How to Build Automatic XP Farms in Minecraft
How to Build Automatic XP Farms in Minecraft
Experience points (XP) are essential for enchanting, repairing, and renaming items in Minecraft. While you can earn XP from ordinary gameplay, automatic farms dramatically increase efficiency, safety, and convenience—especially for high-volume enchanting or repairing Mending gear. This guide covers the most effective and proven XP farm designs, from beginner-friendly to advanced late-game solutions, with expert tips to maximize yields and minimize effort.
Mob Spawner XP Farms
Mob spawner farms are a reliable early- to mid-game XP source. They center on exploiting naturally generated spawner blocks—most commonly found as zombie, skeleton, or spider spawners in dungeons.
Key Steps:
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Locate and Secure the Spawner:
Spawners appear in dungeons, mineshafts, and rarely as blaze spawners in Nether fortresses. Prioritize safety: immediately place torches directly on and around the spawner to prevent hostile mobs from spawning while you build. -
Optimize the Spawn Chamber:
Excavate a 9x9x9 area centered on the spawner. This maximizes spawn rates, as spawners check within this cube for eligible spawn locations and mob cap. Remove all obstructions, then temporarily keep the chamber lit. -
Transport and Damage Mechanism:
The goal is to move spawned mobs away rapidly, so the spawner can continue spawning.- Water Streams: Use water source blocks along one wall to funnel mobs into a central trench. Open fence gates or signs guide mobs and block water.
- Drop Chute: Mobs are directed into a vertical shaft. For zombies and skeletons, a 22-block drop leaves them at half a heart. Testing is vital—adjust drop height to avoid accidental deaths or inefficient multi-hits.
- Special Mobs: Spiders require separate handling due to wall-climbing and wider hitboxes; consider trapdoor barriers or suffocation chambers.
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Safe Collection/Killing Area:
At the chute’s base, mobs accumulate on a block above a hopper. Use a half-slab or trapdoor to create a 1-block-high gap—letting you strike safely. Always light up the kill room to prevent accidental spawns.
Pro tip: Use a sword with Sweeping Edge (Java), Looting III, and Mending for optimal XP and loot. Place a Sculk Catalyst nearby for XP-to-Sculk conversion if desired.
Technical Notes:
Spawner farms are capped by spawner mechanics: mobs spawn if a player is within 16 blocks, and a local cap of 6 mobs applies. For maximum efficiency, stay close and periodically clear out mobs. Double or triple spawners within proximity can be merged for higher output.
Enderman XP Farm
Enderman farms are the pinnacle of XP generation, offering the fastest rates in the game. Building one requires End access and some late-game resources.
Core Method:
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Reach the End Outer Islands:
Defeat the Ender Dragon, access the End Gateway, and bridge at least 128 blocks from the main island to eliminate competing spawn spaces. -
Construct the Spawn Platform:
Build a 32x32 (or larger) solid platform over the void using End Stone or Cobblestone. Surround with non-spawnable blocks (slabs, leaves) to prevent stray spawns and teleportation escapes. -
Funnel Endermen to a Drop:
Use trapdoors to trick Endermen into falling into a central pit, then direct them to a drop chute. Water is ineffective (Endermen teleport away); use creative block arrangements or pistons if necessary. -
Endermite Bait:
Spawn an Endermite using Ender Pearls, name it with a Name Tag, and trap it in a minecart above the kill chamber. Endermen will pathfind aggressively toward the Endermite. -
Killing Chamber and Collection:
After a 43-block (or adjustable) fall, Endermen are a one-hit kill. Build a 2-block-high shelter for safe killing. Use hoppers for automated Ender Pearl collection and a sword with Looting, Mending, and Sweeping Edge for best results.
Advanced Tips:
- Place a roof 44 blocks above the platform to prevent Endermen teleportation on top.
- On servers, limit entity cramming or use Redstone to pace killing and reduce lag.
