Skeleton

For other uses, see Skeleton (disambiguation).

Skeleton

Right-handed

Left-handed

Health points	20HP × 10
Behavior	Hostile
Mob type	Undead Monster
Attack strength	Ranged: Bow: In Java Edition: Easy: 2HP – 4HP Normal: 3HP – 5HP Hard: 4HP – 8HP In Bedrock Edition: 3HP – 5HP (depending on velocity) Melee: Easy and Normal: 2HP Hard: 3HP
Hitbox size	In Java Edition: Height: 1.99 blocks Width: 0.6 blocks In Bedrock Edition: Height: 1.9 blocks Width: 0.6 blocks
Spawn	Overworld: Light level 0 in applicable biomes. Rarely when a spider or cave spider‌[BE only] spawns, as a spider jockey. When a skeleton horse trap is triggered, as a skeleton horseman. Monster Room: from monster spawners. Trial Chambers: from trial spawners. The Nether: (Light level of 7 or less) Soul Sand Valley Nether Fortress

Skeletons are common undead hostile mobs that perform ranged attacks with a bow, shooting arrows from a distance. They are most commonly found in the Overworld at night or in dark locations, but also spawn in the Nether in soul sand valleys, and occasionally in Nether fortresses. They are an important source of bones and arrows, which they drop upon death.

Spawning

Skeletons may naturally spawn in the Overworld in groups of 4‌^{[Java Edition only]} or 1-2‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} above solid blocks at a light level of 0, except in mushroom fields, the deep dark, and trial chambers; they may continue to spawn in these places through other means like spawner blocks.

Skeleton spawns in:

Category: Monster	Java Edition			Bedrock Edition
Spawn area	Spawn weight	Spawn chance	Group size	Spawn weight	Group size
Soul Sand Valley	20⁄71	28.17%	4	80	1–2
Grove	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Bamboo Jungle	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Stony Peaks	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Meadow	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Windswept Hills	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Old Growth Birch Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Dappled Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Jungle	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Stony Shore	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Eroded Badlands	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Flower Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Sparse Jungle	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Birch Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Beach	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Snowy Beach	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Taiga	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Lush Caves	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Wooded Badlands	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Snowy Taiga	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Old Growth Spruce Taiga	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Cherry Grove	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Pale Garden	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Badlands	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Windswept Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Windswept Gravelly Hills	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	1–2
Dark Forest	100⁄515	19.42%	4	80	2
Plains	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Lukewarm Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Deep Lukewarm Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Sunflower Plains	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Windswept Savanna	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Deep Cold Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Warm Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Deep Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Savanna Plateau	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Cold Ocean	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Savanna	100⁄520	19.23%	4	80	1–2
Snowy Slopes	100⁄525	19.05%	4	24	1–2
Jagged Peaks	100⁄525	19.05%	4	24	1–2
Old Growth Pine Taiga	100⁄540	18.52%	4	80	1–2
Frozen Peaks	100⁄540	18.52%	4	24	1–2
Frozen River	100⁄541	18.48%	4	24	1–2
Deep Frozen Ocean	100⁄545	18.35%	4	24	1–2
Frozen Ocean	100⁄545	18.35%	4	24	1–2
Ice Caves	90⁄520	17.31%	4	90	1–2
Dripstone Caves	100⁄610	16.39%	4	80	1–2
River	100⁄615	16.26%	4	—	—
Sulfur Caves	50⁄315	15.87%	2	50	2
Mangrove Swamp	70⁄516	13.57%	4	—	—
Swamp	70⁄516	13.57%	4	80	2
Desert	50⁄515	9.71%	4	40	1–2
Nether Fortress	2⁄28	7.14%	5	2	2–3
Snowy Plains	20⁄530	3.77%	4	24	1–2
Ice Spikes	20⁄540	3.7%	4	24	1–2

Spider jockeys

Spiders and cave spiders‌^{[BE only]} have a 1% chance to spawn with a skeleton riding them, creating a spider jockey.

Skeleton horse traps during thunderstorms

Four skeleton horsemen spawn when a skeleton horse trap is triggered, typically during a thunderstorm. The skeletons ride on skeleton horses and are equipped with enchanted bows and iron helmets. In Java Edition, they have damage immunity for 3 seconds after spawning.

In the Nether

Skeletons spawn commonly in soul sand valley biomes in groups of 4‌^{[JE only]} or 1–2‌^{[BE only]}. However, due to the spawn cost system, skeletons have a lower population density in soul sand valleys than zombified piglins have in Nether wastes (i.e. there are much fewer skeletons in a given area).

In Nether fortresses, there is a 20% chance that a skeleton spawns in place of a wither skeleton.

