XP farms in Minecraft: Everything you need to know

XP farms are the best way for players to gain levels quickly and efficiently in Minecraft. They can be precious when in need of great enchantments. The higher a player’s XP level is, the better enchantments they can get.

There are many ways to collect XP in Minecraft, meaning XP farms can be done in a ton of different ways. The following is a basic guide to XP farms for those new to the game.

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Everything players should know about XP farms in Minecraft

Mobs

Huge bosses like the Ender Dragon and the Wither give the most XP (Image via Minecraft)

Mob farms are perhaps the best and most common type of farms to create in Minecraft when in need of lots of XP. When mobs are killed, players receive XP points that come in tiny green and yellow orbs.

However, some mobs give more XP than others. Huge bosses like the Ender Dragon and the Wither give gamers the most XP by far. However, because these are boss mobs, they cannot be farmed.

Other hostile mobs like endermen or nether magma cubes give lots of XP, but they are not the easiest to farm.

Although typically, the more hostile mobs drop the most XP, it’s best to stick to safer hostile mobs like skeletons or creepers when creating farms. These basic overworld mobs tend to be the most effective when farming for XP.

Even non-hostile mobs like cows are great for XP farming in addition to food farming. For example, when players kill a cow, they collect at least one piece of raw beef and some XP points.

Then, they can then cook that raw beef in a furnace or smoker, and putting the cooked steak into the inventory will help users collect even more XP levels. Plus, breeding animals gives them some XP as well.

Spawner vs no spawner

Despite the convenience, using a spawner is not the only way to collect XP efficiently (Image via Minecraft)

An easy way to farm XP in Minecraft is with a mob spawner like the ones found in underground dungeons. It is only easy, of course, once a spawner has first been located.

However, since spawners will supply a nearly endless amount of a specific mob, players will never run out of XP to collect.

Here is a more detailed explanation of farming XP using spawners.

Despite the convenience, using a spawner is not the only way to collect XP efficiently, especially when using hostile mobs. There are many different ways to create hostile mob farms by building an environment in which these mobs will naturally spawn.

Since hostile mobs in the overworld spawn at night or wherever there is little to no light source, players can use this game rule to their advantage. They can create mob farms by building a dark enclosed area for the creatures to spawn, leading to a secure, accessible space for gamers to kill them and collect their XP and item drops.

Automatic vs manual

Automatic farms can provide endless supplies of materials without any action (Image via Reddit)

No matter what kind of Minecraft farm a player is dealing with, there are usually two different kinds that it could be: automatic or manual.

Manual farms involve players doing the hard work themselves, whether killing mobs or doing other tasks. While these are essential methods of XP farming, more advanced Minecraft players often seek quicker and more effective ways to collect XP with little to no effort involved.

Automatic farms can provide them with endless supplies of materials without any action from players, save for the build required to set them up. Such farms are sometimes called AFK farms because users can walk away from their Minecraft device and still reap the benefits of these farms.

These automatic farms are sometimes challenging to make, so here is a more in-depth guide into the building process.

This video by Rediscover Redstone might also assist those who want to create a redstone XP farm:

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Other ways to farm XP

A contraption to obtain XP in Minecraft (Image via Reddit)

XP farms are not exclusive to mobs by any means. There are plenty of other methods of collecting XP in addition to mobs.

Gamers can utilize crop farms instead of farming plants like cactus or bamboo, which give excessive amounts of XP.

Ores also provide options for obtaining XP in Minecraft. Players receive some XP points when ores are mined, then again when they are smelted in furnaces. This is a manual method that is not technically a farm, but there are ways to farm ores in Minecraft through redstone contraptions.

Gamers can also collect XP by trading with villagers, who can be farmed by collecting every single kind of villager profession in the game. They can be stationed within a village or be transferred to a different farm location of the player's choosing.

Either way, having as many different kinds of villagers on hand will help gain XP and capture some valuable items.

Finally, a great way to collect a steady amount of XP is through fishing. Players can take the time to fish manually, but there are some simple automatic fishing farm designs out there that can be quite effective.