Top 5 mobs to use crossbow against in Minecraft

In Minecraft, a player needs to be able to fend off various hostile mobs, and even other players. While there are powerful melee weapons to use, the ability to stay at range and defeat enemies is important. Crossbows allow players to stay safely out of harm's way and deal more damage than a bow does.

Crossbows are very powerful and versatile weapons, and they can be enchanted to further increase their power. Players can use the following enchantments on a crossbow to help defend against mobs:

• Unbreaking
• Mending
• Curse of Vanishing
• Piercing
• Multishot
• Quick Charge

In this article, we list the top five mobs that players should use a crossbow against.

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Ghasts, blazes and 3 more mobs that call for a crossbow in Minecraft

1) Skeletons

Skeletons can catch players off guard and attack from range (Image via Minecraft)

Skeletons are a common hostile mob that can spawn at light level 0. They attack players from range with a bow. The best way to approach these mobs is to give them a taste of their own medicine and attack them back at range, using the crossbow. Skeletons are not the hardiest of attacking mobs and will go down quite easily with a few well placed-shots from the crossbow.

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2) Strays

Strays, like skeletons, will shoot the player with arrows from afar but with slowing arrows (Image via Minecraft)

Similiar to their skeleton counterparts, strays are a special kind of skeleton mob that spawn in frozen, ice or snowy biomes. The difference between these mobs and regular skeletons — besides their appearance — is that they shoot arrows that inflict the player with a Slowness effect. Because of this, players will want to strike them at range in order to take them down before they can be inflict slowness.

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3) Ghasts

Ghasts can engage the player with strong fireball attacks and should be dealt with at range if possible (Image via Minecraft)

A ghast is a very large floating ghost that spawns in the Nether. Players will immediately recognize its presence based on the distinct sound it makes. It will also shoot at players with fireballs that can quickly deplete their health. To survive a ghast encounter, players should attack them at range using a crossbow while avoiding their deadly fireballs.

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4) Blazes

Blazes spawn at nether fortresses and will attack players from afar with fireballs (Image via Minecraft)

Players will eventually encounter blazes at a Nether fortress being spawned from a spawner. Blazes will attack players at range - those who are up to 48 blocks away from them, dealing damage with their deadly fireball attack. It is advised that players stand as far away as possible and try to break their line of sight while taking them out at range with a crossbow.

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5) The Ender Dragon

The Ender Dragon will only give players a brief chance to hit it with melee attacks, so ranged methods are encouraged (Image via Minecraft)

When venturing to The End, players will face the mighty Ender Dragon. Pausing only for a brief moment to be able to attack it with melee attacks, players have the best chance of dealing damage at range. Using a crossbow to attack the Ender Dragon is the best way to deal consistent damage to this dangerous foe.