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.
Illusioners and Giants: Minecraft's Unused Mobs
The illusioner and the giant are real Java Edition mobs that never spawn naturally. You can only get them with commands such as /summon minecraft:illusioner and /summon minecraft:giant. The illusioner is a bow-wielding illager that casts Blindness and makes copies of itself; the giant is a zombie six times bigger, about 12 blocks tall, with 100 health but no AI.
What does the illusioner do?
- Shoots arrows with a bow and has 32 health.
- Casts Blindness on a new opponent for 20 seconds, but only at higher regional difficulty.
- Turns invisible and summons four fake copies of itself while fighting.
- Attacks players, adult villagers, iron golems and wandering traders, and joins raids and patrols if one is nearby.
- Has no spawn egg in the Creative inventory.
- Drops its bow now and then when killed.
What is special about the giant?
It uses a zombie model enlarged six times, but it is not undead: it does not burn in sunlight, Smite does nothing to it, and Healing heals it. No biome spawns it and it has no spawn egg. It drops 5 experience. For a big zombie that actually behaves like one, use /attribute to scale a normal zombie.
Why are they unused?
The illusioner's first idea, making real separate copies, was not possible in the game engine, which is why it stays unused; the giant goes back to Java Edition Indev. They remain in Java's code, which makes them fun for custom maps with /summon. Raiders that do appear naturally: illagers.
Are they in Bedrock?
No, neither is in Bedrock; both exist only in Java and the old Legacy Console Edition. Mob vote history and other unadded mobs: mob vote history.
Frequently asked questions
Can illusioners spawn naturally?
No, only with commands or data packs.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.