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This article is about damage in Minecraft. For information on health/hearts, see Health.

Damage represents injury from attacks or natural causes. Players and mobs in Minecraft each have a supply of health points, which are reduced when they are injured. The player has 20♥ × 10 health , but these are measured on a health gauge with 10 hearts. Thus each health point is "12 a heart", shown as 1♥. Mobs have varying numbers of health points, but these are not generally visible to players. However, when riding a tame horse/donkey/mule/pig, the player can see their mount's health, and a dog's health is visible in its tail angle.

Damage from attacks or natural causes will subtract from a player or mob's current health. When their health reaches zero, they die. Players can also recover health naturally by being well-fed, or through magical effects. Most mobs do not recover health except through magic, but horses and dogs can be healed by feeding them.

Armor will absorb some of the damage that would have been done to its wearer, but will take damage itself (to durability) in the process.

Damage to tools and armor can be viewed in the item's tooltip by pressing the debug key combination F3 + H.

How damage is stored and displayed

Health and damage are stored as floating-point numbers in units of half-hearts, i.e. 20 health is represented as 10 full hearts. When displaying the GUI, fractional values are rounded up to the next integer.

Dealing damage

Players can deal damage by hitting mobs or other players with items at close (melee) range. An "unarmed" attack only does 1♥ damage, but weapons and certain tools do more:

  • Swords are crafted for this purpose. While swords do not extend attack range, they deal significantly more damage than with any other item or tool except axes.
  • Axes, pickaxes, and shovels also deal more damage than bare fists. Also, axes deal most damage, but its attack speed is slowest.
  • Any other item is equivalent to fists and does the same damage. This includes hoes, and hitting something directly with a bow or held arrow.
  • While falling, melee attacks deal a critical hit (150% of the weapon's damage including potion effects, but before enchantments are applied, rounded down to the nearest hit point).

There are a few ranged weapons in the game:

  • Arrows are shot by holding and releasing right click when wielding a bow, and deal a certain amount of damage, depending on the "charge" of the bow (see below).
  • Snowballs only inflict damage on blazes, while eggs don't deal damage to mobs. Both still knock mobs back as if they had been damaged.
  • Splash potions can be thrown, inflicting various effects depending on the potion.
  • Ender pearls don't deal damage to mobs.
  • Fishing rods cannot be used to damage mobs.

A few items can be used to damage monsters indirectly:

  • The Flint and steel allows the player to light a block on fire, which causes all players and mobs that touch the fire to be set on fire (some monsters are fireproof, mostly those native to the Nether). Players and mobs that are ignited stay alight until 8♥♥♥♥ hit points of damage is dealt, until they touch water, or use a fire resistance potion.
  • Likewise, contact with Lava also ignites players and mobs.
  • TNT is currently the only controllable explosive in Minecraft, and can be triggered by fire, redstone currents, or another explosion.

The below values detail the damage dealt per hit using various weapons. Critical hits can do variable extra damage.

Tool Attack speed Attack damage Damage/Second (DPS)
Sword 1.6 4♥♥ 4♥♥ 5♥♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 7♥♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ 6.4 6.4 8 9.6 11.2 12.8
Trident 1.1 9♥♥♥♥♥ 9.9
Shovel 1 2.5♥ × 1.25 2.5♥ × 1.25 3.5♥ × 1.75 4.5♥ × 2.25 5.5♥ × 2.75 6.5♥ × 3.25 2.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5
Pickaxe 1.2 2♥ 2♥ 3♥♥ 4♥♥ 5♥♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 2.4 2.4 3.6 4.8 6 7.2
Axe 0.8 1 0.8 0.9 1 1 7♥♥♥♥ 7♥♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ 10♥♥♥♥♥ 5.6 7 7.2 8.1 9 10
Hoe 1 1 2 3 4 4 1♥ 1 1 2 3[note 1] 4[note 1] 4[note 1]
Other 4 1♥ 4[note 1]
  1. a b c d Against a single target, DPS is effectively limited to 2 due to damage immunity.

Some other items will do damage as well

Item Damage
Arrows (from a Bow) 1♥ – 10♥♥♥♥♥ [note 1]
Fire (Contact) 1♥ per half-second
Fire (Burning) 1♥ per second
Lava (Contact) 4♥♥ per half-second
Magma Block (Contact) 1♥ per half-second
TNT (Explosion) 59♥ × 29.5 [note 2]
  1. Depending on charge.
  2. The damage will decrease the further it is away from the core of the explosion.

