Slime in Minecraft: Slime Chunks, Swamps and Slimeballs
Slimes spawn in swamps at night and in slime chunks below Y 40, and only small ones drop slimeballs. How splitting works, and Java vs Bedrock chunks.
Slimes are bouncing green cubes that spawn in swamps at night and deep underground in special “slime chunks”. Kill a big one and it splits into medium slimes, which split into small ones, and only the small ones drop slimeballs. Slimeballs make sticky pistons, leads and slime blocks, so most players eventually go looking for them.
| Size | Health | Damage (Easy / Normal / Hard) | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big | 16 HP | 3 / 4 / 6 | 4 |
| Medium | 4 HP | 2 / 2 / 3 | 2 |
| Small | 1 HP | none | 1 |
Where slimes spawn: swamps and slime chunks
Swamps. Swamps and mangrove swamps spawn slimes between Y 51 and Y 69, at light level 7 or less. The moon matters: full moons are best, fewer spawn as the moon shrinks, and none spawn during a new moon. This is the easy early source, since you can see them hopping across the surface.
Slime chunks. About one in ten chunks is a slime chunk. Below Y 40 in those chunks, slimes spawn at any light level and in almost any biome. On Java, which chunks qualify depends on the world seed. On Bedrock, slime chunks are fixed coordinates shared by every world, so Bedrock players can look them up without knowing a seed.
If you’re digging a mine and a slime drops in out of nowhere, you’re in a slime chunk. Mark it.
Superflat worlds spawn far fewer slimes than you’d expect from older guides, and Bedrock stopped them spawning at ground level on flat worlds.
Fighting slimes
Big slimes are slow and do moderate damage. The trouble is the split: one big slime becomes two to four medium ones, and each of those becomes two to four smalls. In a narrow tunnel that’s a lot of bouncing. Small slimes do no damage at all, so finish the medium ones first and clean up the smalls at your leisure.
They don’t drown, so water channels are the usual way to move them in farms.
Slimeballs
Each small slime drops 0-2 slimeballs, more with Looting. A big slime averages around nine slimeballs once you’ve killed everything it splits into. Uses:
- Sticky pistons for doors and flying machines.
- Slime blocks (nine slimeballs) for bounce pads and piston contraptions.
- Leads, for moving animals.
- Magma cream, crafted with blaze powder.
Other sources
A frog that eats a small slime always drops one slimeball. Baby pandas occasionally sneeze them out. The Oozing effect from 1.21 spawns two medium slimes when an affected mob dies, which some farms use. For volume, though, nothing beats a slime farm built over a slime chunk.
Edition differences
- Java spawns slime chunk slimes in groups of four; Bedrock spawns them one at a time.
- Bedrock slimes damage snow golems; Java slimes don’t.
- Bedrock slime chunks are identical across all worlds.
The Nether version is the magma cube. Find more on the mobs hub.
Common questions
How do you find a slime chunk?
On Java, slime chunks depend on the world seed, so use a seed-based slime chunk finder or dig out an area below Y 40 and watch where slimes spawn. On Bedrock, slime chunks sit at the same coordinates in every world.
Which slimes drop slimeballs?
Only the smallest size. Big and medium slimes split into smaller ones instead of dropping items.
Do slimes spawn on full moons?
Swamp slimes do, and full moons are the best night for them. They never spawn in swamps during a new moon. Slime chunk spawns ignore the moon.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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