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Mob heads are decorative blocks. There are six types of mob skulls: player, zombie, skeleton, wither skeleton, creeper, and dragon.
Natural generation
Dragon heads generate on end ships.
Obtaining
A mob head can be broken using anything and drops itself when broken. If a player head has a custom skin, the skin is preserved when broken.
| Block | Mob Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 1 | |
| Breaking time (secs) | ||
| Default | 1.5 | |
If a head is pushed by a piston or comes in contact with water or lava, it breaks off as an item.
Drops
A wither skeleton has a 2.5% chance of dropping a wither skeleton skull when killed by a player or tamed wolf. The chance is increased by 1% per level of Looting, for a maximum of 5.5% with Looting III.
Skeleton, wither skeleton, zombie, and creeper heads are also dropped by the respective mob if it dies due to a charged creeper's explosion.
In Bedrock Edition, strays drop a wither skeleton skull when killed by a charged creeper. It is not known whether this is intentional or not, but it is more then likely a bug.
Player heads cannot be obtained as drops.
Usage
Loot
Template:Loot table Template:Loot table Template:Loot table Template:Loot table Template:Loot table Template:Loot table
Decoration
Mob heads can be oriented in 16 different directions on top of a block, and 4 directions on the sides of blocks, similar to signs. They cannot be placed on top of each other, but they don't require a supporting block.
The dragon head opens and closes its mouth repeatedly like the ender dragon when placed and powered by redstone. The same animation occurs when worn by a (horizontally) moving player, zombie, skeleton, or armor stand (note: the animation does not play if the NoGravity tag is set to 1)
Wearing
The player can wear heads, similarly to pumpkins or helmets. This overlays the second layer of the player's skin.
Disguise
Wearing the corresponding mob head reduces the detection range for skeletons (but not wither skeletons), creepers, and zombies to 50% of the normal range. This is similar to (and stacks with) the reductions in detection range from sneaking and from the Invisibility status effect.
In Bedrock Edition, wearing any mob head or carved pumpkin makes the player invisible to other players on a locator map.
Withers
Withers can be created by placing soul sand or soul soil in a T shape, and putting 3 wither skeleton skulls on top of the three upper blocks. The last block placed must be one of the three wither skeleton skulls. A dispenser can also create a wither, by placing the final skull onto soul sand directly in front of and below it.
Dispensers
A dispenser can equip a mob head on a player, mob, or armor stand with an empty helmet slot, within the block the dispenser is facing.
Crafting ingredient
| Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner Pattern Creeper | Paper + Creeper Head |
Creeper face | |
| Banner Pattern Skull | Paper + Wither Skeleton Skull |
Skeleton skull and crossbones | |
| Firework Star | Any Mob head + Gunpowder + Any Dye |
Forms Creeper shape |
Enchantments
Mob heads can receive the following enchantments, but only through an anvil.
Player skins
Human heads have an extra usage for map makers, they can be given NBT data so that they appear with the skin of any Minecraft account. This means if a player knows that a specific account has a head that is desired to display, the NBT data can be edited to make it appear.
The command to give the player a head skinned as another player is /give @s minecraft:player_head{SkullOwner:"<PlayerName>"}.
A player head saves the skin of the player from the time it was created, meaning if the player changes their skin, the head still displays the original texture.[1]
Mojang skins
All MHF mob heads provided by Mojang.
Mojang has created a number of accounts with specific skins, so that map makers can use common heads without the risk of someone changing their skins.[2] These accounts have names in the format MHF_<Name>, for example MHF_PigZombie is the name of a Minecraft user with a zombie pigman head. MHF stands for "Marc's Head Format". There are also a few blocks and "bonus" heads, for more variety.
Because these are names of player accounts, these heads are obtained or placed using the SkullOwner tag, for instance: /give @p minecraft:player_head{SkullOwner:"MHF_<Name>"}.
