Overview
Finding a Slime is a seed problem, not a skill problem. Below Y=40 they spawn at any light level in roughly one chunk in ten — slime chunks, determined by the world seed — and nowhere else underground, which is why players who have never seen one and players who trip over them constantly are both telling the truth. The other spawn is easier: swamps between Y=50 and Y=70 at night, at light level 7 or below, with no chunk restriction at all. Mechanically a Slime is a stack of enemies in one body. A large one has 16 health and hits for 4 on Normal, splits into mediums with 4 health hitting for 2, and those split into tinies that deal no damage at all — and only the tiny size drops slimeballs, so you must chop the whole thing down to get anything. A large Slime is 2.04 blocks wide, so a corridor two blocks high and one wide is completely safe from the big ones while the smalls come to you. Slimeballs make sticky pistons, leads, slime blocks and magma cream, which puts a slime chunk at the centre of most redstone projects.
Slimeballs. They craft sticky pistons, slime blocks, leads and magma cream, which means every flying machine, most item elevators and half the redstone contraptions in the game start here.
Slimes come in three sizes and each one splits into smaller copies when killed, so a large slime is really a queue of seven enemies. Listed stats are for the large size; mediums have 4 health and hit for 2, and tiny slimes deal no damage at all but are the only size that drops slimeballs. They bounce toward you constantly and are harmless in a two-block corridor where the large ones cannot fit.
In Minecraft, Slime is classified as a hostile mob. It has 16 health points, or 8 hearts. On Normal difficulty each hit costs you 4 damage.
It is worth 4 XP.
Properties
Slime has 16 health, which is 8 hearts. It drops up to 4 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.52 blocks wide and 0.52 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
Slime hits for 3 on Easy, 4 on Normal and 6 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 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Normal | 4 | 2 |
| Hard | 6 | 3 |
Spawns in
Spawns in swamps between Y=50 and Y=70 at night, and at any light level below Y=40 in roughly one in ten chunks, called slime chunks, determined by the world seed.
It is restricted to Swamp, so it will never turn up outside those biomes however dark it gets.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- ≤ 7
- Biomes
- Swamp
- Added in
- 1.0.0
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.0.0
Drops
Killing Slime drops Slimeball, plus up to 4 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.
- Slimeball: 0–2 — Only small slimes drop slimeballs, so a large slime must be split down first.
How it behaves
The Slime 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 4 experience; killed any other way it drops none.
Command
In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Slime where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:slime ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
Where do slimes spawn?
Swamps between Y=50 and Y=70 at night, and below Y=40 in slime chunks, about one chunk in ten.
Which Slime size drops slimeballs?
Only the smallest. Large and medium slimes must be split down before anything drops.
How much damage does a Slime do?
4 on Normal for a large one, 2 for a medium, and nothing at all for a tiny one.
What is a slime chunk?
A chunk chosen by the world seed where slimes spawn below Y=40 at any light level. Roughly 10% of chunks qualify.
How much health does the Slime have in Minecraft?
The Slime has 16 health points, which is 8 hearts.
What does the Slime drop?
It drops Slimeball, plus 4 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Slime spawn?
Spawns in swamps between Y=50 and Y=70 at night, and at any light level below Y=40 in roughly one in ten chunks, called slime chunks, determined by the world seed.
How much damage does Slime do?
4 on Normal difficulty — 2 hearts — with 3 on Easy and 6 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Slimes spawn in swamps between Y=50 and Y=70 at light level 7 or below, and at any light level below Y=40 in roughly 1 chunk in 10 — slime chunks fixed by the world seed. Only the smallest size drops slimeballs.
Tips
- Kill the large one first and let the smalls come to you — only tiny slimes drop slimeballs at all.
- Fight in a 1-block-wide corridor, because a large Slime is 2.04 blocks wide and physically cannot follow.
- Light a swamp platform at Y=50 to Y=70 if you have no slime chunk; swamp spawns need no seed luck.
- Bring a sword with Looting, since each tiny Slime rolls 0 to 2 slimeballs independently.