Skeletons in the Nether spawn at the light level of 7 and below.

Monster spawners

Skeletons spawn from 25% of the monster spawners found in monster rooms.

Trial spawners

Regular skeletons have a ¹⁄₃ chance to be selected as the "ranged" mob for trial spawners in trial chambers.

Variants

Many skeletons are also replaced by their variants: strays in snowy biomes, parched in desert biomes, bogged in swamp and mangrove swamp biomes, and wither skeletons in Nether fortress structures in the Nether.

In Bedrock Edition, spider jockeys are also affected by this.

Drops

On death

Java Edition:

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Bone	0–2	66.67%	1.00	0–3	83.33%	1.50	0–4	91.67%	2.00	0–5	94.44%	2.50
	Arrow	0–2	66.67%	1.00	0–3	83.33%	1.50	0–4	91.67%	2.00	0–5	94.44%	2.50
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Bone	0–2	2⁄3	1	0–3	5⁄6	3⁄2	0–4	11⁄12	2	0–5	17⁄18	5⁄2
	Arrow	0–2	2⁄3	1	0–3	5⁄6	3⁄2	0–4	11⁄12	2	0–5	17⁄18	5⁄2
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Item		Amount	Probability
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Bone	0	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		1	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	5⁄18 (27.78%)
		3	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	5⁄18 (27.78%)
		4	0	0	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		5	0	0	0	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)
	Arrow	0	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		1	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	5⁄18 (27.78%)
		3	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	5⁄18 (27.78%)
		4	0	0	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		5	0	0	0	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)

Killed		1
Item		Expected Drops
		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Bone	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50
	Arrow	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00

Bedrock Edition:

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Bone	0–2	66.67%	1.00	0–3	66.67%	1.33	0–4	66.67%	1.67	0–5	66.67%	2.00
	Arrow	0–2	66.67%	1.00	0–3	66.67%	1.33	0–4	66.67%	1.67	0–5	66.67%	2.00
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Bone	0–2	2⁄3	1	0–3	2⁄3	4⁄3	0–4	2⁄3	5⁄3	0–5	2⁄3	2
	Arrow	0–2	2⁄3	1	0–3	2⁄3	4⁄3	0–4	2⁄3	5⁄3	0–5	2⁄3	2
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Item		Amount	Probability
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Bone	0	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		1	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		2	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		3	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	2⁄9 (22.22%)
		4	0	0	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		5	0	0	0	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	4⁄3 (1.33)	5⁄3 (1.67)	2 (2.00)
	Arrow	0	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		1	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		2	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		3	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	2⁄9 (22.22%)
		4	0	0	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		5	0	0	0	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	4⁄3 (1.33)	5⁄3 (1.67)	2 (2.00)
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)

Killed		1
Item		Expected Drops
		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Bone	1.00	1.33	1.67	2.00
	Arrow	1.00	1.33	1.67	2.00
	Skeleton Skull[A]	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00

A skeleton always drops any equipment it picked up. A skeleton also has a random chance to drop each piece of naturally spawned equipment, including its bow, if it is killed by a player or tamed wolf. The chance to drop a naturally spawned piece of equipment is 8.5% without Looting, 9.5% with Looting I, 10.5% with Looting II, and 11.5% with Looting III.

Skeletons drop 5XP experience points when killed by a player or tamed wolf, and an additional 1–3XP for each piece of naturally spawned equipment, including their bow. The random amount dropped by each piece is independent of the amounts dropped by the other pieces.

Behavior

Skeletons chase players, baby turtles, and iron golems they see within 16 blocks, climbing stairs or ladders, navigating mazes and traversing other complex obstacles to get within shooting range. Despite being associated to iron golems, villagers and wandering traders are ignored by skeletons. However, a skeleton can retaliate if a firework rocket set by a villager hits it.

When within 15 blocks of a target, with a clear line of sight, a skeleton starts shooting arrows, once every 3 seconds on Easy and Normal difficulties or once every 2 seconds on Hard difficulty. If the player leaves the 15-block radius, skeletons wait for some seconds with the bow charged, shooting the moment the player comes within range again. Their detection range is reduced by 50% if a skeleton skull is worn by the player. This stacks with sneaking and the Invisibility effect.

The skeleton's accuracy is based on the world difficulty. Skeletons have an "error" of 10 on Easy, 6 on Normal and 2 on Hard. This is compared to the player's lack of accuracy of 1. To account for gravity, skeletons aim 0.2 blocks higher for every horizontal block of range to the target.

Skeletons have infinite durability on their bows, and can shoot an infinite amount of arrows. Arrows shot by skeletons cannot be picked up from the ground.