The following names/heads have been made available:[3]
- Mobs
- MHF_Alex
- MHF_Blaze
- MHF_Bee
- MHF_Bunny
- MHF_CaveSpider
- MHF_Chicken
- MHF_Cow
- MHF_Creeper
- MHF_Enderman
- MHF_Ghast
- MHF_Golem
- MHF_Herobrine
- MHF_LavaSlime
- MHF_MushroomCow
- MHF_Ocelot
- MHF_Pig
- MHF_Pufferfish
- MHF_Rabbit
- MHF_PigZombie
- MHF_Sheep
- MHF_Shulker
- MHF_Skeleton
- MHF_Slime
- MHF_SnowGolem
- MHF_Spider
- MHF_Stray
- MHF_Squid
- MHF_Steve
- MHF_Vex
- MHF_Villager
- MHF_Wither
- MHF_WSkeleton
- MHF_Zombie
- Blocks
- MHF_Cactus
- MHF_Cake
- MHF_Chest
- MHF_CoconutB
- MHF_CoconutG
- MHF_Melon
- MHF_OakLog
- MHF_Present1
- MHF_Present2
- MHF_Pumpkin
- MHF_TNT
- MHF_TNT2
- Bonus
- MHF_ArrowUp
- MHF_ArrowDown
- MHF_ArrowLeft
- MHF_ArrowRight
- MHF_Exclamation
- MHF_Question
Sounds
| Sound | Subtitle | Namespaced ID | Subtitle ID | Source | Pitch | Volume | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block breaking | block.stone.hit
|
subtitles.block.generic.hit
|
Blocks | 0.5 | 0.25 | 16 | |
| Block broken | block.stone.break
|
subtitles.block.generic.break
|
Blocks | 0.8 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Block placed | block.stone.place
|
subtitles.block.generic.place
|
Blocks | 0.8 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Footsteps | block.stone.step
|
subtitles.block.generic.footsteps
|
Blocks | 1.0 | 0.15 | 16 | |
| No subtitle | block.stone.fall
|
(Plays when fallen on from a height) | Blocks | 0.75 | 0.5 | 16 |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| ? | ? | ? |
| Name | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Block entity | ? |
| Banner | Identifier | Numeric ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block | ? | ? | ? |
| Item | ? | ? | ? |
| Name | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Block entity | ? |
Block data
In Bedrock Edition, mob heads use the following data values: For the item and for the tile entity, data values determine the skull type:
| DV | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Skeleton Skull | |
| 1 | Wither Skeleton Skull | |
| 2 | Zombie Head | |
| 3 | Head | |
| 4 | Creeper Head | |
| 5 | Dragon Head |
Item data
Player heads use item NBT to save the owner.
- tag: The item's tag tag.
- SkullOwner: The username of the player this is a skull of. This gets converted to the compound version on almost any action.
- SkullOwner: Different definition for the skull's owner.
- Id: UUID of owner, stored as four ints. Optional. Used to update the other tags when the chunk loads or the holder logs in, in case the owner's name has changed.
- Name: Username of owner. If missing or empty, the head appears as a Steve head. Otherwise, used to store or retrieve the downloaded skin in the cache. Need not be a valid player name, but must not be all spaces.
- Properties
- textures
- : An individual texture.
- Value: A Base64-encoded JSON object.
- isPublic: Optional.
- signatureRequired
- profileId: Optional: The hexadecimal text form of the player's UUID, without hyphens.
- profileName: Optional: Player name.
- textures
- CAPE: Optional.
- url: URL of a player cape (64x32 PNG).
- SKIN
- url: URL of a player skin on textures.minecraft.net.
- metadata
- model: The model of the player skin. Can be "classic" or "slim".
- CAPE: Optional.
- timestamp: Optional: Unix time in milliseconds.
- Signature: Optional.
- Value: A Base64-encoded JSON object.
- : An individual texture.
- textures
Block states
Java Edition:
Floor
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rotation | 0
| 0 | The block is facing south. |
1 | The block is facing south-southwest. | ||
2 | The block is facing southwest. | ||
3 | The block is facing west-southwest. | ||
4 | The block is facing west. | ||
5 | The block is facing west-northwest. | ||
6 | The block is facing northwest. | ||
7 | The block is facing north-northwest. | ||
8 | The block is facing north. | ||
9 | The block is facing north-northeast. | ||
10 | The block is facing northeast. | ||
11 | The block is facing east-northeast. | ||
12 | The block is facing east. | ||
13 | The block is facing east-southeast. | ||
14 | The block is facing southeast. | ||
15 | The block is facing south-southeast. |
Wall
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| facing | north | eastnorthsouthwest | The direction the head is facing. Opposite from the direction a player is facing when placing it. |
| Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| facing_direction | 0x10x20x4 | 0
| 1 | 1 | On the floor (rotation is stored in the tile entity) |
2 | 2 | On a wall, facing north | |||
3 | 3 | On a wall, facing south | |||
4 | 4 | On a wall, facing east | |||
5 | 5 | On a wall, facing west | |||
0 | 0 | Unused | |||
| nodrop_bit | 0x8 | false
| falsetrue | 01 | If true, the skull does not drop as an item. |
Block entity
A mob head has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.
