EVERY MOB IN MINECRAFT RANKED!

In this long and extensive post, I will be ranking every single mob in Minecraft from worst to best. All 69 of the current roster. Minecraft's mobs have come a long way, even since I started playing in 2012. There were only about 25 mobs then.

I will be taking a few factors into account when ranking these mobs. Unique/interesting mechanics, originality, design, "fun factor", and usefulness will all decide where I rank these mobs.

I do not count baby mobs, different skins, or certain states such as charged creepers as separate mobs. "Close cousins" such as Zombies and Husks will be considered separate if I consider them distinct enough. Llamas and Trader Llamas I am not counting as separate as they are too similar. I am also not counting compound mobs such as Spider Jockeys or Chicken Jockeys. This list will include bosses, golems, and 1.17 mobs that have been added to Java or Bedrock as of March 12th 2021.

So without further ado...

69 - Endermite

This is the worst mob in Minecraft. Seriously. Why was this mob even added? It serves no purpose whatsoever and doesn't need to exist. Its design is ever so slightly cool, but it's basically a carbon copy of a Silverfish in terms of AI.

68 - Bat

It flies aimlessly, kills itself in lava, and has absolutely no use or purpose whatsoever. It's just annoying.

67 - Snow Golem

The best thing about this mob is you can shear its head off with hilarious results. Other than that, useless. It's a derpy snowman.

66 - Squid

This mob is basic as it gets. It swims aimlessly, looks incredibly dated, and only drops the ink sac which is useful only for making black dye.

65 - Cod

The most basic of the fish mobs. Looks very generic, all it does is swim around, and I'm allergic to it in real life. But hey, at least it is a nice early-game food source.

64 - Salmon

Cod, but looks slightly cooler.

63 - Hoglin

I've already done an entire rant on this mob and why I think it's one of the laziest and most uninspired mobs ever added to Minecraft. To rehash: it's basically just an aggressive pig that does not fit the theme of the Nether at all. It's not scary, it has nothing to do with fire, and it's one of the most basic and boring mobs to fight.

62 - Zoglin

It's got a slightly cooler design than the Hoglin, and unique in that it attacks everything, but due to the fact you can only get this mob by bringing a Hoglin to the overworld, I can't rank it much higher than the Hoglin. It serves no purpose and it's just there for the sake of it. Also, its name makes absolutely no sense. Why isn't it called the Zombified Hoglin?

61 - Polar Bear

A cool idea, and certainly an interesting-LOOKING mob, but I really can't say much else good about the Polar Bear. It serves no purpose other than adding a bit of life to the tundra (and frozen ocean). Many points off for having incredibly broken AI, however.

60 - Ocelot

After cats were made separate, there really isn't any need for this mob to exist anymore. But it's still some nice life to the jungle. But I would've preferred Lynx probably.

59 - Zombie

The zombie is the most basic enemy in the game. It moves slowly, does only a small amount of melee damage, drops the most useless food item in the game, and is basically Steve with green skin. This mob is kinda iconic, but it's as basic as it gets. Annoyingly, they can see you from the other side of the Earth, leading to armies of them. They are a bit too constant for my liking, I'm always having to fight six of them and they're more annoying than anything else. ESPECIALLY their baby variant. Five ranks off alone for the baby variant.

58 - Husk

It's basically the zombie but it only spawns in deserts. Their bites give you Hunger, making them ever so slightly stronger than the regular zombie. I like the lore here - explorers who perished in the desert dried out and became husks. They have eerie sounds, but their design is a bit lacklustre. They're marginally cooler than zombies.

57 - Glow Squid

The squid's updated cousin, this mob is just as basic in terms of AI, but does look cooler. Its drop is slightly more useful, but still incredibly situational. I am trying not to let the circumstances of this mob's addition affect the ranking, but I have to knock it a couple of ranks for that.

56 - Magma Cube

They're just a slime rip-off, really. They're just slightly stronger. They don't even set you on fire. There is really nothing cool or clever here. It's a rip-off of another mob. 