Guardian Farm
Guardian farms are end-game projects that rival Enderman farms for XP, while producing valuable Prismarine resources.
Expert Workflow:
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Locate and Prepare an Ocean Monument:
Use explorer maps or online tools to find a monument. Gear up with Respiration, Aqua Affinity, and water-breathing potions. Defeat all three Elder Guardians to remove Mining Fatigue. -
Drain and Demolish the Structure:
Use sand/gravel walls, sponges, or flying machines to remove water from the monument’s footprint. Sponges (dried and reused) are most efficient for interiors. -
Build Custom Spawn Tanks:
Guardians spawn only in water source blocks within the monument bounding box. Clear internal structures to maximize open water, then use water currents, bubble columns, or lava streams to channel guardians toward a central kill zone. -
Killing Mechanism:
- Java: Portal-based farms move guardians to the Nether for processing, massively reducing lag and increasing rates.
- Bedrock: Trident killers (piston-driven mechanisms) allow for AFK XP and loot if the player holds a Looting sword nearby.
- Other: Fall damage, lava blades, or magma blocks can be used, but only player-attributed kills grant XP.
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Item Sorting and Storage:
Use hopper minecart arrays and water streams to handle massive item output. Include item sorters for Prismarine, fish, and crystals.
Design Considerations:
- Guardian farms require significant resource and time investment, especially for draining.
- Farms are most efficient when the only valid spawn spaces are inside your custom tanks.
Furnace XP Bank (Java Edition Only)
Java Edition furnaces store XP from each smelted item until you manually remove an item from the output slot, enabling massive XP "banking."
How to Exploit:
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Set Up Multiple Furnaces:
Scale up with super smelter arrays for higher throughput—blast furnaces for ores, smokers for food, and regular furnaces for everything else. -
Automate Inputs:
- Fuel: Use renewable sources like dried kelp blocks, bamboo, or blaze rods.
- Items: Farm cactus, kelp, potatoes, or stone for bulk smelting.
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Manual XP Withdrawal:
Never use hoppers to pull from the output slot. Manually remove a single item from each furnace to receive all stored XP at once. -
Redstone Optimization:
Lock hoppers under furnaces with Redstone; unlock briefly to pull one item from each for rapid XP collection.
Note: This mechanic is Java-exclusive. In Bedrock, XP is granted immediately upon smelting completion.
Cactus/Bamboo XP Farm (Furnace-Based)
These farms combine renewable resource automation with smelting-based XP gain, ideal for long-term, hands-off XP accumulation.
Key Steps:
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Automate Farm Production:
- Cactus: Grows on sand, breaks automatically via adjacent blocks, and is collected with hoppers or water streams.
- Bamboo: Detected by observers, harvested by pistons, and collected below.
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Integrate with Furnace Arrays:
Route cactus into furnace inputs, and bamboo into fuel slots. Super smelters (using hopper minecarts) distribute resources evenly. -
XP Collection:
- Java: Use manual withdrawal for XP banking.
- Bedrock: Stand nearby for passive XP as items smelt, or use Sculk Catalysts for XP-to-Sculk conversion.
Scaling and Efficiency:
- Farms are infinitely stackable; more modules mean more XP over time.
- Super smelters maximize throughput, but remember the XP per item is low—volume is key.
Expert Recommendations
- Farm Placement: For all mob-based farms, ensure no other valid spawn spaces exist nearby. Despawning mechanics and mob caps are critical to high performance.
- Chunk Loading: Farms only operate in loaded chunks. Build near your base or use chunk loaders for continuous operation.
- Redstone & Version Compatibility: Always verify designs against your current Minecraft version—mechanics may change between updates, especially for Redstone and mob AI.
- Testing: Prototype complex builds in Creative mode before committing resources in Survival.
By mastering these XP farm designs and understanding their underlying mechanics, you can ensure a limitless supply of experience for enchanting, repairing, and more—efficiently and safely, at any stage of your Minecraft world.