Weapons
Weapons are items used to kill players and mobs faster which can be found as loot or created through crafting. When a player left-clicks a mob no more than 3 blocks away, they will deal a level of damage based on what they are holding. There are currently only four items in Minecraft which are considered as proper weapons: swords, tridents, bows, and crossbows(1.14). Axes can also be wielded as weapons (as can some other tools), but they are more considered as tools, and therefore they have detrimental side-effects when used as weapons. Also, some potions can be used as weapons. Weapons can only last a while depending on how much you use it.
Weapon materials and efficiency[edit | edit source]
Swords can be crafted from five different materials. The sword materials, from highest to lowest attack strength/durability, are as follows:
Durability[edit | edit source]
Each material has a limited number of uses (referred to as the weapon's level of durability), and each will deal with a specific number of hearts damage (attack power). Better materials both mean more damage and higher durability, with the exception of gold, which has very low durability.
Critical Hits[edit | edit source]
Critical hits can be dealt by sprinting or jumping and then landing a weapon strike on the target. They deal more damage than basic attacks which can be dealt by just left-clicking a player.
Dealing damage[edit | edit source]
A mobs' health is measured in "hearts", just like the player's health.
| Mob | Health |
|---|---|
| Slime | Varies based on size -  x 0.5 to 8
|
| Magma Cube | Varies based on size - x 1 to 8
|
| Silverfish |
|
| Chicken |
|
| Bat |
|
| Snow Golem |
|
| Wolf |
|
| Sheep |
|
| Cat / Ocelot |
|
| Ocelot |
|
| Cow |
|
| Pig |
|
| Squid |
|
| Ghast |
|
| Sheep |
|
| Creeper | x 10
|
| Zombie | x 10
|
| Skeleton | x 10
|
| Zombie Pigman | x 10
|
| Blaze | x 10
|
| Horse | x 15
|
| Shulker | x 15
|
| Enderman | x 20
|
| Horse | x 20
|
| Iron Golem | x 50
|
| Ravager | x 50
|
| Ender Dragon | x 100
|
| Wither | x 150
|
This is a chart cross-referencing weapons with materials to find the amount of damage dealt. Notice the pattern.
As fists and arrows do not have a "material", their damage is constant. Although hoes are tools, they are not counted as weapons and have the same effect as fists (no durability loss and same damage).
| Bow/Arrows | |
|---|---|
| Fist |
Before Beta 1.5, fist and non-tool attacks did File:Half a Heart.png damage. This was increased in Beta 1.5 to 
damage, but it was then reverted in the Adventure Update. However, this was balanced somewhat with the addition of critical hits.
Bows[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Bow
Arrows provide ammunition for a bow, and they can either be crafted or found as a common drop from skeletons. When fired, they will fly in a ballistic trajectory affected by gravity and drag in air or water traveling approximately 3 blocks when fired parallel to a flat plane with no charge, 2 blocks average with minimum charge 15 blocks average with medium charge, and 24 blocks average with maximum charge. Players can pick up previously-fired arrows that have stuck into a surface; however, if the arrow was shot by a creative player or by a bow with infinity, only players in creative can pick the arrow up. If a skeleton shot the arrow, then no player can pick it up.
Tridents[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Trident
Tridents are spear-like weapons that are stronger and more accurate than any weapons in the game and were added to Minecraft 1.13. They are both ranged and melee weapons. Tridents are currently only obtainable in creative mode or in survival mode when a player kills a drowned wielding one. They deal 4 hearts () of damage when thrown and 4.5 hearts (File:Half Heart.png) of damage in melee.
Crossbows[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Crossbow
Crossbows are bow-like weapons that have been added in the update 1.14 and do more damage than the bow. Arrows are ammunition for the crossbow, and can be loaded in the same way as a bow; however, a player can also right-click to load an arrow in a crossbow. In order to shoot the arrow, a player needs to either hold the right mouse button or right-click again. Crossbows can deal up to 5 hearts () of damage. Crossbows can also use firework rockets as ammo which will do area damage. To load a firework rocket, a player must have the firework rocket in their left hand and the crossbow in their right and either holding or right-clicking.
Pillagers, a mob added in 1.14, will use crossbows when attacking players or villagers and may drop their crossbows as a rare drop, piglins also drop it too.
Tools as Weapons[edit | edit source]
Axes, pickaxes, and shovels can be used as weapons. If a player is holding anything besides these three or a sword, a normal attack will deal 'fist' damage. However, the durability of a tool will wear down at twice the rate if it is used as a weapon, with the rationale that it is not being used for its intended purpose. Fishing rods will wear down at thrice the rate if you pull entities around with it.
Weapons as Tools[edit | edit source]
Swords can break many blocks faster than punching them by hand, but each broken block wears down the durability of the sword at twice the rate, similar to when tools are used as weapons, as it is not being used for its intended purpose. The one exception is that the fastest way to break cobwebs and bamboo is to use a sword.
