The Rarest Spawns in Minecraft
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Many video games have rare finds or Easter eggs hidden within them. Minecraft is no different! Minecraft is known for its blocky style and endless possibilities, which is why finding rare or special aspects of it are so impressive. With countless combinations of blocks, aesthetics, and styles, we can all agree that Minecraft’s hidden gems are worth the search. While some games rank their item rarity, Minecraft unfortunately doesn’t have a clear system. Which is why we’ve done the work for you with this list of the rarest spawns in Minecraft!
This list is a compilation of not just rare mobs, but structures, biomes, and resources that aren’t easy to find in the game. These all naturally spawn in the world and don’t require any commands, cheats, or modifications to the game itself. The following was sorted based on information from the developers and gameplay experience. Some of the factors that decided the ranking were: spawn frequency, lack of ease to acquire or find it, and quantity of the blocks.
25 – Pillager Outpost
Rarity: Uncommon
Pillager outposts are a set of structures inhabited by pillagers. Both regular pillagers and pillager captains, totally eight, spawn continuously around the watchtower structure. Other structures that may spawn are cages (some with an iron golem inside), a pile of logs, target scarecrows, and tents.
How do I find a pillager outpost?
Outposts are rarer than villages, but less rare than woodland mansions. They can generate in any village-generating biome, such as plains, savanna, or taiga biomes. Pillager outposts won’t spawn close to, or within, villages. Only pillagers and passive mobs will spawn within a pillager outpost spawn area. Players can pacify an outpost by removing all grass or sand blocks surrounding the outpost, and by properly lighting the area as they normally would to prevent enemy mob spawns.
In the 1.18 update, pillager outposts will be able to generate in mountain grove, snowy slopes, lofty peaks, snow capped peaks, and stony peaks.
24 – Giant Tree Taiga
Rarity: Uncommon
The giant tree taiga encompasses four different variants: giant tree taiga, giant tree taiga hills, giant spruce taiga, and giant spruce taiga hills. Rather than aligning with a colder climate of the normal taiga biome, these four biomes are more like a colder counterpart of the jungle biomes. They are usually generated so that they border dark forests, taigas, and sometimes snowy biomes. Rather than grass blocks, the giant taigas have podzol and coarse dirt. Spruce trees are much larger in these biomes as well. Forest rocks, a structure made of mossy cobblestone, generate in all four variants.
In the upcoming 1.18 update, the following changes will be made:
- Giant tree taiga will be named old growth pine taiga
- Giant spruce taiga will be named old growth spruce taiga
- The giant tree taiga hills and giant spruce taiga hills biomes have been removed.
23 – Gravelly Mountains
Rarity: Uncommon
There are two variations of this biome: gravelly mountains+ and windswept gravelly hills (as of 1.18). Both biomes feature gravel that replaces most grass blocks and fewer trees. Digging upwards in this biome is hazardous, as top layers of gravel can drop and suffocate the player. Both gravelly mountains+ and windswept gravelly hills can be found near mountain biomes or as a border between desert and snowy biomes.
22 – Brown Panda
Rarity: Uncommon
The panda is a rare neutral mob. Pandas can spawn with seven different personalities, the brown panda being the rarest of them all. The brown panda has no difference in personality actions, but have brown and white fur and a frowning face.
How do I find a brown panda?
Pandas will only spawn in groups of 1-2 within the jungle biomes. They spawn with a randomized personality, normal being the most common. You can try and breed pandas to spawn the brown variant, but note that pandas are the only animal in Minecraft to have extra breeding conditions. There must be at least eight bamboo blocks within a five-block radius of both pandas.
Each panda has hidden values, called genes, which determine what personality the panda offspring will have. Weak and brown personalities are recessive traits, which means in order to have a brown offspring, both panda parents must either be brown or weak personalities. There is also a 3% chance for each gene of the baby panda to mutate, and a 12.5% chance of that for the mutated gene to be the brown variant.
