Wither Skeleton

Wither Skeleton

• Idle
• Targeting

Health points	20HP × 10
Behavior	Hostile
Mob type	Undead, Monster
Attack strength	Melee: Armed Easy: 5HP Normal: 8HP Hard: 12HP × 6 Unarmed Easy: 2HP Normal: 2HP Hard: 3HP Wither: 1HP per 2 sec Wither for 10 sec (HP) Ranged: Easy: 2HP - 4HP Normal: 3HP – 5HP Hard: 4HP - 8HP Fire for 5 sec (HP)
Hitbox size	In Java Edition: Height: 2.4 blocks Width: 0.7 blocks In Bedrock Edition: Height: 2.412 blocks Width: 0.864 blocks
Speed	0.25 when idle and 0.3125 when attacking
Spawn	Nether Fortress When a wither reaches half health.‌
Natural equipment	Stone Sword

{
    "title": "Wither Skeleton",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "20<span class=\"hidden-alt-text\">HP</span><span class=\"nowrap mc-hearts\"><span class=\"iconbar pixel-image nowrap\" style=\"--icon-offset:-1px;\" title=\"1  heart\">(link to File:Heart (icon).png article, displayed as 9px|link=|alt=&#9829)</span> × 10</span>",
            "label": "(link to Health article, displayed as Health points)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Hostile",
            "label": "Behavior"
        },
        {
            "field": "(link to Undead article, displayed as Undead), (link to Monster article, displayed as Monster)",
            "label": "(link to Mob article, displayed as Mob) type"
        },
        {
            "field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
            "label": "Attack<br/>strength"
        },
        {
            "field": "'''In (link to Java Edition article, displayed as ''Java Edition''):'''<br>\nHeight: 2.4 blocks<br>Width: 0.7 blocks\n\n'''In (link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as ''Bedrock Edition''):'''<br>\nHeight: 2.412 blocks<br>Width: 0.864 blocks",
            "label": "(link to Hitbox article, displayed as Hitbox size)"
        },
        {
            "field": "0.25 when idle and 0.3125 when attacking",
            "label": "(link to Attribute#movementSpeed article, displayed as Speed)"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:EnvSprite nether-fortress.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Nether Fortress|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Nether Fortress article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Nether Fortress</span>)</span> <br> When a (link to wither article, displayed as wither) reaches half health.‌<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Bedrock Edition\">(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE)  only</span></i>]</sup><br>",
            "label": "(link to Mob spawning article, displayed as Spawn)"
        },
        {
            "field": "\n*   <span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:ItemSprite stone-sword.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=sword|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to sword article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Stone Sword</span>)</span>",
            "label": "(link to Drops#Equipped items article, displayed as Natural<br/>equipment)"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [
        "Wither Skeleton Spawn Egg"
    ],
    "images": [
        "Wither Skeleton.png",
        "Wither Skeleton Targeting.png"
    ]
}

Wither skeletons are tall black variants of skeletons equipped with stone swords that inflict the poison-like Wither effect. They are found exclusively in nether fortresses and are the only source of wither skeleton skulls, as well as the only renewable source of coal.

Spawning

Wither skeletons can spawn in Nether Fortresses at a light level between 0 and 7, in groups of up to 4, exactly like Blazes:

• In the structure bounding box of any single piece of the Nether Fortress they can spawn on any block
• In the larger area bounding box of the entire Nether Fortress they can spawn exclusively on Nether Bricks

They are the only mobs that can spawn inside wither roses due to their immunity to the damaging effect.

Halloween

On Halloween, wither skeletons have a 22.5% chance of spawning wearing a carved pumpkin and a 2.5% chance of spawning wearing a jack o'lantern. This is not dropped.

Withers

The wither spawns 3-4 wither skeletons when below half health on normal and hard difficulties.

