Thanks to Minecraft’s everlasting popularity, Mojang has continued to add a number of new features to the iconic survival game over the years. A frequent addition are new mobs, NPCs, to populate the world. Every year, the developers ask the fans what new creature they want to be added to the game and they vote on a selection of ideas. One of the winners is the elusive Phantom monster.
Phantoms are one of the few hostile mobs that can fly through the air, and they can certainly be a threat if players aren’t prepared for them. Though it’s easy to avoid encountering them, those that use elytra gliders will find it in their best interest to hunt them down. When defeated, Phantoms drop a resource called phantom membranes, which are a material that can be used to repair elytras with anvils. However, this aerial nightmare will only spawn under certain conditions. Here’s a look at how to summon phantoms into the game world, and how to go about fighting them.
Hunting Minecraft’s Phantom Mob
Because Phantoms are considered undead entities, they spawn at night and burn away when the sun rises. They’ll appear in any biome, but there’s a specific condition that must be met before they begin their assault. As one might expect from their name, Phantoms will begin to stalk players if they haven’t slept in a bed for three days without dying. Perhaps they’re seeing nightmares from sleep deprivation? Regardless, make sure to stand in an open area, with no blocks overhead, so they’re able to swoop down; they won’t travel into underground caves. Also, the higher the difficulty, the more of them will spawn.
As one of the few airborne mobs, Phantoms have unique properties. They’ll fly around in the air like vultures, glide down to attack their prey, and then return back into the sky. It’s easy for them to sneak up on unsuspecting players, so keep a pet cat around when hunting them; it will hiss when it draws near. There are also two places where they shouldn’t be fought: mountains because their knockback might knock players off the cliffside to incur fall damage, and oceans because they fly just as fast through the water as they do the sky. To combat them, bring a bow and plenty of arrows to shoot them down. Try aiming at them when they fly back to the sky, as that’s when they fly in a straight and predictable line. For those with enchantment tables, enchant a sword with the smite enchantment to deal bonus damage against them.
Minecraft is available now on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Nintendo Switch.