21 – Eroded Badlands
Rarity: Rare
The eroded badlands features formations of hoodoos, narrow spires made of terracotta. This biome is meant to resemble the Bryce Canyon in Utah, USA. Eroded badlands is present in 40% of the badlands biomes. Exposed mineshafts will naturally spawn in this biome as well.
20 – Ice Spikes
Rarity: Rare
The ice spikes biome features many packed ice spikes across a snowy landscape. All grass blocks are replaced with snow, and glaciers of packed ice generate instead of lakes. There are two sizes of spikes in this biome: a short, wide spike, and a tall, thin spike. While no buildings or trees generate in the ice spikes biome, polar bears, rabbits, and strays will spawn. The terrain of ice spikes is more erratic and taller than that of the snowy mountains.
19 – Shattered Savanna Plateau
Rarity: Rare
The shattered savanna plateau is similar to the shattered savanna (as of 1.18 known as Windswept Savanna), except it has less dangerous heights and does not have any large lakes. The shattered savanna plateau features steep mountains, cliffs, and overhangs. You can find shattered savanna plateaus near the savanna and windswept savanna biomes.
As of the latest snapshot, the shattered savanna plateau biome will be removed in 1.18.
18 – Jungle Temple
Rarity: Rare, 75% chance
Jungle temples, also known as jungle pyramids, are structures made of cobblestone, mossy cobblestone, and vines. They have three floors, including a puzzle and tripwire traps.
How do I find a jungle temple?
Jungle pyramids only generate in the jungle, bamboo jungle (JE only), and their hill variants. There is a 25% chance a jungle biome will generate without a pyramid. The jungle hills and bamboo jungle hills biomes will be removed in the 1.18 update.
17 – Swamp Hills
Rarity: Rare
The swamp hills variant is a hilly terrain that rises up between the flat marshes of the swamp biome. Some parts of the swamp hills biome sometimes have gravel floor instead of dirt. Swamp huts don’t generate in this biome (except in Bedrock Edition), nor do slimes. Swamps are usually generated beside other lush biomes, such as forests or plains.
As of the latest snapshot, the swamp hills biome will be removed in 1.18.
16 – Ocean Monument
Rarity: Rare, 1 per 32×32 chunk area
Ocean monuments are underwater structures inhabited by guardians and elder guardians. Constructed by variants of the prismarine blocks and lit by sea lanterns, they’re the only place where sponges can be found. Water generates within the monument as part of the structure. Monuments are also the largest structure that doesn’t contain a loot chest.
How do I find an ocean monument?
Ocean monuments spawn in two locations. The first is a deep ocean biome variant within a 16 block square. The second is within an aquatic biome, such as a frozen ocean, within a 29 block square radius. Ocean monuments always contain three elder guardians, but don’t always generate sponge rooms.
15 – Geode
Rarity: Rare, 1.89% chance
A geode is an underground structure containing smooth basalt, calcite, and amethyst blocks/items. An amethyst geode consists of three layers:
- Outer layer of smooth basalt
- Middle layer of calcite
- Hollow layer of amethyst and budding amethyst blocks
How do I find a geode?
Amethyst geodes spawn in any Overworld biome between Y-coordinates 0 to 70 or -64 to 30. There is a 95% chance of a geode generating with a crack that exposes its inside. However, caves, aquifers, and canyons cannot cut into geodes. They can also override caverns and mineshafts.
14 – Mushroom Fields
Rarity: Rare
One of the most famous and rarest biomes in Minecraft, the mushroom fields biome consist of both flat landscape and steep hills. They have a surface layer of mycelium above grass blocks. Brown and red mushrooms cover this biome that is usually generated as an island (or set of islands). Besides swamps and dark forests, it’s the only other biome that spawns huge mushrooms naturally. Mushroom fields are also the only biome where mooshrooms naturally spawn. Because only mooshrooms and bats naturally spawn in this biome, mineshafts, caves, and other dark areas are generally safe.
