How to Make a Mob Spawner in Minecraft

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: February 20, 2023

This wikiHow teaches you how to create a trap for enemy mobs in Minecraft that will allow you to collect the enemies' dropped items after they die. If you'd rather create an apparatus that allows you to spawn mobs on command, you can use a dispenser in Creative Mode to do so.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Preparing to Build

1
Consider using Creative Mode when building the spawner. Since mob spawners are both incredibly resource-intensive and fairly dangerous to build without fall protection, you might want to build your mob spawner in Creative Mode and then switch the game over to Survival in order to enjoy its benefits.
- Creating a game in Creative and then switching to Survival will disable achievements for the game.
2
Understand how the spawner works. By building a platform high up, you can create a surface on which mobs will gradually begin to spawn. These mobs will eventually find their way into the chute in the middle of the platform; once they end up in the chute, they will fall to their deaths, landing on a set of hoppers at the bottom of the chute. The hoppers will funnel the mobs' drops into connected chests that you can check for loot when necessary.

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3
Make sure you're in the correct biome for the mobs you want to catch. If you're attempting to catch a specific type of mob (e.g., a witch), you'll need to be in the correct location for that mob to spawn (for example, witches spawn near water).
4
Find a flat place in which to build. To avoid terraforming the area, it's best to find a flat, even place for your mob spawner.
5
Gather the necessary resources. You will need to find or build the following items:
- Twelve stacks of cobblestone (768 total cobblestone)
- Eight buckets of water
- Four hoppers
- Four small chests

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Building the Mob Spawner Tower

1
Create the tower. Each side of the tower should be two blocks wide and 28 blocks tall. This will create a 28-block-tall tower with a two-by-two space in its center.
2
Add a branch to each side of the tower. Add seven blocks to both blocks on each side of the top of the tower. This should result in four branches of eight total blocks in length pointing out from the center hole of the tower.
3
Create a wall around each branch. Each branch will need a two-block-tall wall around it to prevent mobs from jumping out once they fall in.
4
Fill in the area between the branches. To increase the surface area upon which mobs can spawn, add cobblestone between each of the branches to create a large, rectangular platform.
- The cobblestone you use here should be placed at the height of the top of the walls that you built around the branches.
5
Create a wall around the whole top of the spawner. This wall should be two blocks tall to prevent mobs from exiting the mob spawner.
- You can also use a fence for this step.
6
Add water to the far end of each branch. Select the bucket of water in your inventory, then select each of the two blocks at the furthest end of each branch. This will create a stream of water that runs from the end each branch toward the center of the spawner, stopping right before it reaches the center hole.
- Eight blocks is the maximum distance that one block of water will travel over flat land before stopping.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Building the Mob Spawner Basement

1
Create the chute. Dig a two-by-two six-block-deep at the base of the inside of the tower. This will create a deep hole at the bottom of the tower so that, when mobs spawn at the top of the tower and fall into it, they will be funneled into this hole.
2
Add four hoppers to the bottom of the hole. Select the stack of hoppers in your equip bar, then select each of the four blocks at the bottom of the chute.
3
Remove one block from beneath each of the hoppers. This will leave the hoppers suspended in midair.
4
Add chests below the hoppers. Select the chests in your equip bar, then select each of the four empty blocks below the hoppers. This should create two large chests below the hoppers.
5
Make the basement accessible from ground level. This will vary slightly depending on your world's topography, but in most cases you'll need to create a staircase back to the surface; since you're using two large chests, you should repeat this step for the opposite side of the basement as well.
- When guarding the basement, make sure that you have a sword on you. This will ensure that you can kill any mobs which survive the fall.
6
Wait for mobs to begin spawning. It can take up to a full day and night cycle for your mobs to begin spawning; once they do, your hoppers' chests will begin filling up with the mobs' dropped items.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Using a Dispenser in Creative Mode

1
Understand how this method works. If you're playing in Creative Mode, you can build a simple apparatus that spawns mobs depending on the different mob spawn commands (referred to as "eggs" in-game) that you place in the apparatus.
- This method isn't viable in Survival Mode, and it won't automatically spawn mobs; it's best used for creating arena-style matches or traps.
2
Place the necessary items in your inventory. From the creative menu, add the following items to your equip bar:
- One lever
- Three redstone dust
- One dispenser
- A stack (64) of your preferred mob spawn egg (you can add two or more stacks if you want to randomize your spawner)
3
Place your dispenser on the ground. Select the dispenser in your equip bar, then select the ground location in which you want to place the dispenser.
4
Place the redstone dust in a line behind the dispenser. You should now have a line of redstone trailing away from the dispenser.
5
Add the lever to the end of the line of redstone. Placing the lever at the end of the line of redstone will allow you to turn on and off the redstone.
- At this point, you can test the lever by selecting it; if the redstone dust lights up when you select the lever, it's working and you can turn it back off.
6
Select the dispenser. Tap, right-click, or left-trigger the dispenser to do so. This will open the dispenser's inventory.
7
Add the mob spawn egg(s) to the dispenser. Move the egg (or eggs) you want to use to spawn mobs into the inventory of the dispenser.
8
Close the dispenser. Your dispenser should now be ready to spawn mobs.
9
Select the lever twice. This will turn on the dispenser—thus prompting one of your mob eggs to be spawned—before turning the dispenser back off.
- You can repeat this process to spawn another mob.
- If you have more than one type of mob spawn egg in the dispenser, the mob that spawns will be randomized.

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Community Q&A

Question

Will this work on the Pocket Edition?

Community Answer

Yes, it will.
Question

Does this still work when on easy mode?

Community Answer

Mobs will not spawn on peaceful mode so yes. Easy, normal, and hard all work.
Question

Won't spiders just climb back up?

Community Answer

They will not climb back up because you are not at the top. If they target something up top, then yes they will just climb back up.

Warnings

If you spawn Endermen, they may begin to dismantle your mob spawner.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 8 Not Helpful 2
Creepers might explode and destroy your mob spawner, so build it out of obsidian or bedrock.

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