Creeper
Infobox Issue
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Creepers are explosive hostile mobs that naturally spawn during the night or in dark areas like caves. They're the main source of Nitre and Creeper Oysters but can also drop Music Discs when killed by a skeleton's arrow. Unlike zombies and skeletons, they will not burn when they come into contact with sunlight.
Appearance
The creeper is a handless humanoid creature with four short legs hanging off the bottom edges of its rectangular body. It has large, empty eye sockets, a mouth twisted into a signature sad expression, and a greenish, grass-like camouflage skin. When asked to describe the physical texture of a Creeper, Notch said they would feel "crunchy, like dry leaves".
Behavior
Creepers will wander around randomly. If they spot a target then they'll move towards them. Once they're close enough they'll try to explode. However, if they notice that the target isn't close enough anymore then they'll stop trying to explode and move towards them until they're close enough again. They'll stop if the target moves out of their range or if they managed to explode, killing the creeper in the process.
Targets
Creepers will only go after the player or mobs that attacked them first, like skeletons or cows. In case they get attacked by a cow then they'll always explode, regardless of how close the cow is.
Usage
Nitre doesn't serve much purpose in the early game. It can, however, be combined with any raw meat in order to produce Cured Meat, which can be useful in case the player has no way to cook their meat as it replenishes 1 shank of hunger and doesn't cause Food Poisoning. Later on in-game, it can be used to craft Gunpowder which is an essential part of explosives like Dynamite, Powder Kegs and Mining Charges. Creeper Oysters, on the other hand, serve a much more immediate purpose. They can be used to craft Diamond Ingots which are used for crafting diamond tools and armor. They can also be used to craft Stump Removers, which will cleanly remove any Stump without damaging its surroundings, or as bait for fishing. Lastly, they can be eaten by the player to replenish 1 shank of hunger but will leave them with Poison for 5 seconds, identical to Spider Eyes.
Fighting
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Creepers are extremely dangerous to fight because of their explosive nature. By far the best way to engage them is by right-clicking them with Shears. This will "snip" the creeper, dropping Creeper Oysters and preventing their ability to explode. If this isn't possible then you can also just let the creeper explode. You can let them explode safely by simply letting them get close and right when they're about to explode moving quickly away from them. This can be tricky to pull off, however, especially if you don't want to take any damage, as their explosion will always do at least one heart of damage unless you're behind a block or are completely out of the explosion's range. If you don't want the creeper to explode then you'll have to use the same trick as before in order to hit the creeper. All you have to do is let the creeper stay withing melee range but not close enough to start exploding. Upon landing a hit, the creeper will start to explode by itself. Moving away from the creeper then will stop this and allow you to go in for another strike. This can be done as many times until the creeper is killed. |
Keep in mind
- When a creeper explodes they don't leave any drops behind, but it's a great early game source of materials, like dirt piles to make slabs, or even to destroy a surface layer of stone, to reveal more iron.
- Not everything caught in a creeper's explosion will be dropped.
Trivia
- Like all explosions, if a Creeper detonates whilst surrounded/in water, its explosion has no effect on blocks, but will still cause damage to entities.
- Curiously, even with their explosive properties and the fact that they drop gunpowder when killed, Creepers will not detonate when exposed to lava or fire.
- As a Creeper approaches a player, it tends to circle to its right (player's left). This behavior, which is also seen in skeletons, makes them slightly more challenging to kill than many other mobs, particularly if the player is using a sword or other melee distance tool rather than a bow.
- A Creeper's fuse countdown lasts a little longer if it encounters a cobweb, buying a little time for a player to flee if they are low on health.
- In SMP, if a Creeper is attacked by another player, and the other player runs out of sight, it will not attack any other players.
- Creepers have a separate "armor". When they are normal Creepers, they are in their un-armored state. When hit by lightning, the charged field of electricity is their armor. This "armor" does not protect them and has infinite durability.
