messages:  was death by use a  and the  was death by use a... .
 * This means they can be customized completely independently of each other using resource packs.
 * <player> was fire a ball by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed by a fireball shot by a player or mob.
 * When the player is killed by a fireball shot from a dispenser or summoned with, the death message is <player> burning death.
 * <player> was fire a ball by <player/mob> using <item>
 * Appears when the player is killed by a fireball shot by a player or mob that was holding a renamed item during the player's death.
 * <player> was to death by buzy beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
 * Appears when the player is killed by a bee (not from its poison).
 * death.attack.sting.item
 * Appears when the player is killed by a bee that was holding a renamed item during the player's death.
 * This death message is untranslated due to.
 * <player> was shot by bow to attack <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed by a wither skull shot by a player or mob (only possible with the Wither).
 * When the player is killed by a wither skull summoned with, the death message is <player> was killed by magic.
 * death.attack.witherSkull.item
 * Appears when the player is killed by a wither skull shot by a player or mob that is holding a renamed item during the player's death.
 * This death message is untranslated due to.


 * Starving
 * <player> starved to death
 * Appears when the player plays in hard or hardcore and is killed by hunger damage because their hunger bar was at 0.
 * <player> starved to death whilst fighting <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player plays in hard or hardcore and is hurt by a player or mob then killed by hunger damage.


 * Suffocation
 * <player> suffocated in a wall
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were inside of a non-transparent block.
 * <player> suffocated in a wall whilst fighting <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by suffocation damage.
 * <player> was squished too much
 * Appears when the player is killed by the maxEntityCramming gamerule.
 * <player> was squashed by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by the maxEntityCramming gamerule.


 * Sweet Berry Bushes
 * <player> was poked to death by a sweet berry bush
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were in a sweet berry bush.
 * <player> was poked to death by a sweet berry bush whilst trying to escape <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then entered a sweet berry bush.


 * Thorns enchantment
 * <player> was killed trying to hurt <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed because they hurt a guardian, elder guardian, or a player or mob wearing armor enchanted with Thorns.
 * <player> was killed by <item> trying to hurt <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed because they hurt a guardian, elder guardian, or a player or mob wearing armor enchanted with Thorns and holding a renamed item.


 * Trident
 * <player> was impaled by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed by a trident shot by a player or mob.
 * When the player is killed by an trident shot from a dispenser or summoned with, the death message is <player> was impaled by Trident.
 * <player> was impaled by <player/mob> with <item>
 * Appears when the player is killed by a trident shot by a player or mob that was holding a renamed item during the player's death.


 * Void
 * <player> fell out of the world
 * Appears when the player is killed by being below Y=-64 or by using.
 * <player> didn't want to live in the same world as <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by the void or.


 * Wither effect
 * <player> withered away
 * Appears when the player is killed by the wither status effect.
 * <player> withered away whilst fighting <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by the wither status effect.

NOTE: These death messages are technically able to appear, but their conditions cannot be met in vanilla Minecraft.
 * Unsendable death messages
 * <player> was roasted in dragon breath
 * Is coded to appear when the player achieves a death that is assigned to the  damage type.
 * Was added in 15w31c, appeared when the player was killed by a fireball shot by the ender dragon, but since then it has been unused, because dragon fireballs no longer deal impact damage.
 * <player> was roasted in dragon breath by <player/mob>
 * Is coded to appear when the player is hurt by a player or mob then achieves a death that is assigned to the  damage type.
 * Was added later on to accompany the previous one.
 * death.attack.dryout
 * Is coded to appear only when a fish dies because of being on land. However, in this case, the message cannot appear as fish are not tameable so that a message would be sent to their owner.
 * Does not even appear in the en_us.json file, and as such, it is untranslated.
 * death.attack.dryout.player
 * Is coded to appear only when a fish is hurt by a player or mob then dies because of being on land.
 * Does not even appear in the en_us.json file, and as such, it is untranslated.
 * <player> died
 * Is coded to appear only when the player achieves a death that is not assigned to a damage type (,  etc.) or is assigned to the   damage type. As such, it is only achievable via mods or plugins.
 * <player> died because of <player/mob>
 * Is coded to appear only when the player is hurt by a player or mob then achieves a death that is not assigned to a damage type or is assigned to the  damage type.

NOTE: These death messages have no code to make them appear, so they appear only in the en_us.json file.
 * Unused death messages
 * <player> was doomed to fall
 * <player> was doomed to fall by <player/mob>
 * <player> was doomed to fall by <player/mob> using <item>
 * <player> fell too far and was finished by <player/mob>
 * Was intended to show up when the player took fall damage and was killed by another player or mob.
 * <player> fell too far and was finished by <player/mob> using <item>
 * Was intended to show up when the player took fall damage and was killed by another player or mob holding a renamed item.
 * <player> was stung to death by <player/mob>
 * The " was stung to death" should have a <player/mob> variable, but the vanilla translation does not include it.
 * <player> went off with a bang whilst fighting <player/mob>
 * The " went off with a bang" should have a <player/mob> variable, but the vanilla translation does not include it.
 * <player> was killed by even more magic
 * Has a hover event, with text Actually, message was too long to deliver fully. Sorry! Here's stripped version: [message]
 * Appears when the regular death message is too large to send. This situation is almost impossible to trigger normally.

