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This article is about the mob. For the block, see Shulker Box. For the item, see Shulker Shell.

A shulker is a box-shaped hostile mob found in end cities. It hides in its shell to protect itself and blend in with its surroundings. It attacks by shooting homing bullets at the player which inflict Levitation. It is the only source of shulker shells, which are used to craft shulker boxes.

Spawning

Natural generation

Shulkers spawn during the generation of end cities, which are located on the outer islands of the End. They usually spawn on the walls of the city and on end ships. They do not despawn naturally, even in Peaceful difficulty.

Post-generation

There is a chance that a new shulker of the same color will spawn when a shulker is hit with a shulker bullet (including one of its own).

The following conditions need to be met:

  • When the shulker gets hit and then has less than half its health remaining, there is a 25% chance it will try to teleport without spawning a new shulker instead of checking the conditions below.
  • The hit shulker must have its lid open.
  • The hit shulker needs to find somewhere to teleport. For this, it takes a random block in a 17×17×17 cuboid centered on the shulker and then checks if the block has a valid face to teleport to. If not it proceeds to try this up to 4 more times. If no valid face is found, the attempt fails.
  • Each other shulker within 8 blocks of the hit shulker decreases the odds of success by 20%. When five or more other shulkers are nearby, no shulkers will spawn, but the hit shulker still teleports.

If the attempt succeeds a new shulker spawns where the old shulker was before it teleported.

Drops

In Bedrock Edition, shulkers drop 0–1 shulker shells. The maximum can be increased by 1 per level of Looting, which is 0–4 shells with Looting III.

In Java Edition, shulkers have a 50% chance of dropping a shulker shell when killed. This is increased by 6.25% per level of Looting, for a maximum of 68.75% with Looting III.

Shulkers also drop 5 when killed by a player or a tamed wolf.

Behavior

Shulker shooting

The shell of the mob looks similar to a purpur block, blending in relatively easily to its surroundings. Inside the shell of the mob is a small yellow head with two eyes. Shulkers are uncolored by default when using spawn eggs, while white is the default when using /summon or spawners. Spawning shulkers with other colors can be done using the /summon command, as detailed below.

Shulkers generally remain stationary, attached to an adjacent block with a full face.[1] However, if the block the shulker occupies becomes something other than air or the shulker finds itself not adjacent to any full face, or the shell cannot fully open (due to solid blocks or entities such as boats or other shulkers), it attempts to teleport (5 attempts per tick) to an air block within a 17×17×17 cube centered on the shulker where the shulker can attach to a full face and open. If it finds no valid position to teleport onto it does not move..

Shulkers evaluate the collision box of scaffolding based on their current position,[2] which can result in the shulker teleporting to a position only to find it invalid and teleport again.

Shulkers occasionally open their shell for 1–3 seconds to peer outside. When a target comes within about 16 blocks, it opens fully and shoots guided projectiles that follow the player, called shulker bullets, moving only along the X, Y, or Z axes and leaving trails of white particles. The projectiles can be destroyed by attacking them or blocked with a shield. If the projectile hits an entity, it does 4♥♥ of damage and inflicts the Levitation status effect for 10 seconds, this status effect has no effect underwater[3][Java Edition only], or while riding a mob. The shulker continues firing every 1–5.5 seconds while the target remains in range. If the shulker's target dies with projectiles still in flight, they fall to the ground.

Shulkers can attack each other, in which case they shoot fully guided bullets at each other, but are unaffected by Levitation when hit. The normal teleportation habits apply during these battles.

When its shell is closed, a shulker has 20 (🛡 × 10) armor points and deflects arrows. When the shell opens, it loses this natural armor and takes damage as normal. When at less than half health, a shulker has a 25% chance of teleporting (as described above) after taking damage. When a shulker is attacked, other shulkers in the area target the attacker as well.

Shulkers don't take burning damage from lava or fire. They drown in water, but try to teleport away when water or lava flows into the block they occupy. They do not take damage if they touch water, unlike endermen.

In Peaceful difficulty, shulkers exist within the world, but do not attack,[4] like vindicators ,evokers and piglin brutes in Bedrock Edition.

Shulkers are treated differently than true blocks. For example, mobs are unable to pathfind around[5] or jump over them,[6] and falling on them from a height does not produce particles.[7] Their spawn egg also does not destroy blocks such as grass.[8]

Shulkers can be hooked by a fishing rod. However, they cannot be reeled.

