Biomes |
Anywhere in the Overworld | ||
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Consists of |
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A dungeon, also referred to as a monster room in its ID, is a structure-like terrain feature that appears in the Overworld that contains a spawner that produces either zombies, skeletons, or spiders.
Contents
Generation[]
In Java Edition, dungeons generate naturally in the Overworld at any altitude (provided it is next to a cave) regardless of whether "Generate structures" world creation option has been toggled off for said world.[1] For each chunk, 8 attempts are made to generate a dungeon; it is possible, though unlikely, for multiple attempts to succeed. In Bedrock Edition, dungeons can generate as underground structures above sea level.
For each attempt, a location and size (an open area with a width and length of 7, 9, or 11 and a height of 6) is chosen. The attempt succeeds if the following conditions are met:
- The floor area (including under the walls) of the potential dungeon must be entirely solid.
- The ceiling area (including over the walls) of the potential dungeon must be entirely solid. The ceiling blocks may be gravity-affected such as gravel or sand, which fall if disturbed by the player.
- The walls of the potential dungeon must have 1–5 openings (2-high air blocks) at floor level. Dungeons are always connected to a cavern or other hollow structure, although it is possible for the dungeon itself to overwrite most of a tiny cave.
If the location passes, air and cobblestone are placed, then 3 attempts are made to generate each of two chests. To generate a chest, the chosen block must be empty and must have a solid block on exactly one of its four sides. The mob spawner is placed at the center of the dungeon.
The spawner has a 50% chance of producing zombies, a 25% chance of producing skeletons, or a 25% chance of producing spiders. A zombie spawner in Bedrock Edition also has the same chance (5%) of producing zombie villagers as in natural generation.
Cobblestone has a 75% chance to be mossy when it is on the floor of the dungeon.
Structure[]
Dungeons are small rooms made of cobblestone and mossy cobblestone and contain a mob spawner and up to 2 chests. Finding a dungeon without a chest is unlikely but possible. Additionally, there is a rare chance of a dungeon being found without a spawner. Occasionally, a dungeon generates with its chests in such a way as to create a double chest. Dungeons generate with either a zombie (50% chance), skeleton (25% chance), or spider (25% chance) spawner. The spawner is always in the center of the dungeon room, with chests located around the walls of the room (large chests can connect with the short side against the wall). Each block of the floor has a 25% chance of being cobblestone and a 75% chance of being mossy cobblestone.
Because the horizontal range for spawning mobs is 4 blocks from the spawner, it is possible for mobs to be spawned outside the walls of a 5×5 dungeon that is surrounded by air outside the walls.
Loot[]

An example of dungeon chest loot in Java Edition.
In Java Edition, each dungeon chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:
Item | Stack Size [A] | Weight [B] | Chance [C] | Avg. per chest [D] |
Avg. # chests to search [E] |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1–3× | 1–4× | 3× | 1–3× | 1–4× | 3× | ||||
Bone | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
Gunpowder | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
Rotten Flesh | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
String | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
Wheat | — | 1–4 | — | — | 20⁄125 | — | 34.1% | 1.000 | 2.9 |
Bread | — | 1 | — | — | 20⁄125 | — | 34.1% | 0.400 | 2.9 |
Name Tag | 1 | — | — | 20⁄129 | — | — | 27.9% | 0.310 | 3.6 |
Saddle | 1 | — | — | 20⁄129 | — | — | 27.9% | 0.310 | 3.6 |
Coal | — | 1–4 | — | — | 15⁄125 | — | 26.6% | 0.750 | 3.8 |
Redstone Dust | — | 1–4 | — | — | 15⁄125 | — | 26.6% | 0.750 | 3.8 |
Music Disc (13) | 1 | — | — | 15⁄129 | — | — | 21.5% | 0.233 | 4.6 |
Music Disc (cat) | 1 | — | — | 15⁄129 | — | — | 21.5% | 0.233 | 4.6 |
Iron Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 15⁄129 | — | — | 21.5% | 0.233 | 4.6 |
Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 15⁄129 | — | — | 21.5% | 0.233 | 4.6 |