13 – Fossil
Rarity: Rare, 1.56% chance
The fossil is a skeletal structure that is composed of bone blocks, coal ore, or diamond ore. This is not to be confused with the Nether fossils that spawn in soul sand valleys. There are four variants: pure-bone block fossil, incomplete fossil, coal ore fossil, and diamond ore fossil. Each have their own characteristics and spawn generation.
How do I find a fossil?
Fossils spawn underground in the Overworld biomes of deserts, swamps, and their variants. There is a 1/64 chance for a chunk to generate a fossil in a variant of a skull or spine. Fossils generate between the Y-coordinates of 40 to 49.
12 – Skeleton Horse
Rarity: Rare, 0.75-2.25% depending on difficulty
A skeleton horse is an undead variant of the horse mob. They can be ridden as any other horse and are one of the fastest means of transportation in Minecraft. They can jump up to five blocks heights and be ridden in water of any depth.
How do I find a skeleton horse?
There are two ways to find a skeleton horse. They naturally spawn either by chance (which varies depending on world difficulty) or by lightning striking the ground during a thunderstorm. Players cannot force a skeleton horse to spawn with a trident enchanted with Channeling.
11 – Igloo
Rarity: Rare
Igloos are naturally generated structures made primarily out of snow blocks. An igloo has a carpeted interior containing a bed, furnace, and crafting table. In 50% of spawned igloos, there’s a trapdoor which leads to a basement. Within the basement is a brewing stand, cauldron, chest, and two cages with a villager and zombie villager.
How do I find an igloo?
Igloos only spawn in the snowy tundra, snowy taiga, and snow slopes biomes. They’re identifiable by their round shape and ice block windows.
10 – Witch Hut
Rarity: Rare
Also known as swamp huts, witch huts are small square buildings made of spruce and oak wood. Inside a swamp hut, a witch and black cat will spawn. There is also an empty cauldron (JE only), a crafting table, and a red mushroom inside a flower pot.
How do I find a witch hut?
Huts will only spawn in the swamp biome. In Bedrock Edition, they can spawn in the swamp hills. At times vines and mushrooms may spawn in front or within the witch hut, respectively.
9 – Pink Sheep
Rarity: Rare, 0.164% chance
Sheep are a common passive mob that supplies wool and mutton. While most sheep are white, there is a chance for the rare pink sheep to spawn naturally.
How do I find a pink sheep?
While you can die a sheep’s wool any color, there’s a 0.164% chance of a pink sheep to spawn naturally in the world. Sheep spawn on any grass block with at least two block spaces above them.
8 – Blue Axolotl
Rarity: Very Rare, 0.083% chance
The axolotl is a passive aquatic mob that attacks most other underwater mobs, except dolphins, turtles, and other axolotls. They are passive toward players and can be attached to leads. They also give Regeneration I for 5 seconds in a fight, up to a duration of 2 minutes (JE only), and remove Mining Fatigue when a player kills a mob that is in combat with an axolotl. If an axolotl takes damage underwater, it may play dead, dropping to the ground for 10 seconds while gaining Regeneration I. On land, axolotls move toward the nearest water source because they die outside of water after 5 minutes.
How do I find an axolotl?
In 1.17, axolotls spawn below sea level (Y=63), in total darkness, and where there is an Overworld base stone (stone, deepslate, andesite, etc.) less than five blocks below. In 1.18, axolotls spawn underwater in the lush caves biomes and when there is a clay block less than five blocks below. There is a 0.083% chance of a blue axolotl resulting from breeding, making it the rarest color mutation of the mob.
7 – Snowy Taiga Mountains
Rarity: Extremely Rare
Similar to the taiga mountains, the snowy taiga mountains reach high elevations with steeper terrains than the snowy taiga hills. No structures or buildings generate here, but you can find tall spruce trees, sweet berry bushes, and it has the same mobs as its snowy taigas counterpart.
As of the latest snapshot, the snowy taiga mountains biome will be removed in 1.18.