Drops

Item		Roll Chance	Quantity (Roll Chance)
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Coal	33.33%–66.67%	1 (33.33%)	1–2 (50%)	1–3 (60%)	1–4 (66.67%)
	Bone	100%	0–2	0–3	0–4	0–5
	Wither Skeleton Skull(JE)	2.5%–5.5%	1 (2.5%)	1 (3.5%)	1 (4.5%)	1 (5.5%)
	Wither Skeleton Skull(BE)	2.5%–8.5%	1 (2.5%)	1 (4.5%)	1 (6.5%)	1 (8.5%)
	Wither Skeleton Skull	100%	1	1	1	1

• 8.5% chance of dropping their unenchanted stone sword which has a random durability. This chance increases by 1% per level of Looting, for a maximum of 11.5% chance with Looting III.
• 5XP experience orbs when killed by a player or tamed wolf, and an additional 1–3XP is dropped per piece of naturally-spawned equipment that does not drop upon death.
  • Because all wither skeletons spawn with a stone sword, each of them effectively drop 6–8XP if the sword is not dropped.
  • If the wither skeleton does drop its stone sword, it drops the default 5XP instead.
• A carved pumpkin or jack o'lantern worn by a wither skeleton spawned on Halloween is never dropped.

Behavior

Wither skeletons wander aimlessly when idle. They sprint to attack players, snow golems, iron golems, baby turtles, piglins, and piglin brutes within 16 blocks. They flee from wolves but retaliate if attacked.

When an entity is attacked by a wither skeleton on any difficulty, it is inflicted with the Wither effect for ten seconds, which turns the health bar black (HP × 10) and decreases it by 1HP every two seconds. Unlike Poison, this effect can drop health to zero and cause death.

In Normal and Hard difficulties, some wither skeletons pick up dropped equipment. The chance depends on regional difficulty, with up to 55% of them capable of picking up swords higher than stone tier plus any armor. Wither skeletons never take bows; in Java Edition, if they hold a bow (which can be done with /summon wither_skeleton ~ ~ ~ {equipment:{mainhand:{id:bow, count:1}}}) they shoot flaming arrows even if their bows are not enchanted. If the wither skeleton is holding a tipped arrow or spectral arrow in its off-hand, it shoots that type of arrow, and the arrow held is not consumed. They cannot use crossbows.

Wither skeletons are immune to fire and the Wither effect. They still seek shade or water during daylight if they are in the Overworld, even though they do not burn in sunlight.

In Bedrock Edition, the player can burn them by throwing a trident enchanted with Channeling during a thunderstorm.

Being an undead mob, they are:

• damaged by the status effect Instant Health and healed by the status effect Instant Damage.
• unaffected by the status effects Regeneration and Poison.
• ignored by the wither.
• affected by the Smite enchantment.
• unable to swim in water, but do not drown.
• a threat to armadillos, causing them to hide in their shell.

Sounds

Java Edition:
Wither skeletons use the Hostile Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

[hide]Sounds
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Wither Skeleton rattles	Hostile Creatures	Randomly	entity.wither_skeleton.ambient	subtitles.entity.wither_skeleton.ambient​	1.0	0.8-1.2	16
	​Wither Skeleton hurts	Hostile Creatures	When a wither skeleton is damaged	entity.wither_skeleton.hurt	subtitles.entity.wither_skeleton.hurt​	1.0	0.8-1.2	16
	​Wither Skeleton dies	Hostile Creatures	When a wither skeleton dies	entity.wither_skeleton.death	subtitles.entity.wither_skeleton.death​	1.0	0.8-1.2	16
	​Footsteps	Hostile Creatures	While a wither skeleton is walking	entity.wither_skeleton.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16
	​Skeleton shoots	Hostile Creatures	When a wither skeleton shoots an arrow (when given a bow through commands)	entity.skeleton.shoot	subtitles.entity.skeleton.shoot​	1.0	5⁄6-1.25	16

Bedrock Edition:

[hide]Sounds
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Hostile Creatures	Randomly	entity.wither_skeleton.ambient	1.0	0.8-1.2
	Hostile Creatures	When a wither skeleton is damaged	entity.wither_skeleton.hurt	1.0	0.8-1.2
	Hostile Creatures	When a wither skeleton dies	entity.wither_skeleton.death	1.0	0.8-1.2
	Hostile Creatures	While a wither skeleton is walking	entity.wither_skeleton.step	0.15	1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Entity tags	[hide]Translation key
Wither Skeleton	wither_skeleton	can_breathe_under_water ignores_poison_and_regen inverted_healing_and_harm skeletons undead wither_friends	entity.minecraft.wither_skeleton

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	[hide]Translation key
Wither Skeleton	wither_skeleton	48	entity.wither_skeleton.name

Entity data

Wither skeleton have entity data associated with them that contains various properties. The wither skeleton is taller than the skeleton.