In Bedrock Edition, they apply Levitation II instead of I.

Shulker bullet

A shulker bullet is a guided projectile that is shot from shulkers, and they follow the targeted entity along the X, Y, or Z axis and leave trails of white particles. A shulker bullet that hits a mob or player deals damage and affects them with Levitation for ten seconds.

The shulker's projectiles also have entity data that control its movement.

The bullet can be destroyed by hitting it with any item, shooting it with an arrow, or blocking it with a shield. It explodes upon contact with a block. The explosion does not destroy any blocks and does not damage nearby mobs or players.

Coloring

In Bedrock Edition, shulkers can be dyed in a similar fashion to sheep. Using a dye on a shulker gives it the color of the dye.

In Java Edition, the color of a shulker is changed through commands using the color byte tag.

Transportation

Shulkerinboat

A shulker is transported in the Overworld by boat. Pistons raise the boat uphill.

Shulkers can be moved by boats or minecarts; pushing a boat/cart into a shulker causes it to board. A boat's sides block some of a shulkers projectiles.

A shulker pushed through the exit portal gets transported to the world spawn point in the Overworld. Since shulkers teleport when not adjacent to a solid block, they must be pushed down the central pillar of the exit portal (or a manually placed block directly above the portal) with a piston.

Sounds

Shulker

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Shulker lurksHostile CreaturesRandomlyentity.shulker.ambientsubtitles.entity.shulker.ambient1.00.8-1.216
Shulker closesHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker's shell closesentity.shulker.closesubtitles.entity.shulker.close1.01.016
Shulker opensHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker's shell opensentity.shulker.opensubtitles.entity.shulker.open1.01.016
Shulker diesHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker diesentity.shulker.deathsubtitles.entity.shulker.death1.00.8-1.216
Shulker hurtsHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker is damaged with its shell closedentity.shulker.hurt_closedsubtitles.entity.shulker.hurt1.00.8-1.216
Shulker hurtsHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker is damaged with its shell openentity.shulker.hurtsubtitles.entity.shulker.hurt1.00.8-1.216
Shulker shootsHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker shoots a bulletentity.shulker.shootsubtitles.entity.shulker.shoot2.00.8-1.216
Shulker teleportsHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker teleportsentity.shulker.teleportsubtitles.entity.shulker.teleport1.01.016

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
Hostile CreaturesRandomlymob.shulker.ambient1.00.8-1.2
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker's shell closesmob.shulker.close1.00.8-1.2
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker's shell opensmob.shulker.open1.00.8-1.2
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker diesmob.shulker.death1.00.8-1.2
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker is damagedmob.shulker.hurt1.00.8-1.2
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker shoots a bulletmob.shulker.shoot2.00.8-1.2
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker teleportsmob.shulker.teleport1.01.0

Shulker bullet

Java Edition:
Shulker bullets use the Hostile Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Shulker bullet explodesHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker bullet collides with a blockentity.shulker_bullet.hitsubtitles.entity.shulker_bullet.hit1.01.016
Shulker bullet breaksHostile CreaturesWhen a shulker bullet is killedentity.shulker_bullet.hurtsubtitles.entity.shulker_bullet.hurt1.01.016

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
Hostile CreaturesWhen a shulker bullet collides with somethingmob.shulker.bullet.hit1.01.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierTranslation key
Shulkershulkerentity.minecraft.shulker
Shulker Bulletshulker_bulletentity.minecraft.shulker_bullet

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID Translation key
Shulkershulker54entity.shulker.name
Shulker Bulletshulker_bullet76entity.shulker_bullet.name

Entity data

Java Edition:

Main article: Entity format

Shulkers have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

  • Entity data
    • Tags common to all entities
    • Tags common to all mobs
    •  APX: Approximate X coordinate.
    •  APY: Approximate Y coordinate.
    •  APZ: Approximate Z coordinate.
    •  AttachFace: Direction of the block the shulker is attached to. Below is 0b, above is 1b, north is 2b, south is 3b, west is 4b, east is 5b.
    •  Color: The color of the shulker. Default is 0. Shulkers spawned by eggs or as part of End cities have value 16.
    •  Peek: Height of the head of the shulker.

