The world of Minecraft houses two main bosses that are considered the main progression checkpoints of the game. They unlock specific advancements for the player and inflict visible changes onto the world.
Despite being added earlier than the Ender Dragon, the Wither is the first main boss of Minecraft that shifts your world into phase 2. Defeating him drops several advancement opportunities, including the key to the nether star.
The easiest way to defeat the Wither is using the deep tunnel strategy. You must dig near the bedrock level and construct a customized room to trap the wither after spawning. The Wither will have restricted movements, therefore, making it easier to damage him.
There is more than digging tunnels in this strategy. You will have to meet certain prerequisites to pull this off, and with that said, let’s get started.
How To Spawn The Wither In Minecraft
You must collect sufficient Wither Skulls to summon the Wither in Minecraft successfully. With that said, these skulls can be acquired from Wither skeletons. They are relatively easy to kill and are found in the nether fortress.
However, they spawn in areas where the light intensity is close to 0 and are always in groups. Once you have gathered three wither skills, you can build the wither summoning platform.
Dimension Selection
Minecraft houses a total of three dimensions in-game. The wither is the easiest to defeat in Overworld. The reason because the environment and the general mobs in the End and the Nether are dangerous compared to Overworld.
You also get the option to choose between many terrains and battle sites. The loot collection can be difficult near the lava in the Nether, while the mobs alongside the Wither are stronger in the End. Regardless of your terrain, it will still be a difficult fight, so don’t hold back!
Armor Setup
Here is how you should equip yourself to have the highest chances of successfully defeating the wither:
| Slot | Item |
| Sword | Smite > Sharpness > Fire Aspect > Knockback > Bane of Arthropods / Looting |
| Bow | Power > Flame > Infinity > Unbreaking |
| Head | Protection > Blast Protection > Projectile Protection > Respiration / Aqua Affinity |
| Chestplate | Protection > Blast Protection > Projectile Protection |
| Legs | Protection > Blast Protection > Projectile Protection |
| Boots | Protection > Blast Protection > Projectile Protection > Feather Falling |
Source: Wiki
Deep Tunnel Strategy
Before summoning the wither, you need to have your underground base ready. To build a successful anti-wither base, you will need to do the following:
- Dig a horizontal 1×2 horizontal tunnel near the bedrock level. Make sure the length is longer than 30 blocks.
- Construct a small room at the very end of this tunnel. You will be spawning the Wither in this room, placing proper welcome mechanisms for it.
The main premise of this method is to walk backward as soon as the wither crunches its way toward you. You can continue jumping as much as you need to until you bring the Wither’s HP bar to the “armor” stage.
From there onwards, jump out of the tunnel and hit it with a diamond sword. You should be able to sustain its damage with the help of health potions.
How to Spawn the Wither
The spawning altar for the wither is its body itself. You can spawn it using 4 blocks of soul sand or soul soil, and three wither skulls arranged in the following configuration:
You can find the soul sand or soul soil in the Nether. It is located near the soul sand valleys and is easier to identify. Simply place the soul sand in a T shape configuration and place the wither skills on top of it.
With that said, make sure to place it in the center of your prepared underground room. The wither will spawn momentarily; therefore, be ready to engage.
Bomber Tunnel Strategy
This is a complicated variant of the Deep Tunnel strategy. You can fill the summoning area with TNT to prepare a welcoming ceremony for the wither. The main idea is to anticipate the boss’s exact movements and make the bombs explode as soon as it is within the explosion radius.
You must be extremely accurate to pull this off, as slight seconds of delay can miss the target completely. Be sure to place the TNTs in such a way that they are not compromising your escape route. Here is how it will look:
The chained explosions are an efficient way of damaging the Wither and restricting and slowing its movements. However, it can be difficult to know the exact ignition timings of the TNTs amidst all the chaos. You will need a lot of TNTs to pull this off, resulting in a much longer tunnel than initially expected.
Once the wither has transformed into the armored stage, you must inevitably engage with a sword. It is advised to use the bow and arrows for the initial phase.
Additional Preparations For Defeating the Wither
The Deep Tunnel strategy should be more than enough to defeat the Wither. However, extra caution is never bad. Therefore, try to get the best gear possible before summoning Wither. Regeneration is essential thus. Stocking up on health potions will pay your dividends.
Iron Golems work pretty well against the Wither if you have additional resources. Letting them handle the job while you eat popcorn on the sidelines is possible. If you have access to the End, then this task can also be assigned to the Endermen; they will do this free of charge.
All in all, you need to prepare yourself for a long and tough battle if you want to defeat the Wither. Generally, restricting its movements is the best strategy. However, the bedrock version does not support it.