Attack cooldown

AttackIndicatorCrosshair

Attack indicator (crosshair), empty and charged

AttackIndicatorHotbar

Attack indicator (hotbar), empty and charged

Attacking too quickly will reduce the strength of attacks. The base damage done (as a fraction of the full possible damage) depends on the time between attacks, which is also reflected in the height of the held weapon on screen and the attack indicator bar (which is configurable in the options menu):

Item Time (seconds)
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20 1.25
Sword 20.13% 21.15% 23.20% 26.27% 30.37% 35.49% 41.63% 48.80% 56.99% 66.21% 76.45% 87.71% 100%
Trident 20.06% 20.54% 21.51% 22.96% 24.90% 27.32% 30.22% 33.61% 37.48% 41.84% 46.68% 52.00% 57.81% 64.10% 70.88% 78.14% 85.88% 94.11% 100%
Shovel 20.05% 20.45% 21.25% 22.45% 24.05% 26.05% 28.45% 31.25% 34.45% 38.05% 42.05% 46.45% 51.25% 56.45% 62.05% 68.05% 74.45% 81.25% 88.45% 96.05% 100%
Pickaxe 20.07% 20.65% 21.80% 23.53% 25.83% 28.71% 32.17% 36.20% 40.81% 45.99% 51.75% 58.09% 65.00% 72.49% 80.55% 89.19% 98.41% 100%
Axe 20.03% 20.29% 20.80% 21.57% 22.59% 23.87% 25.41% 27.20% 29.25% 31.55% 34.11% 36.93% 40.00% 43.33% 46.91% 50.75% 54.85% 59.20% 63.81% 68.67% 73.79% 79.17% 84.80% 90.69% 96.83% 100%
20.05% 20.45% 21.25% 22.45% 24.05% 26.05% 28.45% 31.25% 34.45% 38.05% 42.05% 46.45% 51.25% 56.45% 62.05% 68.05% 74.45% 81.25% 88.45% 96.05% 100%
20.04% 20.36% 21.01% 21.98% 23.28% 24.90% 26.84% 29.11% 31.70% 34.62% 37.86% 41.42% 45.31% 49.52% 54.06% 58.92% 64.10% 69.61% 75.44% 81.60% 88.08% 94.88% 100%
Hoe 20.05% 20.45% 21.25% 22.45% 24.05% 26.05% 28.45% 31.25% 34.45% 38.05% 42.05% 46.45% 51.25% 56.45% 62.05% 68.05% 74.45% 81.25% 88.45% 96.05% 100%
20.20% 21.80% 25.00% 29.80% 36.20% 44.20% 53.80% 65.00% 77.80% 92.20% 100%
20.45% 24.05% 31.25% 42.05% 56.45% 74.45% 96.05% 100%
20.80% 27.20% 40.00% 59.20% 84.80% 100%
Other 20.80% 27.20% 40.00% 59.20% 84.80% 100%

The "attackSpeed" attribute controls the length of the cooldown time, with the time taken being T = 1 / attackSpeed * 20 ticks. The damage multiplier is then 0.2 + ((t + 0.5) / T) ** 2 * 0.8, restricted to the range 0.2–1, where t is the number of ticks since the last attack or item switch.

Damage done by enchantments (Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods) is also reduced, but not as severely (the multiplier is not squared):

