View source for Minecraft:Difficulty

{{About|the gameplay mechanic|the command|Commands/difficulty|the feature in {{MCD}}|MCD:Difficulty}}
[[File:Skeleton Golden.png|thumb|right|300px|Mobs in full armor are a common sight in higher difficulty levels.]]
[[File:Ore UI - Get Started - Game Mode - Survival Difficulty Screen Menu (Bedrock) (cropped).png|thumb|right|600px|A popup {{in|be}} describing how each difficulty works.]]

'''Difficulty''' is an [[Minecraft:option]] in ''[[Minecraft:Minecraft]]'' that has a direct impact on the ease of [[Minecraft:gameplay]], allowing the game's challenges to be tailored to the [[Minecraft:player]]'s skill level.

== World settings ==
[[File:DifficultyButton.gif|thumb|right|The difficulty button {{in|je}}.]]
[[File:Difficulty.png|thumb|260px|The options menu available in the [[pause menu]] {{in|je}}, with the difficulty button highlighted.]]
There are four difficulty levels in the game: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, and Hard. These can be changed when creating a world, in the [[Minecraft:world options]], as well as with the {{cmd|difficulty}} command.

While the difficulty settings modify the challenge in [[Minecraft:Survival]] mode, they also affect hostile mobs in [[Minecraft:Creative]] mode the same as in Survival; for example:

* Most hostile mobs cannot spawn naturally in Creative Peaceful.
* [[Minecraft:Zombie]]s have the same difficulty-dependent chances as in Survival to convert villagers into [[Minecraft:zombie villager]]s (0% in Creative Easy, 50% in Creative Normal, 100% in Creative Hard).
* Hostile mobs killed by [[Minecraft:Tutorial:Mob grinder|mob grinders]] in farms drop higher-value items in Creative Hard.

[[Minecraft:Survival]] mode is affected by difficulty as described in the sections below. 

=== Peaceful ===
No [[Minecraft:hostile mob]]s can spawn naturally, except for [[Minecraft:shulker]]s, [[Minecraft:hoglin]]s, and the [[Minecraft:ender dragon]], all of whom no longer deal any damage. No [[Minecraft:spider]]s, [[Minecraft:cave spider]]s, [[Minecraft:zombified piglin]]s, [[Minecraft:endermen]], [[Minecraft:drowned]], [[Minecraft:skeleton horse]]s, [[Minecraft:zombie horse]]s, [[Minecraft:camel husk]]s, or [[Minecraft:sulfur cube]]s{{upcoming}} – [[Minecraft:Mob#Neutral mobs|neutral]]/[[Minecraft:Mob#Passive mobs|passive]] rather than hostile mobs – can spawn naturally. {{IN|java}}, [[Minecraft:piglin]]s and [[Minecraft:hoglin]]s can only naturally spawn inside of [[Minecraft:bastion remnants]], and their other spawning conditions are disabled{{until|JE 26.2}}; the same goes for [[Minecraft:zombie nautilus]]es, only spawning inside of [[Minecraft:ocean ruin]]s. 

When any of these mobs attempt to spawn (whether naturally, through [[Minecraft:monster spawner]]s, [[Minecraft:spawn egg]]s, or [[Minecraft:commands]]), they despawn instantaneously, with no visible spawning.

All mobs that can spawn (such as shulkers, piglins, zombie nautiluses, [[Minecraft:polar bear]]s, or [[Minecraft:wolves]]) are completely peaceful and unable to harm the player, with the exception of the ender dragon, which still targets players and deals knockback. Additionally, [[Minecraft:sculk shrieker]]s do not give the [[Minecraft:Darkness]] effect because they can't spawn the [[Minecraft:warden]].

When the difficulty is switched from any other setting to Peaceful, all mobs that are not allowed to spawn on Peaceful despawn. Players regain [[Minecraft:health]] rapidly over time. Despite this, it is still possible to [[Minecraft:die]] if damage is received quickly enough. [[Minecraft:TNT]] deals no direct damage to the player, but it does give knockback still, meaning a player can be indirectly killed by it via fall damage if it launches them too far upward.