55 - Wandering Trader

Cool idea, cool design, but not such a good execution. The trades this guy offers are never really anything of value to early-game players, and they're really just a little annoying. They're really only useful for their Invisibility potions they can drop if you kill them at the perfect moment.

54 - Turtle

Cool breeding mechanics, cool design, I love how TINY the baby turtle is. But the turtle is this low down on the list because it really doesn't do much. Breeding turtles takes WAY too long to make the turtle's only unique item - the turtle helmet - at all practical.

53 - Spider

The glowing red eyes are super eerie in a cave, and this mob can climb walls, but it's still a rather basic mob. Not bad though.

52 - Silverfish

One of the few insect mobs in Minecraft, this mob has a cool mechanic of burying itself into blocks. This is the only purely hostile mob in Minecraft to be based on a real-life animal. Their weight is in numbers, which allows for a somewhat unique fighting style.

51 - Cave Spider

It's the spider but it poisons you too. It's also smaller, making them a bit harder to hit and get through smaller gaps. More of a challenge, and a slightly different design too.

50 - Parrot

The skins of the parrot are really awesome, and they are one of only two bird mobs in Minecraft. They can fly too, unlike chickens. Unfortunately, the parrot doesn't really do much and is one of those passive mobs that has largely become forgotten now.

49 - Pig

One of the most basic passive mobs. It'll give you food.

48 - Cow

One of the most basic passive mobs. It'll give you food and leather.

47 - Cat

I put this one fairly low down, but they have cool designs. It's just... they don't really do much. They are adorable especially when they sleep on your chest, but honestly, for the most part they kinda just sit there meowing. I guess like a real cat?

46 - Panda

This mob has some REALLY cool ideas. There are several different personalities a panda can adopt, and the mob even possesses a complex GENETICS system unique to the panda. They have lots of different properties depending on which of the personalities they adopt. Unfortunately, I feel some of these amazing ideas are a bit wasted on the panda. It again doesn't really do much, and is fairly rare in your world. Its only appeal is that it's an exotic animal, but I do give it points for its unique systems.

45 - Sheep

One of the most basic passive mobs. It'll give you food and a bed. The latter is great for skipping the night, mining Netherite or defeating the Ender Dragon. Damn, who knew a sheep would get you the best minerals in the game and beat the final boss!

44 - Chicken

One of the most basic passive mobs. It'll give you food and arrows. And looks slightly cooler than a sheep.

43 - Slime

One of the cutest mobs for sure, and an interesting mechanic of them splitting up into smaller and smaller variants of themselves. They also have a really useful drop used for making leads and redstone contraptions. They also have a cool unique mechanic of only spawning in certain moon phases. However, the Slime is a rather basic early mob.

42 - Bee

Loaded with unique and interesting mechanics, being a modern mob. An overall nice addition to the world. 1.17 has given bee products more uses, being used to wax copper blocks to stop them ageing, and used for making candles. They look interesting too. Did they need a whole update? Absolutely not.

41 - Mule

I have never seen one of these in Minecraft.

40 - Donkey

These mobs allow you to attach a chest to them and ride them. They have funny sounds and look cool too.

39 - Mooshroom

One of those more original mobs, yet at the same time a reskinned cow. I love these fantasy animals. A cow sprouting mushrooms out of its back? Obviously something Notch came up with in the early days!

38 - Tropical Fish

Almost no functionality, a near-useless drop...... but come on.... THREE THOUSAND VARIANTS!!!!! These mobs are this high solely for that, and the amount of atmosphere they add to the ocean. Schools of tropical fish are an absolute joy to look at, and I love seeing all their colours and variants!

37 - Phantom

I smell a controversial opinion!!!! I did an entire rant about this mob and why I think this mob gets WAYYYY too much hate. It has a cool design, eerie sounds, a unique fighting style, and a useful drop! It does have its problems like being a bit too persistent, but really I do not get why this mob is so hated. It's really not that bad.

