Skeleton

Skeleton

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Type	?
Health points	20 ( × 10)
Armor points	{{{armor}}}
Attack strength	Bow Easy: 2 () Normal: 3 () - 4 () Hard: 4 () - 6 () Sword Easy: 2 () Normal: 2 () Hard: 3 ()
Spawn	Overworld: Light level of 7 or less, anywhere but slabs (half blocks) or transparent blocks. Nether: Nether Fortresses.
Drops	Arrow (0-2) on death. Bone (0-2) on death.
Rare drops	Equipped items (may be enchanted): Bow Iron Chestplate
Experience	5

Skeletons are hostile mobs armed with Bows that naturally spawn during the night or in dark areas like caves. Their main drops are Bones, Rotted Arrows and occasionally their Bow but they can also spawn while wearing iron armor. Skeletons also have a 1/40 chance of dropping a bow, only when they are killed by the player. There is a 1/5 chance that a dropped bow is enchanted with Power I, with rarer chances of Power III, Flame I, or Infinity I. Although extremely rare, it is also possible for a bow to drop with all three of these enchantments. They'll burn if they come into contact with sunlight.

Behavior

Skeletons will wander around randomly. If they spot a target then they'll try to get close to them and start shooting their bow. They'll do this until they managed to kill them or they move out of their line of sight, in which case they'll move closer to get their target back into their shooting range. They'll stop pursuing their target if they both move out of their line of sight and out of their range. Although skeletons' fired arrows can often be seen stuck in blocks, those cannot be picked up by players. Skeletons normally attack with a bow, however, some can spawn with the ability to pick up items, and will switch to a melee weapon if they pick one up. If the skeleton already has a sword and finds a better one, they will drop the current sword and use the better one. When killed, the sword will be dropped again, with its durability unchanged. They will also wear any armor items and mob heads they pick up, and wear pumpkins or Jack 'o' Lanterns as headgear. Skeletons burn in sunlight unless wearing head armor, in which case they are immune to it. Skeletons will attempt to avoid burning in sunlight by running under shade or into water.

Appearance

Skeletons have gray bone bodies and the same basic heads as most other hostile mobs. They always carry bows in their right hand, which can rarely be droppable upon their death; in those cases, the bow also has a chance of being enchanted. Skeletons can also spawn with the ability to pick up armor, and in those cases, they can spawn already wearing armor, which has a chance of being dropped.

On Halloween (based on your computer's date reading October 31^st), skeletons, zombies, and Zombie Pigmen can be seen with either pumpkin or Jack 'o' Lantern heads.

Targets

Skeletons will only go after the player within a 16 block radius or other mobs that attack them. When they are within 10 blocks of the player, with a clear line of sight, they will stop chasing and start shooting the player with arrows. If the player moves more than 16 blocks away from the skeleton, it will cease pursuit. Skeletons will attempt to avoid damage from the player by continuously circling around them while in combat. They will not go after animals unlike zombies, squid, and spiders.

Usage

Bones are extremely useful as they allow you to make Bone Clubs, which can be used as a weapon instead of Stone Axes, and Bone Fish Hooks, which can be used as a substitute for an Iron Nugget when crafting a Fishing Rod. They can also be used to tame wolves or be ground down in a Millstone to make Bone Meal which serves as a fertilizer for plants, speeding up their growth. The Rotted Arrows can be used in conjunction with a dropped Bow as an early form of ranged combat, which will let the player kill cows without the danger of being trampled. Other than that the only other purpose they serve is being able to be rendered in a stoked Cauldron to produce Flint. The Bows can also be turned into a Shaft and a piece of String when placed in a crafting grid. The most useful thing they can drop is iron armor. Skeletons have a small chance of spawning while wearing iron armor and if the player manages to kill them then they will drop their armor. The armor pieces will have a random amount of durability but could still prove to be very useful. Later in-game, armor can then be melted back down into Iron Nuggets using a Crucible.

Fighting

Skeletons are very dangerous mobs to fight, especially when facing multiple of them at once. The best way to fight them is to try to get them as close as possible. This can be done by using corners, because when a target moves out of the skeleton's line of vision but not out of their range, they'll move closer to get them back into their shooting range. Skeletons have a short delay between shots and thus being close to them allows you to strike them multiple times without them being able to do something. This should be done with extreme caution because it's never really a good idea to let a hostile mob get close to you.

Keep in mind

• The durability of the armor is decided when the mob spawns, while for the Bow it's decided when the skeleton dies.
• The armor still takes damage when worn by the skeleton and can thus break
• Skeletons wearing helmets don't burn up in sunlight but their helmet will slowly lose durability.
• Creepers killed by a skeleton's arrow will drop a music disc.
• Killing a skeleton from 50 meters away is necessary for the achievement "Sniper Duel". (See below.)
• If a skeleton's arrow hits another hostile mob, that mob will then attack the skeleton the same way it would attack the player
• Skeletons can hit Endermen with their arrows, which the player can't do. This usually results in the Enderman becoming hostile towards the skeleton and killing it in a few blows.
• It is possible for a skeleton to spawn, shoot you, then despawn on peaceful difficulty. It will still deal damage.
• Skeletons' arrows will often miss the player if they stand perfectly still and the skeleton doesn't move.
• Despite appearing to not be enchanted, skeletons' bows are treated as though they have the infinity enchantment; they fire infinitely and their arrows cannot be picked up.
• Skeletons' legs have the same texture as their arms.
• If alerted to a player's presence, skeletons can (and will) fire arrows backward (behind them).
• If the player is under a skeleton, it will shoot itself.
• Skeletons may spawn on top of a spider creating a dangerous Spider Jockey.
• Skeletons can climb up ladders, but they will not shoot the players while climbing up. They do not use ladders to their advantage, and often simply use it if it is directly in front of them while in pursuit of the player.
• A skeleton hit by a splash potion of harming will gain health, however, when it is hit by a splash potion of healing it will lose health. It is also unaffected by potions of regeneration and poison. This is because skeletons are considered undead.
• Skeletons cannot see the player through glass unless the skeleton already knows you're there.
• Skeletons will not go in pursuit mode when it is under the shade at any time of day. When it reaches nighttime, however, they will start giving chase. But, they will always shoot the player when in range, regardless of the time of day.
• If a skeleton shoots a Zombie Pigman, only the Zombie Pigman that was shot will attack the skeleton rather than all nearby Zombie Pigmen.
• If you stand inside of the skeleton he can't hurt you, but you can hurt him.
• Skeletons and Zombie Pigmen are the only mobs that can naturally occur in both the Overworld and the Nether.
• 25% of dungeons are skeleton dungeons.
• There is a bug that skeletons holding a weapon that is not a bow, it will not retaliate when a snow golem attacks them.
• If a skeleton obtains a sword of any kind, it will run at the same speed as a player walks towards a target.
• The reason why skeletons are fast when a bow is not equipped is because they share the same Mob ID as Wither Skeletons.
• Skeletons are one of the three mobs that carry a weapon by default, the other two being the Wither Skeleton and the Zombie Pigman.

See also

• Spider Jockey