{{IN|Java}}, due to a bug, ocelots can't spawn naturally on Peaceful,{{until|JE 26.2}} as they occupy the monster [[Minecraft:mob cap]].<ref name="hostile kitty">{{bug|MC-1788||Ocelots do not spawn naturally on peaceful difficulty in jungle and bamboo jungle biomes}}</ref>

The [[Minecraft:hunger bar]] never depletes; {{in|je}}, players therefore cannot eat anything except [[Minecraft:golden apple]]s, [[Minecraft:chorus fruit]]s, [[Minecraft:milk bucket]]s, [[Minecraft:honey bottle]]s, and [[Minecraft:suspicious stew]], unless the player switched to Peaceful when their hunger bar was below the maximum. Players can eat normally {{in|be}}. Additionally, if the hunger bar is below the maximum, it regenerates quickly.

{| class="wikitable"
! Mob
! Despawns in<br /> Peaceful difficulty?
! Spawns naturally in<br /> Peaceful difficulty?
|-
| {{EntityLink|Blaze}}<br>{{EntityLink|Breeze}}<br>{{EntityLink|Bogged}}<br>{{EntityLink|Cave Spider}}<br>{{EntityLink|Creeper}}<br>{{EntityLink|Creaking}}<br>{{EntityLink|Drowned}}<br>{{EntityLink|Elder Guardian}}<br>{{EntityLink|Elder Guardian Ghost}}{{only|be|short=1}}<br>{{EntityLink|Enderman}}<br>{{EntityLink|Endermite}}<br>{{EntityLink|Evoker}}<br>{{EntityLink|Ghast}}<br>{{EntityLink|Giant}}{{only|java|short=1}}<br>{{EntityLink|Guardian}}<br>{{EntityLink|Husk}}<br>{{EntityLink|Illusioner}}{{only|java|short=1}}<br>{{EntityLink|Magma Cube}}<br>{{EntityLink|Parched}}<br>{{EntityLink|Phantom}}<br>{{EntityLink|Piglin Brute}}<br>{{EntityLink|Pillager}}<br>{{EntityLink|Ravager}}<br>{{EntityLink|Silverfish}}<br>{{EntityLink|Skeleton}}<br>{{EntityLink|Slime}}<br>{{EntityLink|Spider}}<br>{{EntityLink|Stray}}<br>{{EntityLink|Sulfur Cube}}{{upcoming}}<br>{{EntityLink|Vex}}<br>{{EntityLink|Vindicator}}<br>{{EntityLink|Warden}}<br>{{EntityLink|Witch}}<br>{{EntityLink|Wither}}<br>{{EntityLink|Wither Skeleton}}<br>{{EntityLink|Zoglin}}<br>{{EntityLink|Zombie}}<br>{{EntityLink|Zombie Villager}}<br>{{EntityLink|Zombified Piglin}}
| {{Tc|yes}}
| {{Tc|no}}
|-
| {{EntityLink|Camel Husk}}<br>{{EntityLink|Killer Bunny}}{{only|java|short=1}}<br>{{EntityLink|Skeleton Horse}}<br>{{EntityLink|Zombie Horse}}
| {{Tc|no}}
| {{Tc|no}}
|-
| {{EntityLink|Hoglin}}<br>{{EntityLink|Piglin}}
| {{tc|no}}
| {{tc|partial|As part of structures only{{only|java|short=1}}{{until|JE 26.2}}<br>Yes{{only|bedrock|short=1}}{{upcoming|JE 26.2}}}}
|-
| {{EntityLink|Zombie Nautilus}}
| {{tc|no}}
| {{tc|partial|As part of structures only}}<ref>{{bug|MC-304858||Zombie nautiluses can spawn on peaceful by themselves, unlike skeleton/zombie horses and camel husks}}</ref>
|-
| {{EntityLink|Ender Dragon}}<br>{{EntityLink|Shulker}}
| {{Tc|no|No<ref group="table">Ender Dragon still performs attack animation but deals no damage.</ref>}}
| {{Tc|yes}}
|-
| {{EntityLink|Ocelot}}
| {{Tc|No}}
| {{Tc|Partial|No{{only|java|short=1}}{{until|JE 26.2}}<ref name="hostile kitty" /><br>Yes{{only|bedrock|short=1}}{{upcoming|JE 26.2}}}}
|}
<references group="table />

The [[Minecraft:monster]]s that spawn naturally, which are [[Minecraft:ender dragon]]s, [[Minecraft:hoglin]]s, [[Minecraft:piglin]]s, [[Minecraft:shulker]]s and [[Minecraft:zombie nautilus]]es, become harmless on Peaceful. [[Minecraft:Killer bunnies]]{{only|java|short=1}} become passive as well.

