There are lots of underwater mobs present in the vast seas of Minecraft. Some of these mobs are friendly while others are ready to lunge at you immediately. Therefore, controlling such mobs while building an underwater Minecraft base can get harder.
The Drowned mobs are common underwater variants of a Zombie that refuse to let you take a proper breather unless you get rid of them. They strike with their tridents and can prove deadly if not handled quickly.
You can stop Drowned from spawning by adding light sources underwater. These mobs will not spawn if the light level is greater than zero. However, this will not work at night since they can spawn at any light level under 63 as long as they are in the water.
There are a few strategies that can be implemented to halt or put an end to the automatic spawning of the Drowned mob.
Minecraft: Drowned
As mentioned, Drowned are underwater Zombie variants present in underwater oceans and rivers. Killing them will grant you copper, and they also have a certain chance of dropping tridents. Their health count isn’t that high, and they tend to attack with an element of surprise.
Stats of a Drowned
Drowned tend to deal variable health damage, making them a bit tricky to defeat. However, they will not attack you unless you touch the water during the daytime. It is generally unsafe to go underwater at night due to the numerous threats lurking close.
Health and Attack Strength
A Drowned has a total of 20 Health points which are equivalent to 10
- Melee:
- Easy: 2.5
× 1.25
- Normal: 3
- Hard: 4.5
× 2.25
- With trident in Easy: 6
- With trident in Normal: 11
× 5.5
- With trident in Hard: 16
× 8
- Easy: 2.5
- Ranged (with trident)[BE only]:
- Easy: 7
- Normal: 9
- Hard: 12
× 6
- Easy: 7
- Ranged (with trident)[JE only]:
- 8
- 8
Can a Zombie become Drowned?
Aside from naturally spawning, if a Zombie’s head is submerged in the water for at least 30 seconds, it will convert into a Drown. The process includes him shaking and transforming into a Drowned.
Converted Zombies have a similar drop rate as natural Drowned. Consequently, you can also transform a Husk into a Zombie and then into a Drowned. All of them will have similar values to a naturally spawned variant.
Should You Prevent Drowned From Spawning?
The Drowneds spawning near the villagers is a constant source of threat for them. Any village near a shore would have to face the daily fear of a zombie invasion. It would feel really bad to wake up just to find the entire village zombified.
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This can be stopped by placing awkward barriers and prevention mechanisms to stop the influx of these Drowneds. However, cutting the root cause seems to be a much easier solution.
Stopping Drowned from Spawning
Drowned are uninvited guests that should crawl back from where they belong. You can choose to add barricades to stop them from reaching your villages. However, it is not a long-term solution since a few mobs might still slip by.
With that said, here are a few spawn prevention mechanisms that are worth trying out:
Light the Water with Sea Pickles
You can fill the Drowned spawn area with lots of Sea Pickles. They can be found in colonies in the deep sea. Your ultimate goal is to raise the luminosity levels to a certain threshold. A well-lit sea/river will not generate any Drowned.
Make sure to cover as much surface as possible. If you run out of materials, then you can try substituting the following:
- Jack O’ Lanterns: Can be crafted with a Carved Pumpkin and a Torch. Provides a luminance of 15 and can be used as a light source underwater.
- Sea Lanterns: Are found underwater in ocean monuments and underwater ruins. It can be used as a light source with a luminance of 15.
- Glowstone: A light-emitting block found on ceilings in the Nether. It can be extracted using the Silk Touch. It also possesses a luminosity of 15.
- Torches Behind Glass: You can add torches behind glass blocks to protect them from water sources. Since glass is transparent, it will let the torch’s light pass through. However, it is only recommended as a last resort since torches have a luminosity of 14.
Add Defensive Mechanisms
The Drowned are addicted to turtle eggs. Therefore, you can divert their attention while successfully trapping them to land the finishing blow. These techniques can be useful since zombies can no longer swim.
They will be Drowned in water (pun intended), and light sources won’t be able to prevent this anomaly from occurring. Therefore, it is recommended to add certain traps and contraptions to reinforce the area. Here is how you can make an effective Drowned eliminator:
- All undead mobs are heavily attracted to Turtle Eggs; they want to stop them until they break. Therefore, use a Silk Touch enchanted pickaxe to gather some turtle eggs.
- Place these eggs in strategic positions and dig a 1-block-deep area around them. The main idea is to make the Drowned fall into the pit while reaching for the eggs.
- Pour lava into the pit to complete your trap. Drowned will automatically die from Lava damage leaving you with a secure base and possible drops.
All in all, you must keep those dangerous mobs away from your base and villages as much as possible. The last thing you want is a Drowned killing off your hard work. Therefore, it is recommended to spare no effort in fortifying the area against the Drowned.