Item Time (seconds)
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20 1.25
Sword 4.00% 12.00% 20.00% 28.00% 36.00% 44.00% 52.00% 60.00% 68.00% 76.00% 84.00% 92.00% 100%
Trident 2.75% 8.25% 13.75% 19.25% 24.75% 30.25% 35.75% 41.25% 46.75% 52.25% 57.75% 63.25% 68.75% 74.25% 79.75% 85.25% 90.75% 96.25% 100%
Shovel 2.50% 7.50% 12.50% 17.50% 22.50% 27.50% 32.50% 37.50% 42.50% 47.50% 52.50% 57.50% 62.50% 67.50% 72.50% 77.50% 82.50% 87.50% 92.50% 97.50% 100%
Pickaxe 3.00% 9.00% 15.00% 21.00% 27.00% 33.00% 39.00% 45.00% 51.00% 57.00% 63.00% 69.00% 75.00% 81.00% 87.00% 93.00% 99.00% 100%
Axe 2.00% 6.00% 10.00% 14.00% 18.00% 22.00% 26.00% 30.00% 34.00% 38.00% 42.00% 46.00% 50.00% 54.00% 58.00% 62.00% 66.00% 70.00% 74.00% 78.00% 82.00% 86.00% 90.00% 94.00% 98.00% 100%
2.50% 7.50% 12.50% 17.50% 22.50% 27.50% 32.50% 37.50% 42.50% 47.50% 52.50% 57.50% 62.50% 67.50% 72.50% 77.50% 82.50% 87.50% 92.50% 97.50% 100%
2.25% 6.75% 11.25% 15.75% 20.25% 24.75% 29.25% 33.75% 38.25% 42.75% 47.25% 51.75% 56.25% 60.75% 65.25% 69.75% 74.25% 78.75% 83.25% 87.75% 92.25% 96.75% 100%
Hoe 2.50% 7.50% 12.50% 17.50% 22.50% 27.50% 32.50% 37.50% 42.50% 47.50% 52.50% 57.50% 62.50% 67.50% 72.50% 77.50% 82.50% 87.50% 92.50% 97.50% 100%
5.00% 15.00% 25.00% 35.00% 45.00% 55.00% 65.00% 75.00% 85.00% 95.00% 100%
7.50% 22.50% 37.50% 52.50% 67.50% 82.50% 97.50% 100%
10.00% 30.00% 50.00% 70.00% 90.00% 100%
Other 10.00% 30.00% 50.00% 70.00% 90.00% 100%

Critical hits

A critical hit performed on a sheep.

A critical hit performed on a shorn sheep.

'Critical hits' are attacks that deal extra damage compared to regular attacks. Critical melee strikes, regardless of the weapon used, cause small star particles to fly out of the target who was critically hit. "Critical arrows", which occur when the bow is fired fully charged, leave a trail of the same small star particles as they fly through the air. Critical hits affect all damageable entities including players, mobs, paintings, boats and minecarts.

In melee, a critical hit occurs when a player attacks a mob while falling, including while coming down from a jump, but not while jumping up. The attack deals 150% of the attack's base damage (before enchantments or armor are applied).

The requirements for a melee critical hit are:

  • The player must be falling.
  • The player must not be on the ground.
  • The player must not be on a ladder/ vine etc.
  • The player must not be in water.
  • The player must not be affected by blindness.
  • The player must not be riding an entity.
  • The player must not be sprinting.
  • The base attack must not be reduced to 84.8% damage or lower due to cooldown.

Video

Critical hit/video

Damage immunity

After sustaining damage from any source, a mob will turn red in color for 0.5 seconds. During this period, any other incoming damage will not be counted against the mob's total health.

For instance, if you attack a mob with a sword repeatedly hitting the mouse button, the sword's rate of fire will exceed the mob's allowable rate of incoming damage, and several of the attacks will not damage the mob even if they land. It is recommended to wait for a mob to be hittable again before swinging your sword, making your hits more precise. The tool used won't lose durability after unsuccessful attacks.

However, if a mob or player is recovering from damage and then receives higher damage, it gets counted. Players are also subject to damage immunity.

Damage inflicted by mobs

The damage mobs deal to players is affected by the difficulty of the game. The below values represent the amount of damage taken per hit.

  • This applies only to mobs attacking the player. Mobs attacking other mobs always deal the 'Normal' damage listed, regardless of difficulty.
  • Values for the creeper and ghast assume the player is directly adjacent to the explosion.
  • The damage of slimes and magma cubes depends on their size. Tiny-sized slimes, while hostile, are unable to do damage directly.
  • Mobs deal no damage to players on peaceful.
Mob Difficulty Status effect(s)ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ[edit]
Easy Normal Hard
Bee 2♥ 2♥ 3♥♥ Poison for 10 seconds on Normal difficulty and for 18 seconds on Hard difficulty
Blaze (melee) 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Blaze fireball 9♥♥♥♥♥ + fire for 5 seconds No
Cave Spider 2♥ 2♥ 3♥♥ Poison for 7 seconds on Normal difficulty and for 15 seconds on Hard difficulty
Chicken Jockey 2.5♥ × 1.25 3♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 No
Creeper explosion (normal) 22.5♥ × 11.25 43♥ × 21.5 64.5♥ × 32.25 When exploding: No

If having a potion effect when exploding, it leaves an effect cloud with the effect, like a lingering potion.