If a player is in a village with [[Minecraft:Raid Omen]] and the effect ends, the [[Minecraft:raid]] is not triggered as raiders cannot spawn in peaceful difficulty.

Because of the gameplay changes and the absence of many mob types, many blocks and items are unavailable to the player. A list can be found at [[Minecraft:Non-renewable resource#Peaceful difficulty]]. In addition, the player is unable to get many [[Minecraft:advancement]]s and [[Minecraft:achievement]]s. 

[[Minecraft:Dispenser]]s are unable to place [[Minecraft:wither skeleton skull]]s even if the required blocks for summoning a [[Minecraft:wither]] are available.

One major effect of the lack of certain resources is that [[Minecraft:End portal]]s cannot be activated by the player in Peaceful difficulty, because it is impossible to acquire the [[Minecraft:eyes of ender]] necessary to activate an end portal.<ref group="note"> An eye of ender requires [[Minecraft:blaze powder]] to craft, which can be crafted only from [[Minecraft:blaze rod]]s; but a blaze rod can be obtained only as a drop from a [[Minecraft:blaze]], which is a hostile mob that cannot spawn in Peaceful.</ref> However, it is possible to switch to a non-Peaceful difficulty, let blazes spawn, kill enough for crafting eyes of ender, and switch back to Peaceful. It is also possible for an end portal to be activated by naturally generating with an eye of ender already embedded within all 12 end portal frames. For any given end portal, there is a 1 in a trillion chance of this happening.<ref group=note>Since each end portal frame has a {{fraction|1|10}} chance of being filled, there is a ({{fraction|1|10}})<sup>12</sup> = {{fraction|1|1 trillion}} chance of all 12 end portal frames being filled.</ref>
However, because of the huge number of possible seeds, over 8 million seeds are known to generate such end portals.<ref>https://github.com/hube12/SSGOutput/releases/tag/1.1</ref>

=== Easy ===
Hostile [[Minecraft:mob]]s spawn, but they deal {{frac|1|2}} of the damage they would on Normal difficulty plus {{hp|1}} or the same damage they would on Normal difficulty, whichever is lower. The hunger bar can deplete, damaging the player until {{hp|10}} remain if it drains completely. [[Minecraft:Cave spider]]s and [[Minecraft:bee]]s cannot poison players on Easy difficulty, and the [[Minecraft:wither]] does not cause the [[Minecraft:Wither (effect)|Wither effect]], although [[Minecraft:wither skeleton]]s do. [[Minecraft:Lightning]] sets only the struck block on fire, not surrounding blocks. [[Minecraft:Zombie]]s do not break down doors, and do not turn [[Minecraft:villager]]s into [[Minecraft:zombie villager]]s. [[Minecraft:Zombie]]s and [[Minecraft:skeleton]]s do not wear full sets of armor. Hostile [[Minecraft:mob]]s like zombies, skeletons, [[Minecraft:spider]]s, [[Minecraft:husk]]s, and [[Minecraft:stray]]s deal about {{hp|1}} or {{hp|2}} damage.

If a player is in a village with [[Minecraft:Raid Omen]] and the effect ends, it triggers a raid that consists of 3 waves (4 waves if a player with a Raid Omen effect that is higher than one level enters a village.)

=== Normal ===
Hostile [[Minecraft:mob]]s spawn and deal standard damage. The hunger bar can deplete, damaging the player until {{hp|1}} remains if it drains completely. Zombies do not break down doors, but villagers killed by zombies have a 50% chance of turning into [[Minecraft:zombie villager]]s. Zombies and skeletons rarely wear sets of enchanted armor. [[Minecraft:Vindicator]]s can break doors.

If a player is in a village with [[Minecraft:Raid Omen]] and the effect ends, it triggers a raid that consists of 5 waves (6 waves if a player with a Raid Omen effect that is higher than one level enters a village.)

