Combat · Mobs · Night Survival
How to Beat a Phantom
Go three nights without sleep and phantoms start swooping out of the dark. Dodge the dive, drop their 20 HP with a bow, and end it for good by sleeping.
Dodge the swoop, then sleep
- 1Watch for the swoopPhantoms circle overhead, then dive in a steep arc to hit you for up to 6 damage before peeling off for another pass.
- 2Strafe the diveSidestep as it commits to the dive; the swoop is committed and easy to dodge once you read the angle, then it climbs and re-circles.
- 3Shoot it downEach phantom has only 20 HP, so a couple of bow shots or two clean sword hits on the pass kills it. Loose your arrow as it dives at you.
- 4Stand under coverA roof, a tree, or a cat nearby stops the swoop. Cats scare phantoms off, and they cannot dive through a solid block above you.
- 5Sleep to end itSleep in a bed to clear the insomnia. Three nights awake is what spawns them, so a good night's sleep stops phantoms entirely.
What you need
Bow with arrows
A bed to sleep in
Membranes they drop
A clock to track night
Quick answers
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How do you beat a phantom in Minecraft?
Read its swoop: phantoms circle then dive at you. Strafe sideways to dodge the dive, then shoot it with a bow or hit it with a sword as it passes. Each phantom has only 20 health, so two or three hits kill one. To stop them coming back, sleep in a bed.
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Why do phantoms spawn at night?
Phantoms spawn over players who have not slept for three in-game nights. The longer you go without sleep the more spawn. They only appear at night under the open sky, so sleeping resets the counter and they stop.
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How do you stop phantoms from spawning?
Sleep in a bed at least once every three nights. Sleeping resets the insomnia timer, so phantoms never reach the spawn threshold. If you cannot sleep, staying under a roof or near cats keeps you safe from the swoops.
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How much damage does a phantom do?
A phantom swoop deals up to 6 damage (3 hearts) on normal difficulty, more on hard. They strike from above in a dive, so a roof over your head or a block above you blocks the attack entirely.
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Do cats scare away phantoms?
Yes. Cats hiss at phantoms and make them keep their distance, so a tamed cat in your base is a strong passive deterrent. Phantoms avoid the area around a cat, which buys you time to shoot them or get to a bed.
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What do phantoms drop?
Phantoms drop phantom membrane, used to repair elytra and to brew Slow Falling potions. That makes farming a few phantoms worthwhile, but the simplest play is to sleep and avoid them unless you want the membranes.