When you find a monster spawner in survival Minecraft, your first reaction is most likely to jump up from happiness. Monster spawners allow you to quickly get a ton of resources and, more importantly, XP, depending on the monster spawner you found. The next step would be to make a farm out of it and get to grinding, but what if the monster spawner won’t spawn any monster at all? Why isn’t it working, and how to fix it?
- Article Breakdown:
- Monster spawners usually generate in a 5×7 room but actually have a spawning range of 9×9.
- The mob spawner can get only up to 6 monsters within that area, so if that mob cap is reached, the spawner will stop working and won’t spawn any more hostile mobs.
- To fix the issue, you should check the 9×9 are for monsters, kill them, and spawn-proof the room.
Other probable causes of the monster spawner not working
Mobs spawning from monster spawners have an easier time spawning than regular mobs. Their spawning checks are a looser version of the usual checks, so they are more likely to spawn. Just because these checks are easier for them to pass does not mean they can’t prevent them from spawning. Let’s take a look at these checks so you can figure out why your spawner still isn’t spawning.
For example, the requirement for mobs to spawn on a solid block is removed, but the light level and hitbox size requirement is kept.
Too many torches
Suppose you’ve lit up the room where your monster spawner is located to prevent them from spawning. You’ll likely need to remove all the torches to get them to spawn again. Before you go and do that, make sure you’ve prepared the room for a farm if that’s your goal with the spawner since mobs will begin spawning very quickly, and you won’t have a fun time trying to escape from them.
You aren’t close enough to it
The monsters will only begin spawning when you are at least 16 blocks away from the spawner, so if you’re curious about why the mobs aren’t just waiting for you when you return to the spawner, this is the reason.
Not enough sufficient space for the mobs to spawn
Suppose blocks are obstructing the spawner from above. The monsters won’t spawn. Each monster spawner has different requirements for spawning, so obstructing the space above the spawner that prevents the monster from spawning may work for that specific monster but not for the other. Let’s look at the example of Magma Cubes and Zombies.
Magma cubes spawn no matter the light level, so torches won’t obstruct how they spawn. What obstructs them from spawning is that the hitbox surrounding the spawner needs to be as big as the largest Magma Cube. So, if you were to place a 7×7 block platform above the spawner with 2×2 blocks of space in the corner of each one, Magma Cubes wouldn’t spawn.
For Zombies to spawn, they need at least three blocks of space to spawn, so making a three-block-tall platform will prevent them from spawning. Let’s take a look at the spawning conditions for each type of common monster spawner.
Spawning conditions for different monster spawners
Bedrock and Java Edition Minecraft spawn these monsters in different ways. In Java Edition, the spawner attempts to spawn monsters in a four-block horizontal and one vertical block range located in the 9X3X9 area from the center of the monster spawner. In Bedrock, it attempts to spawn monsters in a diamond shape. The horizontal range is four blocks of taxicab distance. The spawning volume extends four blocks in each horizontal cardinal direction from the spawner.
If there are monsters in a 9X9X9 area in Java Edition and it’s more than six, the spawner will attempt to spawn but will not succeed. The same rule applies to Bedrock Edition Minecraft, but that area is 16x10x16, with the center being the monster spawner.
Mobs that are two blocks tall – zombies, blazes, and skeletons, for example, will attempt to spawn at the highest Y level possible (3 blocks maximum). The block above that maximum Y level has to be an air block for these mobs to spawn, and the light level has to be zero.
Other spawners, like a Turtle or a pig spawner, will only work if the mobs can attempt to spawn on a block. For pigs, that block would be grass; for turtles, that block would be sand. You won’t find these spawners naturally in survival mode. You can only get them using cheats.
Don’t be surprised if the monsters don’t begin spawning immediately. The spawning cycle begins every 10 to 39 seconds anew, so wait at least 40 seconds before concluding that the spawner still doesn’t work.
Where can you find monster spawners?
Monster spawners can seem hard to find because there are so many caves in Minecraft nowadays that are hard to explore due to their size, but you can find them in other places as well. It’s best to look for them in Dungeons, where zombies, skeletons, and spider spawners can be found. A zombie spawner has a 50% chance to spawn, while others have a 25% chance.
In Mineshafts, you can find cave spider spawners by following the trial of cobwebs. They will densely surround the spawner once you do find it. A regular spider spawner can also be located in the secret room in Woodland Mansions, usually on either the 2nd or 3rd floor. Of course, a Silverfish spawner will always generate in the portal room of a Stronghold.
In the Nether, Nether Fortresses can contain 1 or 2 blaze spawners (needed to get to the End), whereas Bastion Remnants can contain Magma Cube spawners. They can be found in treasure rooms and are usually hung by a chain under the bridge.
Can you mine monster spawners?
Whatever you do while trying to make the monster spawner work, don’t try and break them. Even with a tool like a wooden pickaxe, it takes less than 4 seconds for the spawner to die, after which you won’t get it back. Spawners don’t ever drop as items, not even if you attempted to use a Silk Touch pickaxe.
If you want easy access to the spawner, I recommend building the base above the spawner once you’ve made the farm. The base principle of making a monster spawner farm is the same for most mobs, so by checking out one video, you’ll likely be able to make a farm for every monster spawner in the game.
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