Minecraft – Why did a creeper start to explode and suddenly stop

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I played Minecraft earlier and a creeper expanded next to me but did not explode. It turned white and I thought it was going to explode, but it didn't.

Is this a bug, or just a fluke? I have no idea how or if I caused this, so I'd like to figure it out.

Best Answer

This happens occasionally, it's usually because the creeper took damage prior to sneaking up on you, and then took subsequent damage when you noticed it, then died instead of going boom. A multitude of things could contribute to this:

  • It took fall damage sneaking up on you
  • It hit a cactus
  • A skeleton or other mob attacked it while trying to hit you
  • It might have been a charged creeper (though, you didn't mention a thunderstorm), in which case you got lucky that it didn't explode :)

Sometimes, it's just lag that obfuscates what actually happened, I hit this a few times while trying to get a creeper lined up with a firing skeleton. It's not a bug in any version of vanilla that I know of, but if it happens consistently then you might want to look at mods (if any) that you recently installed.

Be more inclined to blame lag, and a pre-damaged creeper that probably fell to its death or got hit with something before exploding.

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