Does obsidian actually attract mobs?

I read in a book (Minecraft Ultimate Book Of Secrets), on page 71, the following statement:

Obsidian actually attracts mobs

I didn't believe this. I tried to Google it, investigating several wikis and forums to find an answer. I can't find anything saying whether obsidian does or does not attract mobs.

Does obsidian attract mobs?

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6 Answers

You're not going to find anything saying it doesn't, simply because you could make an article infinitely long listing the things it doesn't do. That being said, no, obsidian, and every other block for that matter, doesn't attract mobs. Monsters can spawn on obsidian if it's dark enough, but it isn't any more likely than any other block.

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I'm 99% sure that the book you read isn't official. Blocks don't attract mobs.

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It is true that obsidian doesn't attract mobs, but the general statement that blocks don't attract mobs is not completely true. While mobs are wandering randomly, some destination blocks can be selected with higher probability than others.

Specifically:

• Hostile mobs are attracted to darkness
• Passive mobs are attracted to light
• Silverfish are attracted to Stone blocks
• Guardians are attracted to Water blocks
• Passive mobs are attracted to Grass blocks
• [unconfirmed] with fixing issue MC-103339 in snapshot 16w38a (1.11) Mooshrooms are attracted to Mycelium

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I am a little confused by the statement. Does it suggest mobs spawn near obsidian, or that once spawned do mobs favour moving towards obsidian? In both cases, here are my own observations from playing over the past few years:

I tend to find obsidian naturally where lava and water meet. In an underground cave system the light from the lava appears to stop mobs spawning directly near the lava/water boundary. Furthermore, I have never witnessed mobs willingly move to group up on the obsidian. This would suggest that mobs are not attracted to obsidian (either through spawning or moving).

I only place obsidian to create nether portals. In this case I have noticed zombie pigmen spawning regularly in the overworld. I haven't really noticed the same in the nether (i.e. zombie pigmen just seem to spawn anywhere in the nether).

For a definitive answer I guess you could reverse engineer the spawn and movement code. As you have already noticed, there is nothing really to suggest through other sites that obsidian attracts mobs. I would be surprised if the book's statement turned out to be true.

I built 2 castles in Minecraft (one for my fiancée and one for myself) mine is made from obsidian and my the other is pink concrete. Other than that one difference they are exactly identical, they both have the same amount of lighting in the same places yet my castle spawns mobs inside and my fiancée's castle doesn't, with that in mind I believe obsidian does cause mobs to spawn close by.

No it does not because then nether portals would attract mobs.

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