Overview
A long fight with a Witch is a fight you lose. She throws splash potions of Harming, Poison, Slowness and Weakness at you and drinks Healing, Fire Resistance and Swiftness on herself, so the longer the exchange runs the more she out-sustains your damage — and she is 85% resistant to magic damage on top, which makes your own potions and Instant Damage almost useless in return. The answer is to close and burst her down in melee. With 26 health that takes only a few good hits, and she cannot drink fast enough to matter. Her compensation is the widest common loot table in the game: glass bottles, glowstone dust, gunpowder, redstone, spider eyes, sugar and sticks, 0 to 2 of each, which makes a witch farm one of the better redstone and glowstone sources in survival. She spawns in darkness anywhere in the Overworld, permanently at swamp huts, in raid waves, and whenever lightning strikes a villager. The swamp hut is the reliable one: it generates with a Witch and a black cat inside and keeps spawning more in the dark, which is why hut-based farms are a standard build.
Redstone, glowstone dust and glass bottles in quantity. A swamp hut farm turns the widest loot table of any common mob into a renewable supply of brewing and redstone materials.
A witch throws splash potions of Harming, Poison, Slowness and Weakness, and drinks Healing, Fire Resistance and Swiftness on herself, so a long fight regenerates her faster than you damage her. She is 85% resistant to magic damage, which makes potions and Instant Damage almost useless against her. Close to melee and burst her down. She drops the widest loot table of any common mob, including redstone and glowstone.
Witch sits under Hostile mobs in Minecraft 1.21.4. Health sits at 26 points (13 hearts). It deals 6 damage on Normal difficulty.
Expect 5 experience per kill.
Properties
Witch has 26 health, which is 13 hearts. It drops up to 5 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.6 blocks wide and 1.95 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Added in
- 1.4.2
Damage by difficulty
Witch hits for 6 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 | 6 | 3 |
| Normal | 6 | 3 |
| Hard | 6 | 3 |
Spawns in
Spawns in darkness anywhere in the Overworld, permanently at swamp huts, in raid waves, and from a villager struck by lightning.
It does not appear in open terrain: every Witch comes from Swamp Hut (Witch Hut).
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- 0
- Only in
- Swamp Hut (Witch Hut)
- Added in
- 1.4.2
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.4.2
Drops
Killing Witch drops Glass Bottle, Glowstone Dust, Gunpowder, Redstone Dust, Spider Eye, Sugar, and Stick, plus up to 5 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.
- Glass Bottle: 0–2
- Glowstone Dust: 0–2
- Gunpowder: 0–2
- Redstone Dust: 0–2
- Spider Eye: 0–2
- Sugar: 0–2
- Stick: 0–2
How it behaves
The Witch 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 Witch where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:witch ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How much health does a Witch have?
26 health, which is more than a zombie or skeleton, and she heals herself mid-fight.
Are witches resistant to potions?
Yes, 85% resistant to magic damage, which makes Instant Damage and Harming almost useless against her.
What do witches drop?
Glass bottles, glowstone dust, gunpowder, redstone, spider eyes, sugar and sticks, 0 to 2 of each.
Where do witches spawn?
Anywhere dark in the Overworld, always at swamp huts, in raid waves, and from a villager struck by lightning.
How much health does the Witch have in Minecraft?
The Witch has 26 health points, which is 13 hearts.
What does the Witch drop?
It drops Glass Bottle, Glowstone Dust, Gunpowder, Redstone Dust and 3 more, plus 5 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Witch spawn?
Spawns in darkness anywhere in the Overworld, permanently at swamp huts, in raid waves, and from a villager struck by lightning.
How much damage does Witch do?
6 on Normal difficulty — 3 hearts — with 6 on Easy and 6 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Witches spawn at light level 0 anywhere in the Overworld, permanently at swamp huts, in raid waves, and when lightning strikes a villager. Each drops 0 to 2 each of glass bottles, glowstone dust, gunpowder, redstone, spider eyes, sugar and sticks.
Tips
- Rush her in melee — 26 health folds quickly, and a drawn-out fight lets her out-heal your damage.
- Do not use potions or an Instant Damage bow, since a Witch is 85% resistant to magic damage.
- Build the farm on a swamp hut, which generates with a Witch inside and keeps spawning more in the dark.
- Carry milk for the Poison and the Weakness, both of which she throws freely. See brewing every potion.