Minecraft Mobs: Enderman

An Enderman is a three-block-high, humanoid, neutral mob. Endermen are known for their unique ability to teleport and pick up blocks. Neutral mobs will not attack the player unless provoked. The act of provoking neutral mobs varies between mobs. Enderman got 40 health points. Enderman got a attack strength 4 in Easy, 7 in Normal, and 10 in Hard. Along with those abilities, they also have a peculiar way of becoming provoked: as well as being provoked by an attack attacked, Endermen will also become hostile when a player looks at their upper legs, torso, or head.

Endermen frequently spawn in The End, their home world, but they still require a light level of seven or less in order to spawn. They will also spawn in the Overworld, although about 10 times more rarely in comparison to other mobs. They can be seen regularly at night in groups of up to five.

They have black patterned skin, long limbs, and a thin body. Endermen have glowing pink eyes and emit a purple particle effect similar to Nether portals. When aggressive their mouths will open and their bodies will shake violently. Endermen will take damage from coming in contact with water and rain. Endermen are neutral mobs that don’t attack unless provoked, like Zombie Pigmen. The difference is how they can be provoked. Aside from attacking one, if the player simply looks at the head or body (upper legs in SSP) Endermen will proceed to attack. This “staring” provocation can occur from a surprisingly long distance, so be careful when scanning an open area, like Plains or a Desert.

When provoked, Endermen will open their mouths and shake with rage. They will continue to shake even when the game is paused. Endermen will never give up a chase once made hostile; even when moving several hundred kilometers from them they will continue to follow until killed or distracted by exterior elements such as water or rain. Be very wary when a hostile Enderman suddenly disappears. They are still angry at you, but may have teleported too far away, into a nearby enclosed area, or are stuck. If you are lucky, they probably teleported into water and died. Sometimes you may find Endermen while mining, so it is advisable to have a bucket of water in your arsenal.

If a skeleton or the Ender dragon attacks an Enderman while attempting to attack the player, the Enderman will completely stop chasing the player, even after it has killed the offending attacker. Endermen can’t see the player through transparent blocks such as glass. Endermen’s notable traits are the ability to pick up and move blocks and teleport. When teleporting, an Enderman will leave a faint trail of particles similar to those of a nether portal leading to itself from where it teleported, but, if an Enderman is holding a block it will not leave a trail. Endermen teleport when coming in contact with rain or water – though not if set on fire. Endermen can step up one full block without having to jump. The range in which an Enderman can teleport is 32 meters in most cases, however informal testing on superflat worlds shows they can travel much further on the Y axis. An Enderman can teleport onto any solid block, the only exceptions being blocks directly beneath water or lava.

An Enderman cannot teleport when it is in a minecart. However, if it is hit with a projectile, it will teleport out of the minecart and then immediately teleport back. It is nearly impossible to hit it with a projectile, even glitched. Endermen will only pick up and move certain blocks, regardless of whether they were natural or placed by the player. They will pick up blocks horizontally and vertically nearby, within a short reaching distance similar to the player’s (3 layers). Endermen will not drop the block they are holding when enraged or slain. It will simply disappear. Endermen cannot pick up entities, such as boats, minecarts, primed TNT, and mobs.

Because Endermen possess the ability to move blocks, they can cause damage to the natural environment and in some cases player-built structures. They can also allow fenced animals to jump out by placing blocks adjacent to fences. On the Overworld signs of Endermen activity will become apparent in frequently loaded chunks in the form of misplaced blocks. In desert areas, Endermen may also pollinate cacti by removing blocks and placing them on fresh sand, gradually increasing the population of cacti in frequently loaded deserts. Endermen do not spawn in lit areas but they may wander or teleport into lit areas from adjacent dark ones, particularly if rain or water causes them to teleport. Simply lighting structures liberally with torches is not a guaranteed defense.

How to prevent attacks by Enderman

The only way to get an Enderman to chase the player is to hit it, or look at its body or face within the crosshairs. As Endermen are 3 blocks tall, the player can keep his or her house’s interior 2-2.5 blocks tall to prevent Endermen from teleporting into it. Endermen are usually only encountered in relatively open spaces, as well; although they will still spawn, you’re much more likely to see other mobs in cramped caves underground, before you see Endermen.

If the player sits in a pool of water, Endermen will take damage from the water, teleport away in response to the damage, and come back to attack. This makes it an easy way to kill them. If the player wears a pumpkin on his or her head and looks at an Enderman, it will not turn hostile when looked at. Once provoked, however, wearing a pumpkin will not prevent it from attacking or teleporting, though it will not teleport away if the player is within melee range. If an Enderman is in the player’s house or another area where the player wants it out from, the easiest method to remove it is to shoot it with an arrow, snowball, or egg while the Enderman is still non-hostile. This causes it to teleport away. An attempted shot to the head or torso lowers the chance of an Enderman teleporting to 35%, but an attempted shot to the arms, lower legs, or upper legs is a guaranteed teleportation. All arrows that do not make the Enderman teleport will simply bounce off. This tactic is quite useful for archers.

