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Quick answer
- Hold a totem in your main hand or off-hand and it saves you from one death.
- It works in Hardcore too, so it's an extra life.
- Get them from evokers, which always drop one. Find evokers in raids and woodland mansions.
In Hardcore, a Totem of Undying is the closest thing you get to a second life. Here's exactly what it does, and the few things it can't save you from.
How to use it
Keep the totem in your off-hand. If you take damage that would kill you, it pops automatically and you survive.
Hotbar doesn't countA totem sitting in your hotbar does nothing unless it's the item you're holding. Off-hand is the safe spot.
What you get when it pops
½ ♥health left (you survive on 1 HP)
45sRegeneration II
40sFire Resistance
5sAbsorption II (4 extra hearts)
It also clears all your other effects first, good and bad. Then the totem is gone, so you're unprotected until you equip another.
Re-equip straight awayMost deaths after a totem pops happen in the next few seconds. Keep a second totem in your hotbar and swap it to your off-hand immediately.
What it won't save you from
- Falling into the void (below the bottom of the world or off the edge in the End).
- The /kill command.
- On Java, an Arrow of Harming can kill you again straight after the totem pops.
Getting totems
| Source | Notes |
|---|---|
| Raids | Evokers show up in later waves. Renewable: walk into a village with the Bad Omen effect (from an ominous bottle) to start a raid, and you can farm them. |
| Woodland mansions | A few evokers inside. Not renewable, and dangerous. |
100%chance an evoker drops a totem
1totem per evoker (Looting doesn't help)
Totems don't stackEach one takes a whole slot, so plan inventory space before a big raid.
Cheat sheet
- Off-hand, always
- Saves you once, then it's gone
- No protection from the void or /kill
- Raids are the renewable source
Want your own face on the totem? Make a custom totem texture from any skin.
Totem MakerTurn any Minecraft username or skin into a custom Totem of Undying texture→
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