=== Hard ===
{{redirect|Hard|the property of blocks|Hardness}}
Hostile [[Minecraft:mob]]s deal approximately 1{{frac|1|2}} times the damage they would deal on Normal difficulty, and in some cases drop higher-value items when killed. The hunger bar can deplete, not only damaging but also killing the player if it drains completely. [[Minecraft:Zombie]]s and [[Minecraft:zombified piglin]]s{{only|je|short=1}} can break through wooden and copper [[Minecraft:door]]s and can spawn [[Minecraft:Zombie#Reinforcements|reinforcement]]s when attacked. {{IN|Java}}, [[Minecraft:spider]]s can spawn with a beneficial status effect ([[Minecraft:Speed]], [[Minecraft:Strength]], [[Minecraft:Regeneration]], or [[Minecraft:Invisibility]]), with these effects having an infinite duration. Villagers killed by zombies always turn into zombie villagers. {{IN|Bedrock}}, if the world type isn't infinite, [[Minecraft:pillager]]s deal {{hp|4}} damage, instead of {{hp|5}}.

If a player is in a village with [[Minecraft:Raid Omen]] and the effect ends, it triggers a raid that consists of 7 waves (8 waves if a player with a Raid Omen effect that is higher than one level enters a village.)

=== Hardcore mode ===
<gallery widths="90px" heights="90px" style="float: right;">
Hardcore Heart.svg|Icon for Hardcore mode.
</gallery>
{{main|Hardcore}}

While in the world creation screen, selecting '''Hardcore''' from among the [[Minecraft:game mode]] options causes the player to spawn in Hard difficulty, does not allow it to be changed, and allows the player only one life. In a single player world, a player who dies can choose to respawn in [[Minecraft:Spectator]] mode or return to the title screen. In multiplayer, upon death, the player's game mode is automatically set to Spectator mode.

{{IN|java}}, the only way to change the difficulty of Hardcore is to use the ''Open to LAN'' feature in the pause menu to enable commands, or to use an .NBT editor on the world's .NBT file.

== Moon phase ==
The phase of the [[Minecraft:moon]] affects the spawning of [[Minecraft:slime]]s in [[Minecraft:swamp]] biomes, and also contributes to the calculation of regional difficulty. Fuller moon phases have a larger effect.

The moon does not actually have to be visible in the sky for this effect to apply, since the moon phase exists during daytime and across [[Minecraft:dimension]]s.

{| class="wikitable col-1-center" data-description="Moon phases"
! !! Moon phase
! Value
! Percentage
|-
| {{EnvSprite|full-moon}}
| Full
| 1.0
| 100%
|-
| {{EnvSprite|waxing-gibbous-moon}} {{EnvSprite|waning-gibbous-moon}}
| Gibbous
| 0.75
| 75%
|-
| {{EnvSprite|first-quarter-moon}} {{EnvSprite|last-quarter-moon}}
| Quarter
| 0.5
| 50%
|-
| {{EnvSprite|waxing-crescent-moon}} {{EnvSprite|waning-crescent-moon}}
| Crescent
| 0.25
| 25%
|-
| {{EnvSprite|new-moon}}
| New
| 0.0
| 0%
|}

For regional difficulty, the moon phase contribution is capped by the daytime contribution. In other words, the moon contributes <code>min(MoonPhase &times; 0.25, DaytimeFactor)</code>,<ref>{{jcp|net.minecraft.world.DifficultyInstance}}, the source code uses clamp function from 0.0 minimum, but both values are guaranteed to be >= 0.0.</ref> so before {{convert|63|in-game day|game tick}} even a full moon does not yet give its full bonus.

== Regional difficulty ==
[[File:Local Difficulty Debug.png|thumb|upright=2.0|Regional difficulty values shown on the [[debug screen]]]] 

'''Regional difficulty''' or '''local difficulty''' is a value between 0.00 and 6.75 that the game calculates by considering the world difficulty setting, the ''inhabited time'' of a [[Minecraft:chunk]], the ''total daytime'' in the world, and the phase of the [[Minecraft:moon]]. This value is shown on the [[Minecraft:debug screen]] as the ''first'' value listed after the heading "Local Difficulty". This value determines several aspects of the difficulty of gameplay (see [[#Other effects|below]]).

The ''inhabited time'' of a chunk increases for each tick a player spends with the chunk loaded. This is a cumulative measure of time—if 50 players spend a single hour in a chunk, it counts the same as if one player spent 50 hours there. The effect of inhabited time on regional difficulty is capped at 50 hours.

