Best Ways to Get XP in Minecraft

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The best way to get XP in Minecraft is an Enderman farm in the End: endermen award 5 XP each, and a working farm turns that into thousands of XP per hour once it is built. The catch is that it requires killing the Ender Dragon first, so before that milestone the most reliable options are a zombified piglin gold farm (5 XP per kill, no dragon needed) and a dungeon mob-spawner farm (5 XP per kill, roughly 30 blocks of materials). Before you own any farm at all, ore mining, smelting, breeding animals, and villager trading are the only XP sources that cost nothing to start.

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Quick comparison: XP methods by stage, cost, and yield

XP-per-kill values are fixed by the game. Hourly rates are player-reported ranges and swing widely with build quality, version, and how long you actually stand in the kill chamber, so treat them as planning estimates rather than guarantees.

How much XP do you actually need?

Per the game’s own leveling formula, level 30 costs 1,395 XP in total (levels 1–16 cost 2L+7 each, levels 17–30 cost 5L−38 each), and level 50 costs 5,345 XP. That single number decides whether a farm is worth building:

• 1,395 XP is 279 enderman kills at 5 XP each, 140 blaze kills at 10 XP each, or roughly 200–465 diamond ores at 3–7 XP each.
• 5,345 XP for level 50 is 1,069 enderman kills.
• A first Ender Dragon kill drops 12,000 XP, worth roughly level 68 from zero — about eight and a half separate “level 30” enchanting sessions.

Build time is the other half of the math. A branch-mining trip returns roughly 300–600 XP per hour, so three hours of mining nets maybe 1,500 XP. An Enderman farm takes two to four hours to build but then returns thousands of XP per hour, which means it repays its construction time inside a single session afterward. That gap is exactly why late-game players stop mining for XP.

Best overall: Enderman farm in the End

Endermen drop 5 XP each, spawn densely on the outer End islands, and can be funneled into a two-block drop chamber that finishes them without you swinging a sword. Suits players who already have elytra or a bridge route, a stack of building blocks, and enough iron for hoppers and chests.

The trade-off is complexity and danger. Endermen teleport when they take water or projectile damage, so a sloppy kill chamber just scatters the crowd instead of killing it. You also need to build roughly 100–200 blocks away from other spawnable terrain and keep your crosshair low or wear a carved pumpkin, because a single accidental look triggers aggro. Item collection adds cost too: each hopper costs 5 iron, so a four-chest setup is 20 iron before you have stored a single pearl.

Best without beating the dragon: zombified piglin gold farm

Zombified piglins award 5 XP each and spawn in enormous numbers on a Nether-roof platform, making this the highest-yield farm available before you fight the dragon. If you cannot reach the roof, a portal-based design in the Overworld works on the same principle and is easier to reach, at the cost of a bigger footprint.

It suits players with Nether access, a stack of slabs for spawn-proofing, and patience for lava safety. The trade-off is that the build is large, the aggro mechanic (usually a turtle egg or a provoked piglin) needs to be set up correctly, and a half-finished platform produces almost nothing.

Best mid-game farm: blaze farm at a Nether fortress

Blazes award 10 XP per kill — double a standard hostile mob — and you need blaze rods anyway for brewing and Eyes of Ender, so the farm pays twice. Suits players who have found a fortress and can light up a wide surrounding area.

The trade-off is spawn-proofing. Fortresses are large, multi-level, and full of dark corners, and any unlit pocket within range competes for the same mob cap. Budget more time for proofing than for the kill chamber itself.

Best first farm: dungeon mob spawner

A zombie or skeleton spawner found in a dungeon is the cheapest real farm in the game: about 30–64 blocks for a water channel, a two-block drop, a collection point, and one slab to stand on. Skeletons and zombies drop 5 XP base, plus 1–3 extra for each piece of armor or weapon they spawn with, so an armored skeleton can be worth 8 XP or more.

It suits brand-new worlds. The trade-off is throughput: spawners only run while a player is within 16 blocks, and mobs despawn instantly beyond 128 blocks, so the farm is only as good as your nearby lighting. Leave one cave unlit and half your spawns happen somewhere you cannot reach.

Best no-combat option: villager trading hall

Each completed trade awards the player roughly 3–6 XP, and farmers selling pumpkins or melons to a stocked economy can be cycled quickly without ever drawing a sword. It suits players who dislike combat or want XP while managing other tasks.

The trade-off is infrastructure: emeralds, job blocks, beds, and enclosed cells for each villager. Per-trade XP is small, so the method only scales with a real emerald supply chain behind it.

Best zero-setup option: mining, smelting, and breeding

Ore XP is fixed per block: diamond and emerald ore give 3–7, lapis and nether quartz give 2–5, redstone 1–5, coal 0–2. Smelting most recipes returns about 0.1 XP per item, and breeding animals grants 1–7 XP per pairing. None of it requires a build, which makes it the correct answer for the first few in-game days and the wrong answer afterward.

Which method fits your world?

Setup, upkeep, and the mistakes that quietly kill your rate

• Mending competes with leveling. XP orbs repair damaged gear with Mending instead of filling your bar, so a fully enchanted set levels you noticeably slower. If levels are the goal, farm with a plain spare sword.
• Looting does not increase XP. It raises mob drops only; the XP orb value is fixed per mob. Do not rebuild a farm around a Looting sword expecting faster levels.
• Consumables add up. Hoppers cost 5 iron each, chests cost 8 planks, and an hour of active farming burns through a full hunger bar, so bring cooked food or a saturation source.
• Spawn-proofing is the whole job. Unlit caves within 128 blocks of the farm steal spawns from the same mob cap. Light everything, or the rate collapses.
• Distance rules are strict. Spawners need you within 16 blocks; most hostile mobs despawn beyond 128 blocks. Build your AFK spot inside both limits.
• Death scatters your XP. Orbs drop where you die and despawn after a few minutes, so keep a bed and a gear chest near the farm rather than losing an hour of progress.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to get XP in Minecraft?

An Enderman farm in the End is the fastest reliable method, because endermen award 5 XP each and spawn in high density. A well-built farm returns thousands of XP per hour, which is several times what mining or a spawner farm produces. It does require defeating the Ender Dragon and building on the outer islands first.

Can you build an XP farm without beating the Ender Dragon?

Yes. A zombified piglin gold farm, a blaze farm at a Nether fortress, a dungeon spawner farm, and a villager trading hall all work with no End access at all. The gold farm has the highest ceiling of those options, while the spawner farm is the cheapest to build.

Does Looting give more XP?

No. Looting increases mob drops such as rotten flesh, bones, and ender pearls, but the XP orb value a mob releases is fixed. A zombie always gives 5 XP base regardless of your sword’s enchantments, though mobs that spawn wearing armor give 1–3 extra XP per gear piece.

Does Mending stop you from leveling up?

It slows you down rather than stopping you. When a held or worn item with Mending is damaged, incoming XP orbs repair its durability instead of adding to your level bar. Farming with a plain unenchanted sword lets the orbs go straight to your levels.

What is the best early-game XP method?

Mining ores while branch mining is the most practical early source, since coal gives 0–2 XP, redstone 1–5, and diamond or emerald ore 3–7. Smelting the results adds about 0.1 XP per item, and breeding animals grants 1–7 XP per pairing. Together these can carry you to level 30 without any farm at all.

Why is my mob farm producing so little XP?

The usual culprits are unlit caves within 128 blocks stealing spawns from the mob cap, an AFK spot outside the required range, or a kill chamber that does not deal enough fall damage. Spawners specifically require a player within 16 blocks to activate, so a farm you walk away from simply stops running.