- In the game files, this "armor" is found in the Armor files and is labeled as "power.png"
- Despite having no arms, Creepers can climb up ladders and vines like any other mob.
- The Creepers pathfinding allows for it to notice lava, and it will not attempt to chase the player if they are on the other side of the lava. This happens regardless of how close the player is (as long as they are not within detonation range).
- If you hit a creeper in Creative Mode and then get away fast (or fly away) it will turn on passive state again.
- A creeper face can be seen on the chiseled sandstone.
- Creepers float about 2 pixels above ground
- While Creepers cannot be targeted by other mobs, they can be attacked by them. For example, a skeleton can hit a Creeper while aimlessly shooting randomly (usually seen in Creative) and Iron Golems can hit Creepers when attempting to kill another hostile mob, such as a zombie.
- Creepers are also one of two mobs that can never be targeted by any other mob (the other being the Ghast, with the exception of Zombie Pigman. Allied and utility mobs that can attack other hostile mobs, such as Tamed wolves, Snow Golems and Iron Golems will never purposely attack Creepers. This is because of their destructive nature upon being provoked.
Bestiary
| Hostile Mobs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | XP  |
Health  |
Damage | Location | Drops | Arcane Scrolls |
 Blaze |
10 | 20 ( × 10) |
Fireball: 5 ( )Melee: 6 ( )
|
In Nether Fortresses, naturally or from spawners, light level of 11 or less Only on blocks found in the Nether |
 |
 |
 Cave Spider |
5 | 12 () |
2 ( )Venom: 1.5 sec between hits, 1 (  ) per hit  for 7 sec ()
|
In Spawners found in abandoned Mine Shafts |   |
|
 Creeper |
5 | 20 ( × 10) |
In the overworld. Light level 0 and 1×2 space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). |
   |
| |
 Ghast |
5 | 10 () |
Varies by proximity Maximum explosion damage: 17 ( × 8.5)
|
The Nether, with at least 4*4*4 space, any light level, immediately above a spawnable block, that is not in a Nether Fortress Only on blocks found in the Nether |
  |
|
 Jungle Spider |
5 | 12 () |
2 () Venom: 1.5 sec between hits, 1 ( ) per hit for 7 sec ()
|
On leaves in jungle biomes, any light level |  |
|
 Magma Cube |
Big: 4 Small: 2 Tiny: 1 |
Big: 16 () Small: 4 ( )Tiny: 1 ( ) |
Big: 6 () Small: 4 ( )Tiny: 3 ( )
|
In the Nether, any light level Only on blocks found in the Nether |
 |
|
 Silverfish |
5 | 8 () |
1 ()
|
In the overworld, in High hills biomes or near spawners in Strongholds In the End, near an active Ender Block beacon |
 Clay (0-2), only in the End |
Only in the End: |
 Skeleton |
5 | 20 ( × 10) |
Range: 3 () Melee: 2 ( )
|
Light level 0 and 1×2 space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). Nether: Nether Fortresses. |
   Equipped items (may be enchanted):      Iron Armor (75% chance)
|
|
 Squid |
1-3 | 10 () |
3x3 or more blocks of water (source blocks only), 0 light, any y lvl (unlike Vanilla) |   |
| |
 Slime |
4 (large) 2 (medium) 1 (small) |
Big: 16 () Small: 4 ( )Tiny: 1 ( ) |
Big: 4 () Small: 2 ( )Tiny: 0 (  )
|
Below level 40 in specific chunks, any light level Swamp biomes on levels 51 through 69, light level 0 |
 |
|
 Spider |
5 | 16 () |
2 ()
|