Shulker color

Main article: Shulker/DV
[edit]

Shulker bullets have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

  • Entity data
    • Tags common to all entities
    • Tags common to all projectiles
    •  Steps: How many "steps" it takes to attack to the target. The higher it is, the further out of the way the bullet travels to get to the target. If set to 0, it makes no attempt to attack the target and instead uses TXD/TYD/TZD in a straight line.
    •  Target: The UUID of the target of this shulker bullet, stored as four ints.
    •  TXD: The offset in the X direction to travel in accordance with its target.
    •  TYD: The offset in the Y direction to travel in accordance with its target.
    •  TZD: The offset in the Z direction to travel in accordance with its target.


Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Gamerscore earned Trophy type (PS4)
PS4 Other
Great View From Up HereLevitate up 50 blocks from the attacks of a Shulker20GBronze

Advancements

Icon Advancement In-game description Parent Actual requirements (if different) Resource location
Advancement-plain-rawNot Today, Thank You
Deflect a projectile with a Shield Suit UpBlock any projectile with a shield.story/deflect_arrow
Advancement-fancy-rawHow Did We Get Here?
Have every effect applied at the same time A Furious CocktailHave all of these 27 status effects applied to the player at the same time: The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects may be applied to the player, but are ignored for this advancement.
This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
nether/all_effects
Advancement-fancy-rawGreat View From Up Here
Levitate up 50 blocks from the attacks of a Shulker The City at the End of the GameMove a distance of 50 blocks vertically with the Levitation effect applied, regardless of direction or whether it is caused by the effect.end/levitate
Advancement-plain-rawAdventure
Adventure, exploration and combat Kill any entity, or be killed by any entity.adventure/root
Advancement-plain-rawMonster Hunter
Kill any hostile monster AdventureKill one of these 34 mobs: Only the riders of the chicken jockeys and skeleton horsemen are counted in this advancement. Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.adventure/kill_a_mob
Advancement-fancy-rawIt Spreads
Kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst Monster HunterKill one of these 70 mobs near a sculk catalyst: Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this advancement.adventure/kill_mob_near_sculk_catalyst
Advancement-fancy-rawMonsters Hunted
Kill one of every hostile monster Monster HunterKill each of these 34 mobs: Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement. Only the riders of the chicken jockeys and skeleton horsemen are counted in this advancement.adventure/kill_all_mobs

