Enderman

The enderman is one of the most iconic and unsettling mobs in Minecraft. This tall, thin, black creature with purple eyes wanders all three dimensions, teleports around, moves blocks and becomes extremely dangerous if you look it in the eye. Endermen are also the main source of ender pearls, which you need to find the stronghold and reach the End. This wiki page covers enderman stats, spawning, behavior, how to avoid angering them, drops, combat tips and enderman farms in Java and Bedrock Edition.

Enderman stats

Where endermen spawn

• The Overworld: in darkness at night and in caves, but rarely, usually alone or in pairs.
• The Nether: very common in warped forests, the safest Nether biome, and also in soul sand valleys and Nether wastes.
• The End: extremely common on every End island, where they appear in large numbers.

Endermen do not spawn in mushroom fields or the deep dark. Their numbers in warped forests make that biome the best place to hunt them before reaching the End.

How to avoid angering an enderman

Endermen are neutral. They ignore you until you do one of two things:

1. Look at its upper body or head with your crosshair from within about 64 blocks. The enderman stares back, shakes, screams and then attacks.
2. Hit it with any attack.

To stay safe, avoid looking directly at endermen, especially their face. Wearing a carved pumpkin on your head stops endermen from getting angry when you look at them, at the cost of a pumpkin overlay that limits your view. Many players wear one while traveling through the End. Looking at its legs or feet is safe.

Enderman behavior

• Teleportation: endermen teleport randomly, when hit, when touching water and when attacked with projectiles. When angry, they teleport close to you to attack.
• Projectile immunity: arrows, snowballs, eggs and most projectiles make them teleport away instead of taking damage. Only potions, fire and melee reliably hurt them.
• Water damage: endermen take damage from water, rain and splash water bottles, so they teleport away in rainstorms and avoid rivers.
• Block moving: they pick up certain blocks, such as grass, dirt, sand, flowers, pumpkins, melons, TNT and mushrooms, and place them elsewhere. This can leave holes in builds. Turning off mobGriefing stops it.
• Endermites: endermen are hostile to endermites, which sometimes spawn from thrown ender pearls.

How to fight an enderman

• Stand under a 2-block-high roof. Endermen are 3 blocks tall, so they cannot enter a space with a 2-block ceiling. Dig into a wall or build a quick shelter and hit their legs from inside.
• Stand in water. Endermen will not follow you into water and take damage if they touch it. A water bucket at your feet is a classic trick.
• Use a strong sword. With 40 health and high damage, endermen are tough in a straight fight. Wear armor and use Sharpness.
• Do not rely on bows. Arrows make them teleport, so bows are almost useless.

What endermen drop

• Ender pearl: 0 to 1 per kill, up to 4 with Looting III. Throw ender pearls to teleport, or combine with blaze powder to craft an eye of ender, needed to find and activate the End portal.
• Held block: if an enderman was carrying a block, it drops when killed.

You need at least 12 eyes of ender to fill an End portal frame, though some frames already have eyes, plus extra eyes to throw while searching for the stronghold. Plan for around 15 to 20 pearls before your first trip.

Trading for ender pearls

If you prefer not to fight endermen, cleric villagers at higher levels sell ender pearls for emeralds, and piglin bartering with gold ingots in the Nether can also give ender pearls. Combining these methods with a few warped forest hunts usually gives enough for the End.

Enderman farms

Endermen farms are some of the best XP farms in the game. The most popular design is built in the End, far from the main island, on a platform where endermen spawn in huge numbers. Endermen are lured toward an endermite kept in a minecart or named with a name tag, then fall into a chute that leaves them at low health. One hit kills them, giving fast experience and stacks of ender pearls. In the Nether, warped forest farms are a smaller alternative before you reach the End.

Enderman tips

• Never look at an enderman’s face while you are at low health or in a dangerous spot.
• Carry a water bucket in the End for emergencies.
• Protect builds from block theft by using blocks endermen cannot pick up, such as stone bricks and planks, or by disabling mob griefing.
• Silk Touch is not needed to get back blocks an enderman drops.
• In the End, wear a carved pumpkin until the dragon fight starts if you are worried about endermen.

Java vs Bedrock differences

Endermen work nearly the same in both editions. The list of blocks they can pick up differs slightly, and spawning rules in the Nether vary a little. Looking, teleporting and water damage behave the same.

Enderman FAQ

Why do endermen attack when you look at them?

Looking at an enderman’s upper body makes it hostile. Wear a carved pumpkin to prevent it.

What do endermen drop?

Ender pearls and any block they were carrying.

How do you kill an enderman safely?

Hide under a 2-block-high ceiling or stand in water and hit its legs.

Where do endermen spawn the most?

The End and warped forests in the Nether.

How much health does an enderman have?

40 health, or 20 hearts.

Endermen and the stronghold

Endermen are the reason most players can reach the End at all. Throwing an eye of ender sends it floating toward the nearest stronghold; follow it, throw again, and dig down when the eye drops straight into the ground. Each throw has a small chance to break the eye, so carry spares. Inside the stronghold, the End portal room holds a frame of twelve blocks, some of which may already contain eyes. Fill the rest with eyes of ender and the portal opens. Because every eye needs one ender pearl, the time you spend hunting endermen in warped forests decides how quickly you can face the Ender Dragon. Many players also collect extra pearls for fast travel, since throwing a pearl teleports you to where it lands at the cost of a little fall damage.

Can you tame an enderman?

No. Endermen cannot be tamed, leashed or ridden. You can name one with a name tag so it does not despawn, and you can keep one trapped in a two-block-tall space as a pet or decoration, but it will still attack if you look at it from outside.

Tip: if an enderman starts chasing you and you have no shelter, place two blocks above your head quickly to create a two-block gap it cannot enter, then fight it from below.

Endermen also make noise: listen for their strange warbling sounds and teleport whooshes, which warn you one is nearby before you see it.