Enderman: the mysterious teleporting mob

Stats

The Enderman is one of the toughest regular mobs in the game. With 40 health points (twice as many as the player) and high damage, it is a serious threat. Its ability to teleport makes it as hard to avoid as it is to defeat. For comparison, a Creeper has only 20 HP, and a Zombie also has 20 HP, so the Enderman is much sturdier.

Spawning and locations

Endermen spawn in all three dimensions of the game, but how often they appear differs a lot:

• Overworld: Rarely, on solid blocks at light level 0. They spawn alone or in groups of up to 4. Most often met at night in open spaces.
• Nether: They spawn in Warped Forest biomes in large groups (up to 4 at a time). It is the best place to hunt Endermen in the Nether, because other hostile mobs (such as Piglins) don't spawn there.
• The End: Endermen are the dominant mob in the End dimension. They spawn in huge numbers on the main island and on the outer islands. Farms in the End are the most efficient.

An Enderman needs 3 blocks of free vertical space to spawn. A Creeper needs only 2 blocks, and that difference is key when building selective mob farms.

Behavior and teleportation

The Enderman is a neutral mob, which means it doesn't attack the player on its own initiative. It becomes aggressive in two situations: when the player looks it in the eyes (crosshair on its head) or when the player attacks it. Once provoked, the Enderman lets out a piercing scream, opens its mouth wider and charges the player at great speed. Unlike Creepers and Zombies, which attack as soon as they notice you, an Enderman has to be provoked first.

Teleportation

Teleportation is the Enderman's most characteristic ability. It teleports in several situations: when it is hit by a projectile (arrow, snowball, egg), when it touches water or rain, when it takes damage from fire or lava, and randomly during a fight with the player. An Enderman can teleport up to 32 blocks in any direction.

Endermen are practically immune to ranged attacks. Every arrow from a bow, crossbow or trident, and even a splash potion, is useless, because the Enderman teleports before the projectile reaches its target. The only reliable way to deal damage is close combat with a properly prepared weapon.

Reaction to water

Endermen take damage from contact with water. Rain, water blocks and even splash Water Bottles (potions) hurt them. This is a key weakness that you can exploit both in combat and when designing farms. In the rain, Endermen teleport around chaotically, trying to find a dry spot.

Carrying blocks

Endermen have a unique ability to pick up and carry certain blocks. They can pick up grass blocks, dirt, sand, gravel, clay, pumpkins, melons, cacti, mushrooms, flowers and a few other natural blocks. They can't carry stone, wood or ores.

Over a long period of play this mechanic can cause small changes to the terrain, especially in desert biomes, where Endermen randomly move sand blocks around. If you have decorative builds made of natural blocks, Endermen may accidentally destroy parts of them.

Drops

The Ender Pearl is the most valuable Enderman drop. It is a key ingredient of the Eye of Ender, which you need to find and activate the portal to the End, and it also works as a teleportation tool for the player. The Looting enchantment on a sword increases the chance of a pearl and the maximum amount dropped. You can read more about enchanting weapons in the enchanting guide.

How to fight an Enderman

Fighting an Enderman takes a specific approach because of its teleportation and strength. Make sure you have a good weapon and good armor: diamond or netherite armor with the Protection enchantment greatly improves your survivability.

Fighting under a low ceiling

The best technique is to fight in a space exactly 2 blocks high. An Enderman is 2.9 blocks tall, so it can't enter under such a low ceiling, but its hitbox reaches far enough that you can hit it with a sword while standing under the roof. All you need to do is dig a two-block-high tunnel or stand under a roof of the right height: the Enderman will try to attack you, but it won't be able to reach you.

Fighting in water

Stand in a shallow pool of water (1 block deep). The Enderman won't enter the water, and you can still attack it with your sword when it comes close to the edge of the pool. Contact with water also deals it extra damage. This technique is similar to luring a Creeper into water, which prevents its explosion from destroying blocks.

Direct combat

If you have to fight in the open, speed is the key. Use a sword with the highest Sharpness level you can get and attack right after the Enderman teleports toward you. Keep your crosshair on its legs (not its eyes, unless it is already aggressive), so you don't accidentally provoke other Endermen nearby. A sword with the Knockback enchantment will help you keep your distance. You can also drink Potions of Strength to speed up the fight.

Avoiding provocation

If you accidentally look an Enderman in the eyes, you have a few ways out: look away immediately (before it opens its mouth), jump into water, hide in a space 2 blocks high or put a pumpkin on your head. Once provoked, the Enderman stays aggressive until one of you dies or it touches water.

Enderman farms

Enderman farms are among the most efficient XP farms in Minecraft. The best location is the End, where Endermen spawn in huge numbers.

A farm in the End (Enderman XP farm)

The classic farm needs a platform on the outer islands of the End, with an Endermite as bait. Endermen naturally attack Endermites, so putting an Endermite in a cage of trapdoors on a platform above the void draws in every Enderman in the area. They fall into a tunnel and are carried to the kill point.

An efficient farm in the End can give you over 30 levels of experience in a few minutes, and at the same time it produces hundreds of Ender Pearls per hour. To build it you need building blocks (at least 3 stacks), trapdoors, one Endermite and a killing system (pistons or a spot where the player strikes). You can then spend those experience levels at the enchanting table to enchant your weapons and armor.

A farm in the Overworld

Less efficient, but possible without reaching the End. It needs a dark spawning platform and a system that sends Endermen (lured by an Endermite) to a kill point. The lower spawn rate makes this farm slower than the version in the End.

A farm in the Warped Forest (Nether)

An alternative for players who have reached the Nether but not yet the End. The Warped Forest biome in the Nether is one of the few places where Endermen spawn in large numbers. Build a spawning platform with trapdoors and a falling mechanism. The efficiency is lower than in the End, but higher than in the Overworld. An added advantage is that not many other hostile mobs spawn in the Warped Forest, which makes the farm more selective.

The Ender Pearl and its uses

The Ender Pearl is one of the most important items in the game and has several key uses:

• Teleportation: Throwing a pearl teleports the player to where it lands. It deals 5 points of fall damage (2.5 hearts), which you can reduce with the Feather Falling enchantment on your boots. Read more about enchanting armor in the enchanting guide.
• Eye of Ender: Ender Pearl + Blaze Powder = Eye of Ender, used to find a stronghold and activate the portal to the End. You need up to 12 Eyes of Ender.
• Ender Chest: 8 Obsidian + 1 Eye of Ender = Ender Chest, a chest whose inventory is shared across all dimensions. You can find the recipe in the crafting guide.
• Stacking: Pearls stack up to 16, which makes them a practical teleportation tool for exploring.
• Escaping a Warden: Ender Pearls are the best way to get out of the Deep Dark biome quickly if you accidentally summon a Warden.

Trivia

• Endermen were added in Beta 1.8, the "Adventure Update", as a nod to Slender Man, a character from internet creepypasta.
• Endermen are the only mobs in Java Edition that spawn in all three dimensions of the game (Overworld, Nether, End).
• If an Enderman is holding a block and gets killed, the block drops as an item and doesn't disappear.
• A pumpkin on the player's head completely blocks provocation by Endermen, but it drastically limits the field of view, unless you use a resource pack that removes the pumpkin overlay.