Skeleton

The skeleton is the archer of Minecraft’s night. These bony undead mobs keep their distance and shoot arrows, strafing around you and retreating when you get close. Skeletons are responsible for a huge number of early-game deaths, especially near cliffs and in caves, but they also drop bones and arrows that are essential for farming, taming wolves and archery. This wiki page covers skeleton stats, spawning, every skeleton variant, drops, how to fight them, skeleton spawner farms and useful tricks in Java and Bedrock Edition.

Skeleton stats

Stat	Value
Type	Hostile undead mob
Health	20 (10 hearts)
Weapon	Bow
Arrow damage	Varies with difficulty and distance, up to about 4 to 5 on Hard
Spawn light level	Block light 0 in the Overworld; Nether soul sand valleys
Burns in sunlight	Yes, unless wearing a helmet or in water or shade
Drops	0 to 2 bones, 0 to 2 arrows, sometimes its bow
Experience	5 XP, more if it wears equipment
Afraid of	Wolves

Where skeletons spawn

Skeletons spawn in the Overworld in complete darkness, on the surface at night and in caves at any time. They are also common in soul sand valleys in the Nether, where they spawn alongside ghasts and endermen. Dungeons can contain skeleton spawners, and strongholds, mineshafts and ancient cities are full of dark spaces where skeletons appear. In snowy biomes, many skeletons are replaced by strays, and in swamps and mangrove swamps by bogged.

How skeletons fight

Skeletons spot you from about 16 blocks away and start shooting when they have a line of sight. Unlike zombies, they do not charge you: they strafe sideways, move back when you approach, and keep firing, which makes them tricky in open areas. Their arrows knock you back, which is especially dangerous near cliff edges, lava and water. If a skeleton is wearing armor or holding an enchanted bow, it can hit much harder or set you on fire with Flame.

Skeletons hurt other mobs if their arrows hit them, which can start fights between skeletons and other monsters. They also hunt baby turtles. Skeletons are afraid of wolves and run from them, so a pack of tamed wolves makes short work of them.

Skeleton killing a creeper

If a skeleton’s arrow kills a creeper, the creeper drops a music disc. Players set up traps that make skeletons shoot creepers in order to collect every disc from the original set.

Skeleton variants

Variant	Where	Special trait
Stray	Snowy plains, ice spikes, frozen biomes	Shoots arrows of Slowness; drops tipped arrows
Bogged	Swamps, mangrove swamps and trial chambers	Shoots arrows of Poison; mossy look; drops mushrooms when sheared
Wither skeleton	Nether fortresses	Tall, carries a stone sword, inflicts Wither; can drop wither skeleton skulls
Skeleton horseman	Skeleton trap horses during thunderstorms	Rides a skeleton horse with an enchanted bow

A normal skeleton that sits in powder snow for several seconds turns into a stray, which is how players build stray farms for Slowness arrows.

Wither skeletons

Wither skeletons are the most valuable variant. They are tall, black, carry stone swords and give you the Wither effect, which drains health and turns hearts black. They spawn only in Nether fortresses. Their rare drop, the wither skeleton skull, is needed to summon the Wither boss: you need three. Looting raises the skull chance, so use a Looting III sword when hunting them. See the Wither page.

What skeletons drop

• Bones: 0 to 2. Craft each bone into 3 bone meal for fast crop growth, or use bones to tame wolves.
• Arrows: 0 to 2, a free arrow supply for your bow.
• Bow: occasionally drops its bow, sometimes damaged or enchanted.
• Skeleton skull: when killed by a charged creeper.
• Equipment: any armor it was wearing may drop.

How to fight skeletons

• Use a shield. A raised shield blocks arrows completely. Walk toward the skeleton with the shield up, lower it to strike, then raise it again.
• Close the distance using cover. Move from tree to tree or around corners so the skeleton loses line of sight.
• Fight in daylight when skeletons burn, or lure them into sunlight.
• Use Smite. Like zombies, skeletons are undead and take extra damage from Smite.
• Avoid edges. Never fight skeletons near cliffs, ravines or lava, because arrow knockback can push you off.
• Bring wolves. Skeletons flee wolves, and wolves chase them down. Tame wolves with bones from earlier skeletons.
• Use Projectile Protection armor if you fight lots of archers.

Skeleton spawner farms

Skeleton spawners in dungeons make excellent XP farms. Common designs push skeletons with water into a drop shaft or a killing room where you hit them through a gap. Skeleton farms give bones for bone meal and wolves, arrows, and a lot of experience for enchanting and repairing Mending gear. Pair a skeleton farm with a creeper drop area to collect music discs. Light the spawner with torches if you just want to disable it.

Skeleton horse traps

During thunderstorms, lightning can create a skeleton trap: a skeleton horse that, when a player approaches, is struck by lightning and spawns four skeleton horsemen with enchanted bows and iron helmets. Killing them leaves four skeleton horses you can ride, which are fast and can travel underwater. Be prepared before approaching a lone skeleton horse in a storm.

Java vs Bedrock differences

Skeletons behave nearly the same in both editions. Bow damage, strafing and burning in sunlight work the same. Stray and bogged variants exist in both. Small differences exist in arrow accuracy and how often skeletons spawn with armor.

Skeleton FAQ

What do skeletons drop?

Bones, arrows and sometimes their bow.

How much health does a skeleton have?

20 health, or 10 hearts.

What are skeletons afraid of?

Wolves.

How do you get wither skeleton skulls?

Kill wither skeletons in Nether fortresses; Looting improves the drop chance.

How do you block skeleton arrows?

Raise a shield toward the skeleton.

Using skeleton drops

Bones are one of the most useful mob drops in early survival. Crafted into bone meal, they make crops, saplings, flowers and grass grow instantly, and they dye wool and other blocks white. Three bone meal also craft back into a bone block for compact storage. Bones tame wolves: right-click a wild wolf with bones until a red collar appears. Arrows from skeletons save you from crafting your own with flint and feathers, and the occasional enchanted bow can carry Power or Infinity. Strays drop tipped arrows of Slowness and bogged drop arrows of Poison, which are handy in PvP and against tough mobs.

Skeletons and lighting

Because skeletons spawn in darkness and shoot from range, unlit caves are where they are most dangerous. Light caves as you explore and you will rarely face more than one skeleton at a time. On the surface, skeletons that survive sunrise under trees are a common danger in forests, so watch the shade when walking through dense woods in the morning. Breaking line of sight is your best defense: a single block placed between you and a skeleton stops its arrows, and pillaring up two blocks in a cave gives you a safe spot to fight from.

Naming and taming

You cannot tame a skeleton, but a name tag stops it despawning. Skeleton horses from traps can be ridden immediately without taming and do not need food, making them convenient mounts for players near oceans.

Finally, remember that skeletons pick up nothing from the ground in most cases, so the gear you see them carry is what they spawned with. A skeleton in full armor on Hard is worth fighting carefully, because its drops can include that armor.