Minecraft:Spear

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A spear is a Minecraft:tiered melee Minecraft:weapon that can be used to perform slow Template:Control or held forward to do Template:Control which deal Minecraft:damage based on the velocity of the user and the target. Spears have especially long reach, but cannot hit targets that are too close.

Variants

There are seven spear variants:

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Obtaining

Mob loot

Minecraft:Zombies, Minecraft:husks, Minecraft:zombie villagersTemplate:Only, Minecraft:zombie horsemen, and Minecraft:camel husk jockey riders can spawn wielding iron spears, while Minecraft:piglins and Minecraft:zombified piglins can spawn wielding golden spears. These spears have an 8.5% chance of dropping upon death, increased to a maximum of 11.5% with the Looting III enchantment.

It is also possible to get the golden spear from a piglin by dropping a Minecraft:crossbow or Minecraft:sword nearby, which the piglin will swap its spear for. It then requires precise timing to pick it up before the piglin does.

Usage

Attacking

File:Weapon reach comparison.gif

Comparing the reach of other weapons (3 blocks) to the spear (4.5 blocks).

Spears have a longer attack range than other weapons, at 4.5 blocks rather than 3 blocks. However, they also have a minimum attack range value that prevents attacking entities that are within 2 blocks of the user.<ref group="note">The minimum attack range for non-player entities inside of a charge attack is 1 block, whilst the maximum is 2.25 blocks.</ref> Unlike all other weapons, including a bare hand, spears cannot do Minecraft:critical hits or Minecraft:sprint-knockback attacks.<ref>Template:Cite bug</ref>

File:Spear hitbox inflation.gif

The 0.125 hitbox margin on spear attacks.

Spears can damage multiple entities with a single attack. Spears inflate the hitboxes of targets by 0.125 when calculating hit registration, giving them more effective area. Spears also have a unique ability to attack through non-solid blocks like Minecraft:cobwebs and Minecraft:tall grass. Template:IN, spear attacks (both jab and charge attacks) are also uniquely capable of causing horizontal knockback to Minecraft:primed TNT. Spears have two methods of attacking:

Jab attack

A spear can be used with the Template:Ctrl button to perform a jab attack, dealing damage at an amount dependent on the Minecraft:tier of the spear. Jab attacks have a unique type of cooldown that cannot be bypassed:

• Template:IN, they use a variant of the Minecraft:attack cooldown where attacking is not possible until 100% charge, unlike other weapons.
• Template:IN, they instead have a Minecraft:use cooldown like that of an Minecraft:ender pearl, creating a similar forced-cooldown effect. The use cooldown triggers for all spear tiers in the inventory, not only the tier that was jabbed with.

A spear can still perform a charge attack while the jab attack is on cooldown, and thus by alternating between jab attacks and charge attacks the rate of attacks can be effectively doubled. Jab attacks do one additional damage in Template:BE compared to Template:JE.<ref>Template:Cite bug</ref> The jab attack of copper spears is strictly worse than stone spears, due to having a lower attack speedTemplate:Only / longer use cooldownTemplate:Only with identical attack damage.<ref>Template:Cite bug</ref> Switching to a spear in Template:BE does not cause the use cooldown to need to charge, unlike the attack cooldown in Template:JE.

Charge attack

Template:Redirect The spear can alternatively be lowered into an attack position by holding the Template:Ctrl button, where colliding with a target deals damage depending on the velocity of the user and the velocity of the target. Charged attacks require a movement speed difference of 5.1 blocks per second between the attacker and the target in order to deal damage. Because of this, mobs like Minecraft:skeletons that strafe backwards will often only take knockback from charge attacks. Charge attacks can hit multiple entities, and in Template:BE there is a 0.5 second (10 tick) delay between charge attack connections. A charge attack can be dealt even when the jab attack is on cooldown. Charge attacks go through three stages when held out:

File:Spear charge attack stages.gif

The three stages of a charge attack: engaged, tired, and disengaged.

• Engaged
  • The first state of a charge attack, indicated by the spear being held out steadily.
  • The attack deals Minecraft:damage, inflicts knockback, and dismounts attacked targets from their Minecraft:mounts.
• Tired
  • The second state of a charge attack, indicated by the spear rotating sideways and shaking.
  • The attack deals damage and inflicts knockback.
• Disengaged
  • The final state of a charge attack, indicated by the spear being lowered down to the bottom of the screen.
  • The attack only deals damage.