Creeper explosion (charged) 43.5♥ × 21.75 85♥ × 42.5 127.5♥ × 63.75
Dolphin 2.5♥ × 1.25 3♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 No
Drowned No
Drowned trident (Ranged) 8♥♥♥♥ No
Drowned trident (Melee)‌[BE only] 5♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 No
Elder Guardian (Laser) 5♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 Inflicts Mining Fatigue III for 5 minutes on nearby players
Elder Guardian (Spikes) 2♥ 3♥♥
Elder Guardian Ghost (Spikes) 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Ender Dragon (Melee) 6♥♥♥ 10♥♥♥♥♥ 15♥ × 7.5 No
Ender Dragon (Wings) 3♥♥ 5♥♥♥ 7♥♥♥♥ No
Ender Dragon (Breath) 3♥♥ per second Area effect cloud of Instant Damage
Ender Dragon Dragon Fireball 6♥♥♥ per second
Enderman 4.5♥ × 2.25 7♥♥♥♥ 10.5♥ × 5.25 No
Endermite 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Evoker fangs 6♥♥♥ No
Ghast fireball (Impact) 6♥♥♥ No
Ghast fireball (Explosion) 7♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 22.5♥ × 11.25 No
Giant 26♥ × 13 50♥ × 25 75♥ × 37.5 No
Goat 1♥ 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Guardian (Laser) 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Guardian (Spikes) 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Hoglin[JE only] 2.5♥ × 1.25 to 5♥♥♥ 3♥♥ to 8♥♥♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 to 12♥ × 6 No
Hoglin (baby)‌[JE only] 0.5♥ × 0.25 0.75♥ × 0.375 No
Hoglin[BE only] 3♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Husk 2.5♥ × 1.25 3♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 Hunger when attacking any mob for 7 × floor of RD seconds
Illusioner arrow 2♥ to 5♥♥♥ 3♥♥ to 5♥♥♥ Throws Blindness spells on the player, if regional difficulty is 2 or greater
Iron Golem 4.75♥ × 2.375 to 11.75♥ × 5.875 7.5♥ × 3.75 to 21.5♥ × 10.75 11.25♥ × 5.625 to 32.25♥ × 16.125 No
The Killer Bunny 5♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 No
Llama spit 1♥ No
Magma Cube (big) 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Magma Cube (medium) 3♥♥ 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ No
Magma Cube (small) 2.5♥ × 1.25 3♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 No
Panda 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Phantom[JE only] 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Phantom[BE only] 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Piglin arrow[JE only] 3♥♥ to 4♥♥ 4♥♥ No
Piglin arrow[BE only] 1♥ - 5♥♥♥ No
Piglin (Melee with Sword)‌[JE only] 5♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 No
Piglin (Melee without Sword)‌[JE only] 3.5♥ × 1.75 5♥♥♥ 7.5♥ × 3.75 No
Piglin[BE only] 5♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ 13♥ × 6.5 No
Piglin Brute 7.5♥ × 3.75 13♥ × 6.5 19.5♥ × 9.75 No
Pillager arrow 3♥♥ to 4♥♥ 4♥♥ No
Polar Bear 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Pufferfish 2♥ 3♥♥ Poison for 5 seconds
Ravager (Melee) 7♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 18♥ × 9 No
Ravager (Roar) 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 9♥♥♥♥♥ No
Shulker bullet 4♥♥ Levitation for 10 seconds
Silverfish 1♥ No
Skeleton arrow[JE only] 2♥ to 4♥♥ 3♥♥ to 4♥♥ 4♥♥ to 5♥♥♥ No
Skeleton arrow[BE only] 1♥ to 4♥♥, varies with proximity 1♥ to 5♥♥♥, varies with proximity No
Skeleton (melee) 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Skeleton Horseman arrow[JE only] Varies with skeleton bow enchantment No
Skeleton Horseman arrow[BE only] Varies with skeleton bow enchantment No
Slime (big) 3♥♥ 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ No
Slime (medium) 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Slime (small) 0♥ No
Spider 2♥ 3♥♥ No, but can spawn with effects
Spider Jockey (spider) 2♥ 3♥♥ No, but can spawn with effects
Spider Jockey arrow[JE only] 3♥♥ to 5♥♥♥ No
Spider Jockey arrow[BE only] Damage varies with proximity No
Stray arrow[JE only] 3♥♥ to 5♥♥♥ Slowness for 30 seconds when their tipped arrow hits any mob (including another stray)
Stray arrow[BE only] Damage varies with proximity
Stray (melee) 2♥ 3♥♥ No
Trader Llama spit 1♥ No
Vex 5.5♥ × 2.75 9♥♥♥♥♥ 13.5♥ × 6.75 No
Vindicator 7.5♥ × 3.75 13♥ × 6.5 19.5♥ × 9.75 No
Warden (Melee) 16♥ × 8 30♥ × 15 45♥ × 22.5 No
Warden (Ranged) 6♥♥♥ 10♥♥♥♥♥ 15♥ × 7.5 No
Witch Deals damage by throwing potions Throws splash potions of Poison, Instant Damage, Slowness, and Weakness
Wither Skeleton 5♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 Wither for 10 seconds
Wither (birth explosion) 35.5♥ × 17.75 69♥ × 34.5 103.5♥ × 51.75 No
Wither Skull 8♥♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ Wither II for 10 seconds on Normal difficulty and 40 seconds on Hard difficulty
Wither (dash attack)
[BE only]
15♥ × 7.5 No
Wolf (hostile) 3♥♥ 4♥♥ 6♥♥♥ No
Wolf (tamed) 4♥♥ No
Zoglin 2.5♥ × 1.25 to 5♥♥♥ 3♥♥ to 8♥♥♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 to 12♥ × 6 No
Zoglin (baby) 0.5♥ × 0.25 0.75♥ × 0.375 No
Zombie 2.5♥ × 1.25 3♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 No
Zombified Piglin 5♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥ 12♥ × 6 No
Zombie Villager 2.5♥ × 1.25 3♥♥ 4.5♥ × 2.25 No