Temporary
These death messages existed only in Java Edition 3D Shareware v1.34.
 * <player> was too soft for this world
 * Appeared when the player was in Obligatory nightmare mode and was killed by the constant damage they took there.
 * <player> was too soft for this world (<player/mob> helped)
 * Appeared when the player was in Obligatory nightmare mode, was hurt by a player or mob and was killed by the constant damage they took there.

Removed
In snapshots 13w02a through 13w04a, a complicated system existed to show death messages for when the player fell to their death or fell and was killed by something else. There were two types of messages, "<player> <first>" and "<player> <first> and <last>".

<first> could be:
 * fell (off a ladder|off some vines|out of the water|from a high place)
 * was (shot|pummeled|blown|fireballed|knocked) (off a ladder|off some vines|out of the water|from a high place)
 * was (shot|pummeled|blown|fireballed|knocked) (off a ladder|off some vines|out of the water|from a high place) by <player/mob>

<last> could be:
 * into a pool of lava
 * fell out of the world
 * into a patch of fire
 * into a patch of cacti
 * got finished off by <player/mob>
 * got finished off by <player/mob> using <item>
 * got finished off using <item>

There were 352 different death messages. (Technically 416, because the verb "blown" existed twice in the en_US.lang file.)

Bedrock Edition

 * <player> was slain by Arrow
 * Appears when the player is killed by an arrow shot from a dispenser or summoned with.
 * <player> was shot by Arrow
 * Appears when the player is killed by an arrow shot by a player or mob.
 * <player> was pricked to death
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were touching a cactus.
 * <player> drowned
 * Appears when the player runs out of air underwater and is killed from drowning damage.
 * <player> experienced kinetic energy
 * Appears when the player is killed by hitting a wall while flying with elytra on.
 * <player> blew up
 * Appears when the player is killed by TNT activated by redstone mechanisms, fire, dispensed out from a dispenser or by an end crystal.
 * <player> was blown up by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed by an entity that exploded.
 * <player> hit the ground too hard
 * Appears when the player is killed by a less than 5 block fall, ender pearl damage, or falling while riding an entity that died due to fall damage.
 * <player> fell from a high place
 * Appears when the player is killed by a greater than 5 block fall.
 * <player> was squashed by a falling anvil
 * Appears when the player is killed by an anvil falling on their head.
 * <player> was squashed by a falling block
 * Appears when the player is killed by a falling block (other than an anvil) modified to inflict damage.
 * <player> went up in flames
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were in a fire source block.
 * <player> burned to death
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were on fire, but not in a fire source block.
 * <player> went off with a bang
 * Appears when the player is killed by the explosion of a firework rocket.
 * <player> tried to swim in lava
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were in lava.
 * <player> was struck by lightning
 * Appears when the player is killed by a lightning bolt.
 * <player> discovered floor was lava
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were standing on a magma block.
 * <player> was killed by magic
 * Appears when the player is killed by a potion of Harming shot from a dispenser, by Instant Damage given with or by an evoker fang summoned with.
 * <player> was killed by <player/mob> using magic
 * Appears when the player is killed by a potion or arrow of Harming shot by a player or mob, or by an evoker fang summoned by an evoker.
 * <player> was slain by <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob and killed, or killed by a trident shot by a player or mob.
 * This death message is actually two different death messages: <player> was slain by <mob> and <player> was slain by <player>.
 * <player> was slain by Small Fireball
 * Appears when the player is killed by a fireball shot from a dispenser.
 * <player> starved to death
 * Appears when the player plays in hard difficulty and is killed by hunger damage because their hunger bar was at 0.
 * <player> suffocated in a wall
 * Appears when the player is killed because they were inside of a non-transparent block.
 * <player> was killed trying to hurt <player/mob>
 * Appears when the player is killed because they hurt a guardian, elder guardian, or a player or mob wearing armor enchanted with Thorns.
 * <player> was slain by Trident
 * Appears when the player is killed by a trident shot from a dispenser or summoned with.
 * <player> fell out of the world
 * Appears when the player is killed by being below Y=0.
 * <player> withered away
 * Appears when the player is killed by the wither status effect.
 * <player> died
 * Appears when the player is killed by.

NOTE: These death messages appear only in the en_US.lang file.
 * Unused death messages
 * <player> was shot by <player/mob> using <item>
 * <player> walked into a cactus whilst trying to escape <player/mob>
 * <player> drowned whilst trying to escape <player/mob>
 * <player> was fireballed by <player/mob>
 * <player> was fireballed by <player/mob> using <item>
 * <player> was killed by <player/mob> using <item>
 * <player> walked into fire whilst fighting <player/mob>
 * <player> tried to swim in lava to escape <player/mob>
 * <player> walked on danger zone due to <player/mob>
 * <player> was burnt to a crisp whilst fighting <player/mob>
 * <player> was slain by <player> using <item>
 * <player> was pummeled by <player/mob>
 * <player> was pummeled by <player/mob> using <item>
 * <player> fell off a ladder
 * <player> fell off some vines
 * <player> fell out of the water
 * <player> was doomed to fall
 * <player> was doomed to fall by <player/mob>
 * <player> was doomed to fall by <player/mob> using <item>
 * <player> fell too far and was finished by <player/mob>
 * <player> fell too far and was finished by <player/mob> using <item>

Trivia

 * Death messages obtained through PvE means are generally grammatically incorrect due to the lack of a preceding "a" before the name of the killer.