Charge attacks can still deal damage while the user is standing still, if the target is moving towards the user. The damage done by the charge attack is its damage multiplier multiplied by the velocity of the attacker relative to the target in blocks per second. Charge attacks are not influenced by the Minecraft:Strength or Minecraft:Weakness effects.<ref>Template:Cite bug</ref><ref>Template:Cite bug</ref> Template:IN, spear charge attacks produce critical hit particles when striking targets, but they aren't actually critical hits. A charge attack can be canceled at any time, regardless of the stage it's in. When doing a charge attack directly after a jab attack, the spear will perform the jab animation and then flourish into the charge attack position in two rotations.Template:Only<ref>Template:Cite bug</ref>

Tier

The Minecraft:tier of a given spear slightly alters the behavior of jab and charge attacks:

Positive effects of higher tiers

• Higher attack damage and attack multipliers than lower tiered spears.
• Charge attacks start up faster than lower tiered spears.

Negative effects of higher tiers

• Jab attacks have longer attack cooldowns in Java Edition, and longer use cooldowns in Bedrock Edition.
• Charge attacks progress through their charge attack states faster, losing their dismounting effect and ability to do knockback earlier than lower tiered spears.
• Charge attacks have a longer recovery time after progressing through all three stages.

Breaking

The spear is the only weapon in the game aside from loaded Minecraft:crossbowsTemplate:Only that can not be used to break blocks, because a jab attack is performed even if the player is looking at a block.

Statistics

Template:Info needed section Spears cannot perform Minecraft:critical hits or Minecraft:sprint-knockback attacks.

Java Edition

Template:IN, spears have differing attack speeds, and have the following statistics:

Unenchanted jab attack
Type	Attack damage	Attack speed	DPS	Attack range	Hitbox margin	Durability	Lifetime damage inflicted<ref group="note">The formula to find the total lifetime damage is Lifetime damage minimum = Durability × Damage per hit.</ref>	Enchantability
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.54 (0.65 seconds)	1.54	Minimum: 2 (2 blocks) Maximum: 4.5 (4.5 blocks)	0.125	59	Template:Hp	15
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.05 (0.95 seconds)	1.05			32	Template:Hp	22
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.33 (0.75 seconds)	2.67			131	Template:Hp	5
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.18 (0.85 seconds)	2.35			190	Template:Hp	13
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.05 (0.95 seconds)	3.16			250	Template:Hp	14
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 (1.05 seconds)	3.81			1561	Template:Hp	10
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.87 (1.15 seconds)	4.35			2031	Template:Hp	15

Charge attack
Type	Damage multiplier	Activation delay	Duration				Speed requirement
			Full	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Dismount<ref group="note" name=note1>The speed requirements for non-player entities are scaled by 0.2</ref>	Knockback<ref group="note" name=note1/>	Damage<ref group="note" name=note1/>
Template:ItemSprite	0.7x	0.75 seconds	15 seconds	5 seconds	5 seconds	5 seconds	<14 blocks per second	5.1 blocks per second<ref group="note">This speed requirement makes it possible to do knockback if sprinting straight forward, but not if sprinting while strafing left or right.</ref>	4.6 blocks per second
Template:ItemSprite	0.7x	0.7 seconds	13.75 seconds	3.5 seconds	5 seconds	5.25 seconds	<13 blocks per second
Template:ItemSprite	0.82x	0.7 seconds	13.75 seconds	4.5 seconds	4.5 seconds	4.75 seconds	<13 blocks per second
Template:ItemSprite	0.82x	0.65 seconds	12.5 seconds	4 seconds	4.25 seconds	4.25 seconds	<12 blocks per second
Template:ItemSprite	0.95x	0.6 seconds	11.25 seconds	2.5 seconds	4.25 seconds	4.5 seconds	<11 blocks per second
Template:ItemSprite	1.075x	0.5 seconds	10 seconds	3 seconds	3.5 seconds	3.5 seconds	<10 blocks per second
Template:ItemSprite	1.2x	0.4 seconds	8.75 seconds	2.5 seconds	3 seconds	3.25 seconds	<9 blocks per second

File:Spear elytra synergy.gif

Defeating a player wearing full Protection IV netherite armor in 3 hits using a netherite spear, elytra, and firework rockets.

Calculators/Spear damage

File:Jab attack charge attack alternating.gif

Alternating between jab attacks and charge attacks to increase DPS (damage per second).

