Overview
Size is what makes a Cave Spider worse than its stats suggest. At 0.5 blocks tall and 0.7 wide it slips through gaps a sword cannot reach into, comes out of holes in a mineshaft wall you never saw, and climbs while it does it. It has 12 health, hits for only 2 on Normal, and then poisons you — Poison on Normal and Hard difficulty, which cannot kill outright but floors you at half a heart and blocks natural regeneration while the rest of the nest arrives. That combination, plus the cobwebs packed around every spawner, is why abandoned mineshafts kill more early players than caves do: the webs hold you in place at walking pace while three or four Cave Spiders take turns. There is no natural Cave Spider spawn anywhere in the world. Every one comes from the mossy cobblestone spawners built into mineshaft corridors, which means the mob is completely controllable — block the spawner in with any solid block, or light it to level 12 and above, and the corridor is safe forever. Shears clear the cobwebs quickly and give you string back. If you intend to farm one, the low hitbox means a water channel and a one-block drop does the sorting for you.
String and spider eyes without a surface trip. A boxed-in mineshaft spawner is one of the easiest early experience farms, since the mob is weak, frequent and clustered in one place.
Half the size of a normal spider, which means it fits through one-block gaps and comes at you from holes you cannot swing into. Its bite applies Poison on Normal and Hard, and the cobwebs around its spawner slow you to a crawl while the swarm arrives. Poison cannot kill you outright, but it will leave you at half a heart. Block the spawner up or light it out before mining the corridor.
In Minecraft, Cave Spider is classified as a hostile mob. It has 12 health points, or 6 hearts. On Normal difficulty each hit costs you 2 damage.
It is worth 5 XP.
Properties
Cave Spider has 12 health, which is 6 hearts. It drops up to 5 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.7 blocks wide and 0.5 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Added in
- 1.0.0
Damage by difficulty
Cave Spider hits for 2 on Easy, 2 on Normal and 3 on Hard — the site's stat strip shows the Normal figure, which is the one most guides quote.
A full set of diamond armour cuts that by up to 80% against a small hit and less against a large one, and Protection IV on all four pieces — 16 EPF — takes a further 64% off what is left.
| Difficulty | Attack damage | Hearts |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 2 | 1 |
| Normal | 2 | 1 |
| Hard | 3 | 1.5 |
Spawns in
Only from the cobweb-covered spawners in abandoned mineshafts.
It does not appear in open terrain: every Cave Spider comes from Abandoned Mineshaft.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- ≤ 11
- Only in
- Abandoned Mineshaft
- Added in
- 1.0.0
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.0.0
Drops
Killing Cave Spider drops String and Spider Eye, plus up to 5 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.
- String: 0–2
- Spider Eye: 0–1 (33%) — Only when killed by a player.
How it behaves
The Cave Spider attacks on sight within its detection range, so light, walls and distance are all valid answers. Most hostile mobs notice you inside about sixteen blocks, though a few — ghasts especially — see very much further.
Killed by a player it drops up to 5 experience; killed any other way it drops none.
Command
In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Cave Spider where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:cave_spider ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
Where do Cave Spiders spawn?
Only from spawners in abandoned mineshafts, surrounded by cobwebs. They have no natural spawn in caves or on the surface.
Do Cave Spiders poison you?
Yes, on Normal and Hard difficulty. Poison cannot kill you on its own but it stops regeneration and leaves you at half a heart.
How big is a Cave Spider?
0.5 blocks tall and 0.7 wide, so it fits through one-block gaps and under half-slab ceilings.
How much health does a Cave Spider have?
12 health, six hearts — less than the 16 of an ordinary Spider.
How much health does the Cave Spider have in Minecraft?
The Cave Spider has 12 health points, which is 6 hearts.
What does the Cave Spider drop?
It drops String and Spider Eye, plus 5 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Cave Spider spawn?
Only from the cobweb-covered spawners in abandoned mineshafts.
How much damage does Cave Spider do?
2 on Normal difficulty — 1 hearts — with 2 on Easy and 3 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Cave Spiders come only from the cobweb-covered spawners in abandoned mineshafts, active at light level 11 or below. Each drops 0 to 2 string, a 33% chance of 1 spider eye on a player kill, and 5 experience.
Tips
- Carry shears into a mineshaft — cobwebs break in a fraction of the time and give the string back.
- Drink milk the moment you are poisoned, or wait it out at a safe distance; Poison stops health regeneration entirely.
- Seal the spawner with a solid block rather than torches if you only want the corridor safe, not a farm.
- Fight in a corridor exactly one block wide so their climbing and their small hitbox stop helping them.