Differences in fighting the Wither on Minecraft Java vs Bedrock Edition

Considered as one of the strongest mob bosses in Minecraft, the Wither is an undead hostile mob boss that can be summoned by the players. Fighting the Wither is no small task and requires a lot of preparation, regardless of which Minecraft edition the player is on.

Many Minecraft players are unaware that the Wither behaves differently in each of the editions. Fighting and defeating the Wither in the Bedrock edition is more challenging than on the Java edition. How exactly does the hostile mob differ across editions? Do players have to employ different techniques to fight it or do the methods remain the same?

This article will cover the major differences in the behavior of Wither on Minecraft Java and Bedrock Editions.

---

Contrasting features of the Wither on Minecraft Java vs Bedrock Edition

How the Wither’s spawn impacts its surroundings

Arrangement of the soul sand and Wither skull to summon Wither (Image via Minecraft)

Spawning mechanics remain the same across both editions and players can spawn it by placing four soul sand blocks in a T-shape and placing three wither skeleton skulls on top. However, once spawned, the Wither behaves differently on both editions.

On the Java edition wither has 300 health whereas on the Bedrock edition he has double the health (600). This already makes fighting Wither on Bedrock edition harder as he has more health.

On spawing the Wither in the Bedrock Edition the sky is filled with dark clouds reducing the light level to 11 (Image via Minecraft))

On spawning the wither in Bedrock Edition the sky light level also drops to 11 and dark clouds materialize; preventing any mobs from burning in the sunlight. Hence, along with fighting the Wither, the player is in constant danger of being attacked by other mobs.

---

Differences in the fights against the Wither

There are two stages while fighting the Wither, first is from afar by shooting arrows or tridents. Once its health drops below half, the wither acquires a natural wither armor, making him immune to these attacks. Now the players have to kill the wither with melee attacks.

The hitbox size also varies on both editions. In Java it is 3.5 blocks high and 0.9 blocks wide. Whereas on the Bedrock edition it is 3 blocks high and 1 block wide.

Wither also has a dash attack that is limited to the Bedrock edition, which deals 15 damage to nearby mobs and blocks. This attack destroys any mob or block that comes in its way.

Wither shoots blue skulls in the Bedrock Edition (Image via Minecraft)

After locking its target, the Wither shoots 3 black wither skulls, along with one blue skull in the Bedrock edition. Whereas on Java, it only shoots black skulls. Also Withers fly far more quickly in the Bedrock edition than Java, making them even harder to shoot or hit.

Wither Skeleton being summoned by Wither (Image via Minecraft)

If the player is playing in the Survival mode on Normal or higher difficulty level on Bedrock edition, after reaching half health, the Wither spawns three to four wither skeletons. This feature is limited to the Bedrock edition.

Nether star in Bedrock Edition (Image via Minecraft Bedrock Wiki)

However, once the Wither is dead it drops one Nether star which despawns in the Java Edition after five minutes, but that doesn't happen in the Bedrock Edition.

Conclusion

After considering all these factors, fighting Wither in the Bedrock Edition is far more challenging than in the Java Edition. Therefore, the Bedrock Edition Wither is a more challenging mob boss to fight than the Java Edition Wither.