Skeleton behavior varies between the game editions:

Java Edition

• Strafe in circular patterns to dodge attacks and retreat to a safe range if the player comes within 4 blocks. They can walk off cliffs while strafing.^[1]
• Sprint toward the player if they are 14 blocks away or farther.
• Use bows even underwater. The water slows down the arrows.
• Animates its bow while attacking.

Bedrock Edition

• Skeletons typically stop moving to shoot, making no attempt to avoid being hit.
• An underwater skeleton uses a melee attack because it is unable to use a bow underwater.

In most cases, if a skeleton's arrow hits a neutral or hostile mob that has not yet been attacked by the player, the mob attacks the skeleton. When a skeleton is attacked by another mob (including another skeleton), it attacks that mob, reorienting on the player once the mob is dead. Skeletons flee from wolves. A skeleton runs from a chasing wolf until the wolf deals damage, after which the skeleton turns to shoot at the wolf that successfully attacked it.

Skeletons sink in water and cannot swim, but do not drown.

If a skeleton is inside of powder snow for 7 seconds (140 game ticks), it begins shaking. After another 15 seconds (300 game ticks), it converts into a stray. A newly-converted stray always has full health even if converted from a damaged skeleton. The converted stray keeps any items worn or held when it was a skeleton. Only skeletons can become strays; bogged, parched, or wither skeletons cannot be converted. The process is similar to when a husk turns into a zombie or when a zombie turns into a drowned if it stays underwater for too long.

If spawned with a weapon other than a bow or no weapon at all (which can be spawned with commands such as /summon skeleton ~ ~ ~ {equipment:{mainhand:{id:"iron_sword",count:1}}}, or /summon skeleton ~ ~ ~ {}), or it picks up a weapon other than a bow, a skeleton charges at a player with arms outstretched and deals damage by touch, similar to a wither skeleton.

A skeleton holding a tipped arrow or spectral arrow‌^{[Java Edition only]} in its off-hand always shoots that type of arrow, and the arrow held is not consumed.

If a skeleton kills a creeper, the creeper drops a music disc, randomly selected from 13, cat, blocks, chirp, far, mall, mellohi, stal, strad, ward, 11, and wait.

Sunlight

When the moon can no longer be seen (Dawn) and the sun is above 15°, skeletons can burn. Burning is suppressed when the skeleton is:

• in a place with a non-air block directly over it. In Java Edition, the roof must be a light-blocking block.
• in a sufficiently shaded area: a sunlight level of 11 or less.
• in water. A skeleton pathfinds to water if it is not wearing head armor and not already in water.
• wearing head armor. Helmets have a 50% chance to lose 1 durability for every tick where the skeleton would normally be set on fire.
• under the status effect of Fire Resistance.
• standing in cobwebs.^[2]

Transparent and translucent blocks, including glass and ice, do not prevent them from burning.‌^{[JE only]}

Unlike zombies, skeletons seek out shelter during the day, and remain under it while attacking.

Mob type

Being an undead mob, they are:

• Damaged by the status effect Instant Health and healed by the status effect Instant Damage.
• Unaffected by the status effects Regeneration and Poison.
• Ignored by the wither.
• Affected by the Smite enchantment.
• A threat to armadillos, causing them to hide in their shell.

Geared skeletons

Skeletons spawn already armed with bows, which may be enchanted. The chances of that event are listed below. If a skeleton spawns wearing multiple pieces of armor, the armor is never mismatched (all pieces are made of the same material) except if it is spawned as part of a skeleton trap, in which case only the iron helmet may not match the rest of the armor.

In Java Edition on Halloween, skeletons may spawn wearing a carved pumpkin or jack o'lantern on their head. They do not drop this, even when killed with Looting.

If a skeleton does spawn with armor, the chances of specific armor are as follows:

If a skeleton does spawn with an armor, the order in which they receive armor pieces is as follows (from most likely to least likely): helmet; helmet and chestplate; helmet, chestplate and leggings; full set.

The chances of it being of a particular material are:

In Java Edition, a skeleton's armor does not lose durability upon taking damage. Helmets (not blocks like carved pumpkins) on skeletons can break if the skeleton is exposed to daylight. In Bedrock Edition, any armor piece is damaged as if the player is wearing it.

Any skeleton that spawns with equipment (picked-up items do not count) gives 1–3 extra experience points per item.

Picking up items

Some skeletons spawn with the ability to pick up dropped items from the ground. Unlike zombies, however, they pick up only weapons, shields, and armor. In Java Edition, skeletons pick up items that they happen to walk near. In Bedrock Edition, they actively search for and walk toward dropped items.