Knockback

When receiving damage from a hostile mob you will also be knocked back, and similarly a mob will be knocked back when it is attacked. The resulting disorientation and loss of control should not be underestimated, as it is possible to be knocked back over a cliff or into lava, both of which are potentially fatal. A sprinting attack causes extra knockback. A thrown chicken egg or a snowball also causes knockback, despite not damaging most monsters. Players/Mobs riding an entity (typically a boat, a minecart, a pig or a horse) never receive any knockback when attacked.

Natural damage

Besides mob attacks, players can take damage from several other sources in Minecraft.

Lightning damage

Lightning striking on or near the player will do 5♥♥♥ damage, which can be reduced with armor (enchanted or not). Lightning strikes on the player are very rare, and only occur during thunderstorms. Mobs/players that get hit by lightning will be set on fire, but will be quickly put out from the rain during a thunderstorm.

Fall damage

Most mobs receive damage when falling from excessive heights. Armor itself does not reduce fall damage, however the enchantments Feather Falling and Protection do. Some mobs are immune to fall damage: chickens, ghasts, blazes, magma cubes, snow golems, iron golems, shulkers, ocelots, bats, and the wither. Horses treat all falls as half the actual distance.

Fall damage is calculated based on distance fallen rather than on velocity when hitting the ground. The distance is accumulated based on change in position each tick and rising does not reduce the accumulator, thus an entity bouncing in mid-air on the end of a lead will accumulate fatal amounts of fall distance despite never being more than a few blocks above the ground.

Fall damage is 1♥ for each block of fall distance after the third. Thus falling 4 blocks causes 1♥ damage, 2♥ damage for 5 blocks, 3♥♥ for 6 blocks and so forth. Assuming full health (but no Feather Falling or relevant status effects), a 23 block fall should be fatal (23 - 3 = 20♥ × 10 of damage), but due to the way fall distance is calculated, a 23.5 block fall is required instead.[note 1]

In some cases, it is possible to avoid falling or otherwise survive a fall.

