The Slime is one of the Minecraft mobs that initially appears hostile, but upon killing it you will find useful items for many sought-after crafting recipes in the survival game. We’ve got all you need to know on how to find and kill Slimes in Minecraft, as well as the items they drop, Slimeball crafting recipes, and more.

How to find Slimes in Minecraft

Slimes spawn in the overworld only, in specific slime chunks. These are all below layer 40, and you can show your Minecraft coordinates to see how close you are. Unlike most mobs, it doesn’t matter what light level the environment is at for them to spawn. They can also spawn in swamp biomes between layers 51 and 69 if the light level is seven or less. Slimes spawn regardless of weather conditions. In swamps and mangrove swamps, slimes spawn most often on a full moon, but never on a new moon. Slimes will never spawn in mushroom fields or deep dark biomes.

Slimes do not spawn within 24 blocks of any player, and they despawn over time if no player is within 32 blocks. They despawn instantly if no player is within 128 blocks in Java edition, or 44 to 128 blocks in Bedrock depending on the simulation distance setting.

A Slime needs a 3×2.1×3 space to spawn. It must be clear of obstructions. When a slime attempts to spawn, the game will check for the space requirement, and the size of the generated slime is determined after. Since large slimes are taller than two blocks, no slimes are able to spawn in areas two blocks or lower in height. Large slimes are wider than two blocks, and mobs spawn at the center of a block, so having any obstruction within the area will prevent slimes from spawning, even something as thin as a glass pane.

The size of the generated Slime depends on the difficulty. Chances range from 33% for each size at low difficulty, through to 16% small, 33% medium, and 50% large at higher difficulty.

How to beat Slimes

Slimes split into smaller versions of themselves when killed, up to four times. So, make sure to use a strong weapon with fast attack such as a sword, and be aware that Slimes will split and hop around you. They hop every 0.5-to-1.5 seconds, and can swim, climb ladders, and climb scaffolding, meaning they’re difficult to escape from. The best tactic is to swing wildly and ensure all split Slimes are dealt with.

Slimes do not pathfind towards players, unlike most mobs, so they will always approach in a straight line without avoiding environmental hazards such as lava, cacti, or large drops. This means they can easily become stuck in corners or behind walls and don’t know how to navigate around them–similar to Magma Cubes. Use lava or cacti to your advantage to quickly deal with Slimes.

A slime’s maximum health is equal to its size squared. When they attack, they also deal damage equal to their size, apart from small Slimes which do no damage. A Slime can jump varying distances depending on its size. While Slimes can swim, they attempt to reach the surface, and if they can’t they will drown and split into smaller Slimes that eventually also drown and drop Slimeballs.

Slime drops and rewards

When killing a small Slime, it drops 0-2 Slimeballs unless it’s killed by a frog. This can be increased by one per level of looting for a maximum of five Slimeballs. When killed by a frog, it will always drop one Slimeball only.

Slimes also drop experience points equal to their size–four for large Slimes, two for medium Slimes, and one for small Slimes. Slimes split into two-to-four smaller Slimes when killed, so the maximum available experience to be gained from killing one large Slime is 28.

What to use Slimeballs for

Slimeballs are dropped when Slimes die, but can also be sneezed out by baby pandas rarely–a one in 700 chance. You can craft Slimeballs by placing one Slime Block into the center of a crafting table. Occasionally, the Wandering Trader will sell a Slimeball for four emeralds.

Slimeballs can be crafted into a Slime block by placing nine in a crafting table. They can be combined with Blaze Powder to create Magma Cream. They can also be combined with a Piston to create a Sticky Piston.

Slimeballs can also be used to breed frogs and reduce the remaning growth duration of tadpoles by 10%.

Now that you’re clued up on all things slimy, check out our Minecraft guides hub for more helpful tips and tricks.