The ''total daytime'' in the world is the value from {{cmd|time query daytime}} added to the "Day" on the F3 debug screen converted to ticks, i.e. <code>daytime + (dayNumber * 24,000)</code>. This is ''not'' the same as the actual playtime in the world (the value from {{cmd|time query gametime}}). It affects the regional difficulty after the first 3 in-game days, and has no additional effect after 63 in-game days.

In pseudocode, the calculation of regional difficulty is:

 # DaytimeFactor, ChunkFactor, MoonFactor, and RegionalDifficulty are floating-point variables
 # MoonPhase is as in the table above.
 
 if (difficulty is Peaceful) return 0
 
 if (TotalDaytime > 63 in-game days) DaytimeFactor = 0.25
 else if (TotalDaytime < 3 in-game days) DaytimeFactor = 0 
 else DaytimeFactor = (TotalDaytimeInTicks &minus; 72,000) / 5,760,000
 
 if (ChunkInhabitedTime > 50 hours) ChunkFactor = 1
 else ChunkFactor = ChunkInhabitedTimeInTicks / 3,600,000
 
 if (difficulty is Normal or Easy) multiply ChunkFactor by 0.75
 
 MoonFactor = min(MoonPhase &times; 0.25, DaytimeFactor)
 ChunkFactor += MoonFactor
 
 if (difficulty is Easy) multiply ChunkFactor by 0.5
 
 RegionalDifficulty = 0.75 + DaytimeFactor + ChunkFactor
 
 if (difficulty is Normal) multiply RegionalDifficulty by 2
 if (difficulty is Hard) multiply RegionalDifficulty by 3
 
 return RegionalDifficulty

The raw regional difficulty therefore is always 0.0 on Peaceful and ranges from 0.75 to 1.5 on Easy, 1.5 to 4.0 on Normal, and 2.25 to 6.75 on Hard.

=== Clamped regional difficulty ===
[[File:Regional difficulty to Clamped regional difficulty.png|thumb|325px|How ''clamped regional difficulty'' relates to ''regional difficulty'']] 
The '''clamped regional difficulty''' (also known as '''special multiplier''') is a value between 0.00 and 1.00 based on regional difficulty. This value is shown on the [[Minecraft:debug screen]] as the ''second'' value listed after the heading "Local Difficulty". This is yet another value that affects the difficulty of gameplay (see [[#Other effects|below]]).

The regional difficulty value is clamped as follows:

 if (RegionalDifficulty < 2.0) value = 0.0;
 else if (RegionalDifficulty > 4.0) value = 1.0;
 else value = (RegionalDifficulty &minus; 2.0) / 2.0;

Thus, on Easy, where regional difficulty is never higher than 1.5, the clamped value is always zero. On Normal, where regional difficulty is between 1.5 and 4.0, the clamped value can be anywhere from 0.0 to 1.0. On Hard, where the regional difficulty is never lower than 2.25, the clamped value is always at least 0.125.

On Normal, the clamped regional difficulty reaches its maximum value of 1.0 only after {{convert|63|in-game day|game tick}}, in a fully inhabited chunk, during a full moon. On Hard, after 63 in-game days, the clamped regional difficulty reaches 1.0 in chunks inhabited for {{frac|4|1|6}} hours during a full moon; on lower moon phases it reaches 1.0 later, and once a chunk has been inhabited for more than {{frac|16|2|3}} hours it remains at 1.0 regardless of moon phase.