Java Edition:

• [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
  • Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template[show]
  • Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template[show]

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

[hide]
Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Camouflage	Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head.	—	30	Bronze
		It Spreads	Kill a mob next to a catalyst	—	10	Bronze
		Monster Hunter	Attack and destroy a monster.	Kill a hostile mob or one of the following neutral mobs: an enderman, a piglin, a zombified piglin, a spider, or a cave spider.	15	Bronze
		Overkill	Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.	30	Bronze
		Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	—	20	Silver
		Sniper Duel	Kill a Skeleton with an arrow from more than 50 meters.	Use a launched arrow to kill a skeleton, wither skeleton, or stray from 50 or more blocks away, horizontally.	30	Bronze

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	A Throwaway Joke	Throw a Trident at something. Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.	Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
	Adventure	Adventure, exploration and combat	Kill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
	Arbalistic	Kill five unique mobs with one crossbow shot	Armor Stand also counts 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.
	It Spreads	Kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst	Kill one of these 73 mobs near a sculk catalyst:[show] Mobs that drop no experience as well as the ender dragon are ignored for this advancement.
	Monster Hunter	Kill any hostile monster	Kill one of these 37 mobs:[hide] Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
	Monsters Hunted	Kill one of every hostile monster	Kill each of these 37 mobs:[hide] Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
	Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	–
	Sniper Duel	Kill a Skeleton from at least 50 meters away	Receive kill credit for a skeleton that is at least 50 blocks away horizontally and is killed by a projectile.
	Spooky Scary Skeleton	Obtain a Wither Skeleton's skull	Have a wither skeleton skull in the inventory.
	Take Aim	Shoot something with an Arrow	Using a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.

History

[hide]Java Edition
1.4.2			12w36a				Added wither skeletons.
			12w38b				Wither skeletons now spawn more frequently.
1.4.4			1.4.3				Wither skeletons can now sprint toward the player.
1.8			14w11a				Wither skeletons now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
			14w25a				Wither skeletons no longer visibly catch fire when going into fire or lava.
			14w30a				Wither skeletons now drop their skull when killed by a charged creeper.
							The weapon holding position of wither skeletons has been changed.
1.8.1			pre1				Wither skeletons no longer run away from creepers that are about to explode.
1.9			15w31a				Wither skeletons now lower their arms when idle and swing their arms when damaging something.
							Wither skeletons now sometimes (11% of times) spawn with their left hand as their main hand.
							Wither skeletons now have the ability to hold items in both of their hands.
			15w39a				Wither skeletons are now slightly shorter (2.4 blocks tall rather than 2.535) and narrower (0.7 blocks instead of 0.72).
1.10			16w20a				Added separate spawn eggs for wither skeletons.
			pre2				The wither skeleton spawn egg has been removed.
1.11			16w32a				The wither skeleton spawn egg has been re-added.
							The wither skeleton's in-game name is now "Wither Skeleton" instead of "Skeleton".
							Creepers no longer drop music discs when killed by wither skeletons.
							Wither skeletons can no longer spawn from normal skeleton spawn egg used in the nether.
			16w39a				Wither skeletons now have their own sounds.
1.13			18w19a				Wither skeletons now sink underwater.
							Wither skeletons no longer drown underwater.
1.14			18w43a				The texture of wither skeletons has been changed.
							Wither skeletons are now immune to the Wither effect.
							Creepers now drop music discs when killed by wither skeletons again.
			19w09a				Wither skeletons holding tipped arrows or spectral arrows in their off-hand now shoot that type of arrow.
September 28, 2019							Announced piglins, which attack wither skeletons.
1.15			19w37a				Mobs that spawn wearing carved pumpkins or jack o'lanterns on Halloween no longer drop them.
1.16			20w07a				Added piglins, which attack wither skeletons.
			20w10a				Wither skeletons now attack piglins on sight.
			20w21a				Wither skeletons are now the only mobs that can spawn on wither roses.
1.19			Pre-release 1				Wither skeletons now spawn from light level 0 to 11.
1.19.3			22w46a				Wither skeletons now spawn from light level 0 to 7 in the Nether.
1.21.4			24w45a				Prefer to pick bows from the ground as opposed to other items.
			24w46a				Wither skeletons no longer pick up bows.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1			build 1				Added wither skeletons.
			build 9				Wither skeletons are now larger than regular skeletons.
			build 12				Added new sounds for dying wither skeletons.
v0.15.0			build 1				Wither skeletons now lower their arms when idle and swing their arms when damaging something.
							Added separate spawn eggs for wither skeletons.
v0.16.0			build 4				Wither skeletons now spawn when a wither's health reaches 50%.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
?							Wither skeletons no longer spawn with gear (or enchanted gear).
1.5.0			beta 1.5.0.0				Wither skeletons now sink in water.
							Wither skeletons no longer drown underwater.
			beta 1.5.0.4				Wither skeletons now seek and attack baby turtles.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				The texture of wither skeletons has been changed.
							Wither skeletons can now be renamed with a name tag.
?							Wither skeletons no longer spawn as riders in spider jockeys when spiders are spawned in the Nether.
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.51				Wither skeletons now have ability to pick up items.
							Added piglins, which attack wither skeletons.
1.19.60			Preview 1.19.60.22				Wither skeletons now spawn from light level 0 to 7 in the Nether.
1.20.40			Preview 1.20.40.20				Wither skeletons now have the same sounds as in Java Edition.
1.21.30			Preview 1.21.30.24				Wither skeletons now have the same "step" sounds as in Java Edition.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added wither skeletons.
TU20	CU8	1.13	1.13	1.13			Wither skeletons now rarely spawn anywhere in the Nether.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Wither skeletons no longer visibly catch fire when going into fire or lava.
							Wither skeletons now drop their skull when killed by a charged creeper.
TU46	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Wither skeletons now use the old sound for dying.
	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Wither skeletons now lower their arms when idle and swing their arms when damaging something.
							Wither skeletons now sometimes spawn with their left hand as their main hand.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Added separate spawn eggs for wither skeletons.
							Wither skeletons can no longer spawn from normal skeleton spawn egg used in the nether.
TU57	CU49	1.57	1.56	1.56	Patch 27	1.0.7	Wither skeletons no longer fear daylight and attack anything that lives.
TU60	CU51	1.64	1.64	1.64	Patch 30	1.0.11	Wither skeletons now spawn when a wither's health reaches 50%.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Wither skeletons now sink in water.
							Wither skeletons no longer drown underwater.
							Wither skeletons now have the same sounds as in Java Edition.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added wither skeletons.