- Block entity data
- Tags common to all block entities
- note_block_sound: Optional. The sound event this skull plays when played with a note block.
- ExtraType: Name of the player this is a skull of. This tag is converted to SkullOwner below upon loading the NBT. When loaded sets the name to the value and the UUID to null.
- SkullOwner: The definition of the skull's owner. When this is a
player_headorplayer_wall_head, shows this player's skin; if missing, shows the head of the default Steve skin.- Id: UUID of owner, stored as four ints. Optional. Used to update the other tags when the chunk loads or the holder logs in, in case the owner's name has changed.
- Name: Username of owner. If missing or empty, the head appears as a Steve head. Otherwise, used to store or retrieve the downloaded skin in the cache. Need not be a valid player name, but must not be all spaces.
- Properties
- textures
- : An individual texture.
- Value: A Base64-encoded JSON object.
- isPublic: Optional.
- signatureRequired
- profileId: Optional: The hexadecimal text form of the player's UUID, without hyphens.
- profileName: Optional: Player name.
- textures
- CAPE: Optional.
- url: URL of a player cape (64x32 PNG).
- SKIN
- url: URL of a player skin on textures.minecraft.net.
- metadata
- model: The model of the player skin. Can be "classic" or "slim".
- CAPE: Optional.
- timestamp: Optional: Unix time in milliseconds.
- Signature: Optional.
- Value: A Base64-encoded JSON object.
- : An individual texture.
- textures
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | |||||
| Camouflage | Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head. | — | 30G | Bronze | ||
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Parent | Actual requirements (if different) | Resource location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Spooky Scary Skeleton | Obtain a Wither Skeleton's skull | A Terrible Fortress | Have a wither skeleton skull in your inventory. | nether/get_wither_skull
|
History
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 28, 2012 | Jeb released images of the skeleton head, hinting of more types to come. | ||||
| PAX 2012 | At PAX, Dinnerbone revealed that there would be very rare drops of these mobs.[4] | ||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w36a | Added skeleton, wither skeleton, zombie, human, and creeper heads. | |||
| Wither skeleton skulls are rarely dropped by the wither skeleton upon death (2.5% chance), while the other four are obtainable only from the creative inventory. | |||||
| 12w37a | Added as a hidden and disabled feature, human heads can now have the skin of a specific player. A line in the language file implies that there either used to be, or in a future update, the possibility of obtaining a specific player's head.[5] | ||||
Player heads do not drop in vanilla, but mapmakers/modders/etc. can make them by adding an NBT string tag {"SkullOwner":"player_name"} on the skull items.[6] | |||||
| November 7, 2012 | Jeb states that the official opinion is that "[dropping] player heads [on player kills] are a bit too gory for Minecraft, so it's better suited for a plugin or mod." | ||||
| 1.4.6 | 12w49a | Any kind of mob head can now be used to craft a firework star with creeper-face effect. | |||
| 1.7.2 | 13w36a | Custom heads can now be obtained without third party programs via /give. | |||
| 13w37a | The item form of block ID 144, skull, has now been removed from the game. It can no longer exist in inventories, only as a block in the world. | ||||
| 1.8 | 14w03a | Player heads now show the skin's hat layer (this also works when a mob/player wears the head.) | |||
| 14w29a | Heads now display a cracking animation. | ||||
| 14w30a | File:Grid Skeleton Skull.png File:Grid Wither Skeleton Skull.png File:Grid Zombie Head.png File:Grid Head.png File:Grid Creeper Head.png Player and mob heads in inventories and held by mobs/players now display as blocks. | ||||
| Skulls worn by mobs and players are now displayed on the armor layer. Previously, the skull replaced the mob/player's head texture; the hat layer appeared over the skull. | |||||
| Skeleton, zombie, and creeper heads are now available in survival. The player can obtain them by killing the appropriate mob with a charged creeper. | |||||
| Creeper heads and wither skeleton skulls are now used in crafting specific banner patterns. | |||||
| 14w30b | A single charged creeper explosion no longer yields more than one mob head. The mob head which drops is chosen randomly. | ||||
| 1.8.4 | For security reasons, custom heads can now have textures only from mojang.com and minecraft.net. | ||||
| 1.9 | 15w31a | File:Grid Dragon Head.png Added dragon heads. | |||
| Dragon heads are currently available only in creative mode. | |||||
| Mob heads now appear larger in inventory. | |||||