== Effects ==
=== Mob damage ===
{{:Damage/Mobs}}

=== Other effects ===
{| class="wikitable col-1-left col-2-left" style="text-align:center" data-description="Attributes by conditions"
! rowspan="2" | Attribute
! rowspan="2" | Notes
! colspan="4" | Condition
|-
! World difficulty
! Regional difficulty (RD)
! Clamped regional difficulty (CRD)
! Moon phase only
|-
| {{hp|1|notag=1}} Mobs and explosions do higher damage to players.
| Peaceful: No damage<br>Easy: {{frac|1|2}} of Normal damage + 1 (never higher than Normal damage)<br>Hard: {{frac|1|1|2}} times Normal damage
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|guardian}} Guardians (both types) have higher laser magic damage.
| Hard: + {{hp|2}}, added before calculating the difficulty-scaled mob damage
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EffectSprite|Hunger}} Starvation more harshly affects health.
| Easy/Normal/Hard: starvation brings health down to 10/1/0 HP
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|diamond-chestplate}} Mobs that spawn with armor are more likely to have more armor.
| Easy & Normal: 75%/56%/42% of having 2/3/4 pieces;<br>Hard: 90%/81%/73% of having 2/3/4 pieces
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|diamond-sword}} Zombies are more likely to spawn with weapons.
| 1% on Easy and Normal,<br>5% on Hard
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|golden-helmet}} Zombies are able to spawn reinforcements.
| Hard only
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|oak-door}} Zombies are more likely to be able to break wooden doors.
| A zombie having the ability to break a door: (10×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%<hr />The door actually breaking: Hard only
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|zombie-villager}} Villagers killed by zombies have a greater chance of becoming zombie villagers.
| 0% on Easy,<br>50% on Normal,<br>100% on Hard
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|zombified-piglin}} Zombified piglins spawn from nether portals in the Overworld more often.
| {{frac|1|2000}} per [[Minecraft:Tick#Block tick|block tick]] on Easy,<br>{{frac|1|1000}} on Normal,<br>{{frac|3|2000}} on Hard
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|Bow}} A skeleton or stray's cooldown between attacks is shortened
| Easy/Normal: 2s cooldown<br>Hard: 1s
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|Bow}} A bogged or parched's cooldown between attacks is shortened
| Easy/Normal: 3.5s cooldown<br>Hard: 2.5s
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|Arrow}} A skeleton or stray is more accurate in ranged attacks with its bow.
| Easy/Normal/Hard "inaccuracy" value is 10/6/2
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|Arrow}} Damage from arrows slightly increases.
| Easy/Normal/Hard damage bonus = +0.11 / +0.22 / +0.33
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Phantom}} [[Minecraft:Phantom]]s spawn more frequently.
| A spawn attempt succeeds if the local difficulty is greater than a random value between 0.0 and 3.0.
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Phantom}} [[Minecraft:Phantom]]s spawn in larger groups.
| Easy: 1-2<br/>Normal: 1-3<br/>Hard: 1-4
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Spider}} Spiders can naturally spawn with [[Minecraft:status effect]]s.
| Hard<hr />(10×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Cave Spider}} The [[Minecraft:Poison]] effect given by a [[Minecraft:cave spider]] lasts longer.
| Normal/Hard: 7s/15s
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Bee}} The [[Minecraft:Poison]] effect given by a [[Minecraft:bee]] lasts longer.
| Normal/Hard: 10s/18s
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EffectSprite|Wither}} The [[Minecraft:Wither (effect)|Wither]] effect given by a [[Minecraft:wither#Wither skull|wither skull]] lasts longer.
| Normal/Hard: 10s/40s
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|wither}} A wither shoots wither skulls when idle.
| Normal/Hard only
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Wither}} A wither spawns 3 wither skeletons when brought below half health.{{only|bedrock}}
| Normal/Hard only
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|lightning}} Lightning can cause fires in the surrounding blocks, not just the block struck.
| Normal/Hard only
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{BlockSprite|Fire}} Fire lingers for a bit longer.
| The raw ''[[Minecraft:Fire#Flammable blocks|encouragement]]'' value of blocks surrounding fire gets a bonus of (Easy/Normal/Hard) +47 / +54 / +61, before being adjusted for fire age, humidity and rain.
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|leather-boots}} Mobs are more willing to take fall damage when pursuing a target.<ref group="note">Mobs accept fall damage if their health would not be reduced below 33% of their maximum health (rounded up to the nearest {{hp|1}}), plus a constant reserve based on difficulty. This even applies to ground-based mobs immune to fall damage.</ref>
