There is nothing quite as thrilling, or perhaps quite as scary, as stumbling upon a Spawner room while exploring a new cave.
Being swarmed by a bunch of hostile Mobs in a tight space may not be the most ideal situation, but there’s certainly some use there. If only we could take the Spawner outside of the caves and use it somewhere safer.
If you ever looked up blueprints for Minecraft XP farms, you were bound to find ones that involve Spawners. The problem is how to get the Spawner.
What is a Spawner?
A Spawner is a block that naturally generates inside special rooms, known as dungeons, inside Caves. They are cage looking, solid blocks.
The rooms are made out of Cobblestone and Mossy Cobblestone blocks, usually with one or two openings. Inside it you can find a single Spawner and multiple Chests with Loot inside.
Spawners rapidly spawn their assigned Mob. Most commonly those would be:
- Spiders
- Cave Spiders
- Skeletons
- Zombies
The Spawner or Monster Spawner can be disabled by simply surrounding it with any blocks or Items. The easiest is to use Torches on every accessible side of the Spawner.
The Spawner can also be broken, however it won’t drop itself and it cannot be picked up.
Even if you are in Creative Mode you cannot pick the block and use it, and it doesn’t appear in Java’s Creative Inventory.
This is what makes obtaining one a bit tricky.
Obtaining a Monster Spawner
The Monster Spawner differs between Minecraft versions. In Java Edition there is no practical way to obtain a Monster Spawner without commands.
In Bedrock Edition it can be obtained in Creative Mode, but it won’t immediately be spawning hostile Mobs.
Obtaining a Spawner in Java Edition
In Java Edition, the Monster Spawner is one of the few blocks that cannot be found in Creative Mode’s Inventory, even if you type the name.
It also cannot be picked up clicking on it.
The only way to get a Spawner in Java Edition is through the /give command:
/give {username} minecraft:spawner
This command will grant you an empty Spawner in a free slot inside your Inventory or your hand.
At first, the Spawner will only be able to spawn one thing: Pigs. You will have to use another /give command to give yourself a Spawn Egg of the Mobs you wish to be spawning with your Spawner.
If it’s easier, you can change into Creative Mode once you have obtained your Spawner, however, and get the Spawn Egg that way.
So, if you want to use your Spawner for Spiders, you will have to give yourself a Spider Spawn Egg and use it on the Spawner.
The same can be done for any other Mob in the game.
Obtaining a Spawner in Bedrock Edition
Bedrock Edition makes obtaining a Spawner a bit more easier. Commands can be used, but aren’t an absolute necessity.
The Monster Spawner (its official name in Bedrock Edition) can be found in Creative Mode’s Inventory when you type it in the search bar or under the Nature tab.
By default this Monster Spawner spawns Pigs too and you can tell so from the Pig head that floats inside it. If you wish to change this you will have to use a Spawn Egg just like in Java Edition.
This makes placing Spawners and using them much easier.
Using Spawners
Spawners can be scary when encountered on hostile terrain, because naturally generated ones always spawn Hostile Mobs.
But that isn’t all that bad. Different Mobs have different rewards or Loot.
Because you can use a Spawner to continuously spawn pretty much any Mob you want or need, a Spawner is the perfect Block you need when building a Mob farm.
This makes building one almost infinately easier than struggling to meet the usual Mob spawning conditions.
