How to Deal With Phantoms in Minecraft

Phantoms in Minecraft are hostile mobs that come out at night in the overworld. They can only spawn under certain conditions and only target players. They drop phantom membranes when slain which are used to repair elytra and brew potions of Slow Falling. Here is how to deal with Phantoms in Minecraft

Where do Phantoms spawn in Minecraft

Phantoms only spawn at night in Minecraft when the player has not laid in a bed or not died for three or more in-game days. Phantoms attempt to spawn every 1–2 minutes if the insomnia conditions are met and only at night or during a thunderstorm. 

How to deal with Phantoms in Minecraft

When idle a Phantom will fly around in a circular pattern leaving a trail of gray smoke. They are some of the fastest moving mobs in Minecraft, moving at 20 blocks a second. They will swoop down to attack the player once every 10-20 seconds‌.

Phantoms can also move through water at normal speed (in Java edition) but will drown in 20 seconds in the Bedrock edition. 

One of the best ways to deal with a Phantom is to not let it spawn. So try to sleep in a bed once every three days. If you want to go AFK and farm fish, you can simply cover the AFK semi-solid or fully solid block to stop access to the sky. You can also prevent phantoms from spawning by having an AFK spot below sea level. Phantoms also stay at least 16 blocks away from cats, so bring a cat along if you’re going to AFK farm. Phantoms burn in the sunlight like other undead mobs such as skeletons and zombies, so seek cover and wait out till the morning if you don’t want to take them head on.

You can also simply slay a Phantom with a sword, especially one with a Smite sword enchantment that will do extra damage. Once slain a Phantom will drop 0–1 phantom membrane when killed by a player or tamed wolf and 5 experience orbs.