Updated 23 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Mob Farms: XP, Iron and Gunpowder
A mob farm is a dark spawning area that funnels mobs into one spot where they are killed, so you get their drops and experience without hunting. The most popular are general mob farms, iron golem farms, creeper farms and experience farms.
How does a mob farm work?
minecraft.wiki describes the usual design as a large dark room where mobs spawn, water or drops that carry them to a central point, and a grinder that kills them. Where you build matters: surface farms work best in the day, underground farms work around the clock but compete with every unlit cave nearby, and sky or ocean farms have the best rates because they are the only spawnable ground around.
Automatic killing is safe but loses player-only drops and experience; finishing mobs yourself keeps them. The Nether is hard to farm in because water evaporates and most mobs there are immune to fire.
How does an iron farm work?
Iron golem farms use village mechanics. In Java Edition, villagers summon an iron golem when they are panicking (a group of 3 villagers that see a zombie or pillager) or gossiping (a group of 5). Panicking is the reliable one: a zombie kept nearby scares them without you doing anything. Zombies scare villagers from 6 blocks, pillagers from 15. The villagers must have slept within the last 20 minutes, which is why most iron farms run at night. The golems are killed or moved outside the village and give iron and poppies.
How do you farm gunpowder?
Creeper farms are the main gunpowder source. A ceiling of trapdoors on a 2-block-high room lowers the space to 1 13/16 blocks: tall enough for creepers but too short for zombies and skeletons (this trick does not work on Bedrock). Cats in boats or a snow golem push creepers toward the killing area; snow golems must stay at least 7 blocks from creepers or the creepers explode. A Looting III sword multiplies the drops, and only a charged creeper's explosion makes zombies, skeletons and creepers drop their heads.
How much experience do you need?
| Goal | Experience needed |
|---|---|
| Level 0 to 1 | 7 |
| Level 0 to 30 (max enchanting) | 1,395 |
| Level 27 back to 30 | 306 |
| Level 0 to 39 (anvil max) | 2,727 |
Fishing is the simplest experience farm: with a Luck of the Sea III, Mending, Lure III, Unbreaking III rod, fishing outdoors averages about 8 catches and 28 XP a minute.
Can you build farms on ArtemisPvP?
Frequently asked questions
How many villagers do you need for an iron farm?
Three panicking villagers (scared by a zombie or pillager), or five gossiping ones, in Java Edition.
How much XP is level 30?
1,395 experience from level 0.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.