  • Sneaking (default ⇧ Left Shift) will prevent the player from falling off a drop of one block or greater.
  • Entering or being in water (when not in a boat) resets fall distance.
    • This typically includes falling into water of any depth.
  • Being in the area of effect of cobwebs resets fall distance.
  • Being in lava reduces fall distance by half each tick.
  • Flying using elytra such that the vertical movement is upwards, level, or less than 0.5 blocks per tick downwards resets fall distance to 1 block.
  • Moving into a ladder or vine's area of effect reduces fall distance to 0. This also applies to trapdoors when acting as a ladder.
    • Falling onto the top of a ladder will not reset fall distance and counts as hitting the ground.
    • Horses are unaffected by ladders and vines, and so their fall distance is not reset.
    • Spiders climbing a block count the block as a "ladder" for this purpose.
  • An entity riding another entity does not accumulate fall distance. However, when the ridden entity takes fall damage it damages all riders for the same fall distance.
  • A minecart's fall distance is reset when landing on rails.
  • Boats do not accumulate fall distance while in water deeper than 1 block.
  • Teleporting due to a thrown ender pearl resets fall distance, however the teleportation itself causes 5♥♥♥ fall damage to players.
  • Wearing armor that is enchanted with feather falling or protection reduces fall damage based on the level of the enchantment.
  • Having the jump boost status effect reduces the effective fall distance by 1 block per level, e.g. falling 5 blocks with Jump Boost II counts as having fallen only 3.
  • Slime blocks negate all fall damage, but will send the entity bouncing into the air.
    • This does not apply to players sneaking.
  • Hay bales decrease fall damage to 20% of normal.

Drowning

Bubbles

The oxygen bar.

When a player runs out of air underwater, they will start drowning and will take approximately 2♥/sec.[note 2] Mobs can drown as well, though they usually do not, as all mobs (besides iron golems) attempt to swim upward when in water. Squid will die in air instead of in water, and iron golems and guardians will not drown at all.

While mining, consider keeping at least one placeable solid block ready somewhere on your toolbar (such as dirt or cobblestone) for quick access. If you mine into a spring (or worse, the ocean), you should be able to place the block in the hole to prevent drowning.

If you place a torch on a vertical surface next to you at head height whilst underwater, you create an air bubble which lasts for the split second it takes the water to destroy the torch, thus refilling your oxygen meter without resurfacing. Ladders, signs, fences, trapdoors, doors and sugar cane can create permanent air bubbles underwater. You can also scoop up some water with a bucket to achieve the same effect, or destroy the block directly above you, if there is one.

In Pocket Edition 0.8.0, the player actually has 11 air bubbles but once submerged, the 11th bubble instantly disappears.

  1. The last tick of fall distance isn't added in when calculating fall damage. For certain heights, including 23-block falls, this discrepancy is enough to avoid an entire 1♥ of damage.
  2. Damage is taken when air supply value reaches -20. Usually air supply value decreases each tick, and resets to 0, after damaging player. The Respiration enchantment gives chance for air supply to not decrease itself current tick. Chance is x/(x+1), where x is level of enchant.

Anvil

A falling anvil deals 2♥ per block fallen after the first (e.g., an anvil that falls 4 blocks will deal 6♥♥♥ damage). The damage is capped at 40♥ × 20, no matter how far the anvil falls. Wearing a helmet will reduce the damage by 25%, but this costs durability on said helmet.

Thorns Enchantment

When a player or mob deals melee or projectile damage to a player or mob that is wearing Thorns-enchanted armor, the attacker will also be damaged. The amount changes with the enchant level. ( (Level * 15)% chance of inflicting 1♥-4♥♥ damage, or Level - 10 damage if level is over 10)

Suffocation

Suffocation happens when a player or a mob is unable to breathe because its head is inside of a opaque block. They will lose 1♥ every half-second (10 ticks). When inside a block, the player can easily step out of it as the blocks do not prevent their movement.

The player's screen will be a darkened form of which the block the player is suffocating. When the player is in third person mode, the view will automatically switch to first person mode.

The usual ways to get one's head inside a block are:

  • Sand or gravel falling into the space the player or mob occupies.
  • Riding a pig, boat or minecart or throwing an Ender pearl into a one-block-high space.
  • Riding a horse into a two-block-high space.
  • Standing where a tree just grew from a sapling, or where a huge mushroom just grew from a mushroom.
  • Standing where an Exit Portal just spawned after killing the Ender dragon. (is now pre-spawned as of 1.9, but does regenerate itself if broken after dragon is summoned or killed)
  • Standing where an End Gateway appeared after killing the dragon.
  • Having a solid block pushed into your head with a piston.
  • Sleeping in a bed that is surrounded by blocks and/or has a solid block above it.
  • Being teleported or filled into a block via commands.
  • When playing on a distant server, sometimes broken blocks can reappear because of lag, and if the player moves where the block respawned, it can provoke suffocation (for example, chopping down a tree by moving right below the trunk).
  • When water meets lava, or vice versa, and creates a cobblestone/obsidian/stone block on the upper half of the mob.
  • Standing where a world border getting into more than 5 blocks. (can be changed with /worldborder damage buffer)
  • Summoning a mob inside of a block through spawn eggs, commands, or with a golem/wither structure laying down.