Beetroot Seeds | — | 2–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.600 | 5.4 |
Melon Seeds | — | 2–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.600 | 5.4 |
Pumpkin Seeds | — | 2–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.600 | 5.4 |
Iron Ingot | — | 1–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.500 | 5.4 |
Bucket | — | 1 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.200 | 5.4 |
Enchanted Book[F] | 1 | — | — | 10⁄129 | — | — | 14.7% | 0.155 | 6.8 |
Golden Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 10⁄129 | — | — | 14.7% | 0.155 | 6.8 |
Gold Ingot | — | 1–4 | — | — | 5⁄125 | — | 9.6% | 0.250 | 10.4 |
Diamond Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 5⁄129 | — | — | 7.6% | 0.078 | 13.2 |
Music Disc (otherside) | 1 | — | — | 2⁄129 | — | — | 3.1% | 0.031 | 32.6 |
Enchanted Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 2⁄129 | — | — | 3.1% | 0.031 | 32.6 |
In Bedrock Edition, each dungeon chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:
Item | Stack Size [A] | Weight [B] | Chance [C] | Avg. per chest [D] |
Avg. # chests to search [E] |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1–3× | 1–4× | 3× | 1–3× | 1–4× | 3× | ||||
Bone | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
Gunpowder | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
Rotten Flesh | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
String | — | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄40 | 57.8% | 3.375 | 1.7 |
Wheat | — | 1–4 | — | — | 20⁄125 | — | 34.1% | 1.000 | 2.9 |
Bread | — | 1 | — | — | 20⁄125 | — | 34.1% | 0.400 | 2.9 |
Name Tag | 1 | — | — | 20⁄127 | — | — | 28.3% | 0.315 | 3.5 |
Saddle | 1 | — | — | 20⁄127 | — | — | 28.3% | 0.315 | 3.5 |
Coal | — | 1–4 | — | — | 15⁄125 | — | 26.6% | 0.750 | 3.8 |
Redstone Dust | — | 1–4 | — | — | 15⁄125 | — | 26.6% | 0.750 | 3.8 |
Music Disc (13) | 1 | — | — | 15⁄127 | — | — | 21.8% | 0.236 | 4.6 |
Music Disc (cat) | 1 | — | — | 15⁄127 | — | — | 21.8% | 0.236 | 4.6 |
Iron Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 15⁄127 | — | — | 21.8% | 0.236 | 4.6 |
Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 15⁄127 | — | — | 21.8% | 0.236 | 4.6 |
Beetroot Seeds | — | 2–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.600 | 5.4 |
Melon Seeds | — | 2–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.600 | 5.4 |
Pumpkin Seeds | — | 2–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.600 | 5.4 |
Iron Ingot | — | 1–4 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.500 | 5.4 |
Bucket | — | 1 | — | — | 10⁄125 | — | 18.5% | 0.200 | 5.4 |
Enchanted Book[F] | 1 | — | — | 10⁄127 | — | — | 14.9% | 0.157 | 6.7 |
Golden Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 10⁄127 | — | — | 14.9% | 0.157 | 6.7 |
Gold Ingot | — | 1–4 | — | — | 5⁄125 | — | 9.6% | 0.250 | 10.4 |
Diamond Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 5⁄127 | — | — | 7.7% | 0.079 | 13.0 |
Enchanted Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 2⁄127 | — | — | 3.1% | 0.031 | 32.1 |
- ↑ a b The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
- ↑ a b The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
- ↑ a b The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
- ↑ a b The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
- ↑ a b The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
- ↑ a b All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, and Swift Sneak), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
Data values[]
ID[]
Name | Identifier |
---|---|
[No displayed name] | monster_room |
History[]
Java Edition Infdev | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20100625-2 | Added dungeons. The chests may contain gunpowder, strings, wheat, bread, iron ingots, buckets, saddles, and rarely, golden apples. | ||||
Java Edition Alpha | |||||
v1.0.4 | Added redstone dust to dungeon chests, sometime between its introduction in Alpha v1.0.1 and 1.0.4.[is this the correct version?] | ||||
v1.0.14 | Added the newly introduced 13 and cat music discs to dungeon chests. | ||||
Java Edition Beta | |||||
1.4 | Added cocoa beans to dungeon chests. | ||||
Java Edition | |||||
1.3.1 | 12w22a | Breaking the spawner of a dungeon now gives experience. | |||
1.4.6 | 12w49a | Added enchanted books to dungeon chests. | |||
1.6.1 | 13w16b | Added name tags to dungeon chests. | |||
