It's been over 10 years since the original release of Minecraft, the ground-breaking sandbox title from Mojang Studios. The game has grown steadily over that time, with new biomes, mobs, and items for Minecraft's millions of players to discover.

One of the hardest items to acquire in large quantities is Gunpowder, which is an ingredient in a number of explosive recipes. Players who are trying to farm large amounts of Gunpowder will have to put in the effort, which in turn requires a lot of high-end Minecraft equipment and items.

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How to Get Gunpowder in Minecraft

minecraft trader

There are only three ways to get Gunpowder in Minecraft, either through Wandering Traders, Chests, or looting Mobs. Three of Minecraft's Mobs have a chance to drop Gunpowder when defeated, though none of them are guaranteed:

  • Creepers: 0-2 Gunpowder on death
  • Ghasts: 0-2 Gunpowder on death
  • Witches: 0-6 Gunpowder on death

The Looting enchantment for swords will increase these drops significantly, up to a maximum of 5 for Creepers and Ghasts, and 15 for Witches. Creepers will spawn in the dark all across the Minecraft map, while Ghasts can only be found in the Nether, and Witches are most commonly spawn in swamp huts.

Apart from Mob drops, Wandering Traders also have a 1 in 6 chance to sell Gunpowder for Emeralds. These Traders can be found anywhere on the overworld, and spawn near players or a claimed Bell in a Village. Finally, Chests in Dungeons, Desert Temples, Shipwrecks, and Woodland Mansions all have a good chance of containing 1-8 Gunpowder.

How to Farm Gunpowder in Minecraft

minecraft creepers origins

Like all Mob drops, Gunpowder is one of the more difficult items to farm in Minecraft, but it is possible. The only real way to farm Gunpowder is to build a Minecraft Mob farm capable of automatically killing and looting Creepers. This is generally done by creating a sealed-off room where Mobs can be spawned, combined with a deathtrap composed of water and lava. The drops can then fall into Hoppers, which will collect them into Chests to prevent despawning.

There are many uses for Gunpowder in Minecraft's crafting system, including Fire Charges, Fireworks, and TNT. Probably the most common use of Gunpowder is as a Brewing ingredient. Adding Gunpowder to any kind of Potion in the Brewing Stand will turn it into a Splash Potion. This means it can be thrown, applying its effects to anything in the splash zone when it lands, which is particularly helpful with negative effects like Harm Potions.

Minecraft is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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