Dry, eerie, and tougher than it looks – the Parched Mob roams Minecraft’s hottest deserts, blending heat-born resilience with surprising aggression. Here’s how this arid variant twists familiar encounters into a fight for survival under the scorching sun.
What is the Parched Mob in Minecraft?
The Parched Mob serves as Minecraft’s hostile desert variant, spawning exclusively in arid biomes under moonlight. Players encounter its dehydrated form with cracked, sun-baked skin and aggressive behaviors tied to water scarcity, such as charging at nearby sources or players wielding buckets. Defeating it drops parched bones and sand shards, key items for crafting desert-specific gear like heat-resistant armor. This mob adds survival tension to dry regions, forcing strategic hydration management during night explorations.
The Parched is a variant of the skeleton mob that spawns in the desert biomes and is introduced with the Mounts of Mayhem update. Unlike the regular skeletons, this one has a trick up its sleeve, or should we say, bandages. From the image above, it’s clear that the Parched won’t burn during the day, adding a challenge in exploring the dunes of Minecraft.
The Parched will replace 50% of the regular skeletons that spawn during the nighttime. They can appear in groups of a maximum of 4 per spawn, only when the light levels are 0. Moreover, Parched prefer spawning directly under the open skies and not inside the caves, similar to the Husks. At times, you may also notice these rogues riding the Camel Husks and firing arrows at you from the back seat.
Also Read: Minecraft Nautilus: How to Find, Tame, and Ride the Aquatic Mob
How to Spawn and Despawn the Parched
The Parched can be spawned in desert biomes using spawn eggs or custom commands. Players can also create natural spawn conditions by setting the difficulty above Peaceful and ensuring the area has enough light and open space. To despawn the Parched, switch the game mode to Peaceful, move far beyond the mob’s loading radius, or use the /kill command. Keeping spawn control commands handy helps manage large numbers of Parched during testing or adventure maps.
In survival modes, the Parched will spawn naturally anywhere in a desert biome at nighttime, except for the caves. As mentioned above, they might appear individually, in groups, or mounted on a Camel Husk as the second rider behind the regular Husk mob.
Apart from that, when you’re in creative mode, you can simply use the Parched spawn egg to bring them to the overworld manually. Alternatively, you can also use the following command to spawn this mob in the game:
/summon minecraft:parched ~ ~ ~ The despawn mechanism for this mob is, however, the same as the rest of the hostile ones in the game. When the player is far enough from the Parched, it’ll dispawn automatically. Alternatively, you can switch to the Peaceful mode to dispawn them manually. But, if you want these mobs for specific farms, try giving them a name with the nametag to prevent dispawning.
What are the Properties of Parched in Minecraft
Parched are an undead, ranged skeleton variant with 16 health points (8 hearts) and default 0 armor, though they can spawn wearing armor that increases their defense. They use bows that fire Arrows of Weakness instead of normal arrows, applying the Weakness effect for about 30 seconds and reducing the damage you deal during that time. These mobs are immune to sunlight and behave similarly to regular skeletons but with a slower attack rate and precise aim, making them dangerous threats in desert biomes at all hours.
Since you now know where to find the Parched in Minecraft, take a look at all of its properties, its attack types, and a few tips to defend yourself from this mob.
1. Parched Health
The Parched has a total of 16 health points or 8 hearts, similar to a regular skeleton in Minecraft. However, you might find this mob gaining an additional 0-20 armor points depending on what armor it’s wearing.
How to build a Parched mob farm in a desert biome
Parched mobs spawn exclusively on desert biome surfaces under open sky at light level 0, similar to husks, replacing about half of regular skeleton spawns at night. Building an effective farm requires a surface-level design in a desert to meet these conditions while filtering other mobs like zombies, creepers, spiders, and endermen. Use a large spawning platform with mob filtering, water channels for transport, and a central drop chute leading to a kill mechanism.
Location Setup
Find or build in a flat desert biome area at least 20×20 blocks wide, ensuring full open sky exposure with no caves or overhangs nearby.
Elevate the platform 2-3 blocks high using glass walls to block endermen while allowing light, and confirm skylight level 15 at spawn feet positions.
Clear a 128-block radius around the farm to maximize spawn rates by being within simulation distance.
Spawning Platform
Create a grid-pattern floor (e.g., 38×38 blocks) with solid opaque blocks spaced to prevent spider climbs, leaving gaps for trapdoors.
Line edges with open trapdoors and place cats nearby to deter creepers, which will fall or pathfind into traps.
Add turtle eggs to lure zombies and husks off edges into lava pits or separate filters, retaining Parched and skeletons.
Collection System
Dig a central 2×2 hole as the drop chute, surrounded by 8-block-long water channels flowing inward to push mobs in.
Use signs or slabs at channel ends to prevent water overflow, stacking multiple layers if scaling up (e.g., compact 14×14 design).
Funnel mobs 20-23 blocks down to a killing chamber with a 22-block fall damage setup or hoppers under a central cactus/lava blade for Parched.
Filtering and Killing
Employ 2-block height ceilings to stop endermen
Best farm locations in desert chunks for Parched spawns
Parched mobs require specific surface spawning conditions in desert biomes, so optimal farm locations prioritize open-sky exposure within loaded chunks. Flat, expansive desert areas maximize spawn platforms while adhering to skylight level 15 at spawn feet. Focus on chunk centers to boost rates without dilution from edges.
Ideal Chunk Positions
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Build at chunk center (8,8 to 23,23 offsets) for highest hostile mob density, as Minecraft prioritizes these for surface spawns under open sky.
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Target flat desert plains away from dunes or oases, clearing sand to Y=63+ for consistent level 0 block light and full skylight.
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Use simulation distance radius (view distance 12+ recommended) to load 128+ blocks around, ensuring no nearby lit areas steal spawns.
Biome and Terrain Selection
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Select pure desert chunks near badlands/mangrove edges for frequent generation, verifiable via /locate biome minecraft:desert if cheats enabled.
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Avoid hills or temples-level them for 38×38+ platforms; underground deserts fail due to Parched’s husk-like surface-only rules.
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Stack 3-5 layers vertically in multi-chunk setups, spaced 24 blocks apart to fit spawn spheres without overlap.
Spawn Optimization
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Light perimeter chunks outside farm radius to funnel all desert surface spawns (50% Parched rate) to your platforms.
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Place AFK spot 24-32 blocks above center for max rates, confirming no cave skylight blockers below Y=0.
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Expect peak output night/thunderstorms in unfiltered setups yielding skeletons + Parched after zombie/husk filters.
