Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, community sites named in the text and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Mobility in PvP: Elytra, Wind Charges, Horses
Elytra give speed and surprise but take your chestplate slot, cutting your armour. Wind charges launch you up for smash attacks or escapes. Horses stop you taking knockback but are easily stunned and killed. Wolves help, but the PvP guide calls them poor allies without big numbers and armour.
How are elytra used in PvP?
- Travel far and fast, surprise attacks, quick escapes, harder to hit.
- Wearing one drops your damage reduction a lot, since it uses the chestplate slot.
- Mending on the elytra and a supply of XP bottles help for long use.
- With a mace, elytra improve smash attack precision, but you must take the elytra off the moment the smash lands for it to count.
- Firework rockets boost elytra flight; fireworks made with stars can also be fired from crossbows as explosive projectiles.
Elytra basics: elytra.
How do wind charges help?
Wind charges are thrown projectiles that deal knockback. Jumping just before one explodes greatly increases the height you gain, which the guide says helps you climb mountains and walls, set up smash attacks, tower faster and get away to heal. With an elytra the effect is stronger, and wind charges can even replace fireworks if they explode just behind you. Blast Protection reduces the height gain. They can also knock enemies backwards. See breeze and wind charges.
Are horses good in combat?
For travel, yes; for fighting, the guide says no. A rider takes no knockback, but horses have a random chance to be stunned when hit, leaving horse and rider exposed, and they die quickly to attacking players. Elytra outclass them for travel. Bring hay bales to heal one. See horses.
Do tamed wolves help in PvP?
They attack the last thing you hit or the last thing that hit you, but the guide calls them poor allies: they often miss because of how they jump, they are slow and weak, and they die quickly without wolf armour. They need a large army and status effects to matter. See taming pets.
What about 1.8 servers?
Elytra, wind charges and wolf armour do not exist in 1.8, so they are not part of 1.8 PvP; ender pearls and horses are. See ender pearls.
Frequently asked questions
Why are elytra risky in PvP?
They take the chestplate slot, so your armour protection drops a lot.
Do you take knockback on a horse?
No, riders take no knockback, but horses can be stunned when hit.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.