It's worth noting that the player will not suffocate in any transparent block.

Starvation

When the food bar reaches zero, the player will take 1♥ damage every four seconds. It also shakes indicating you are hungry. The player stops taking starvation damage when the player eats or the health bar drops to 10♥♥♥♥♥ on easy mode or 1♥ on normal mode. In hard/hardcore mode, the damage will not stop until the player either dies, or eats something.

Cactus contact

Mobs/players take 1♥ damage every half-second that they are touching a cactus.

Magma block

Mobs without fire immunity and players take 1♥ damage every half sec if they are walking on magma blocks, this can be avoided by having the fire resitence effect, sneaking, or wearing frost walker enchanted boots.

Lava

By far the most dangerous natural occurrence, except for the unlikely case of falling into the void. Players and mobs will take damage from contact with lava at a rate of 4♥♥ every half-second, and stay on fire even if they exit it, causing 1♥ point per hit for 15 hits or more (15♥ × 7.5 total damage) unless extinguished with water.

Poison

Cave spiders will poison players when they bite (only in normal and hard difficulty). Eating a spider eye, poisonous potato, or pufferfish; or drinking/being hit by a potion of poison will give the same result. While poisoned, the hearts in the health meter turn from red to an olive green (♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥) and the player takes 1♥ each 25 ticks (1.25 seconds) until the poison wears off. The poison itself cannot kill the player, but it can reduce them to 1♥, thus leaving them very vulnerable to damage from other sources. Poison can be cured by drinking milk from a bucket.

Wither Effect

Withers and wither skeletons will inflict the Wither effect with their attacks. (The wither boss's skulls do not inflict the effect on easy difficulty.) This will darken your health bar to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, while inflicting damage over time. The effect deals 1♥ every 2 seconds (40 ticks) for the wither skeleton's attack (level I), and every second (20 ticks) for the Wither boss's skulls. Unlike poison, withering can kill you directly, and the darkened healthbar makes it harder to keep track of the damage, since the color black closely resembles empty hearts (♥). (Note that if the blackened heart texture has a white spot on the top left, it means that the corresponding health is not lost; if the blackened heart texture has no spot, that health has been lost. And hardcore health bar is easier to observe).

The Void

Main article: The Void

If one were to break through the bedrock barrier found at the bottom of worlds, the Void can be seen. Players in the Void below height -64 will take damage at a rate of about 4♥♥ per half-second (or 8♥♥♥♥ per second). You will usually die from falling in the Void, even in creative mode, but the player may be saved by throwing an Ender pearl before they fall below y = -64.

Falling into the void in the End is more likely, so players must be cautious when entering the End.

By using /effect to give yourself regeneration 8+ or instant health you can fall infinitely into the void without dying.