36 - Dolphin

Another middle of the list peaceful mob that is cute. They are cool because they give you a swim boost and lead you to hidden shipwrecks. They do lose some points for being a bit buggy in Java Edition though. They're better on Bedrock.

35 - Skeleton

Ah yes, the skeleton. The exact middle spot on the list is taken by the olympic gold medal archer. This mob is fairly basic on the surface - but this thing has AI smart enough to hack MI5 with the way it strafes around and shoots with PINPOINT accuracy. It's easy to knock a common mob that is encountered so regularly, as you can get tired of them, but really this is not a bad mob at all. Certainly gave me a lot of trouble when I was a noob! Design is rather basic though.

34 - Stray

A cooler reskinned skeleton. Their arrows have a twist: they shoot arrows of slowness, making them harder to outrun! They are the only mob in the game to actually make use of tipped arrows.

33 - Pillager

The most basic of the illager mobs. I am a sucker for illagers.

32 - Zombie Villager

The Zombie Villager behaves similar to a Zombie, but with MUCH cooler designs and sounds. The fact they resemble villagers makes them SUPER creepy. I still get nervous when I encounter one of these, even though they are almost identical to zombies with their AI. Also, they can be cured to villagers!

31 - Fox

Cool design, but try ever actually catching one of these. I put this mob higher above some other passive mobs as they can actually spawn with useful items. They also kill lots of the more basic passive mobs, which is great for farms. They also have an arctic form, which is delightful. And being a modern mob, they have some interesting mechanics, such as a sleep cycle!

30 - Pufferfish

By far the coolest of the fish mobs. 

29 - Goat

Recency bias may affect this one, but this mob looks a lot cooler than other passive mobs. It drops a horn which is currently useless but also drops meat. Its ability to jump makes it well-adapted to its environment. I have high hopes for this mob.

28 - Drowned

The best of the zombie variants. Those piercing cyan eyes. That design. A sea-faring individual who lost their life to the waves. Some great lore in there and an incredible design too. And perhaps most useful, they can carry a trident! The trident-wielding Drowned are absolutely LETHAL, and are an entirely different ballgame to the normal Drowned. An entirely unique fighting style is needed, and the result is the trident. Also, they can carry nautilus shells for conduits. A very solid mob all around!

27 - Llama

They spit on you. You can be slain by a llama. That is hilarious.

26 - Rabbit

The mob that was never meant to be in Minecraft. Started out as a joke from a developer who didn't stay long, but actually listened to fans. It drops meat too! But the designs of the rabbits is easily the best aspect.

25 - Zombified Piglin

I will never forget the first time I made it to the Nether, and I saw these guys and was like .... "WHAT ARE THESE!?!" I then made the fatal mistake of punching one. Within seconds, my first trip to the Nether was over.

24 - Axolotl

This mob may be affected by recency bias, but I do think - when complete - the axolotl will actually be useful in its niche. They have REALLY cool designs. They are a little buggy at the moment, and maybe not as powerful as they should be, but Mojang have hinted axolotl buffs are on the way.

23 - Wolf/Dog

NEEDS AN UPDATE!!!!!!!!!! This is a great mob, but it has the potential to be SO much better! It is just a bit outdated now.

22 - Creeper

Absolute SACRILEGE not putting Minecraft's most iconic mob in the top 20. I don't need to explain why this mob isn't lower on the list - it's the CREEPER for chrissakes. It's the KING of Minecraft mobs. The ender of almost every Hardcore world ever. Buuuuut honestly I can't put the creeper any higher. Whilst this mob is one of the few that can genuinely frighten just about any player weak or strong, young or old, noob or veteran with that HISS OF DOOM, its destructive power does go against some of the fundamental design principles. Especially as this mob is so common. But what ultimately knocks this out of the top 20 is the fact they can drop on you from ravines and kill you instantly from full hearts even in full diamond armour. I feel that needs to be fixed or nerfed - it's the ultimate random death event in a game that is meant to have none. This mob has certainly earned its spot as the icon of Minecraft though.