If the picked up item is a weapon (other than a bow), the skeleton uses the item as a melee weapon. Skeletons do not pick up spears under any circumstances. In Java Edition, skeletons prefer bows over other weapons, and do not pick up other weapons while wielding a bow. In Bedrock Edition, the only weapon a skeleton will swap its held bow for is a sword. When picking up weapons, skeletons prefer ones that deal more damage without considering enchantments. They also prefer weapons with NBT data over those without, and weapons that are less damaged.

If the picked up item is a shield, the skeleton equips the shield into their offhand. It cannot use the shield to block incoming attacks, however.

If the picked up item is armor, a carved pumpkin or a head, the skeleton equips itself with the item. Skeletons prefer armor that give more armor points, and will replace their current armor with it. Skeletons pick up cosmetic wearables (heads and carved pumpkins) as long as they aren't wearing a helmet, and will replace the cosmetic wearable if they find a helmet.

If a skeleton has equipment and picks up something they prefer more, the skeleton drops the old equipment, with the same chance as if killed with Looting I, in favor of the new one.

A skeleton equipped with a picked-up item becomes persistent and does not despawn, similar to being named.

If multiple viable items exist, the skeleton endlessly picks up and drops the items.^[3]

Sounds

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Entity tags	Translation key
Skeleton	skeleton	burn_in_daylight can_breathe_under_water ignores_poison_and_regen inverted_healing_and_harm no_anger_from_wind_charge sensitive_to_smite skeletons undead wither_friends	entity.minecraft.skeleton

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Family	Translation key
Skeleton	skeleton	34	mob monster skeleton undead	entity.skeleton.name

Entity data

Skeletons have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Monster Hunter	Attack and destroy a monster.	Kill one of these 41 monsters: Blaze Bogged Breeze Camel Husk Cave Spider Creaking (by destroying its creaking heart) Creeper Drowned Elder Guardian Ender Dragon Enderman Endermite Evoker Ghast Guardian Hoglin Husk Magma Cube Parched Phantom Piglin Piglin Brute Pillager Ravager Shulker Silverfish Skeleton Slime Spider Stray Vex Vindicator Witch Wither Wither Skeleton Zoglin Zombie Zombie Horse Zombie Nautilus Zombie Villager Zombified Piglin Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this achievement.	15	Bronze
		Camouflage	Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head.	—	30	Bronze
		Sniper Duel	Kill a Skeleton with a Bow and Arrows from more than 50 meters.	Use a launched arrow to kill a skeleton, wither skeleton, stray, bogged, or parched from 50 or more blocks away, horizontally.	30	Bronze
		It Spreads	Kill a mob next to a catalyst	Kill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this achievement.	10	Bronze

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Overkill	Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.	30	Bronze
		Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.	20	Silver
		Mob Kabob	Hit five mobs in the same Charge attack using the Spear	Armor stands and players also count for this achievement as they are technically mobs.	10	Bronze

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Not Today, Thank You	Deflect a projectile with a Shield	Block any projectile with a shield.
	Monster Hunter	Kill any hostile monster	Kill one of these 41​[until: Fourth Drop 2026]/42​[upcoming] monsters: Blaze Bogged Breeze Camel Husk Cave Spider Creaking (by destroying its creaking heart) Creeper Drowned Elder Guardian Ender Dragon Enderman Endermite Evoker Frostbite​[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026] Ghast Guardian Hoglin Husk Magma Cube Parched Phantom Piglin Piglin Brute Pillager Ravager Shulker Silverfish Skeleton Slime Spider Stray Vex Vindicator Witch Wither Wither Skeleton Zoglin Zombie Zombie Horse Zombie Nautilus Zombie Villager Zombified Piglin Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
	It Spreads	Kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst	Kill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this advancement.
	Monsters Hunted	Kill one of every hostile monster	Kill each of these 41​[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026]/42​[upcoming] monsters: Blaze Bogged Breeze Camel Husk Cave Spider Creaking (by destroying its creaking heart) Creeper Drowned Elder Guardian Ender Dragon Enderman Endermite Evoker Frostbite​[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026] Ghast Guardian Hoglin Husk Magma Cube Parched Phantom Piglin Piglin Brute Pillager Ravager Shulker Silverfish Skeleton Slime Spider Stray Vex Vindicator Witch Wither Wither Skeleton Zoglin Zombie Zombie Horse Zombie Nautilus Zombie Villager Zombified Piglin Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
	Sniper Duel	Kill a Skeleton from at least 50 meters away	Receive kill credit for a skeleton that is at least 50 blocks away horizontally and is killed by a projectile.

