How Do You Get Gunpowder in Minecraft? A Quick Guide

Gunpowder is valuable in Minecraft—most players use it to craft TNT, although it can be used for splash potions and fireworks as well. Hunting creepers is the easiest way to find gunpowder, but you have options. Other methods, like killing witches, may be harder but give you a chance to collect more valuable loot, too.

Getting Gunpowder in Minecraft: Quick Tips

Kill Creepers before they explode to get 0-2 gunpowder.
Kill Witches for a chance to get gunpowder when they die.
Kill Ghasts to get 0-2 gunpowder.
Loot gunpowder from chests in dungeons.
If a wandering trader has gunpowder in stock, you can trade for it for an emerald.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Killing Creepers

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1
Understand how to get gunpowder from creepers. Each creeper drops 0, 1, or 2 units of gunpowder, but only if you kill it before it explodes.^{[1]
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- The steps below are organized by the tools they require. Methods lower down are faster and easier but require more advanced items.
2
Place cactus in the creeper's path. One way to kill a creeper without fancy tools is to place cactus blocks behind you as it chases you. The cactus will damage them when they brush past it.^{[2]
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Research source} This is much faster if you just let the cacti injure it enough to finish it with a single sword blow.
- Thirteen cacti hits and one iron sword blow will kill a creeper.
- Twelve cacti hits and one diamond sword blow will kill a creeper.
- One cactus will sometimes hit the Creeper more than once. The creeper makes a noise each time it gets hurt, so you can count these to keep track of cactus hits.
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3
Fight creepers underwater. Explosions cannot hurt you underwater.^{[3]
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Research source} Lure the creeper to water deep enough to submerge yourself completely. Staying underwater, kill it with a sword.
- Remember, you need to kill the Creeper before it explodes to get gunpowder. Being underwater is just a precaution, in case the Creeper explodes before you kill it.
4
Kill creepers in hand-to-hand combat. You can kill creepers without any fancy tactics. Needless to say, this is dangerous. Stash all your valuable items in a chest, and pick up an iron or diamond sword. Here's how to make a successful attack:^{[4]
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- Lure the creeper to open ground.
- Double-tap the forward key to start sprinting. (On Pocket Edition, this requires version 0.12.1+.)
- Strike the creeper with your sword while sprinting to knock it backwards. This should cancel its explosion countdown.
- Immediately retreat to get some distance between you.
- Repeat. The creeper will die after three hits with a regular iron or diamond sword.
Equip flint and steel. Get the creeper to chase you over grass, planks, or other flammable ground. Run backwards and light the ground in front of you on fire. The creeper will catch on fire, then slowly burn to death. This will not cause an explosion, so you can still pick up any gunpowder that drops.
6
Shoot creepers with a bow and arrow. This is one of the easiest ways to kill creepers, especially if you start on the higher ground. Here's how to get this weapon:
- Each skeleton killed has a small chance to drop a bow and/or 0 to 2 arrows.^{[5]
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- To make a bow instead, combine three sticks and three strings. You can get string by killing spiders or breaking cobwebs with a sword.
- To make your own arrows, combine one flint, one stick, and one feather. Flint is an uncommon drop from gravel. Feathers come from chickens.
7
Tame ocelot bodyguards. Ocelots are cat-like animals that spawn in jungles, available in all versions of Minecraft. (You may need to update Pocket Edition to 0.12.1.) Creepers will not come near ocelots, so hunting for gunpowder is much easier with these cats around. Here's how to tame them:^{[6]
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- Gather as much fish as you can, usually by fishing.
- Approach the ocelot, preferably in an open area. Sneaking is recommended. Hold the fish.
- Stay still and wait for the ocelot to look at you and approach.
- Feed the fish to the ocelot. To do this, use the left trigger or L2 button on console, or hold down the right mouse button on PC.
- Keep feeding fish until the ocelot turns into a cat. It will now follow you.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Killing Witches

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Witches have been in the PC edition since 1.4.2, and in the console edition since December 2014. They are not available in Minecraft Pocket Edition.
Each witch killed only gives about a 16% chance of dropping gunpowder, compared to a 66% chance when killing creepers.^{[7]
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Research source} However, the witch can drop up to six items and may drop other items like spider eyes or glowstone. This makes them more profitable if you're interested in these extra items.
You can find witches anywhere, but they're much more common around witch huts.^{[8]
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Research source} These wooden buildings on stilts only spawn in swamp biomes, which are watery areas filled with trees.
Dig a small pit in front of the hut's doorway. A short distance away, build a small hill or tower. Make sure you have a line of sight to fire bows from this high ground into the pit. Include a barrier to hide behind as well, since witches throw damaging potions.
5
Shoot the witch when it spawns. Bows and arrows are the easiest way to kill a witch. If you draw back the bow fully before firing, three arrows will do the trick.
- Witches can drink healing potions, so you may need to use additional arrows.
6
Kill the witch with a sword. Alternatively, you can just run up to the witch and kill it with a sword. Once you know how the witch's potions work, this isn't too difficult:^{[9]
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- The witch will slow you down if it sees you from more than eight blocks away. Ambush it from behind a tree or barrier to prevent this.
- The witch will poison you. Poison cannot kill you, but it can bring you to one health. Have a healing item ready to recover after the combat.
- Each subsequent potion will deal six damage. You should survive if you have decent armor and can kill the witch quickly.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Killing Ghasts

