Overview
Walls do not work on a Spider. It climbs any vertical surface, including the outside of your base, and it leaps rather than walks the last few blocks, so a fence and a two-block wall stop a zombie and do nothing here. Overhangs do work: a lip of blocks jutting out at the top of a wall is the standard anti-spider measure, and it costs almost nothing. It also fits through gaps only one block high, which is why a wide flat cave floor is far more dangerous than a tunnel. The useful quirk is light. A Spider turns neutral once the light level around it reaches 12, so one that chases you out into the morning sun simply stops and wanders off — still able to retaliate if you hit it, but no longer hunting. It has 16 health, hits for 2 on Normal, and needs a 3×3 flat area to spawn, which is why they appear on rooftops and open cave floors rather than in corridors. About one in a hundred spawns as a spider jockey with a skeleton riding it, combining a climbing mount with ranged fire. Drops are string and, on a player kill, a 33% spider eye.
String and spider eyes. String makes bows, fishing rods, leads, wool and tripwire, and a spider eye ferments into the base for Potions of Weakness, Slowness and Harming.
Spiders climb any vertical surface, which makes walls useless against them, and they leap at you rather than walking in. They turn neutral once the light level around them reaches 12, so a spider that chases you into daylight gives up and wanders off, still able to retaliate if hit. They fit through one-block-high gaps. About one percent spawn as spider jockeys carrying a skeleton, combining climbing with ranged fire.
Spider is a neutral mob in Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.4. You will need to deal 16 damage — 8 hearts — to kill one. Its attacks do 2 damage on Normal.
Killing one drops 5 experience.
Properties
Spider has 16 health, which is 8 hearts. It drops up to 5 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 1.4 blocks wide and 0.9 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
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
Needs a 3x3 flat area to spawn, which is why they appear on rooftops and open cave floors rather than in tunnels.
It has no biome restriction, so anywhere in the Overworld that meets the light and space conditions is a valid spawn.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- 0
- Added in
- 1.0.0
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.0.0
Drops
Killing 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 Spider ignores you until provoked, and once provoked it usually stays provoked — often for the whole group, which is what makes a single mistake expensive.
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 Spider where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:spider ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
Can spiders climb walls?
Yes, any vertical surface. An overhanging lip at the top of a wall is the only reliable way to stop one.
Do spiders attack during the day?
Not usually. At light level 12 or above a Spider turns neutral and only retaliates if you hit it.
What do spiders drop?
0 to 2 string, a spider eye at about 33% on a player kill, and 5 experience.
Where do spiders spawn?
Anywhere dark with a 3x3 flat area, which means rooftops and open cave floors far more often than tunnels.
How much health does the Spider have in Minecraft?
The Spider has 16 health points, which is 8 hearts.
What does the Spider drop?
It drops String and Spider Eye, plus 5 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Spider spawn?
Needs a 3x3 flat area to spawn, which is why they appear on rooftops and open cave floors rather than in tunnels.
How much damage does Spider do?
2 on Normal difficulty — 1 hearts — with 2 on Easy and 3 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Spiders need a 3x3 flat area at light level 0 to spawn, which is why they appear on rooftops and open cave floors. Each drops 0 to 2 string, a 33% chance of 1 spider eye on a player kill, and 5 experience.
Tips
- Build an overhanging lip at the top of any wall, since a Spider climbs sheer surfaces but cannot get past an overhang.
- Fight in daylight where possible — above light level 12 a Spider goes neutral and stops attacking entirely.
- Close every one-block gap in a base: a Spider fits through spaces that stop every other hostile mob.
- Watch for the 1-in-100 spider jockey, which pairs climbing with a Skeleton shooting from its back.