Mob farms are structures built to quickly grind exp and mob drops easily in large numbers. Amongst them, Skeleton farms are amongst the most basic, as they yield valuable bows, bones and armors. If you are a new Minecraft player, learning to create a Skeleton Minecraft farm is crucial. Here's how to make a skeleton farm in Minecraft with and without using spawner.

Minecraft Spawner
Spawners in Minecraft are necessary to design a skeleton Minecraft farm.

1. How to make a skeleton farm with spawner

Firstly, players need to understand the mechanic behind Minecraft spawners. They usually follow the below rules:

  • A mob spawner will summon mobs as long as there is enough space for them to be generated.
  • Mobs are spawned within an 8x8x3 area, centered around the spawner's lower northwest corner.
  • The spawner will only spawn mobs if a player is within 16 blocks of it.
  • The light level within the spawning radius must be below 7 for mobs to spawn. However, light does not disable spawners as mobs can spawn in any dark place within range.

Steps to make a skeleton farm in Minecraft

Firstly, players need to find a skeleton spawner to make a skeleton farm. These blocks only spawn in dungeons - Zombie spawners will appear 50% of the time, while the other two have a 25% chance of appearing. Because of this, you might need to explore a bit to find a dungeon or two.

Once you have located a spawner, plant torches around it to prevent it from spawning mobs.

Build a 8x8x8 room around the spawner, with the spawner placed in the center of the box. Be careful not to hit the spawner as you can't pick it up. You can either support the spawner using blocks on top or bottom.

Minecraft Mob Farm
Water based skeleton farm in Minecraft

Put two buckets of water onto two corners of the room then dig away the part that is not covered by water to create a water slide.

Dig a tunnel at the bottom. This way, after spawning, the skeletons would be drawn toward the tunnel you dig.

building a skeleton farm
This farm is very easy to build - it takes less than 10 minutes.

At the end of the tunnel, place a hopper, a chest and cover the top of the entry with a slab. This way, the dropped down skeletons won't be able to see and shoot you.

hopper and chest
The flowing water will pull the skeletons down to a hole with a hopper.

Remove the torches from the spawner so that the skeletons can begin to spawn.

final result
The final result for a simple skeleton Minecraft farm.

Though many people believe there's a way of how to breed skeleton in Minecraft, it is not possible. Outside of random spawns, using spawner is the only way you can farm skeletons in this game.

2. How to make a skeleton farm without spawner

Creating a mob farm without a spawner is actually pretty easy. Instead of mining an area around the spawner, players need to make a dark chamber that is 30 blocks around them. Mobs will naturally spawn in that area.

Then, make a ramp with flowing water and a hole so that they gather up on the same spot for you to kill.

a skeleton in Minecraft
Where to find skeletons in Minecraft? They spawn naturally in dark areas similar to other mobs.

However, Minecraft mobs spawn randomly and it is not really possible to create a skeleton-only farm without a spawner. Other creatures like zombies, spiders and creepers will also spawn, which can ruin your build, making the grind very inefficient. Furthermore, the spawn rate is also pretty slow, which bogs down your grind even further.

In general, it is best to just try to locate the nearest dungeon for a skeleton spawner. Overall, spawners are the best answer when it comes to how to make a skeleton farm in Minecraft.

3. How to make a wither skeleton farm

Wither Skeleton is a variant of the skeleton that spawns in the Nether. Their drops are crucial in spawning the Wither, which yield important material for crafting beacons, one of the best late-game items. Below is a step by step guide on creating a wither skeleton farm:

  • Create a platform on a cliff. Set up the foundation by building an 11x11 square out of Netherrack in a Nether Fortress. In the very center of the platform, add one additional block at the very center.
  • Wear gold armor and lure a Piglin to the center of the platform. Box them in with a block then replace it with two layers of trapdoor. Wither skeleton attacks Piglins, and you need to make use of this mechanic.
Minecraft Wither Skeleton Farm Up Close
Trap the piglin with trapdoors.
  • Afterward, create a 3x3 hole in the center, with three additional blocks removed on each side. The result would look like a "+" sign.
  • Place a single fence in each corner to prevent the Wither skeletons from getting stuck.
  • Finally, create a 5x5 area of firepits that line up with the above opening. Place chests and hoppers on the side of the pit to gather items.
  • The final step is to cover each netherrack block above with a wither rose. This would remove the excess spawn and ensure all mobs spawned would be Wither Skeletons. Without it, eventually, the platform would become full and nothing would spawn.
Minecraft Wither Skeleton Collection Area
Fire pits underneath with hoppers that push the drop into the chests.

This is the end of our guide on how to make a skeleton farm in Minecraft. Interested in more of our articles related to Minecraft? Please check out this post for a Complete Guide On How To Install And Use Minecraft Optifine Mod.