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Ghasts are extremely dangerous enemies that shoot fireballs from sixteen blocks away. They drop gunpowder at exactly the same rate as creepers. The main advantage is that they can also drop Ghast tears, a special item used in potion brewing.^{[10]
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Make or find a Nether portal. Ghasts can only be found in the Nether, so you'll need a Nether portal to get to them.
- It is possible to find a ruined portal in the Overworld, which is a partially-completed Nether portal.^{[11]
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- To make your own Nether portal, make a rectangle of obsidian (a minimum of 4 blocks by 5 blocks and a maximum of 23 blocks by 23 blocks) and light the middle on fire.
  - The four corners are not required to make a functioning Nether portal, so the minimum amount of obsidian needed is 10.^{[12]
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Craft armor and a bow. Entering the Nether is not recommended until you have diamond armor, plus a bow and arrows.
- Ideally, enchant your equipment to make it even better. Fire resistance will come in handy.
- A diamond sword is useful for killing other enemies in the Nether, but won't help much against flying, agile Ghasts.
Look for Ghasts in large, open spaces, anywhere in the Nether. They are giant, flying white monsters with short, dangling tentacles.
The Ghast fireballs are extremely powerful, but the Ghast will not fire through solid blocks. A glass barrier is a useful way to hide between shots while still keeping an eye on the Ghast.
6
Shoot them with your bow and arrow. A Ghast dies from about three arrows, depending on how far you draw back the bow. Move behind your barrier in between shots, or shoot while running to dodge the fireballs.
- Take care not to fight the Ghast above lava. If the gunpowder drops in lava, you will not be able to retrieve it.
The fireballs move pretty slowly. You can knock them off course with an arrow or sword. Knock them away from you, and try to hit them straight back at the ghast.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Looting Chests

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This method is not guaranteed to return gunpowder. Gunpowder is randomly available in chests, as one of many possible items. But you'll at least get something else for your efforts, even if there is no gunpowder!
Dungeons are small underground structures made from cobblestone or mossy stone. They only spawn within solid blocks, so mining may be a more effective way to find them than exploring caves.^{[13]
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Each dungeon has a monster spawner that sends out a steady supply of mobs. Fight your way to the spawner and place a torch on it to stop more monsters from showing up.
Alternatively, if you want to avoid the spawner, dig around the sides of the dungeon to reach the chests. Chests are usually located around the walls of the dungeon, allowing you quick access and a getaway if you come in from the sides.
This is the fastest way to collect the loot and chest. If there is gunpowder inside it, you have got what you came for!

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Trading

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Emeralds are needed to trade for items with villagers and wandering traders. Emeralds are rare, but you can get them by mining emerald ore with an iron or better pickaxe. You can also get them by converting a Block of Emerald into 9 emeralds, or by smelting an Emerald Ore or Deepslate Emerald Ore with any fuel. Villagers and traders will also trade emeralds for other items.^{[14]
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Find a wandering trader. Wandering traders have a 1/6 chance to sell gunpowder for an emerald. While this isn't the fastest way to get gunpowder, you can collect a few while you're exploring if you manage to find a wandering trader!^{[15]
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- Even if the wandering trader doesn't have gunpowder in stock, he still has a number of other great things to purchase. However, if you're saving up for gunpowder, you'll need to wait for the wandering trader to despawn and a new one to respawn to see new stock.

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I craft gunpowder?

Community Answer

Gunpowder is not able to be crafted. Sorry.

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Can I get gunpowder from trading with villagers? If I can, which villager should I trade with?

Vortrexion

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Currently, (as of version 1.13.1) it's impossible to get gunpowder by trading with villagers.

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Can I find gunpowder in village chests?

Wooduco

Community Answer

You can, but not always. The chests usually have random items.

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Even if you don't think you need gunpowder, you should still collect it when you can. You never know when it'll come in handy!
Gunpowder can also be obtained by trading with a wandering traitor, similar to normal villager trades
Look up video tutorials on how to make creeper farms, which is a hands-off way of farming gunpowder.

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