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Adventure	Adventure, exploration and combat	Kill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
	A Throwaway Joke	Throw a Trident at something. Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.	Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
	Take Aim	Shoot something with an Arrow	Using a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.
	Mob Kabob	Hit five mobs in the same Charge attack using the Spear	Armor Stand and Mannequin also count for this advancement.
	Arbalistic	Kill five unique mobs with one crossbow shot	Armor Stand and Mannequin also count for this advancement. This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
	Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.

History

Development

Java Edition

Java Edition Classic
0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST							Added skeletons.
							Skeletons spawn randomly in new Survival maps and follow players when approached, much like zombies.
							Skeletons appear wearing armor, just like zombies, but had no protective effect in their health.
0.25 SURVIVAL TEST							Skeletons now fire arrows with a purple/magenta colored shaft, and appear to fire arrows at a faster and more random rate.
							Skeletons now take five hits to kill.
							When skeletons are killed, they now drop 4-9 normal arrows for the player to gather by shooting them outward a short-range in all directions.
0.27 SURVIVAL TEST							Skeletons now give 120 points when killed.
Java Edition Indev
0.31			20091223-0040				Skeletons and other mobs no longer spawn naturally.
			20100202				Skeletons and other mobs now spawn naturally again. However, they are currently passive.
							Skeletons no longer wear armor.
							The skeleton's attacking animation has been removed.
			20100204-2027				Skeletons are now hostile again.
							The purple arrows that skeletons throw have been removed and have been replaced by regular (brown) arrows.
20100213							Skeletons now catch on fire when exposed to sunlight.
20100218-0011							The chances of catching on fire in sunlight have been tweaked for skeletons.
							Skeletons now burn only when the sunlight level is greater than 7, and not due to torches at night.
20100219							Skeletons now drop arrows.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1414							Skeletons can no longer spawn naturally.
20100316							Skeletons can spawn via arrows and can spawn mobs via arrows.
20100413-1951							Skeletons can no longer spawn mobs via arrows.
20100415							Skeletons can spawn naturally yet again.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.3							Added unique idle and hurt sounds for skeletons. Previously, they had no idle sounds and used the hurt sound for players.
v1.2.0							Skeletons now hold a bow in their right hand, however they were held as an item just like a player would hold it at this period.
Unknown
?							Skeletons no longer use their dedicated death sound, if they did at all in the first place; the standard hurt sound is used for death instead.
Java Edition Beta
1.2							Skeletons can now drop 0-2 bones, in addition to arrows.
1.8			Pre-release				The bows of skeletons are now larger and held realistically (full-sized bows, two-handed, and pulling the arrow back).
							Skeletons now fire arrows slower but further.
Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease				Skeletons now hold their bow with one hand again, but they still have the larger and realistically held bow.
1.2.1			12w04a				The skeleton's AI has been improved: if a skeleton catches fire in daylight, it rushes to the nearest shadow or body of water.
			12w06a				There now is a 8.5% chance that a skeleton drops a bow when killed. There is also a small chance of the bow being enchanted.
							Skeletons no longer spin in circles on non-full-height blocks.
1.4.2			12w32a				Skeletons, zombies and zombie pigmen can now pick up dropped items. They also have the ability to wear armor and wield a weapon, so if they pick up armor, they wear it.
							Skeletons, zombies, and zombie pigmen can now spawn wearing any type of armor (including chain); both armor and weapons may be enchanted.
			12w36a				Skeletons may now be found in nether fortresses along with wither skeletons.
			12w37a				On Halloween, skeletons, wither skeletons, zombies and zombie pigmen now have a chance of spawning with a pumpkin or jack o'lantern.
			12w38a				Skeletons now have new sounds.
1.4.4			1.4.3				Skeletons now rush toward the player, instead of shooting arrows, if they don't have a bow.
1.5			13w02a				Skeletons now shoot from a range of 15 blocks instead of 10.
							Accuracy of skeleton can now be changed by changing difficulty.
			13w03a				Skeletons now fire rapidly at players who come within close range, in an attempt to knock them back. This makes melee combat in water hard.
1.8			14w10a				Skeletons now run away from wolves, instead of fighting back.
			14w11a				Skeletons now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