21 - Wither Skeleton

A truly menacing mob that can swiftly kill you if you're not careful. Its design is rather basic, but it blends in well with its environment and is capable of doing some SERIOUS damage, as well as inflicting the Wither effect.

20 - Iron Golem

This thing is an absolute UNIT. Very useful in speed runs and in raids, the Iron Golem is one of three mobs that can actually be summoned by the player building a structure. Its design is cool, and this is a useful mob to have around.

19 - Ghast

There is a lot to praise about this mob: it has a very interesting (albeit primitive) design, it emits iconic and distinctive eerie sounds, and it fires ranged explosive projectiles from a million blocks away, making ranged weapons in the Nether a must! But for the same reasons as the Creeper, I can't put this mob any higher because they are a royal pain to deal with. But still - veteran or noob, there is nothing worse than hearing that ghast firing sound when you're bridging over lava!

18 - Wither (Java)

The first of the two bosses on this list. The design and sounds of this thing are INCREDIBLE - but honestly, this mob is a little dated now. The Bedrock Wither is LOTS better. And of course, the wither drops the Nether Star used to make a beacon (needs a buff, now!)

17 - Ravager

There is something a bit creepy about a rhinoceros-sized beast having the giant face of a villager. This is the tankiest of all tank mobs, but is 10,000 times cooler in design and lore than the Hoglin. This mob can trample crops, kill you or Villagers in seconds, and even has a unique roar attack if you use a shield on it!

16 - Skeleton Horse

The Skeleton Horse may not be as practical as the original horse..... but the design alone on this mob is honestly one of the best of any mob in Minecraft.

15 - Piglin Brute

The Vindicator's Nether cousin is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, purely melee enemy in the game. Being able to disable shields and almost one-shot you on hard mode, it's imperative not to get into a fight with these at close range in a Bastion. They make Bastions a lot more challenging and exciting.

14 - Vindicator

I put this above the Piglin Brute because I'm a sucker for Illagers. I LOVE the concept of Illagers.

13 - Horse

The horse was Minecraft's first true rideable mob. You could ride pigs before but doing so was impractical. Horses were REALLY ahead of their time when they came out, a mob having so many different skins and attributes was UNSEEN. I like this mob a lot because it really brought the game forward in that way - even if it meant at the time they felt incredibly modded (they were in fact actually taken from a mod). I LOVE the designs of the horses, and would put this mob even higher, but their inability to cope with forested terrain and rivers does significantly reduce their practicality past the early game.

12 - Elder Guardian

I'll talk about guardians soon, but this is merely a stronger version of a guardian.

11 - Witch

An illager-type enemy that uses POTIONS as its weapon??? Hell yes! The inventory of potions the Witch uses always makes for a very interesting fight. I also love their design. I just really love how unique this mob is and also drops some very useful potion ingredients! I also like the lore here, in that a Witch is a villager who was struck by lightning. They're not necessarily actual illagers, but they are on the side of the illager.

10 - Strider

I made an entire rant on why we need more passive mobs like the Strider, and how passive mobs can actually be very useful. As such, this is the 2nd highest passive mob on the list. The only passive mob native to the Nether, this mob functions as a "lava boat". This is INFINITELY cooler than an actual lava boat, and I feel is balanced just right in that you need to get one to the shore, use a saddle and an additional item to get you across. It's not so difficult that it's impractical, but not so easy that lava oceans are no longer a threat. It's got a very strange and interesting design too. Absolutely amazing mob.

9 - Ender Dragon

What more can I say? It's the Ender Dragon itself!!! It literally runs an entire dimension, and probably has the best design of any mob in Minecraft. I do wish the fight was a bit more interesting, but that's a rant for another time. Really, it's this high up for its design mostly.