Light level 0 and 2×2, 1 high space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). |
|
|
 Spider Jockey |
5+5 | Skeleton:20 ( × 10) Spider:16 ( ) |
Skeleton:4 () Spider:2 ( )
|
Light level 0 and 2×2, 1 high space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). |
Both Skeleton and Spider drops | |
 Witch |
5 | 26 ( × 13) |
Potion of Poison: 5 ( )Potion of Harming: 6 ( )
|
Only in swamps, light level 0 and 1×2 space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). |
   |
|
 Wither Skeleton |
5 | 20 ( × 10) |
9 (  )
|
Nether Fortresses, only on blocks found in the Nether |  Stone Sword Runed Skull
|
|
 Zombie |
5 | 20 ( × 10) |
3 ()
|
Light level 0 and 1×2 space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). |
  Equipped items (may be enchanted):   Iron Armor (75% chance)
|
|
 Zombie Villager |
||||||
| Passive Mobs | ||||||
| Type | XP |
Health |
Damage | Location | Drops | Arcane Scrolls |
 Bat |
6 () |
0 | Below layer 63, light level of 4 or less On October 20-November 3: below layer 63, light level of 7 or less |
 |
| |
 Chicken |
1 - 3 | 4 () |
0 | Opaque blocks with a (Minimum) two block space above them. From a thrown chicken egg (1/8 chance) In Forests, Plains, Mountains, Jungles and Swamps. |
    |
|
 Mooshroom |
1-3 | 10 () |
7 ()
|
Mushroom Biomes On Mycelium |
   |
|
 Ocelot |
1-3 | 10 () |
0 | Ocelot: In Jungle Biomes, on Grass or leaf blocks that are in layer 63 or higher, any light level. Cat: By taming an Ocelot |
||
 Pig |
1-3 | 10 () |
0 | On world generation or exploration of new chunks. In Forests, Taigas, Plains, Ice Plains, Mountains, Jungles and Swamps. |
  |
|
 Sheep |
1-3 | 8 () |
0 | On world generation or exploration of new chunks. In Forests, Taigas, Plains, Ice Plains and Mountains. |
  |
|
 Villager |
||||||
| Neutral Mobs | ||||||
| Type | XP |
Health |
Damage | Location | Drops | Arcane Scrolls |
 Cow |
1–3 | 15 () |
7 ()
|
On opaque blocks with 1×2 space or after shearing a Mooshroom. Only on world generation or unexplored chunks. In Forests, Taigas, Plains, Ice Plains and Mountains |
 |
|
 Endermen |
10 | 40 ( × 20) |
7 ()
|
Light level 0 and 1×2 space. Anywhere but blocks made of plant materials (logs, wood, leaves etc). In the End. |
 |
Only in the End: |
 Zombie Pigmen |
5 | 20 ( × 10) |
Melee: 5 () Armed: 8 ( )
|
Any 2 block high space in any light level in the Nether When lightning strikes within 3-4 blocks of a pig in the Overworld |
 Equipped items (may be enchanted):  |
|
| Tameable Mobs | ||||||
 Ocelot |
0 | 10 () |
0 | In Jungle Biomes, on Grass or leaf blocks that are in layer 63 or higher, any light level | ||
 Wolf |
1 - 3 | 20 ( × 10) |
4 ()
|
On world generation, in Forest and Taiga biomes |   |
|
| Utility Mobs | ||||||
| Type | XP |
Health |
Damage | Location | Drops | Arcane Scrolls |
 Snow Golem |
0 | 4 () |
0 () (only pushes mobs back) 3 ( ) to Blaze1 ( ) to Ender Dragon
|
Where created by the player |  |
|
 Iron Golem |
0 | 100 ( × 50) |
7 () to 21 ( × 10.5)
|
Where created by the player |   | |
| Bosses | ||||||
| Type | XP |
Health |
Damage | Location | Drops | Arcane Scrolls |
 Wither |
50 | 300 ( × 150) |
8 ()
|
Built by player, only possible in the overworld |  |
|
 Ender Dragon |
12,000 | 200 ( × 100) |
10 ()
|
Upon entering The End for the first time | The Overworld Portal and Dragon Egg (Directly below it) | |