			14w30a				Skeletons now drop their skulls when killed by a charged creeper.
1.8.1			pre1				Skeletons no longer run away from creepers that are about to explode due to performance issues.
1.8.7							Skeletons no longer ignore the player whilst seeking shelter from the sun.
1.9			15w31a				Skeletons now lower their arms when idling.
							Skeletons now also hold their bow with two hands again when aiming.
							Skeletons can now, once again, animate their bow; they pull it out when becoming hostile and draw it back to fire arrows.
							Skeletons now have an 11% chance of spawning with their bow in their left hand.
							Skeletons can now dual wield.
			15w32a				The detection range of skeletons is halved when the player is wearing a skeleton skull.
			15w38a				Skeletons now shoot one arrow per second and have improved behavior, allowing them to be a bit faster and strafe while shooting.
							Skeletons spawn from skeleton trap horses.
			15w39a				Skeletons are slightly taller (1.99 blocks tall rather than 1.95).
							Skeletons shoot an arrow every 2 seconds on Easy and Normal instead of 1.
			pre1				Skeletons shoot flaming arrows only when burning and regional difficulty is 3 or greater.
							Skeletons holding tipped arrows in their off-hand now shoot that type of arrow.
1.11			16w32a				Skeletons no longer shoot flaming arrows when they are on fire.[4]
			16w40a				Skeletons holding spectral arrows in their off-hand now shoot that type of arrow.[5]
1.12.1			17w31a				Skeletons no longer pick up items based on their enchantments.
1.13			18w07a				Skeletons seek and attack baby turtles.
			18w19a				Skeletons can now sink underwater.
							Skeletons no longer drown underwater.
1.14			18w43a				The texture of skeletons has been changed.
1.15			19w37a				Mobs that spawn wearing carved pumpkins or jack o'lanterns on Halloween no longer drop them.
1.16			20w06a				Skeletons can now spawn in soul sand valley biomes.
			pre4				Increased skeleton's spawning weight in soul sand valleys from 2 to 10.
1.17			21w05a				Skeletons now convert into strays when they are in powder snow for 30 seconds.
			21w13a				Decreased stray conversion time in powder snow from 30 to 7 seconds.
1.18			Experimental Snapshot 1				Skeletons now spawn only at light level 0.
1.19			pre1				Skeletons can now spawn from light level 0 to 11 in the Nether.
1.19.3			22w46a				Skeletons now spawn from light level 0 to 7 in the Nether.
1.20.3			23w40a				Skeletons are now part of the #can_breathe_under_water and #undead tags.
1.20.3 Experiment Update 1.21			23w45a				Skeletons now spawn in trial chambers behind the "Update 1.21" experimental data pack.
							Skeletons from trial spawners surrounded by bone blocks, podzol and red mushrooms shoot tipped arrows of Poison.
1.20.5 Experiment Update 1.21			24w04a				Skeletons no longer retaliate against attacks from the breeze.
			24w07a				Trial spawners surrounded by bone blocks, podzol and red mushrooms no longer spawn skeletons with tipped arrows of Poison, and instead spawn bogged.
1.21.2			24w33a				Skeletons now naturally spawn with armor in the order of (most likely to least likely): helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots.[6]
1.21.4			24w45a				Skeletons now prefer to pick bows from the ground as opposed to other items.
1.21.11			pre1				Skeletons can no longer pick up spears.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.3.3							Added skeletons.
							Skeletons use outdated sounds, move slowly, and shoot an arrow every 3 seconds with poor aim.
v0.5.0							Skeletons have new animations.
v0.7.3							Skeletons are now set on fire when exposed to sunlight. Previously, they emitted smoke particles and took damage, but were not visually on fire.
v0.9.0			build 8				Skeletons have new AI.
			build 9				Skeletons use the old AI again because they were not firing arrows correctly.
v0.9.2							The health of skeletons has been reduced from 20HP × 10 to 16HP × 8
v0.11.0			build 1				Skeletons no longer hold bows with 2 arms.
							Skeletons may now spawn as the rider of a spider jockey.
			build 9				Burning skeletons now shoot flaming arrows.
			build 14				Skeletons now have improved accuracy.
v0.12.1			build 1				Skeletons now use the new AI again, thus improving accuracy, walking and shooting speed. When skeletons catch fire in the daylight, they hide in the nearest shadow or body of water. Skeletons also avoid falls, fire, lava, and cactus.
							Skeletons may now spawn wearing armor or enchanted armor.
							Skeletons may now spawn with enchanted bows.
			build 12				New sounds have been added for skeletons.
v0.13.0			build 1				Skeletons now run away from wolves.
							Skeletons now fire faster when players get closer to knock them back, especially to players in water.
v0.14.0			build 1				Skeletons are now slightly taller (1.99 blocks tall rather than 1.95).
May 31, 2016							Shoghicp asks the community about flaming arrows being shot by burning skeletons.
v0.15.0			build 1				Skeletons now lower their arms when idling. Skeletons now also animate their bow, they pull it out when becoming hostile and draw it back to shoot arrows.
