Spawning, light and season monsters

Natural encounters#

Species, terrain, height and light all affect spawning. Ordinary hostile spawning requires no block light and sufficiently dark adjusted skylight. A dark cave is not a promise of an immediate spawn: floor space, nearby players and population limits also matter.

The hunt: distance and despawning#

Hunting monsters spawn within their sight (12–20 blocks) of a player they can attack, on the floor nearest that player’s own height, and come for that player at once, line of sight or not; a few more roam 24–40 blocks off and attack only once they see someone. By day under the open sky only kinds the sun does not burn appear; caves and the night are as before. A player in a safe area (shelter, portal protection) or in a ghost’s view is not a target, so nothing spawns around them. A hunting monster with no attackable player within 32 blocks for 3 seconds despawns, a roamer beyond 64. 2 hunt each player at a time and a new pack comes every 30 seconds, or 20 seconds after the last began once you have cleared it; 3 roam about each player, one more every 30 seconds (administrators may adjust these). Structure guards, village creatures and animals follow their own rules. Moving away is not the same as defeating a structure’s guard.

Fixed guards#

Dungeons, temples, ruined portals, villages, ocean ruins and mineshafts have fixed guards. Each has half as many guards again as before (at most: dungeons 12, desert pyramids 12, jungle temples 9, ruined portals 6, ocean ruins 5, mineshafts 9, villages 8). They appear within 72 blocks and are not bound by the hunt’s spawning or despawning. Clear a structure within 15 minutes of its first guard slain or they all come back; cleared, its guards return at midnight Beijing time each day. Its chests are not refilled during the season.

Level and elite threats#

Monster level increases with distance from the portal, depth and harsh terrain, up to Lv 60. Seasonal elites have 2.5 times normal health and 1.3 times normal damage at the same level, with additional elite abilities. Read their level and effects before committing. A monster that fights on foot and cannot reach you (you on a pillar, in a hole at its feet or behind a wall) gives experience only, no tokens or drops, when most of its damage was dealt so; trapped like that for five seconds it heals in full.

Light your route#

Torches reduce suitable natural spawn locations but do not stop monsters walking in from elsewhere. Portal protection and an active copied-home sanctuary are separate safe areas. A claim stone alone is not a monster-proof sanctuary.

Related reading#

• Season farming: seed to harvest
• Cooking levels and costs
• Season ranching
• Season combat and equipment
• Season mining and gathering
• Smelting, crafting and repairs
• Your first seasonal expedition
• Claim stones, leases and copied homes
• Season building and safe storage
• Water, lava and safe routes
• Season 2: Abyssal Expedition
• Wilderness camp services
• Your private area
• Warehouse and delivery mail
• Rent a plot for wilderness rights
• Equipment and ordinary item markets
• Guarded chests and 24 waypoints
• Staking: test server only
• Crafting, repair and supply costs

Version & sources#

Based on the current season release 0.168.0-season.12.112 (rules fingerprint 205fd7909095). Images retain original render revision d7ffb19, not new screenshots. Server settings can change values.

Reference files: shared/survival.js · shared/farm.js · shared/ranch.js · shared/fees.js · shared/season.js · server/world-hub.js · server/wilds-play.js