Jab attack / charge attack alternating<ref group="note">The formula used to calculate combined DPS is <math>\mathsf{DPS} = \frac{\mathsf{jabDamage} + \mathsf{chargeDamage}}{\max\!\left(\mathsf{jabCooldown},\ \mathsf{activationDelay}\right)}</math></ref>
Template:EntityLink sprinting (5.612 blocks per second)
Type	Jab attack		Charge attack		Combined DPS
	Damage	Attack cooldown	Damage	Activation delay
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.65 seconds	Template:Hp	0.75 seconds	6.67
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 seconds	Template:Hp	0.7 seconds	5.26
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.75 seconds	Template:Hp	0.7 seconds	9.33
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.85 seconds	Template:Hp	0.65 seconds	8.24
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 seconds	Template:Hp	0.6 seconds	9.47
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.05 seconds	Template:Hp	0.5 seconds	9.52
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.15 seconds	Template:Hp	0.4 seconds	10.43
Template:EntityLink sprinting with Template:EffectLink I (6.7344 blocks per second)
Type	Jab attack		Charge attack		Combined DPS
	Damage	Attack cooldown	Damage	Activation delay
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.65 seconds	Template:Hp	0.75 seconds	8
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 seconds	Template:Hp	0.7 seconds	6.32
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.75 seconds	Template:Hp	0.7 seconds	10.67
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.85 seconds	Template:Hp	0.65 seconds	9.41
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 seconds	Template:Hp	0.6 seconds	10.53
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.05 seconds	Template:Hp	0.5 seconds	11.43
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.15 seconds	Template:Hp	0.4 seconds	12.17
Template:EntityLink sprinting with Template:EffectLink II (7.8568 blocks per second)
Type	Jab attack		Charge attack		Combined DPS
	Damage	Attack cooldown	Damage	Activation delay
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.65 seconds	Template:Hp	0.75 seconds	9.33
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 seconds	Template:Hp	0.7 seconds	7.37
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.75 seconds	Template:Hp	0.7 seconds	12
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.85 seconds	Template:Hp	0.65 seconds	10.59
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	0.95 seconds	Template:Hp	0.6 seconds	11.58
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.05 seconds	Template:Hp	0.5 seconds	12.38
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	1.15 seconds	Template:Hp	0.4 seconds	13.04

Bedrock Edition

Template:IN, spears have differing Minecraft:use cooldowns, and have the following statistics:

Unenchanted jab attack
Type	Attack damage	Use cooldown	DPS	Attack range	Hitbox margin	Durability	Lifetime damage inflicted<ref group="note">The formula to find the total lifetime damage is Lifetime damage minimum = Durability × Damage per hit.</ref>	Enchantability
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	3.08	Minimum: 2 (2 blocks) Maximum: 4 (4 blocks)	0.125	60	Template:Hp	15
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	2.1			33	Template:Hp	22
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	3.99			132	Template:Hp	5
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	3.54			191	Template:Hp	13
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	4.2			251	Template:Hp	14
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	4.75			1562	Template:Hp	10
Template:ItemSprite	Template:Hp	Template:Convert	5.22			2032	Template:Hp	15

Usage by mobs

Minecraft:Zombies, Minecraft:husks, Minecraft:zombie villagers, Minecraft:zombified piglins, and Minecraft:piglins wielding spears have unique attacking behavior. When attacking, they use the spear's charge attack while moving towards their target. They hold the charge through its full duration, using all 3 stages. Once the charge attack has ended or they get too close to their target, they walk away to increase the distance between them and their target before turning around to begin another charge.

When wielded by any other mob, such as Minecraft:skeletons, they instead use the spear's jab attack when in melee range. Like players, the 2-4.5 blocks attacking range applies to these mobs as well. The Lunge enchantment will also take effect for these mobs.

Repairing

Anvil repair

A spear can be repaired in an Minecraft:anvil by adding units of the Minecraft:tiers' repair material, with each repair material restoring 25% the spear's maximum durability, rounded down. Two spears of the same tier can also be combined in an anvil with an extra 12% durability, Template:In the extra durability is approximately 6% for this item.<ref group="note" name="molang /> Both methods preserve the spear's Minecraft:enchantments.