							Skeletons now spawn from skeleton trap horses.
v0.16.0			build 1				Burning skeletons now shoot flaming arrows only if the regional difficulty is 3 or greater. Prior to this, burning skeletons would always shoot flaming arrows regardless of regional difficulty.
?							Skeletons once again have 20HP × 10.
							Burning skeletons no longer shoot flaming arrows.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				Skeletons now have a 8.5% chance of dropping their equipment. Prior to this, skeletons would never drop their bow and would always drop always their armor.
1.5.0			beta 1.5.0.0				Skeletons can now sink underwater.
							Skeletons no longer die from drowning.
							Skeletons now use melee attacks and stop shooting when underwater.
			beta 1.5.0.4				Skeletons now seek and attack baby turtles.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				The texture of skeletons has been changed.
							Skeletons once again attack iron golems.
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.51				Skeletons can now spawn in soul sand valley biomes.
							Skeletons can now pick up items.
							Skeleton now use melee attack when not holding a bow on their hand, prior to this, skeleton use any items as a ranged weapon to shoot arrow normally.
1.16.210			beta 1.16.210.58				The bow holding animation has been changed. However, this caused z-fighting.[7]
1.17.0			beta 1.17.0.52				Skeletons' bows no longer cause any z-fighting with their arms.
			beta 1.17.0.54				Skeletons now convert into strays when they are in powder snow for 30 seconds.
1.17.10			beta 1.17.10.20				Decreased stray conversion time in powder snow from 30 to 7 seconds.
1.17.30			beta 1.17.30.20				Skeletons now hold their bow with two hands again when aiming.
1.18.20			Preview 1.18.20.28				Skeletons' melee attack now deals 2HP damage instead of 3HP on normal mode.
1.19.60			Preview 1.19.60.22				Skeletons now spawn from light level 0 to 7 in the Nether.
?							Skeletons can now use the Punch, Flame, and Power enchantments on their bows.
1.20.60 Experiment Update 1.21			Preview 1.20.60.20				Skeletons now spawn in trial chambers behind the "Update 1.21" experimental toggle.
1.20.70 Experiment Update 1.21			Preview 1.20.70.21				Skeletons no longer retaliate against attacks from breezes.
			Preview 1.20.70.24				Trial spawners surrounded by bone blocks, podzol and red mushrooms no longer spawn skeletons, and instead spawn bogged.
26.0			Preview 26.0.23				Skeletons can no longer pick up spears.
26.30			Preview 26.30.20				Skeletons now shoot arrows with difficulty-based attack intervals instead of distance-scaled intervals, making them easier to take down.[8]
			Preview 26.30.25				Skeletons’ difficulty-based attack intervals now match Java Edition, making them even easier to take down.
26.40			Preview 26.40.27				Arrow damage from skeletons now depends on its velocity and difficulty, rather than being randomized between a range.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added skeletons.
TU5							The skeleton's bow is now larger and held more realistically (full-sized bows, two-handed, and pulling the arrow back) than in previous versions (in one hand).
							Skeletons now fire their arrows slightly slower. Their arrows, however, are shot with more force.
TU12							The skeleton's AI has been updated, so they are "smarter", i.e. if a skeleton catches fire in daylight, it rushes to the nearest shadow or body of water for safety.
							There is now a small chance that skeletons drop a bow when killed. There is now also a small chance of the bow being enchanted.
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12			Skeletons can now spawn wearing armor and weapons.
							Once the player gets closer to a skeleton, the skeleton now fires arrows more frequently.
							On Halloween, skeletons, wither skeletons, zombies and zombie pigmen now have a chance of spawning with a pumpkin or jack o'lantern.
							Skeletons may now be found in nether fortresses along with wither skeletons.
							Skeletons now have a new death sound. Previously it made the same sound as when taking damage.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Skeletons now run away from wolves, instead of fighting back.
							Skeletons now drop their skull when killed by a charged creeper.
TU46	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Skeletons now use the old sound for dying.
	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Skeletons may now spawn from skeleton trap horses.
							Skeletons now have a new AI that allows them to strafe while attacking.
							Skeletons now lower their arms when idling.
							Skeletons now have a chance of spawning with their bow in their left hand.
TU57	CU49	1.57	1.56	1.56	Patch 27	1.0.7	Skeletons no longer attack iron golems.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Skeletons can now sink underwater.
							Skeletons no longer drown underwater.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added skeletons.