| Easy: 33% + {{hp|8}}<br>Normal: 33% + {{hp|4}}<br>Hard: 33%
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|skeleton-horse}} [[Minecraft:Lightning]] strikes are more likely to spawn a [[Minecraft:Skeleton Horse|skeleton trap horse]].
| Chance = ({{tooltip|RD|Regional Difficulty}})%<hr />(0.75–1.5% on Easy, 1.5–4% on Normal, 2.25–6.75% on Hard)
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{BlockSprite|fire}} Burning zombies are more likely to set their target on fire, and the burn duration is longer.
| Chance = (30×{{tooltip|RD|Regional Difficulty}})%<hr />Burn time = 2 × {{tooltip|RD|Regional Difficulty}} seconds
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Husk}} The [[Minecraft:Hunger (effect)|Hunger]] effect caught from being attacked by a [[Minecraft:husk]] lasts longer.
| Effect time = 7 × {{tooltip|RD|Regional Difficulty}} seconds
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntityLink|Illusioner}}s can cast [[Minecraft:blindness]].
| If {{tooltip|RD|Regional Difficulty}} > 2.
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EnvSprite|items}} Skeletons and zombies are more likely to have the ability to pick up dropped items.
| Having the ability: (55×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EnvSprite|mobs}} Zombies are more likely to have a greater follow distance.
| If (random # in range 0–1.5) × {{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}} is greater than 1, that becomes a bonus multiplier on the follow distance. Therefore, this is impossible when the {{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}} is less than 0.67<ref group="note">This value is actually{{frac|1|3}}.</ref>; when the {{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}} is 1.0, there is only a {{frac|1|3}} chance of it happening.
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|golden-helmet}} Zombies are more likely to be "leader zombies" (gaining a bonus to max HP, a bonus to the chance to spawn reinforcements, and the ability to break doors).
| Any given zombie being a "leader": (5×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|diamond-helmet}} Mobs are more likely to spawn with armor.
| Chance of getting any armor at all: (15×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|enchanted-book}} Mobs that spawn with weapons are more likely to have enchantments.
| Chance for the main hand item = (25×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{ItemSprite|enchanted-book}} Mobs that spawn with armor are more likely to have enchantments.
| Chance per armor item = (50×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})%
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{BlockSprite|enchanting-table}} Mobs that spawn with enchanted equipment have [[Minecraft:Enchantment mechanics#How Enchantments Are Chosen|higher levels of enchantments]].
| Level = 5 + randInt(0,18)×{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}} where randInt(0,18) is a random integer between 0 and 17. So, the level is 5 when {{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}} is 0.0, and it can be as high as 22 when {{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}} is 1.0. 
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|slime}} [[Minecraft:Slimes]] are more likely to be bigger.
| Small: ((33×(1-{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})/2)+16.5)%<br>Medium: 34%<br>Big: ((33×(1+{{tooltip|CRD|Clamped Regional Difficulty}})/2)+16.5)%<hr />in other words:<br>Small/Medium/Big: 16.5%–33% / 34% / 33%–49.5%
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{BiomeSprite|swamp}} Slimes are more likely to spawn in swamp biomes.
| See [[#Moon phase|above]]
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}}
|-
| {{EntitySprite|Ravager}} [[Minecraft:Raid]] has more waves
| Easy: 3 waves<br>
Normal: 5 waves<br>
Hard: 7 waves
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{InvSprite|Ominous Banner}} [[Minecraft:Illager patrol]] size
| {{tooltip|RD|Regional Difficulty}} + 1 illagers (rounded up)
| {{tc|No}} || {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} 
|- 
| {{InvSprite|Ominous Banner}} Illager patrol can spawn vindicator{{only|bedrock}}
| Easy and Normal: 100% pillager<br>
Hard: 80% pillager, 20% vindicator
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} 
|-
| {{InvSprite|Ominous Banner}} Illager patrol can spawn on any light level{{only|bedrock}}
| Easy: Light level 0-7<br>
Normal and Hard: Any light level
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} 
|- 
| {{EntityLink|Vindicator}} and {{EntityLink|Pillager}} spawn from raids having higher chance to drop [[Minecraft:Raid#Loot|special loot]].{{only|bedrock}}
| Normal: 65% chance<br>
Hard: 80% chance
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}}
|-
| {{EntityLink|Vindicator}} are able to break down {{ItemSprite|Oak Door}} [[Minecraft:Wooden Door]]
| Peaceful and Easy: unable to break door<br>
Normal and Hard: can break door
| {{tc|Yes}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} || {{tc|No}} 
|}

