How to Spawn a Wither in Minecraft

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: June 16, 2021 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to spawn a Wither, which is a boss from the Nether, in Minecraft. The process for doing this is the same on computer, console, and mobile versions of Minecraft. Be warned that the Wither is an incredibly difficult boss to fight, even with maximum armor and weaponry, so make sure you have plenty of healing items on hand and a retreat strategy in case things go poorly.

NOTE: Disregard shown pictures and follow the text guide, as they are there for preview purposes, and not for following (this includes building the Wither with normal Skeleton skulls, and dragon sets).

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Spawning the Wither

1
Travel to the Nether. In order to spawn a Wither, you must gather crafting materials that can only be found in the Nether.
2
Gather the required crafting materials. You'll need two things from the Nether:
- 3 Wither Skeleton skulls - Kill Wither Skeletons, which are black skeletons found in Nether fortresses (in the console edition, they spawn elsewhere in the Nether as well). Wither Skeletons have a 2.5 percent chance to drop a skull.
- 4 blocks of soul sand - Soul sand is dark sand found throughout the Nether.
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3
Return to the Overworld. Exit the Nether by going back to your Nether portal and hopping through it.
4
Prepare for the fight. The battle with the Wither will be a long one, so you'll want to make sure you're prepared. Since the fight can take a while, and may end up underground, it is recommended that you prepare a couple Potions of Night Vision. This is because the Wither will most likely destroy your torches. Potions of Regeneration, Healing, Strength, or Golden Apples (especially enchanted ones) also help greatly.
- It is highly recommended that you have a Diamond Sword with Smite V, Diamond Armor with Protection IV, as well as a Bow enchanted with Power IV or V. It is also recommended to fight the wither in the Nether, but in a smaller area. That way, the Wither will not destroy anything of value.
5
Find a good summoning location. The Wither will destroy every block it touches, and its projectiles also cause explosions. Make sure you don't start the fight near any structures or characters you want to protect.
- If you've beaten the Ender Dragon in The End, this may be a good place to summon the Wither. The Wither will focus its attention on the Endermen. You can either let the Wither kill the Endermen indefinitely for a good supply of Ender Pearls, or get the Wither to half health so that it can't fly anymore, allowing the Endermen to finish it off.
6
Make sure you're eligible to spawn the Wither. In order to spawn the Wither, you cannot be playing on Peaceful difficulty.
7
Create the soul sand frame. The soul sand frame is T-shaped, with one block touching the ground, one block directly on top of it, and one block on either side of the top block.
- It's important to create the frame before adding the skulls, since the last block you place must be a skull in order for the Wither to spawn.
8
Place one wither skeleton skull on each upper block. Make sure the three wither skeleton skulls are on top of each T-shaped frame.
9
Prepare for the Wither to spawn. After placing the final skull, a health bar will appear at the top of the screen as the Wither begins to spawn.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Fighting the Wither

1
Retreat as far back as possible. The Wither explodes once its health bar fills up entirely; the explosion alone is enough to wipe you out in one shot, so put as much space as you can between you and the Wither before it finishes spawning.
2
Refrain from hiding. The Wither knows exactly where you are at all times, and it blows up any blocks that it touches. Your best bet is to retreat while attacking as you go rather than hiding and waiting for an opportunity.
3
Keep moving. Don't stop if the Wither is anywhere near you, since doing so makes you an easy target.
4
Heal as often as possible. A fraction of a health slot can be the difference between surviving the fight and succumbing to the Wither.
5
Use arrows for the first half of the fight. If you have a bow and arrow, sniping the Wither while backing up is your best bet. Unfortunately, the Wither will become impervious to arrows once its health reaches 50 percent.
6
Hit the Wither as quickly as possible. Once the Wither is down to 50 percent health, it will drop down to your level. This is your chance to hit the Wither quickly with your sword, so do so while circling the Wither.
- Avoiding the Wither's attacks while hitting it as much as possible is the only way to proceed from this point until the Wither dies.
- The Wither regenerates health, so your attacks have to be consistent.
7
Loot the Wither when the fight is over. Once you defeat the Wither, make sure you pick up the nether star it drops. The nether star can be used to create a beacon.

Community Q&A

Question

Why would you want to spawn a wither boss?

Community Answer

Spawning a wither may seem like a foolish idea, but advanced players will make them in order to gather nether stars. These are used to make beacons.
Question

Will they kill any monster around them?

Gerbillover

Community Answer

Withers will attack any mob except for zombies, skeletons, zombie pigmen, wither skeletons, husks, strays, and other withers.
Question

Can you spawn a wither in creative mode?

Community Answer

Yes, you can spawn withers in creative mode.

Warnings

Left alone long enough, the Wither will regain all of its health.

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Any animal that is killed by the Wither will be replaced by a Wither Rose. This black flower will give the Withering effect to any mob or player that gets near it.

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