Top 7 mobs to avoid in Minecraft Hardcore

There are a lot of hostile mobs in Minecraft, all being potential run-enders for players on hardcore worlds, where even a single death means ending the entire playthrough. However, it's inarguable that some of these hostile mobs, such as the game's endermites, are nowhere near as deadly as others.

This begs the question of which of the game's many mobs are the deadliest. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean which mobs deal the most damage, as Minecraft's infamous warden would be near the top of that list.

The warden, however, only spawns under specific conditions, making it unlikely to be a threat. This list is more concerned with mobs that are a common sight and are more dangerous than one might expect.

NOTE: This article is subjective and reflects the views of the writer.

---

The seven mobs all Minecraft hardcore players should avoid

7) Cave spiders

Cave spider spawners act as mineshaft dungeons. (Image via Mojang)

Cave spiders are also a major threat to hardcore players. The poison effect deals damage directly to a player's HP, bypassing armor.

Cave spiders are also deserving of caution due to being smaller than regular spiders, making them harder to hit and kill. Additionally, the existence of cobweb-covered cave spider spawners means that players end up fighting huge groups of them. Unlike Minecraft's weakest mobs, like silverfish, these groups can quickly end even an advanced hardcore world.

---

6) Bogged

Bogged are probably the deadliest Overworld skeleton variant. (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft 1.21's upcoming bogged skeleton variant is the deadliest skeleton variant thus far and makes swamps much more dangerous at night. They may have less health and deal less damage than regular skeletons, but they also shoot poison-tipped arrows.

This makes them a threat in a similar way to cave spiders since the poison they inflict can bypass even the toughest of armors, but they are deadlier since they can attack from a distance.

---

5) Shulkers

Shulkers are also deadly due to teleporting around randomly when hit. (Image via Mojang)

Shulkers are one of the best mobs to farm for late-game players, but they should be avoided at all costs outside of these prepared farming runs. They are found exclusively within end cities, which is also where they get their danger. The verticality of end cities and the danger of the void below make the levitation effect caused by shulker bullets a potential death sentence.

Cities without ships are especially bad for explorers, as no ship means no elytra. And elytra makes shulkers much less dangerous since players can fly out of their falls.

---

4) Trident drowned

Trident drowned are one of the biggest threats while at sea. (Image via Mojang)

Drowned are not particularly dangerous on their own, being a water-bound variant of the regular zombie. However, there is a small chance that a drowned spawns with a trident, which makes them a much deadlier opponent. These much more dangerous Minecraft drowned can throw an unlimited number of tridents, each dealing four hearts of damage if they hit.

This damage is only made worse by the fact that water is harder to maneuver in. This makes trident-slinging drowned a true threat, even into the mid- and late-games, so players should be careful when exploring underwater.

---

3) Wither skeletons

A wither skeleton popping into Minecraft's overworld is unlikely, but possible. (Image via Mojang)

Wither skeletons are the most dangerous melee mob found in the Nether. They are commonly found in large numbers within Nether fortresses and can inflict the wither Minecraft status effect on players they hit. This is one of the most deadly damage-over-time effects, dealing 2.5 hearts of damage on top of the skeleton's attack over the course of 10 seconds.

Unlike poison, the Wither effect can kill, meaning a wither skeleton at the wrong time can result in a slow, guaranteed, unstoppable death, one of the most frustrating ways to lose a hardcore world.

---

2) Blaze

Blaze are the deadliest Nether mob. (Image via Mojang)

Blaze are by far the deadliest mob in the Nether when factoring in all their little quirks and annoyances, but to balance this out, they are also one of Minecraft's most useful mobs due to dropping the blaze rods needed to reach the End.

They have a ranged fireball attack, which can knock players around while also setting them on fire. This can cause large falls due to the dimension's terrain, which ignores most armor, just like fire. Additionally, they're a flying mob and love to just sit over pits out of reach. Blaze are also able to see players through walls, so there's no way to hide from them.

And somehow, all of this can be made worse. Since they spawn in groups from spawners, huge swarms can very quickly overwhelm even well-prepared veteran players.

---

1) Charged creepers

Charged creepers are also much more destructive. (Image via Mojang)

Charged creepers are the single deadliest mob in Minecraft when talking raw damage numbers. The damage that these lightning-born super Creepers can deal on each difficulty is:

Difficulty	Raw Damage	Damage in Hearts
Easy	43.5	21.75
Normal	85	42.5
Hard	127.5	64.75

Hardcore, as the name suggests, uses hard as its base difficulty. This means that charged creepers will deal nearly 65 hearts of damage at close range, enough to kill even well-armored players. When a single mistake in farming Minecraft mob heads can be the end of a month-long hardcore game, it might be best to avoid them altogether.