Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Health and Damage in Minecraft: How Hearts Work
You have 20 health points, shown as 10 hearts; each half heart is 1 point. Health regenerates on its own while your hunger bar is at 18 or more (9 drumsticks), and faster with Regeneration. After any hit you are briefly immune for half a second, which is why spam-clicking does not stack damage. Damage comes from mobs, falls, fire, lava, drowning, the void and more.
What hurts you, and how much?
| Source | Damage |
|---|---|
| Drowning | 2 per second once your air runs out |
| Fire / soul fire | 1 / 2 every half second while standing in it, then you keep burning |
| Lava | 4 every half second, and sets you on fire |
| Magma block, campfire | 1 every half second (soul campfire 2) |
| Cactus, berry bush | 1 every half second |
| Starvation | 1 every 4 seconds with an empty hunger bar |
| Lightning | 5 |
| Falling | 1 per block after the first 3 |
| Entity cramming (Java) | 6 with a 25% chance each tick when more than 24 entities share a block |
Fall damage has its own page: fall damage. Burning: fire and lava.
How do you get health back?
- Natural regeneration: hunger at 18 or more (Java's natural_health_regeneration game rule on); see food and hunger.
- Potions: Healing restores 4 per level instantly; Regeneration heals over time.
- Golden apples: Regeneration plus Absorption hearts.
- Beacons with Regeneration, and Health Boost for extra max hearts.
Why can't you hit a mob again right away?
After taking damage, a player or mob flashes red for 10 game ticks (0.5 seconds) and ignores weaker hits during that time; a stronger hit only deals the difference. On Java the attack cooldown also lowers damage if you swing too soon. See 1.8 vs 1.9 PvP.
How does difficulty change mob damage?
If a mob hits for D on Normal, it hits for 1.5 times D on Hard and roughly half on Easy (min of D and D/2 + 1). Mobs hitting other mobs always use Normal damage. Magic damage, such as Poison, Instant Damage and evoker fangs, ignores armor but not Protection or Resistance; see armor and protection.
Is health different on ArtemisPvP?
Frequently asked questions
How many hearts do you have in Minecraft?
10 hearts, which is 20 health points.
When does health regenerate?
When your hunger bar is at 18 points (9 drumsticks) or more.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.