Historical sounds

Data history

Historical screenshots

• 
  A skeleton in Java Edition Beta 1.8. The player can see it wielding its bow with both hands.
• 
  A skeleton in the Nether used as the 12w36a snapshot image.
• 
  Naturally armored skeletons.
• 
  Two skeletons fighting each other.

Issues

Issues relating to "Skeleton" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• If alerted to a player's presence, a skeleton can fire arrows backward, occasionally hitting themselves.
• The AI of skeletons in Bedrock Edition is a mix of skeleton AI from Java Edition between versions 1.5 and 1.8.9 and the skeletons in Update Aquatic. They shoot faster when on land and they target underwater, causing enough knockback to make combat difficult. Additionally, they do not strafe left to right. Skeletons also use ranged attacks on land and switch to melee attacks when sinking underwater.
• If a skeleton has a sword or any other melee item, generally with commands, its AI resembles the wither skeleton's AI.
• In Bedrock Edition, skeletons do not animate their bow.^[9]
• C418 used bamboo wind chime sounds as a base for the skeleton sounds.^[10]

Gallery

Renders

Poses

• 
  A skeleton without a bow spawned by /summon commands
• 
  A skeleton aiming its bow
• 
  A skeleton sitting
• 
  A left-handed skeleton
• 
  A spider jockey with a skeleton
• 
  A cave spider jockey with a skeleton

Armored

• 
  Skeleton in leather armor
• 
  Skeleton in copper armor
• 
  Skeleton in golden armor
• 
  Skeleton in chainmail armor
• 
  Skeleton in iron armor
• 
  Skeleton in diamond armor
• 
  Skeleton in netherite armor

Screenshots

• 
  A skeleton being compared to its variants in Java Edition
• 
  A dying skeleton in Bedrock Edition
• 
  A dying skeleton in Java Edition
• 
  A skeleton fighting a spider jockey skeleton rider
• 
  A skeleton in Bedrock Edition. Like in Beta 1.8, it holds its bow with both hands and it doesn't animate it's bow.
• 
  A skeleton riding a minecart
• 
  A skeleton kills an attacking wolf.
• 
  A stray standing next to a normal skeleton
• 
  A skeleton wearing an iron helmet
• 
  A skeleton wearing a leather cap
• 
  A player trying to give a diamond chestplate to a skeleton
• 
  Skeleton horsemen spawned from a skeleton trap
• 
  A spider jockey rider wearing a pumpkin on Halloween
• 
  A skeleton with full golden armor and another with an enchanted bow
• 
  A skeleton with full enchanted chainmail armor looking at the player
• 
  A spider jockey
• 
  Skeleton wearing a pumpkin on Halloween
• 
  A left handed skeleton in a superflat world
• 
  A skeleton without a bow

Mojang images

• 
  A preview featuring skeletons in the soul sand valley
• 
  To the left is (or was) a skeleton holding the bow the wrong way
• 
  First image of skeletons wearing armor
• 
  First image of a skeleton dual wielding
• 
  An armored skeleton in Bedrock Edition
• 
  A skeleton and zombie in a cave
• 
  A skeleton in alpha
• 
  Skeleton scoring big in the floor routine
• 
  Moments before disaster

Textures

• 
  Skeleton texture file
• 
  Programmer Art

In other media

Merchandise

• 
  Pixel art of a skeleton used on a banner for the Marketplace
• 
  LEGO Minecraft Skeleton
• 
  Official skeleton plush made by JINX
• 
  Official T-shirt artwork "Skelly Dreams" made by JINX
• 
  City Texture Pack
• 
  Plastic Texture Pack
• 
  Party Skeleton, a skin featured in the 1st Birthday Skin Pack
• 
  Halloween Mash-Up Pack
• 
  A t-shirt with Steve and a skeleton with bows
• 
  Nerf creeper and skeleton
• 
  Hot Wheels skeleton car

Other appearances

• 
  Artwork of a skeleton
• 
  Animation of undead mobs walking on snow, including skeletons
• 
  A skeleton in promotional artwork for the first Caves & Cliffs update
• 
  Skeletons in promotional artwork for the second Caves & Cliffs update
• 
  Skeletons in the key art for the Wii U Edition
• 
  A skeleton on the moon aiming at the Earth
• 
  Skeleton Spirit from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 
  Potato variant of skeleton in 24w14potato
• 
  A skeleton wearing two spyglasses in Java Edition 22w13oneBlockAtATime
• 
  A skeleton as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons
• 
  A skeleton as it appears in Minecraft Legends
• 
  A skeleton as it appeared in Minecraft: Story Mode
• 
  A skeleton as seen in A Minecraft Movie
• 
  A Lego Club advertisement, featuring LEGO Minecraft set The Desert Outpost and some skeletons
• 
  A meme showing the inventory of a skeleton holding lots of arrows.
• 
  Some hostile mobs including skeletons in MINECON 2016

References