Iron golems will occasionally attack creepers, causing them to explode. The golem will then continue to try and attack the space where the creeper was. Unloading the chunk will fix their behavior. The golem is probably not 'receiving credit' for the kill when the creeper explodes, so they continue to attack.
This behavior applies to all mobs with the "new" AI that are capable of attacking (skeletons, zombies, wolves, witches). Basically in an infight if one mob dies the "killer" will still try to attack the empty spot where the mob died.
Related issues
is duplicated by
MC-2805
Attacking Iron Golem bug
MC-3327
Iron Gollem bug
MC-3569
Iron Golems move their arms up and down with no mob
MC-5159
Skeletons shooting at nothing
MC-5204
Mobs keep shooting after golems die
MC-5738
Golem attacking nothing
MC-6334
Iron Golem Strange Behaviour
MC-6661
Random skeleton shooting
MC-6869
Skeleton continues to shoot mob after it has died
MC-6915
Skeleton keeps shooting arrows
MC-7276
Skeleton continues shooting at a position of another skeleton even though the other is dead.
MC-7375
Iron golem is attacking to air
MC-7827
skeletons keep shooting
MC-7926
Iron golem after it kills a mob it will continue to swing it's arms at it even though it is dead
MC-7936
skeletons keep atacking snow golems after death
MC-8620
Skeletons keep shooting arrows at nothing upon killing another mob
MC-9024
Another Iron Golem AI bug
MC-9139
Skeleton kept shooting the spot where I died.
MC-9251
iron golems attacking air where it killed a mob
MC-9590
Iron Golem Attack A.I Stuck In Loop
MC-10086
Mob's shooting bug
MC-11364
the skeletons shoot arrows endless after you kill a snowman
MC-11751
Golem Glitch
MC-11775
After a skeleton kills a iron golem, it doesn't stop shooting the empty space
MC-11909
Iron Golem still swings arms after enemy/mob is dead
MC-12063
Skeleton keeps shooting dead snow golem
MC-15287
Dogs attack nothingness
MC-16739
iron Golem Swinging at nothing.
MC-17583
tamed wolf's ai getting stuck after killing iron golem defending a village
MC-17900
Skeleton keep shooting dead mob
MC-19191
Iron golem bug in Nether
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Comments
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Strange. 1.4.2 change log indicates:
Iron Golems
Now attack creepers, Slimes and Magma Cubes
Attached couple of screenshots where I couldnt get them attacking creepers at all, yet they go to town on spiders and slimes.
Ok, update. Spawned a magma cube next to iron golem, which it hit as expected, it then turned around and walloped one of the creepers it had previously ignored.
Definitely inconsistent behaviour.
I have also seen the iron golems kill a zombie and then get stuck swinging the air over the place where the zombie died until I relogged (=reloaded the chunk). So it seems to be a bug where the iron golem somehow does not 'get notified' that the mob actually died already.
Same here. Iron Golem swings arms but there is nothing to hit
happened to me too, my iron golem stared at a creeper for 5 mins then it attacked it causing the creeper to blow up, then the iron golem attacked the spot where the creeper used to be.
Dinnerbone and Jeb said at an earlier point in time that they fixed this bug--the real thing is, though, that (I think) they merely reduced the frequency of it happening by 80-90%. (This was probably unintentional....)
Recently, I accidentally hit an Iron Golem in the head, while it was standing idly right next to a Creeper; but at the exact moment I did that, the Iron Golem attacked the Creeper. (Unfortunately, I couldn't get a screenshot in time....)
still present in 1.4.6 pre release. the iron golem kept attacking a place where he had previously killed an endermen
Yeah, I made a Enderman fight a Iron golem in the 1.4.6 Pre-release and when he killed the Enderman the iron Golem was attacking no one.
Thanks to MC-5159 found out this behavior applies to all mobs with the "new" AI. Updated summary and description to reflect that.
Does this issue also cover Iron Golems attacking players but having no effect (ie. the player is alive and stood next to the golem, it does the attack animation, but nothing happens).
If you build a snow golem and make it throw a snowball at a iron golem, after the iron golem has killed the snow golem it will stand where the golem died, flailing its arms.
Are you guys ever going to fix their behavior? Just wondering, because they were not fixed in 13w01b, and that snapshot was for bug fixes.
I also saw this on 1.4.7, on an SMP server! (I didn't think to take a picture of it, though. Sorry....) I've also seen this bug occur on Survival mode (namely, on that same server) AND without mob griefing disabled.
Here is an example of this bug: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3rsYIMzcBPE#t=1472s
looks like garbage collectors are a pain in the ass 😉
With this new update, 1.5.1, golums and skeletons will both continue attacking the area their enemy was after they have killed it. This didn't happen to me before in any other updates, but I see it's not uncommon.
still happens in 1.5.1. When it kills a snow golem, it randomly flings its arm in the air at random intervals.
I'd never seen this glitch before 1.5, now my iron golems are doing it basically every time they attack something =/
Just to confirm this is happening across two different clients/worlds for us. It started with 1.5, shock horror, golems stuck in the attack cycle will not do anything else even when attacked. Thus dying at the hands of skeletons.
I've noticed that if a skeleton kills you, if you don't click "Respawn" he will continue to shoot at the spot you died.
yup. that happens with another mobs to, firehunterx...
Still happens in 18w50a. I spawned an iron golem in The End. The iron golem attacked an endermen, then endermen teleported to the top of a pillar and the iron golem stayed at a certain distance from the pillar attacking the air forever.