What are the best mobs to farm in Minecraft 1.18?

For Minecraft players who need XP for things like enchanting, having a solid mob farm in place is a great way to bypass hours of killing random mobs or crafting/growing materials for experience.

Although mob farming is great, it does matter to some degree what mobs are being farmed. Some give more experience than others, and there are also item drops to consider. For example, if players require gunpowder to make fireworks rockets for their Elytra, then they'll want to farm creepers instead of skeletons.

Minecraft's 1.18 update hasn't changed mobs significantly with regards to their XP or item drops, so the top options for farming remain more or less the same.

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Top mob farm picks in Minecraft explained

Endermen have long been an excellent source of XP and ender pearls from farming (Image via Mojang)

The roster of mobs to farm in Minecraft certainly isn't getting any smaller, but at the moment things remain stable when it comes to the best XP and item returns from farming. This may change with future updates well after Minecraft 1.18, but for the moment the answers for the past few versions of the game build have remained consistent.

Players can find a breakdown of some of the best options for mob farming below:

5) Skeletons/Zombies/Creepers

A classic mob farm, capable of catching multiple types of hostile mobs for quick kills (Image via Mojang)

The subject of many Minecraft players' first mob XP farm, standard hostile mobs such as skeletons, zombies, and creepers won't net maximum XP, but can offer decent returns as well as a bevy of items. Materials like arrows, bones, and gunpowder are solid items especially for a player in a new world. Creeper and skeleton farms are also great late-game options for receiving those materials specifically. They won't get anyone 40 levels in an hour, but standard hostile mob farms are still a good source of XP and items when Minecraft players don't have alternatives lined up.

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4) Piglins

On top of regular kill farms, piglins can also be farmed for their bartering mechanic (Image via Mojang)

Although they drop less base experience compared to the previously mentioned mobs, piglins can drop bonux XP based on the armor worn when killed. These mobs can also drop gold weapons/armor as well as their crossbows, which can be helpful for players who are looking for some extra goodies. Setting up a piglin farm can be tricky, but it still yields good results.

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3) Blazes

Farming a blaze spawner directly can be a fantastic source of precious blaze rods (Image via Mojang)

Much like Guardians, Blazes drop 10 experience when killed in Minecraft, meaning they are a great source of XP farming. Not only this, but they drop the invaluable blaze rods, which are crucial not only in the creation of Eyes of Ender but can also be used to create/fuel brewing stands for potions.

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2) Guardians

Guardian farms can be very resource-intensive, but are often worth the investment (Image via Mojang)

Just as efficient as an Enderman farm (some may say even more, depending on the farm design), Guardians give a great amount of experience while also yielding rare materials like prismarine crystals. They drop solid experience, and even drop fish items that players can use for food on top of everything. If players have a huge amount of time and the resources to make one, Guardian farms in Minecraft are one of the best of their kind.

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1) Endermen

Farming Endermen effectively strikes a perfect balance between ease of resources and use while also maximizing XP gain (Image via Mojang)

Still arguably the best pick for farming XP from mobs, though Guardian farming is also very very good. Endermen farms can be considered by some to edge out Guardian farms due to their ease of creation by comparison. Farming Endermen yields great XP returns while also providing droves of ender pearls, which can be used to teleport over short distances and even summon endermites. If a player doesn't have the materials for a Guardian farm, Endermen farms are a fantastic way to gain tons of XP in Minecraft.