Another good method of getting rid of Endermen inside the player’s house is to have a water source inside it and to use a piston to open and close this water source. When an Enderman enters the house, the player should open the gate, stand inside the running water, and look at the Enderman. It will come towards the player, teleport away from the water, come back, and eventually die. Because Endermen take damage from water, building a moat is useful for preventing an encounter and an attack, although with the ability to teleport to you, this does not always work. The player could also try flooding the outside of his or her house with water so they cannot get in, though that means that the player needs a door to get in and out and stop flooding from the inside of his or her house. The player must also put blocks around his or her house in order to stop the flooding from spreading too far. This idea also stops creepers from blowing up the player’s house, and mobs cannot get inside.

Enderman Combat

Endermen are damaged by attacks, falling, fire, lava, water, and poison. These are one of the most dangerous mobs in the game, in a one on one fight, and they should be respected on that basis. Ideally you want your back against a wall. If you hit Endermen, they will often teleport behind you. (Only in multiplayer, the enderman will only Teleport somewhere inside a player’s view.) Their melee attacks hit sufficiently hard, that you want to avoid being hit by them as much as possible. Get a sword and armor, made from the best material you’ve got. A flint and steel may also help, as although lighting them on fire is difficult, it will likely still help you kill them, if you can manage it. Focus on hitting their legs, and try to time your attacks so that the Enderman is continually knocked back, so that it will not be able to hit you. This will usually kill them fairly quickly.

You can perform preemptive strikes against Endermen by keeping your crosshair over them, which will cause them to stay still for several seconds, or until the Enderman is hit, whichever comes first. A player can also get in the first hit by looking only at the Enderman’s legs until they attack – though once hit, the Enderman will become aggressive as normal. A height advantage of at least one block or more will also help keep the Enderman at bay as you hit it.

Endermen that wander into fire or lava will not teleport away, nor will they become aggressive to the player. This can be used to weaken or kill them, though the second will require that they be set on fire twice (likely by placing fire with a flint and steel) due to their high hit points.

Arrows, snowballs, and eggs will usually not hit them due to the fact that they usually teleport away before impact. However, shooting an Enderman with a bow carrying the “Flame” enchantment will still light it on fire, even though it will take no direct damage from the arrow. This can be an effective method of holding off and killing Endermen from range. Because they do not get hurt, projectiles will not cause Endermen to become hostile. If a projectile does manage to somehow damage an Enderman, such as an accidental arrow hit from a skeleton while they are attacking the player, they will become hostile to the source of the damage.

Fishing lures will hit an Enderman and “snag” them on the end of the line. However, as the Enderman teleports away when the lure hits them (Possibly behind a wall or into caves) this is only sometimes useful as a tool for killing them. If you manage to pull it forward it will travel a remarkable distance. Hostile Endermen will teleport away after a player hits them, though they may attack first. Similarly, Endermen may teleport away several seconds after attacking. When this happens in a small underground space, the Enderman may teleport into inaccessible caves or to the surface and may or may not teleport back. The Endermen may also teleport behind the player so caution is recommended. Endermen teleportation can be tracked by looking for the glowing teleportation trail they leave behind.

Because of the Endermen’s extra height, you can make a roof 2 blocks high (and at least 2 deep) that allows you to walk through, but stops Endermen from walking through due to their height. However, other mobs will have easy access to you so make sure you have your back covered. Obviously they can still hit you if they’re right next to you, so make it deep enough that they can’t reach you. (For example, a 33 roof in an open area, as you can always retreat to the middle or far side.)

Another effective way of killing an Enderman is to make a 4-block high pillar underneath yourself, then look at an Enderman. The Enderman will run toward you and come into melee range. You will be in range to attack them, but they will not be in range to attack you. Make sure there are no skeletons nearby (within 16 blocks), as they will shoot you off your pillar and make you a vulnerable target. A very simple way to kill an Enderman is to attack their legs, as they do not teleport when their legs are attacked.

A quick, effective way to kill an Enderman is to quickly run towards one with or without a weapon (and without looking at its head), attack its legs once, and have four or more tamed wolves to finish it off. One way to get Ender Pearls without the Enderman becoming hostile toward you is to quickly trap the Enderman on a Single Square and drop gravel or sand on its head, crushing it.

Endermen also cannot teleport when riding a minecart, even hitting them with an arrow will not cause the Enderman to teleport away (Though they will flash red and disappear for a second, as if trying to teleport unsuccessfully.) This is one potential way to kill them at a distance. Endermen cannot teleport while falling. Thus an effective way to kill them quickly is to draw them to the edge of a slope and attack them while facing the slope. The attack will knock them backwards, and follow up attacks can be performed before the Enderman can teleport away. Sound is also important to pay attention to, an attentive player with an appropriate sound system can hear where the Enderman teleported to, preventing sneak attacks from behind.

Iron golems will attack Endermen, and will kill one in two hits. Endermen will hit the iron golem once before the iron golem kills it.