Enchantments

A spear can receive the following Minecraft:enchantments:

Name	Description	Max Level	Method	Weight
Minecraft:Sharpness<ref group=note name=note2>Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive.</ref>	Increases the damage dealt.	V	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	10
Minecraft:Smite<ref group=note name=note2/>	Increases the damage dealt to Minecraft:undead.	V	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	5
Minecraft:Bane of Arthropods<ref group="note" name=note2/>	Increases the damage dealt to Minecraft:arthropods.	V	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	5
Minecraft:Looting	Increases the amount of Minecraft:drops when killing an entity with the spear.	III	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	2
Minecraft:Knockback	Increases the knockback dealt.	II	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	5
Minecraft:Fire Aspect	Ignites any targets hit by the spear. Template:IN, it also ignites unlit Minecraft:candles, Minecraft:campfires, and Minecraft:TNT when used.	II	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	2
Minecraft:Lunge	Launches the player horizontally when using a jab attack. Consumes Minecraft:saturation and Minecraft:hunger at amount depending on the level of the enchantment, as well as 1 Minecraft:durability.	III	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	5
Minecraft:Unbreaking	Grants a chance to negate durability consumption.	III	Template:BlockLink Template:BlockLink	5
Minecraft:Mending	Repairs the spear when obtaining Minecraft:experience.	I	Template:BlockLink	2
Minecraft:Curse of Vanishing	The spear vanishes on death, not dropping as an item.	I	Template:BlockLink	1

Lunge

File:Lunge charge attack synergy.gif

Starting a charge attack immediately after doing a jab attack with a Lunge spear.

Template:Main Spears Minecraft:enchanted with Minecraft:Lunge propel the player forward when a jab attack is performed, at the cost of consuming Minecraft:saturation and Minecraft:hunger points at an amount dependent on the enchantment level, as well as consuming 1 durability. Saturation points are consumed first, and then hunger points are consumed after. Lunge does not trigger when the player has less than 6 hunger points, is riding a mount, is gliding with an elytra, or if the user is in water. Level I consumes 1 saturation/hunger points, level II takes 2 saturation/hunger points, and level III takes 3 saturation/hunger points.

By initiating a charge attack directly after a jab attack, the charge attack can be connected using the velocity gained with Lunge. There must be significant distance between the user and the target to give time for the charge attack's activation delay to fully finish after jabbing.

Sounds

Wooden spear

Template:JE: Template:SoundTable

Template:BE: Template:SoundTable

Other spears

Template:JE: Template:SoundTable

Template:BE: Template:SoundTable

Data values

ID

Template:Edition: Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table

Template:Edition: Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table Template:ID table

History

Trivia

• Prior to the spear's addition to the base game, similar spears appeared in Minecraft Dungeons, A Minecraft Movie, and the add-on for A Minecraft Movie. The latter depicted it being thrown like a Minecraft:trident, which was a common suggestion for their implementation.
• Knockback from the spear can be dealt to some non-living entities that other weapons can't normally deal to, such as Minecraft:primed TNT, Minecraft:boats, and Minecraft:minecarts.Template:Check the code

Gallery

Mojang images

• An image of the iron spear item on a Minecraft:lodestone
  An image of the iron spear item on a Minecraft:lodestone
• An iron spear being used as a marshmallow on a stick
  An iron spear being used as a marshmallow on a stick
• Minecraft:Ari using a diamond spear for a charge attack
  Minecraft:Ari using a diamond spear for a charge attack
• A side profile of the charge attack
  A side profile of the charge attack
• Minecraft:Sunny doing a jab attack with a diamond spear
  Minecraft:Sunny doing a jab attack with a diamond spear
• Minecraft:Alex, Minecraft:Sunny, and Minecraft:Zuri wielding spears
  Minecraft:Alex, Minecraft:Sunny, and Minecraft:Zuri wielding spears
• Minecraft:Noor on horseback with a golden spear, fighting a Minecraft:zoglin
  Minecraft:Noor on horseback with a golden spear, fighting a Minecraft:zoglin

Videos

• What the charge attack for the spear looks like
  What the charge attack for the spear looks like

In other media

• A spear in Minecraft:SoulSteel
  A spear in Minecraft:SoulSteel
• A spear in Template:MCD
  A spear in Template:MCD
• An iron spear from Minecraft:A Minecraft Movie: Add-on
  An iron spear from Minecraft:A Minecraft Movie: Add-on
• A piglin wielding a spear in Template:AMCM
  A piglin wielding a spear in Template:AMCM

See also

• Template:ItemLink