Wither: the destructive boss you build yourself

Stats

In Java Edition the Wither has 300 HP, more than the Ender Dragon (200 HP). In Bedrock Edition it has a whopping 600 HP, which makes it twice as tough. The Wither effect from its attacks slowly drains your health, so the fight takes a lot of healing supplies. It's still weaker than the warden (500 HP), but the warden doesn't drop anything valuable.

How to summon the Wither

The Wither doesn't spawn naturally: you have to build it from specific blocks. It's the only boss in the game that the player creates (unlike the Ender Dragon, which waits for you in the End).

Materials

• 4 blocks of soul sand or soul soil: They make up the Wither's "body". You can mix the two. You'll find both in the Nether.
• 3 wither skeleton skulls: The rarest ingredient. Wither skeletons in Nether fortresses drop them with a 2.5% chance. The Looting enchantment on a sword raises the drop chance; there's more on that in the enchanting guide.

Building it

Place the 4 soul sand blocks in a T shape: 3 blocks in a row on top and 1 block under the middle one. Put a wither skeleton skull on each of the three top blocks. The skulls always go on last: the moment you place the final one, the Wither spawns.

Where to summon the Wither

• Underground: The best spot is a deep cave or a chamber you dig out yourself. It limits the damage to the surface and makes it harder for the Wither to get away.
• Under bedrock (the End): A popular technique in Java Edition. The Wither spawns under the bedrock in the End, where it gets stuck and you can kill it safely.
• Far from your base: Do NOT summon the Wither anywhere near your base. It will destroy everything around it.
• Not in the Nether: The Nether makes the fight harder because of the lava and the limited space.

Preparing for the fight

Essential gear

• Full netherite armor with Protection IV: The Wither deals huge damage, so every point of protection counts. You'll find the enchanting details in the enchanting guide.
• Netherite sword with Smite V: Smite V deals extra damage to undead mobs (the Wither is undead). If you only have one sword, Smite V is a better choice than Sharpness V for this fight. Sharpness V is better against the Ender Dragon, though.
• Bow with Power V: For the first phase of the fight (while arrows can still hurt the Wither).
• Golden apples: At least 5 golden apples plus 2-3 enchanted golden apples (Notch apples).
• Potions of Strength II and Regeneration II: They speed up the fight considerably and greatly improve your chances of survival.
• Totem of Undying: Saves your life once, and it's absolutely essential. You get it from evokers in woodland mansions or during raids.
• Milk: 2-3 buckets of milk to clear the Wither effect.

Collecting wither skeleton skulls

The hardest part of preparing is getting 3 wither skeleton skulls. Wither skeletons spawn only in Nether fortresses and drop a skull with a chance of just 2.5%. Looting III on your sword raises that to 5.5%, which is still low. Building a dedicated wither skeleton farm in a Nether fortress is a good idea: even with Looting III, it can take dozens of minutes of hunting.

Behavior and fight phases

Phase 1 (100% - 50% HP)

The Wither flies around and fires exploding skulls at the player and other mobs. The skulls break blocks when they explode and inflict the Wither effect. Every so often it fires a blue skull, which destroys blocks more effectively (in Bedrock Edition it can even break obsidian). In this phase, arrows from a bow can hurt the Wither.

Phase 2 (50% - 0% HP)

Once the Wither's health drops below 50%, it gains "wither armor", a glowing white shield around its body. In this phase it's completely immune to projectiles (bow, crossbow, trident) and can only be hurt with melee weapons. The Wither flies lower, which makes it easier to hit with a sword, but its attacks also get more intense.

The Wither effect

The Wither effect is a special status effect that the Wither's attacks inflict. It works like poison, dealing 1 point of damage every 2 seconds, but unlike poison it can kill you (poison always leaves you with at least 1 HP). To get rid of it, drink milk, or simply keep eating so you heal faster than the effect hurts you. Potions of Regeneration also help offset the effect.

Fight strategies

The tunnel strategy (Java)

The most popular method in Java Edition. Dig a long tunnel at Y=11 (3 blocks wide, 2 blocks high). Summon the Wither at one end of the tunnel and run to the other end. The Wither gets stuck in the tunnel and can't fly or maneuver. Attack it with your sword, backing off when it fires skulls. This method is safe and effective.

The bedrock strategy (Java)

Find the bedrock ceiling in the Nether (Y=127), or go under the portal in the End. Build the Wither so its heads get stuck in the bedrock ceiling. The Wither can't break bedrock, so it stays stuck in place. Attack it with your sword from below: it's the safest method in the game.

Fighting in the open

For experienced players. Fight in an open area: shoot your bow in phase 1 and switch to a sword with Smite V in phase 2. Eat golden apples and drink Regeneration potions. Dodge the skulls, especially the blue ones. This is the fastest method, but also the riskiest.

Drops and the Nether Star

The Nether Star is the Wither's only unique drop and the only way to get one in Survival mode. It's the key ingredient of the beacon, one of the most powerful blocks in the game. A Nether Star can't be destroyed by explosions: it stays on the ground no matter what. For comparison, the warden drops only a Sculk Catalyst and 5 XP, and the Ender Dragon gives a huge amount of experience (12,000 XP) but no unique items apart from the Dragon Egg.

Building a beacon

The beacon is the main reason players fight the Wither. Here's how to build one:

Recipe

You'll find the beacon recipe in our crafting guide.

Pyramid

A beacon needs a pyramid of mineral blocks (iron, gold, diamond, netherite or emerald). You can mix materials. The size of the pyramid determines how many effects you get:

A full 4-level pyramid gives you permanent effects within 50 blocks, which is a huge help for mining, building and fighting. The beacon is one of the most valuable blocks in the game, and the Wither is the only way to get one. The faster-mining effect (Haste II) is especially useful when you build farms and dig out large spaces underground.

Trivia

• In Bedrock Edition the Wither has 600 HP (twice as much as in Java) and a dash attack, and it's much harder overall.
• The Wither can destroy almost any block in the game, including obsidian (in Bedrock).
• When the Wither has no target, it starts destroying blocks around it at random, and it can lay waste to huge areas.
• The Wither can't be summoned on Peaceful difficulty.
• The Wither's health bar is purple, the only boss bar of that color in the game (the Ender Dragon's bar is pink).
• The Wither's initial explosion after it's summoned is stronger than a charged creeper's explosion.
• The Wither heals by killing other mobs: every mob it kills restores some of its health, which makes summoning it near a village or a herd of animals especially dangerous.