History

This section is missing information about Shulker textures from Legacy Console Edition - the terrain.png only contained a single white "shulker top" texture rather than a textue per color, so were color variants generated via a tint system? + which update it was when the internal name of shulkers in the game files was changed from City_Golem to Shulker; verify if the latter is factual information. 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition
1.915w31aShulker Added shulkers.
15w32bShulkers no longer teleport by themselves if NoAI is set to 1.
Shulkers can now be teleported using /tp or /spreadplayers.
15w40aShulkers no longer target players or attack in Peaceful difficulty.
Shulker bullets now despawn in Peaceful.
15w45aAdded sounds for shulkers being damaged.
15w47aShulkers now drop experience.
15w47bAdded ambient, aggravated and death sounds for shulkers, and added sounds for their bullets dealing and taking damage.
1.1116w32aThe entity ID of shulkers has been changed from Shulker to shulker.
The bullet's entity ID is changed from ShulkerBullet to shulker_bullet.
16w39aShulkers now drop shulker shells.
White Shulker JE1 BE1 Orange Shulker JE1 BE1 Magenta Shulker JE1 BE1 Light Blue Shulker JE1 BE1 Yellow Shulker JE1 BE1 Lime Shulker JE1 BE1 Pink Shulker JE1 BE1 Gray Shulker JE1 BE1 Light Gray Shulker JE1 BE1 Cyan Shulker JE1 BE1 Blue Shulker JE1 BE1 Brown Shulker JE1 BE1 Green Shulker JE1 BE1 Red Shulker JE1 BE1 Black Shulker JE1 BE1 The color of a shulker can now be changed through commands using a new byte tag Color.
16w39cShulkers can now be spawned on the sides and bottoms of blocks through the usage of spawn eggs.
1.1217w16aWhite Shulker Orange Shulker Magenta Shulker Light Blue Shulker Yellow Shulker Lime Shulker Pink Shulker Gray Shulker Light Gray Shulker Cyan Shulker Purple Shulker Blue Shulker Brown Shulker Green Shulker Red Shulker Black Shulker Shulkers have been retextured, none of them are now like purpur blocks.
17w17aShulker The purple shulker's color has been reverted to the previous color.
1.1318w10bShulker Added a default shulker.
Purple Shulker The purple shulker texture has been changed to the one used in 17w16a.
1.1720w45aNew shulkers now have a chance to spawn when one shulker hits another shulker with a shulker bullet.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0alpha 0.17.0.1White Shulker JE1 BE1 Orange Shulker JE1 BE1 Magenta Shulker JE1 BE1 Light Blue Shulker JE1 BE1 Yellow Shulker JE1 BE1 Lime Shulker JE1 BE1 Pink Shulker JE1 BE1 Gray Shulker JE1 BE1 Light Gray Shulker JE1 BE1 Cyan Shulker JE1 BE1 Purple Shulker JE1 BE1 Blue Shulker JE1 BE1 Brown Shulker JE1 BE1 Green Shulker JE1 BE1 Red Shulker JE1 BE1 Black Shulker JE1 BE1 Added shulkers.
Shulkers can now be dyed in Creative mode by long-tapping any dye on a shulker, or through an interact button.
alpha 1.0.0.1Shulkers now drop shulker shells.
1.0.4alpha 1.0.4.0The shulker's models can now be edited using add-ons.
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.9White Shulker Orange Shulker Magenta Shulker Light Blue Shulker Yellow Shulker Lime Shulker Pink Shulker Gray Shulker Light Gray Shulker Cyan Shulker Purple Shulker Blue Shulker Brown Shulker Green Shulker Red Shulker Black Shulker The shulkers' textures have been changed.
?Shulker The purple shulker's color has been reverted to the previous color.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0beta 1.2.0.2Shulker Added a default shulker.
Purple Shulker The purple shulker color has been changed to the new palette.
1.18.30beta 1.18.30.22New shulkers now have a chance to spawn when one shulker hits another shulker with a shulker bullet.
1.19.0beta 1.19.0.28Shulkers will no longer take burning damage from fire or lava.
Legacy Console Edition
TU46CU36 1.38 Patch 15Shulker Added shulkers and spawn eggs for the shulkers.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.7.10Shulker Added shulkers.

Issues

Issues relating to "Shulker" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

  • Originally, shulkers were going to camouflage with a nearby block (shulkers next to purpur would look like purpur, and shulkers next to end stone would look like end stone). However, Jeb decided this was too difficult to code, so instead, shulkers were just purple mobs that would open and shoot.[9]
  • The word "shulker" is a portmanteau of "shell lurker".[10][11]
  • A shulker named 'Dinnerbone' or 'Grumm' flips upside-down, revealing a spiral pattern on the base. This appears to also lift the shulker by the same height as a pressure plate.
  • By using commands, they can be made to be part of a team to attack other teams and can be used as defense mobs. In that case, it doesn't attack its teammates but targets most hostile mobs without provocation.
  • Walking toward a shulker at the same level as the player's head pushes the player down to the one-block crawling position if there is space beneath.
  • If given the Invisibility effect, only the shulker's shell becomes invisible. This is different to most other mobs such as armored mobs and saddled pigs, where the living part of the mob turns invisible with the outer areas remaining visible.
  • In the game's texture files, the shulker bullet is named spark.png.
  • Gravity blocks glitch when on top of a shulker. Sand on top of an extended shulker is higher than sand on one block but the sand is solid.
  • If the shulker is initially attached to the ground and there is a block on the side and on the top, the shulker becomes attached onto the block beside.

Gallery

References

  1. Most solid blocks have 6 full faces. Some have fewer, for example composters have 5 as the top is open, slabs have just one (top or bottom), stairs have two (one side and top or bottom), and chests have none as they are slightly smaller than a full block.
  2. When the shulker is at a Y position above the scaffolding block, the top is a full face and it will block opening. When at the same Y level as scaffolding unsupported from below, the bottom is a full face and it will block opening. Otherwise the scaffolding is seen as having no faces and will not block opening.
  3. MC-83369
  4. MC-227168 — Shulkers don't attack back in peaceful difficulty
  5. MC-94831
  6. MC-94115
  7. MC-129795
  8. MC-130571
  9. https://youtu.be/eYw3U8C_P40&t=5m42s
  10. https://youtu.be/h3vjmzCV8PY&t=12m01s
  11. https://youtu.be/eYw3U8C_P40&t=5m42s
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