Data history

[hide]Java Edition
1.11			16w32a				The entity ID has been changed changed from Skeleton to wither_skeleton, SkeletonType tag is removed.
1.13			17w47a				Numeric IDs for entities were presumably deprecated in this version.​
1.20.3			23w40a				Wither skeletons are now part of the #can_breathe_under_water and #undead tags.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.1.0			alpha 1.1.0.0				The entity ID has been changed from skeleton.wither to wither_skeleton.

Issues

Issues relating to "Wither Skeleton" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Wither skeletons can't fit through the gap under the staircase of the nether wart room in fortresses.

Gallery

Renders

• 

  A wither skeleton

• 

  A wither skeleton with a carved pumpkin on its head.

• 

  A wither skeleton wearing iron armor and wielding an iron sword.

• 

  A wither skeleton targeting without a weapon.

• 

  A wither skeleton holding a bow, ready to fire an arrow.

Screenshots

• 

  A wither skeleton being compared to its variants in Java Edition.

• 

  A wither skeleton in the Overworld.

• 

  A wither jockey.

• 

  A wither skeleton next to the wall of a nether fortress.

• 

  A preview of two wither skeletons in the soul sand valley.

• 

  A wither skeleton and a blaze idling in a nether fortress.

• 

  A wither skeleton and two blazes near a blaze monster spawner.

• 

  Wither skeleton wearing a pumpkin on Halloween.

• 

  Wither skeleton wearing a jack o'lantern in the nether.

• 

  A wither skeleton in a nether fortress.

• 

  A wither skeleton compared to a tall player.‌

Textures

• 

  Wither skeleton texture file.

In other media

• 

  Wither Skeleton in promotional artwork for the Pretty Scary Update.

• 

  Wither Skeletons in promotional artwork for the Nether Update.

• 

  A Wither Skeleton, as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons.

• 

  LEGO Minecraft Wither Skeleton.

• 

  "Acid Wither Skeleton," an officially licensed T-Shirt design.

• 

  An officially licensed cup featuring a wither skeleton.

See also

• Skeleton (disambiguation)
• Wither