Render by Blockaria from the Minecraft: Java Edition models and textures (Mojang).

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HOSTILE Present since 1.14 or earlier

Skeleton mob in Minecraft

The Skeleton is the night archer: it keeps its distance, strafes around you and fires arrows as soon as it has a clear line of sight. It is fragile up close, so the fight is about closing the gap without taking a volley. It is also the best source of bones and arrows in the early game.

Health: 2010 hearts
Behavior: Hostile
Main drop: Arrow
Found in: 55 biomes

Skeleton stats

Health: 20 10 hearts
Behavior: Hostile
Main drop: Arrow
Spawns in: 55 biomes
Size: 0.6 × 1.99 blocks
XP when killed: 5+1 to 3 per item it wears
Speed: 0.25
Detection range: 16 blocks

// Experience drops only when a player kills it. Speeds are the game’s internal values, not blocks per second.

How much damage Skeleton deals

Damage to a player without armor, by world difficulty. 1 ♥ = 2 damage points.

Ranged attack · Arrow

Base 2, multiplied by the projectile’s speed: the faster it flies, the harder it hits.

Melee attack

Peaceful00 ♥

Easy21 ♥

Normal21 ♥

Hard31.5 ♥

What else changes with difficulty

Aim gets more accurate as difficulty rises (spread 10 / 6 / 2)
Shoots every 2 s on Easy, 2 s on Normal, 1 s on Hard

// Armor, Protection and Resistance reduce these values. Base values read from the game code (26.3).

Where to find Skeleton

Biomes where it spawns naturally, with its share of the spawns in each group.

All 55 biomes

Spawning

Group size: 42 to 5 · depends on the biome
Light level: Overworld: Block light 0and light 7 or less overallNether: Light 7 or less

Structures

StructuresNether Fortress

Trial spawnerTrial Chambers

Skeleton drops

Skeleton dropsFrom the loot table · chance per kill

Arrow+1 per Looting level0–2

Bone+1 per Looting level0–2

Carried items and gearDropped on death, outside the loot table (game code)

The weapon or armor it spawned withEach piece: 8.5% chance, +1% per Looting level. The item comes back damaged.8.5%

Items it picked up off the groundAlways dropped. Only some of them can pick items up.100%

Health compared

Health vs other hostile mobshealth points

Creeper20

Husk20

Phantom20

Skeleton20

Stray20

Wither Skeleton20

Zombie20

Skeleton and its family

Mobs built on the same base in the game code, compared on their game values.

Mob	Health	Attack	XP	Speed	Burns in daylight	Freeze immune
Bogged	16	2	5	0.25	✓	·
Parched	16	2	5	0.25	·	·
Skeleton	20	2	5	0.25	✓	·
Stray	20	2	5	0.25	✓	✓
Wither Skeleton	20	4	5	0.25	·	·

Traits

Properties set in the game files.

Burns in daylightCatches fire in sunlight unless it wears a helmet or stands in shade or water.

Breathes underwaterDoes not drown.

Ignores Poison and RegenerationThese two effects have no effect on it.

Inverted healingInstant Health hurts it and Instant Damage heals it.

Weak to SmiteSmite deals extra damage to it.

SkeletonWolves attack it on sight.

UndeadThe game counts it among the undead, which affects how several effects and enchantments treat it.

Ignored by the WitherThe Wither does not target it.

Advancements with Skeleton

Advancements whose criteria involve this mob, from the game files.

Sniper DuelKill a Skeleton from at least 50 meters away Monster HunterKill any hostile monster Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster

Command

Summon a Skeleton/summon →

/summon minecraft:skeleton ~ ~ ~

How a Skeleton fights

A Skeleton shoots with a bow and moves sideways while it aims, which makes it harder to hit back. It backs away if you get too close. Its arrows can push you off ledges, so be careful on cliffs and bridges at night.

Skeletons sometimes hit each other by accident. The one that got hit then turns on the shooter, which can clear a crowd for you.

Weaknesses

Daylight: a Skeleton burns in the sun unless it wears a helmet or stays in the shade or water.
Wolves: Skeletons run from wolves, and tamed wolves hunt them down. A few bones are enough to tame your own pack.
Shields: a raised shield blocks arrows from the front. Advance behind it, then strike.
Smite: as an undead mob, a Skeleton takes extra damage from it.

Strays, Bogged and other relatives

A Skeleton that stays stuck in powder snow freezes and turns into a Stray, whose arrows slow you down. In swamps and trial chambers, the Bogged fires poison arrows instead. All of them share the same bow behavior.

Bones, arrows and music discs

Skeletons drop bones and arrows, more with Looting. Bones become bone meal for farming and tame wolves. A Skeleton spawner in a dungeon is one of the easiest early farms to build.

When a Skeleton's arrow kills a Creeper, the Creeper drops a music disc. Let a Skeleton chase you past a Creeper and stay in its line of fire to collect them.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 31 October 2026

Skeleton — FAQ

Why do Skeletons run from wolves?

Skeletons are scared of wolves and flee from them, and tamed wolves attack them on their own. Taming a few wolves is an easy way to deal with Skeletons.

How does a Skeleton become a Stray?

It turns into a Stray after staying stuck in powder snow for a while, the same way you freeze in it.

Where does the Skeleton spawn?

In every Overworld biome except Deep Dark and Mushroom Fields; Soul Sand Valley.

What does a Skeleton drop?

Arrow and Bone. It also drops the weapon or armor it spawned with (8.5% chance per piece) and any items it picked up off the ground.

How much health does a Skeleton have?

20 health points, which is 10 hearts.