Minecraft 1.21 Skeleton Guide: All Skeleton Types, Drops, & More

Biome by biome, dimension by dimension, skeletons of times long past rise in damnation. Will you be the hero that brings them salvation? Today, we explore all skeleton types and their drops in our Minecraft 1.21 skeleton guide.

All Minecraft 1.21 Skeleton Types

Skeleton

• Health: 10 Hearts
• Base Damage: 1-2/1.5-2.5/2-4 Hearts (Easy/Normal/Hard)
• Spawn Biomes: Overworld
• Loot: Bone, Arrow, Skeleton Skull (If killed by Creeper Explosion)

The original skeleton and a staple of survival Minecraft since it has gone live! This variant shoots an arrow once every two seconds and has ten hearts of health. Sometimes regular skeletons may also spawn riding a spider, creating the infamous spider jockey. Their stats and drops remain entirely the same, but the combined power of Skeleton and Spider makes for a much more challenging encounter.

Stray

• Health: 10 Hearts
• Base Damage: 1-2/1.5-2.5/2-4 Hearts (Easy/Normal/Hard)
• Spawn Biomes: Frozen Biomes
• Loot: Bone, Arrow, Arrow of Slowness

Spawning in Trial Chambers and frozen biomes, this skeleton variant called the Stray shoots an arrow once every two seconds and has ten hearts of health. However, unlike regular skeletons, a Stray’s arrows are coated in Slowness and will inflict thirty seconds of the Slowness status effect.

Bogged

• Health: 8 Hearts
• Base Damage: 1-2/1.5-2.5/2-4 Hearts (Easy/Normal/Hard)
• Spawn Biomes: Swamps & Mangrove Swamps
• Loot: Bone, Arrow, Arrow of Poison

Added as of Minecraft 1.21, the Bogged spawns in Trial Chambers and Swamp biomes. They are weaker than their skeletal cousins, with only eight hearts of health and shots fired once every 3.5 seconds rather than two, but they make up for it by shooting deadly Arrows of Poison.

Parched

• Health: 8 Hearts
• Base Damage: 1-2/1.5-2.5/2-4 Hearts (Easy/Normal/Hard)
• Spawn Biomes: Deserts
• Loot: Bone, Arrow, Arrow of Weakness

Added as of Minecraft 1.21.11, the parched spawns in desert biomes. They are weaker than their regular skeletal cousins, with only eight hearts of health and shots fired once every 3.5 seconds rather than two, but they make up for it by shooting Arrows of Weakness and being immune to sunlight. Parched can also spawn alongside husks atop a camel husk, creating a camel husk jockey. This deadly combination of three mobs attacks with both a spear and a bow until the riders have been defeated. The camel husk can then be tamed using rabbit feet.

Skeleton Horse

• Health: 7.5 Hearts
• Base Damage: Passive
• Spawn Biomes: None (Spawns via Skeleton Traps)
• Loot: Bone

Occasionally spawning during thunderstorms when lightning strikes, Skeleton Horses are a neutral mob with 7.5 hearts. However, sometimes these skeletal horses will be “trapped,” and by walking within ten blocks of them, a second lightning strike will spawn a Skeleton rider upon its back. The rider is a standard skeleton with an enchanted Iron Helmet and enchanted Bow.

Wither Skeleton

• Health: 10 Hearts
• Base Damage: 3/4/6 Hearts (Easy/Normal/Hard)
• Spawn Biomes: Nether Fortresses
• Loot: Bone, Coal, Wither Skeleton Skull

Spawning in Nether Fortresses, Wither Skeletons are a tall, dark skeleton variant that uses a Stone Sword to inflict the Wither status effect on players for ten seconds. Like regular Skeletons, they have ten hearts of health but deal devastating melee attacks.

Wither

• Health: 150 Hearts
• Base Skull Damage: 2.5/4/6 Hearts (Easy/Normal/Hard)
• Spawn Biomes: Constructed Entity
• Loot: Nether Star

Finally, we have none other than the Wither! This terrifying boss mob has a whopping 150 hearts on the easiest difficulty and can even summon Wither Skeletons in Bedrock Edition! With its large variety of Wither status effect inflicting ranged and melee attacks, it is a very difficult boss to try! Players seeking to summon this boss will need to place four Soul Sand or Soul Soil in a two-block tall and three-block wide “T” shape before placing three Wither Skeleton Skulls along the top.