| 15w32a | Creeper, zombie, and skeleton heads can now be worn to reduce detection by the corresponding mobs by 50%. | ||||
| 15w32c | Dragon heads now generate on end ships, meaning they are now obtainable in survival. | ||||
| 15w33c | The disguise that is given by mob heads now reduces detection range to 37.5% of normal. | ||||
| 15w36a | The disguise that is given by mob heads now reduces detection range to 50% of normal again. | ||||
| 15w39a | Dispensers can now equip mob heads onto players, mobs and armor stands. | ||||
| 1.13 | 17w47a | The ID of heads have now been split into 12; one of each available standard head, as well as a wall counterpart of each. | |||
skeleton_skull, wither_skeleton_skull, player_head, zombie_head, creeper_head and dragon_head are now available as items and placed blocks with a rotation block state of 0-15 | |||||
skeleton_wall_skull, wither_skeleton_wall_skull, player_wall_head, zombie_wall_head, creeper_wall_head and dragon_wall_head are available only as placed blocks with a facing block state of north, south, east or west. | |||||
| Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 144, and the item's 397. | |||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.12.1 | build 1 | Added skeleton, wither skeleton, zombie, human, and creeper heads. | |||
| The skeleton, wither skeleton, zombie, human and creeper heads use the Java textures prior to 14w30a. | |||||
| 0.14.0 | build 1 | Mob heads can now be worn as armor. | |||
| 0.16.0 | build 4 | Wither skeleton skulls can now be used to spawn the wither. | |||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.0.0 | alpha 0.17.0.1 | Added dragon heads. | |||
| Dragon heads use a two-dimensional sprite, unlike Java does. | |||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | Mob heads can now be used to craft firework stars. | |||
| Creeper heads and wither skeleton skulls are now used to craft specific patterns on banners. | |||||
| beta 1.2.0.11 | Player and mob heads in inventories and when held by mobs/players now display as blocks. | ||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | Wither skeleton skulls and creeper heads can now be used to craft banner patterns. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU12 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Added skeleton, wither skeleton, zombie, human, and creeper heads to the creative inventory. | |
| Wither skeleton skulls currently do not have a use. | |||||
| TU19 | CU7 | 1.12 | Wither skeleton skulls can now be obtained by killing wither skeletons. | ||
| Wither skeleton skulls can now be used to build the wither. | |||||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Skeleton, zombie, and creeper heads are now available in survival. The player can obtain them by killing the appropriate mob with a charged creeper. | |
| TU46 | CU36 | 1.38 | Patch 15 | File:Grid Dragon Head.png Added dragon heads. | |
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added skeleton, wither skeleton, zombie, human, and creeper heads. | ||||
| 1.7.10 | Added dragon heads. | ||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Head" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- When destroyed by an explosion, the block always drops as an item.
- Heads are one of the few blocks that do not have their own textures and take their textures from other objects.
- When breaking any head, the particle effect of breaking it is the same as soul sand.
- Interestingly, despite there being a default Steve head, an Alex head cannot be obtained without using custom names.
Gallery
Heads are the same scale as cobblestone wall posts.
A picture of player heads, including some Mojang characters.[6]
- New Skin Heads.png
An image of some of the heads on accounts that Marc Watson made.[7]
A dragon head found at an end ship.
An animation of the dragon head when the redstone power is supplied.
References
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Dinnerbone/status/464414369452142592
- ↑ "I'm here to make it so that people don't have to worry about having a consistent account whose skin might change." – u/Marc_IRL on Reddit, September 9, 2013
- ↑ "For those following the MHF list, I have presents for you. Full list of accounts I've made: http://pastebin.com/5mug6EBu" – @Marc_IRL (Marc Watson) on X, December 9, 2014
- ↑ http://www.twitch.tv/pax2/b/330745811 (at 3:59:00)
- ↑ Snapshot 12w37a
lang/en_US.lang:item.skull.player.name=%s's Head - ↑ a b https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/zxn7u/its_apparently_my_cakeday_so_lets_cash_in_this/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Marc_IRL/status/377190452278984704















![A picture of player heads, including some Mojang characters.[6]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft_gamepedia/images/4/43/Playerheads.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/120?cb=20120918050926)