8 - Evoker

The Evoker is the prime example of a really amazing mob that could be EVEN BETTER. Really, with some improvements this could be number 1, easily. An illager that literally casts MAGIC on the player with two very unique attacks - a magical fang attack and the ability to literally summon another mob! It also drops the Totem of Undying, which is the 2nd best item in the game only to the Elytra. I REALLY want to put this mob at number 1, I REALLY do. It has the POTENTIAL to be number 1. But it's just too easy to kill. It has too many weaknesses - arrows, iron golems, and it has low health too. If they made this into more of a mini-boss, it would make the Totem feel a lot more earned and would, without a shadow of a doubt, be number 1.

7 - Blaze

This mob's design is absolutely incredible. It has several unique attacks, it flies, it drops one of the most useful items in the game - blaze rods. What more can I say? This is all-around an incredible mob. These mobs will "unlock" potion-brewing capabilities and the End!!

6 - Piglin

These pig-faced goblins have some of the most interesting properties in the game. They are perhaps the most human mob, even moreso than the Villager. They hunt for food. They love gold. They hate anyone stealing from their chests. They hate anyone taking their gold. And alas, they hate anyone who doesn't look like themselves. Piglins attack the player on-sight unless they are wearing golden armour, making them one of the few mobs that can be hostile or passive. There is a lot of interesting lore behind them, and their bartering mechanic has become a staple of speedruns. One of the most intricate, unique and interesting mobs in the game. Great design too. AND they have the ability to DANCE. What more could you want in a mob?!?!

5 - Vex

A ghost mob that can fly, phase through walls and lunge at the player with a sword all while making impish sounds? HELL YES! This mob is incredibly under-appreciated as it is incredibly rare and only seen under a very specific circumstance - being summoned by an Evoker. But again, on grounds of being SUCH a unique enemy to fight with all its amazing abilities, this mob is super high up on the list. I do love these really interesting and cool mobs!

4 - Enderman

One of the scariest and most iconic mobs with one of the scariest sounds, unique ways of aggroing, being immune to projectiles, an extremely useful drop and the ability to TELEPORT whilst fighting the player. This is one of the most interesting and unique mobs in all of Minecraft. Any they are the only mob capable of actually lifting and moving blocks! The Enderman is all around an incredible and classic mob. I wish they still made mobs like this.

3 - Guardian

Put simply, the guardian is one of the best enemies in the game. Its design is incredible. Its fighting style and thorns attack is very unique. It shoots LASERS for crying out loud! LASERS! In Minecraft!!! The underwater setting also contributes in making guardian encounters truly feel different and exciting. But even without that, the sounds, the design... this mob is seriously awesome!! It even has unique and hilarious sounds when brought out of water!!

2 - Villager

I mean, really, this should be number 1. The villager is, by FAR, the most advanced mob in Minecraft. They have sleep cycles, they have JOBS, they have schedules, and their trading mechanic is one of the most useful (and sometimes incredibly broken) in the entire game. They have MANY different skins depending on their professions too, and these skins look incredible. No single mob has received more updates than the Villager. But there is one mob I just happen to like a little more...

1 - Shulker

The Shulker is probably the last mob you'll encounter if you follow the game's progression. And I have to say, maybe a bit controversially, that the Shulker is the best mob in all of Minecraft. It has EVERYTHING: an incredibly unique and interesting attack method (homing projectiles that make you fly and harm you with FALL DAMAGE!); an INCREDIBLE concept of looking like a block, a REALLY interesting "bivalve"-type design unique to the game, hilarious sounds, actually being a legitimate threat, AND unlike most "guarding" enemies, a really useful drop! It even has a strategic fight, as you have to hit it when its shell is open or else your hit will barely register. I just love enemies that can't just be killed easily with a bow and pillaring 4 blocks up! Oh yeah and it can teleport too! Really, the shulker has it all. As this mob is rarely encountered, I feel it is severely underappreciated. Also, 1.17 has added a feature where the Shulker can reproduce if their homing projectile hits another Shulker. Their bullets are their se