How to find and ride a strider in Minecraft

Minecraft features a huge cast of diverse mobs, and the strider is one of the quirkiest additions to the game. Native to the Nether, these passive mobs can walk on lava and are the only rideable creatures in the game's most hostile environment.

Riding a strider isn’t just fun but also practical as they are used for crossing lakes of lava while exploring the Nether. With their quirky personality and usefulness, striders prove that even in the fiery depths of Minecraft Nether, there’s room for a friend. Let's get into how to find and ride these mobs.

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How to find a strider

Striders are easily found in the Nether (Image via Mojang Studios)

Since striders spawn naturally in every biome of the Nether, they are easy to locate if you know where to look. They require a space of lava with an air block above to appear. Occasionally, you may find a baby strider riding on the back of an adult. These baby striders do not dismount, even after they grow into adults.

Sometimes, you can also find a Zombified Piglin spawning on top of a strider. These saddled striders can be found roaming lava lakes, adding a fun surprise for adventurers. In Java Edition, new striders spawn every 400 game ticks. However, in Bedrock Edition, striders share the animal population cap with Hoglins, meaning their spawn rate can vary depending on the biome and mob density.

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How to ride a strider

They function similarly to the pigs in Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

Items you need to collect before you can ride a strider in Minecraft:

• Saddle: Find a saddle in loot chests, trade with villagers, or fish for one.
• Warped fungus on a stick: Craft this item using a fishing rod and warped fungus, which can be found in warped forests in the Nether.

After you have collected the items, follow these steps to ride this mob:

• Saddle the strider
• Mount the strider
• Use the warped fungus on a stick to guide the strider.

Similar to riding pigs with a Carrot on a Stick, the strider will move in the direction you point. Right-clicking the warped fungus on a stick gives the strider a temporary speed boost, but it also reduces the item’s durability.

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Strider behavior and tips

Striders are an underrated family of Minecraft mobs (Image via Mojang Studios)

Striders are the only mobs that can walk on lava without sinking, making them essential for navigating large lava lakes in the Nether. If a strider is attacked, it will attempt to flee for a few seconds. Striders shiver when they’re out of lava, adding a touch of personality to these quirky mobs.

These mobs take damage from water, rain, and splash water bottles, and prolonged exposure can kill them. Although they are not harmed by snowfall or snowballs, they take extra damage from freezing in powder snow.

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The creation of the Minecraft strider

Rather than being a random addition to Minecraft, the strider was carefully designed to solve a problem. The Nether’s vast lava lakes needed a creative solution for traversal. Instead of boats, developers introduced the strider, a mob that could walk on lava and add personality to the game’s fiery dimension.

Early concepts included a tardigrade-like creature called the crawler and a large, long-legged mob that touched the bottom of lava lakes. Developers eventually scaled down the design, inspired by the Swedish insect "Skräddare," which can walk on water. The result was a quirky, wobbly mob with a red face and long legs.

The strider’s charming sound design, including its chirps and sad noises, contrasts sharply with the hostile atmosphere of the Nether. Its shivering animation and unique mechanics also add to the mob's popularity among players.