== Videos ==
{{Video note|This video is outdated, as several features like regional difficulty and clamped regional difficulty are added.}}
<div style="text-align:center">{{yt|D0PlO93xWs4}}</div>

== History ==
=== Development ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine||May 21, 2009|link=https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=6273.msg203084#msg203084|Difficulty modes were mentioned including: "Walk in the Park" being the easiest, "Easy" which was added, and "Armageddon" being hard even with 32 people.}}
|{{HistoryLine||June 14, 2009|link={{tumblr|notch|123343045}}|[[Minecraft:Markus Persson|Notch]] discussed how his vision for [[Minecraft:Survival]] mode would incorporate the concept of difficulty: "When generating a new level or loading a creative mode level, you also select a difficulty. Difficulty levels will probably vary from 'challenging' to 'impossible', since I want the game to be difficult. If it's not fun to always be challenged, I'll add easier difficulties."}}
}}

=== ''Java Edition'' ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine|java indev}}
|{{HistoryLine||0.31|dev=20100205-1558|Added the option to change difficulty to Peaceful, Easy, Normal, or Hard.}}
|{{HistoryLine|java alpha}}
|{{HistoryLine||October 22, 2010|link={{tweet|notch|28442263772}}|[[Minecraft:Notch]] tweets stating that he is "changing 'difficulty' to 'realism'". Lowest setting <nowiki>=</nowiki> [[Minecraft:Creative]]. Highest setting <nowiki>=</nowiki> [[Minecraft:Hunger|starve]]". This was never implemented; however, a "[[Minecraft:Hardcore]]" mode was added along with a Creative gamemode.}}
|{{HistoryLine|java}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.0.0|dev=Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2|Hardcore mode added.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.6.1|dev=13w16a|Regional difficulty added.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.8|dev=14w02a|[[Minecraft:Hunger]] now refills in Peaceful difficulty.|Difficulty is now saved per-world, instead of globally; difficulty can no longer be changed from the title screen.|Difficulty defaults to Normal instead of Easy.|Difficulty can now be locked.|Added {{cmd|difficulty}}.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.16|dev=20w17a|Difficulty can now be chosen on world creation.}}
}}

=== ''Bedrock Edition'' ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine|pocket alpha}}
|{{HistoryLine||v0.4.0|Added Peaceful difficulty.}}
|{{HistoryLine||v0.12.1|Added Easy and Hard difficulties.}}
|{{HistoryLine||v0.16.0|Difficulty is now saved on a per-world basis instead of globally, and is now controlled via world settings.}}
|{{HistoryLine|pocket}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.0.5|dev=alpha 1.0.5.0|Added {{cmd|difficulty}}}}
|{{HistoryLine|bedrock}}
|{{HistoryLine||?|Added regional difficulty.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.21.40|Hardcore mode added}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.21.90|dev=Preview 1.21.90.20|[[Minecraft:Piglin brutes]] now despawn in peaceful difficulty.<ref>{{bug|MCPE-88837||Piglin brutes do not despawn in Peaceful mode}}</ref>{{verify|will they despawn or become passive?}}}}
}}

=== Legacy Console Edition ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine|console}}
|{{HistoryLine||xbox=TU1|xbone=CU1|ps3=1.00|psvita=1.00|ps4=1.00|wiiu=Patch 1|switch=1.0.1|Difficulty added.}}
|{{HistoryLine||xbox=TU11|xbone=CU1|ps3=1.00|psvita=1.00|ps4=1.00|wiiu=Patch 1|switch=1.0.1|Added a message when the player tries to spawn a [[Minecraft:hostile mob]] from a [[Minecraft:spawn egg]] in Peaceful difficulty.}}
|{{HistoryLine||xbox=TU19|xbone=CU7|ps3=1.12|psvita=1.12|ps4=1.12|wiiu=Patch 1|switch=1.0.1|Regional difficulty added.}}
|{{HistoryLine||xbox=TU25|xbone=CU14|ps3=1.17|psvita=1.17|ps4=1.17|It is now possible to change the difficulty via the [[Minecraft:host options]] menu if host privileges are enabled.}}
}}

<gallery>
Difficulty Lock.png|First image of the difficulty lock.
</gallery>

== Issues ==
{{Issue list}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Ore UI - "Peaceful" Image.png|Peaceful difficulty icon from ''Bedrock Edition''.
File:Ore UI - "Easy" Image.png|Easy difficulty icon from ''Bedrock Edition''.
File:Ore UI - "Normal" Image.png|Normal difficulty icon from ''Bedrock Edition''.
File:Ore UI - "Hard" Image.png|Hard difficulty icon from ''Bedrock Edition''.
</gallery>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==
* [[Minecraft:Health]]
* [[Minecraft:Hunger]]
* [[Minecraft:Gameplay]]
* [[Minecraft:Tutorial:Gathering resources on peaceful difficulty]]

== Navigation ==
{{Navbox gameplay}}

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