13w18a | Added horse armor to dungeon chests and removed cocoa beans. Probabilities have now also been adjusted. | ||||
1.7.2 | 13w36a | Changes in cavern generation now make dungeons considerably rarer.[2] | |||
1.8 | 14w30a | The chances of music discs in dungeon chests have been reduced. | |||
1.9 | 15w44a | Added bones, coal, rotten flesh, enchanted golden apples, and melons, pumpkins and beetroot seeds to dungeon chests. | |||
The average yield of music discs in dungeon chests has been increased. | |||||
The average yield of enchanted books, gunpowder and string in dungeon chests have been doubled. | |||||
The average yield of normal golden apples in dungeon chests has been substantially increased. | |||||
The average yield of iron horse armor in dungeon chests has been decreased. | |||||
The average yields of name tags, saddles, wheat and bread in dungeon chests have been nearly halved. | |||||
The average yields of iron ingots and buckets in dungeon chests have been substantially decreased. | |||||
1.16 | ? | As a result of a world generation bug fix, dungeon positions have been shifted. | |||
1.17 | ? | Dungeon generation has changed - it appears they are again capable of generating in open air areas such as cliffsides like they were prior to 1.7.2. | |||
1.18 | 21w40a | Dungeons now generate more frequently, especially below Y=0. | |||
1.18.2 | 22w03a | Dungeons can now be placed using /placefeature . | |||
Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
v0.9.0 | build 1 | Added dungeons. | |||
v0.15.0 | build 1 | Added name tags, enchanted books and horse armor to dungeon chests. | |||
Bedrock Edition | |||||
1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | Added music discs to dungeon chests. | |||
1.17.0 | ? | The probability of dungeons had been changed to less common to match Java Edition | |||
1.18.0 | beta 1.18.0.21 | Dungeons now generate more frequently, especially below Y=0. | |||
Legacy Console Edition | |||||
TU1 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | Added dungeons. |
New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
0.1.0 | Added dungeons. |
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Dungeon" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia[]
- Dungeons are the earliest added generated structures that still exist in the game today.
- A contradiction exists in Java Edition that even though the "Generate Structures" world creation option listed "Villages, dungeons etc." as two example structures that are supposed to generate only when the option is turned "ON", dungeons generate even if the option is set to "OFF".
- It is possible, though rare, to find connected dungeons with multiple spawners and extra chests.
- It is extremely rare for a dungeon to generate at bedrock level. When this occurs, the bedrock cuts through the dungeon and can prevent the chests or the spawner from generating. Because the air below Y=11 replaces itself with lava, this cannot happen in caves. However, it can happen in mineshafts.
- Dungeons are the only structure with chest loot that cannot be located using the
/locate
command. - Unlike most other generated structures that generate in positions determined by world seed, dungeons generate in a different way by performing checks per chunk, as mentioned above, similar to how trees generate. As a result, they can, in a way, be considered "underground trees".
Gallery[]
Surface dungeons[]
A dungeon found under a frozen ocean.
A dungeon found in the water.
A surface dungeon in the PC Gamer Demo Edition.
Multiple dungeons[]
Five dungeons and 2 cave spider spawners close together in a mineshaft, cleared to show all 7 spawners.
A double dungeon with three chests.
Odd generation[]
A dungeon intersecting with an abandoned mineshaft.
A dungeon found by an end portal room in a stronghold.
Dungeon generated aside the chest chamber of the temple. One chest was overwritten by the dungeon wall.
A dungeon distorted by a desert temple.
A dungeon distorted by a cave system.
A dungeon that has become flooded because of falling sand on the bottom of a river.
Igloo basement touching this dungeon without 1 jail beside of the torch.
A dungeon intersecting with a mineshaft at bedrock level.
A dungeon generating without the spawner and the chests in a desert temple.
A dungeon, mineshaft and stronghold are in one area.
A dungeon intersecting with an underground water lake.