Video

Damage/video

History

classic
0.24_03You can now receive fall damage.
0.24_06You can now only hold your breath underwater for 15 seconds.
Lava now causes damage.
0.24_07Fall damage is now much harsher.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TESTMobs and the player now jump back when damage is taken.
Added arrows which cause damage when they hit a player.
0.25 SURVIVAL TEST 2Arrows deal more damage.
indev
?Before suffocation was implemented, players that were covered by blocks could see through dirt and stone. Suffocation was added after Notch discovered that players were abusing this exploit to find underground caves and hollowed carvings. The patch added suffocation damage and made the player unable to see anything when experiencing it. However, variations of this glitch are still possible to perform even in the current version of the game.
In Survival mode, eating a red mushroom would deal the player 3♥♥ (poisonous).
a
1.0.4Players no longer suffocate when riding in a minecart.
b
1.5Unarmed damage was increased from 1♥ to 2♥.
1.8Unarmed damage was decreased from 2♥ to 1♥.
The Adventure Update extended the combat system with critical hits, sprinting (for knockback) and blocking.
Hunger system added: Health is no longer restored directly by eating. Instead, it recovers slowly when well-fed, but is lost if starving.
Poison added, which deals damage, until the player or mob's health is 1♥.
release
1.0.0Beta 1.9-pre1Armor no longer prevents certain types of damage.
Beta 1.9-pre3Sword damage was decreased (a diamond sword went from 5 hearts to 3.5 hearts damage).
Beta 1.9-pre4Enchantments added, some of which increase damage you deal or decrease damage dealt to you.
1.0.0-RC1The sound of the player taking damage was changed from a masculine "OOF! or UGHH!" sound, to a painful sounding crunch. These were changed to remove the restriction that all avatars have a male voice, regardless of the gender of the character depicted in the skin.
1.3.112w25aRemoved the downwards knockback while drowning.
12w30aExplosions damage the player different amounts in different difficulties, and the player doesn't take any damage from explosions on Peaceful.
1.3.2Mobs no longer shove the player when moving into them.
1.4.212w32aMobs can hold weapons, making them deal more damage. Also, the crunching noise from 1.0.0 was changed, sounding more like a slap rather than a bone-breaking punch. The fall damage noise was also changed from a crunch to a dull, thumping noise.
12w34aWither effect added, which deals damage. Unlike poison, withering can kill players or other mobs.
1.6.2Instead of replacing the barehanded damage (1♥), swords, shovels, pickaxes and axes now add their damage onto the barehanded damage, which results in all tools doing 1♥ more damage than before.
1.814w32aThe health bar has a new animation for damage that shows how many hearts are lost. (Not new, merely a revived feature that was lost after 1.2.5).
1.915w34aAdded attack cooldown.
15w34cTool damages and cooldowns adjusted.
Item Damage
Swords 5♥♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 7♥♥♥♥ 8♥♥♥♥
Axes [note 1] 4♥♥ 5♥♥♥ 6♥♥♥ 7♥♥♥♥
Pickaxes [note 1] 3♥♥ 4♥♥ 5♥♥♥ 6♥♥♥
Shovels [note 1] 2♥ 3♥♥ 4♥♥ 5♥♥♥
  1. a b c dealing damage with an axe, pick, or shovel decreases its durability by 2.
15w35aTool damages and cooldowns adjusted again.
15w47bAdded sounds for critical hits, fully-charged and not-fully-charged attacks, blocked attacks, sweep attacks and dealing knockback.
16w02aCooldown damage reduction formula adjusted, reduction is now linear 50%–100% rather than quadratic 0%–100%.
16w05aCooldown damage reduction formula adjusted again, reduction is now quadratic 20%–100%.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.2.0Added survival mode and mobs, making damage possible.
0.12.1build 1Added critical hits.
Punch damage is now added to damage from swords, axes, pickaxes, and shovels.
build 12Critical hits now have more particles.

Trivia

  • Critical hits can be done while reflecting a ghast's fireball, but won't change the damage or speed of it.
  • In Creative mode, attacking a mob while flying after having descended will score a critical hit.
  • When a player dies, the player has the same falling-over death animation as all other mobs. This can be seen by being in third-person mode upon death, having your inventory open upon death, or witnessing the death of another player in multiplayer.
  • The maximum damage capable by a player would be a bit larger than 10 trillion. you can achieve 10 trillion damage by using special commands to give yourself a sword (It actually doesn't matter if its diamond) with the maximum level of sharpness and smite (Which would be level 32767), putting the largest number possible for the damage attribute (2147483647.999999999), using custom potions to give yourself level 127 strength and -128 weakness, giving a skeleton level -128 resistance, and lastly, getting a critical hit on the skeleton you put negative resistance on.
  • You can quit the game to prevent some damage ( fall etc.) because it will reset the fall damage that will be dealt to you.
  • Maximum damage dealable by player in survival is around 22.5 HP - 9(*1.5 with critical hit) from diamond axe or fully charged bow + 3 damage from Sharpness V/Power V and + 6 from Strength II potion. This is more than enough to one hit unarmored person and kill unenchanted diamond armored person in 2 hits. Diamond armor has 20 defense points, so you will take 15.9 HP of damage. Full set of Protection IV armor can reduce it to 7.4 HP. Effective defense of diamond armor is 67% at highest damage.
  • With all possible reductions to fall damage currently available in survival (landing on a hay bale, Feather Falling IV boots, protection IV on other armor pieces, and resistance II from a beacon) the maximum height you can fall while surviving without absorption is a little over 800 blocks.

Notes


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