Minecraft spawners are blocks that spawn mobs in a certain area. They can be found in dungeons, mineshafts, strongholds, and other structures. Spawners can be very useful for creating farms, traps, or challenges in your world. However, they can also be very tricky to work with, as they have many rules and limitations. In this guide, we will explain how spawners work, how to find them, how to manipulate them, and how to use them for your own purposes.
How Spawners Work
Spawners have a few basic properties that determine their behavior. These are:
- The type of mob they spawn. This can be any mob in the game, except for bosses and some special mobs like iron golems or wither skeletons. The type of mob is determined by the spawner’s NBT data, which can be edited with commands or external tools.
- The spawn range. This is the area around the spawner where mobs can spawn. The spawn range is a 9x9x3 area centered on the spawner block, extending 4 blocks horizontally and 1 block vertically from the spawner.
- The activation range. This is the distance from the spawner where it will start spawning mobs. The activation range is 16 blocks horizontally and 4 blocks vertically from the spawner.
- The spawn count. This is the number of mobs that the spawner tries to spawn each time. The spawn count is usually 4 but can vary depending on the type of mob and the difficulty level.
- The spawn delay. This is the time between each spawn attempt. The spawn delay is usually between 10 and 39 seconds but can also vary depending on the type of mob and the difficulty level.
- The max nearby entities. This is the maximum number of mobs of the same type that can be within 16 blocks of the spawner. If this number is reached, the spawner will stop spawning mobs until some of them die or move away. The max nearby entities is usually 6, but can also vary depending on the type of mob and the difficulty level.
Spawners follow these rules when spawning mobs:
- The spawner will only spawn mobs if it is within its activation range of a player.
- The spawner will only spawn mobs if there is enough light level in the spawn range. The required light level depends on the mob type, but most hostile mobs need a light level of 7 or less to spawn.
- The spawner will only spawn mobs if there is enough space in the spawn range. The space required depends on the size of the mob, but most mobs need at least a 1x1x2 area to spawn.
- The spawner will only spawn mobs if there are less than its max nearby entities of the same type within 16 blocks of it.
- The spawner will try to spawn its spawn count of mobs each time, but it will stop if any of these conditions are unmet.
How to Find Spawners
Spawners can be found naturally in various structures throughout the world. Some of these structures are:
Dungeons
These are small rooms with a spawner and one or two chests. They can be found underground in any biome. Dungeons can have zombie, skeleton, or spider spawners.
Mineshafts
These are large networks of tunnels with wooden supports and rails. They can be found underground in any biome. Mineshafts can have cave spider spawners near cobwebs.
Strongholds
These are large fortresses with stone bricks and various rooms. They can be found underground near bedrock in any biome. Strongholds can have silverfish spawners near end portal frames.
Nether Fortresses
These are large structures with nether bricks and various features. They can be found in the Nether dimension. Nether fortresses can have blaze spawners near staircases.
Desert Temples
These are pyramid-shaped structures with sandstone and terracotta. They can be found in desert biomes. Desert temples can have husk spawners under trapdoors.
Jungle Temples
These are temple-shaped structures with mossy cobblestones and vines. They can be found in jungle biomes. Jungle temples can have spider spawners in hidden rooms.
Ocean Monuments
These are underwater structures with prismarine and sea lanterns. They can be found in deep ocean biomes. Ocean monuments can have guardian spawners in the wings and the center.
Woodland Mansions
These are mansion-shaped structures with dark oak and wool. They can be found in roofed forest biomes. Woodland mansions can have vindicator, evoker, or illusioner spawners in secret rooms.
Spawners can also be obtained by using commands or creative mode. The command to give yourself a spawner is:
/give @p spawner
The command to change the type of mob a spawner spawns is:
/data merge block {SpawnData:{id:””}}
The mob id is the internal name of the mob, such as “zombie”, “skeleton”, or “spider”. You can find a list of all mob ids here: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Java_Edition_data_values/Entity_IDs
How to Manipulate Spawners
Spawners can be manipulated in various ways to change their properties or behavior. Some of these ways are:
Using a spawn egg
If you right-click a spawner with a spawn egg, it will change the type of mob it spawns to match the spawn egg. This is the easiest way to change a spawner’s type, but it requires you to have a spawn egg of the desired mob.
Using a silk touch tool
If you mine a spawner with a tool that has the silk touch enchantment, it will drop itself as an item. This allows you to move a spawner to another location, but it will keep its original type of mob.
Using commands or external tools
If you use commands or external tools, such as NBTExplorer or MCEdit, you can edit the spawner’s NBT data and change any of its properties, such as the type of mob, the spawn range, the activation range, the spawn count, the spawn delay, or the max nearby entities. This gives you full control over a spawner’s behavior but requires you to know how to use commands or external tools.
How to Use Spawners
Spawners can be used for various purposes in your world. Some of these purposes are:
Creating farms
You can use spawners to create farms that produce items or experience from mobs. For example, you can create a zombie farm that drops rotten flesh and iron ingots or a blaze farm that drops blaze rods and experience.
To create a farm, you need to design a system that transports the mobs from the spawner to a killing chamber, where they are either killed automatically or manually by the player. You must also collect the drops and store them in chests or hoppers.
Creating traps
You can use spawners to create traps that harm or kill other players or mobs. For example, you can create a trap that spawns creepers near TNT or a trap that spawns skeletons near arrows.
To create a trap, you need to place the spawner in a hidden or unexpected location and use redstone or other mechanisms to activate it when someone approaches.
Creating challenges
You can use spawners to create challenges that test your skills or abilities. For example, you can create a challenge that spawns ghasts near lava or a challenge that spawns endermen near ender pearls. To create a challenge, you need to place the spawner in a difficult or dangerous environment and provide some reward or goal for completing it.
Conclusion
Spawners are versatile and powerful blocks that can spawn mobs in your world. They can be found naturally in various structures or obtained by using commands in creative mode.
They can be manipulated by using spawn eggs, silk touch tools, commands, or external tools. They can be used for creating farms, traps, or challenges. Spawners are one of the most interesting and fun features of Minecraft, and mastering them can open up many possibilities for your gameplay.