6 – Modified Badlands Plateau
Rarity: Extremely Rare
The modified badlands plateau features smaller plateaus and harsher terrain than the Badlands Plateau. This biome mimics large plateaus that have weathered more over time. There is about a 20% chance of this biome generating beside a badlands biome. There is a 98% chance of this biome having the eroded badlands bordering its edges.
As of the latest snapshot, the modified badlands plateau biome will be removed in 1.18.
5 – Ancient Debris
Rarity: Extremely Rare
Ancient debris is a rare ore that is the main source of netherite scraps. It has a high blast resistance, making it immune to most explosions and non-flammable.
How do I find ancient debris?
Generating only in the Nether, ancient debris spawns in groups of 1-3, and only up to two groups per chunk. It can only be mined by a diamond pickaxe or better. It is most commonly found in y-levels 13-17 and can replace netherrack, basalt, and blackstone.
4 – Woodland Mansion
Rarity: Extremely Rare
The woodland mansion is a large, three floor, structure where vindicators and evokers spawn. It’s one of the few places where a totem of undying can be obtained, aside from raids. The layout of rooms is randomly generated, meaning each woodland mansion is unique. Some rooms have sealed entrances, while secret rooms have no entrance at all. Below is a list of the secret rooms possible:
- “X” room (common)
- spider room
- fake end portal room
- obsidian room
- birch pillar room
- clean chest room
- lava room (rarest)
- attic room
How do I find a woodland mansion?
The woodland mansion is the rarest generated structure in Minecraft so finding it is time-consuming. Mansions will only spawn in the dark forest and dark forest hills. They usually generate thousands of blocks from the spawn point. Woodland mansions can be located with woodland explorer maps, which are obtained from cartographer villagers.
3 – Brown Mooshroom
Rarity: Extremely Rare
A brown mooshroom is a brown variant of the regular mooshroom. As the name implies, they are cows covered in mushrooms. When fed a small flower, the brown mooshroom can be milked for a suspicious stew related to that small flower. The mooshroom returns to producing mushroom stew until fed another small flower. Each suspicious stew will have a different effect depending on the flower used. For example, the wither rose will produce a stew with wither effect, while the cornflower will give a jump boosting stew.
How do I find a brown mooshroom?
Brown mooshrooms will not spawn naturally. They are created under a very specific set of circumstances. When a red mooshroom is struck by lightning, they are transformed into a brown mooshroom. Mooshrooms only spawn in the rare mushroom fields biome. Breeding two red mooshrooms has a 0.097% chance of spawning a brown baby variant. While breeding a red and brown mooshroom together has a 50% chance of spawning a brown baby variant.
2 – Modified Jungle Edge
Rarity: Extremely Rare
The modified jungle edge generates in strict conditions. When a jungle biome and swamp hills biome border each other, the modified jungle edge generates to act as a transition. Considering how rare the jungle and swamp hills biomes are rare, this makes the modified jungle edge biome the rarest in the game, so far. The largest length that the modified jungle edge will generate in is a few hundred blocks, sometimes generating as low as ten blocks in length.
Ocelots, parrots, and pandas may spawn in this biome, though no structures or buildings will generate. For perspective, the mushroom fields biome covers around 0.056% of the Overworld, while the modified jungle edge only covers about 0.00027%.
As of the latest snapshot, the modified jungle edge biome will be removed in 1.18.
1 – Emerald Ore
Rarity: Extremely Rare
The emerald ore is a mineral block that drops emeralds or itself when mined with an iron pickaxe (or better). Deepslate emerald ore is a variant that can be found in deepslate and tuff blobs.
How do I find emerald ore?
Emerald ore only spawns in mountains biomes and can replace stone, tuff, and deepslate. In 1.17 and earlier game versions, emerald ore is most commonly found between Y-levels 5-29. In the 1.18 update, emerald ore will still only spawn in mountains biomes, however will commonly appear between Y-levels -16-320.
