Overview
Most people die in an end city to a block. A Shulker looks like a purpur block bolted to a wall until it opens and fires a homing bullet that applies Levitation, floating you steadily upward — and then the effect ends, you drop, and the fall kills you on a structure built above the void. That is the whole danger: the 4 damage the bullet deals is irrelevant next to where it puts you. The mob has 30 health and, while its shell is closed, 20 armour points, which shrugs off almost anything you throw at it. The window is when it opens to shoot. Hit it then, or use a bow and time the shots. Shulker bullets can also be destroyed in mid-air by attacking them, which is the neatest counter if your aim is good. The payoff is the best storage item in the game: shulker shells drop at roughly 50%, two shells plus a chest makes a shulker box, and a shulker box keeps its contents when broken, which is the only portable storage Minecraft has. A hit Shulker sometimes teleports and occasionally duplicates, which makes shell farming in an end city more sustainable than it first appears.
Shulker shells, which craft shulker boxes — the only container that keeps its contents when broken, and therefore the only portable storage in the game for moving a base or an End haul.
A shulker looks like a purpur block until it opens and fires a homing bullet that inflicts Levitation, floating you upward and then dropping you to your death, which is how most people die in an end city. While its shell is closed it has 20 armour points and shrugs off most damage; hit it as it opens. Its shells craft shulker boxes, the only portable storage in the game.
Shulker sits under Hostile mobs in Minecraft 1.21.4. Health sits at 30 points (15 hearts). It deals 4 damage on Normal difficulty.
Expect 5 experience per kill.
Properties
Shulker has 30 health, which is 15 hearts and 20 points of natural armour. It drops up to 5 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 1 blocks wide and 1 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Size
- 1 × 1
- Dimension
- The End
- Added in
- 1.9
Damage by difficulty
Shulker hits for 4 on every difficulty; its damage does not scale the way most hostile mobs' does.
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 | 4 | 2 |
| Normal | 4 | 2 |
| Hard | 4 | 2 |
Spawns in
Generates attached to the walls, floors and ceilings of end cities and end ships. Occasionally a hit shulker teleports and duplicates.
It does not appear in open terrain: every Shulker comes from End City.
- Dimension
- The End
- Only in
- End City
- Biomes
- End Highlands
- Added in
- 1.9
Dimension: The End · Added in 1.9
Drops
Killing Shulker drops Shulker Shell, plus up to 5 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.
- Shulker Shell: 0–1 (50%)
How it behaves
The Shulker 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 Shulker where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:shulker ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get shulker shells?
Kill shulkers in an end city. Each drops a shell at about 50%, and two shells plus a chest craft a shulker box.
Why can't I damage a Shulker?
Its closed shell gives 20 armour points. Attack in the window when it opens to fire.
What does Levitation do?
It floats you upward for the duration, and the fall when it ends is what kills players in an end city.
Do shulkers respawn?
They do not spawn naturally, but a hit Shulker can teleport and occasionally duplicate, which slowly replaces losses.
How much health does the Shulker have in Minecraft?
The Shulker has 30 health points, which is 15 hearts.
What does the Shulker drop?
It drops Shulker Shell, plus 5 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Shulker spawn?
Generates attached to the walls, floors and ceilings of end cities and end ships. Occasionally a hit shulker teleports and duplicates.
How much damage does Shulker do?
4 on Normal difficulty — 2 hearts — with 4 on Easy and 4 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Shulkers generate attached to the walls, floors and ceilings of end cities and end ships in end highlands. Each drops a shulker shell about 50% of the time, and 2 shells plus a chest craft one shulker box.
Tips
- Wait for the shell to open before attacking; a closed Shulker has 20 armour points and takes almost nothing.
- Shoot the bullet out of the air — Shulker bullets can be destroyed mid-flight and Levitation never lands.
- Carry a water bucket or Slow Falling, because the fall after Levitation ends is what actually kills players.
- Expect roughly 2 shells per 4 shulkers at the 50% rate, so budget a full end city for a set of boxes.