How to Kill the Wither in Minecraft

Last Updated: November 13, 2021 Approved

The Wither is the second boss in Minecraft. Currently it is the hardest mob to beat. It is also the only way to get Nether Stars, which are necessary for building beacons. Defeating the Wither takes a lot of preparation! This wikiHow teaches you how to spawn and defeat the Wither in Minecraft.

Steps

1
Craft Diamond Armor. The Wither is a high hitting boss, so arm yourself with as high level of armor as you can get. Craft full diamond armor.
2
Craft diamond weapons. The Wither can take massive amounts of damage, so a diamond sword and a bow is recommended.

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3
Enchant your weapons and armor. In addition to crafting weapons and armor out of diamond, you can use an enchantment table to craft enchantment books. Then use an Anvil to add enchantments to your weapons and armor. This adds additional perks to your weapons and armor.
- Smite V is a good enchantment to use against the Wither as it is an undead mob.
- Enchant a bow with Power V, Infinity, and Punch to do extra damage. Flame is ineffective against the Wither.
- If you are using a crossbow, enchant it with Quick Charge III, and Multishot or piercing. Healing Arrows can also deal extra damage. ^{[1]
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4
Craft Potions. You will also want to have some potions on hand when you fight the Wither. Craft some heath and regeneration potions. A strength II potion will help you deal more damage with a sword.
- In addition to potions, you can also craft a golden apple using a crafting table and 8 bars of gold and an apple. This adds absorption and regeneration. An Enchanted Golden Apple can be crafted out of 8 blocks of gold and an apple using a crafting table (no longer craftable since version 1.11, it can only be found in loot chests). This adds Absorption, Regeneration, Fire Resistance, and Resistance.
- A bucket of milk can cure the wither effect. Use an empty bucket to get milk from cows.
5
Find lots of obsidian. Obsidian is one of the toughest blocks in Minecraft. It is created when lava comes in contact with water. You can make your own obsidian. You need a diamond pickaxe to mine obsidian.
6
Travel to the Nether. To craft a nether portal, build a frame out of obsidian blocks that are at least 4x5 blocks high. Then use a flint and steel to light the center on fire. Walk through the portal to travel to the nether.
7
Collect 4 blocks of Soul Sand. Soul Sand blocks are found in the Nether.
8
Collet 3 Wither Skeleton Skulls. Wither Skeletons spawn naturally in nether fortresses. Be careful when fighting them, as it can do a lot of damage as well as inflicting the Wither effect. It will take a while to obtain the three skulls, since the drop chance is only 2.5%. Use a sword enchanted with Looting to increase the chances.
- If a Wither skeleton is blown up by a charged creeper, it will have a 100% chance instead of a rare chance.
9
Gather friends (optional). Since the Wither is a difficult boss, it might help if you get some help to beat him. You can take your game online in Minecraft Realms and invite friends to your game, or play online over a LAN game.
10
Choose a fight location. You can spawn the wither in Overworld, the Nether, or the End. The best location to fight the Wither is underground in the Overworld. It's is an enclosed location that is away from any buildings. Find an underground location that is near your base (in case you die).
- Avoid caves in Mountain biomes, since there are silverfish.
11
Build a base out of obsidian. You can use the base to hide in while fighting the Wither. The base should have only one entrance that is just wide enough for you to fit through. The Wither can break obsidian blocks, but only with blue skulls. Build the base walls several layers thick, if possible.
12
Arrange the Soul Sand blocks in the shape of a "T". Place one Soul Sand block on the ground with no blocks or objects next to it. Then place 3 soul sand blocks on top of the base block.
13
Place three Wither Skeleton Skulls on top of the soul sand blocks. Place the three wither skeleton skulls on top of the three soul sand blocks on top fo the structure. This will spawn the Wither.
- The Wither cannot be spawned in Peaceful mode.
14
Get to a safe distance from the Wither. When the Wither first spawns, it will be at half its health, so it may be tempting to try to attack it. However, the Wither is invulnerable to damage during this period, and will rapidly start regenerating its health. So any attacks will be useless. Also, it will explode after reaching full health, so make sure you back away a good distance away.
15
Attack with arrows. Beware of the flying skulls, as they will explode and cause damage, as well as inflicting the Wither effect. This effect will drain your health much like Poison, but is capable of killing you. Stay away from the Wither, and shoot it with your bow while dodging the projectiles. If you can, jump while fighting the Wither. This will allow you to do critical hits, which do a lot more damage. Hide in your base or a long tunnel when needed. Then run out and shoot a few arrows at the Wither.
- The wither will attack all mobs except undead ones (zombies and skeletons), so you can spawn mobs like snow golems to distract it.
- Be sure to have all your potions and healing items in your toolbar and ready to use.
16
Attack with a sword. When the Wither reaches about half health, it will enter the armor effect stage. Arrows will no longer be effective. In this stage, it will charge at you. Attack it with a diamond sword.

Community Q&A

Question

What are the best enchantments to use on my sword?

Community Answer

Smite V on a diamond sword (22.5 damage vs. 13 damage with Sharpness V). Don't use Knockback, because it will be annoying; every time you hit the Wither he'll be knocked out of reach. Looting III makes no difference, as it always drops exactly 1 Nether Star. Unbreaking III does no extra damage, just a bonus for the sword.
Question

What does the most damage to the Wither in Minecraft?

Community Answer

A diamond sword with Sharpness or Smite V, as well as a bow with Power V, and Punch II do the most damage.
Question

Where should I spawn the Wither?

Community Answer

The best place to spawn is underground, so that it can't fly into the air.

Warnings

If you spawn the wither near TNT, chances are it could get set off by the wither at some point.

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The Wither can fly, so be sure to have a ceiling or bow handy when fighting it.

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The wither is much harder to defeat on Bedrock Edition(MCPE, consoles, and Windows 10) than on Java Edition (Desktop, Mac). Bedrock Edition withers have double the health compared to Java withers, spawns 4 wither skeletons and explodes when at half health, deals extremely high damage, and explodes prior to death. Make sure you are really prepared for the fight!

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