How to Survive the First Night
The sun sets ten minutes in and the dark fills with zombies, skeletons and creepers. You do not need to fight any of them. Punch some wood, throw up a dirt box, drop one torch and a bed, and sleep through to a safe dawn.
Hostile mobs in the overworld spawn at block light level 7 or below. That single rule wins the whole night: a sealed box plus one torch reads above light 7 everywhere inside, so nothing ever spawns next to you. Skip the sword, win with a torch and a wall, then sleep the night away in a bed that also locks your respawn point.
What actually turns up on night one, and what it can do
Night one is not the whole mob list, it is four or five of them, and none of them is especially strong. The useful reading is the follow range: a zombie tracks you from 35 blocks and a skeleton from 16, so the difference between a safe hole and a dangerous one is often just how far you dug from open ground.
| Mob | Health | Hit damage | Movement speed | Follow range | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zombie | 20 | 3 | 0.23 | 35 | 5 |
| Skeleton | 20 | 2 | 0.25 | 16 | 5 |
| Spider | 16 | 2 | 0.3 | 16 | 5 |
| Creeper | 20 | 2 | 0.25 | 16 | 5 |
Quick answers
+What is the fastest first-night shelter?
+At what light level do mobs spawn?
+Do I need a bed on the first night?
+Why won't my bed let me sleep?
+How much damage do first-night mobs do?
+Should I dig down or build up?
+What is the most dangerous mob on the first night?
+How far away do first night mobs notice me?
Blocks and items in this guide
Totem Of Undying
Water Bucket
Cobblestone
Slime Block
Charcoal
Feather
Bucket
PotionAll 8 of these are named in the guide above, starting with Totem Of Undying. Look them up in the item database.