Zombie Spawner XP Farm on DonutSMP — Setup & Rates
Use a found zombie spawner for AFK XP and iron drops. Build and yield breakdown.
Found a zombie spawner exploring? Don't break it. A naturally generated zombie spawner is one of the highest-XP-per-hour AFK farms on DonutSMP, and you don't need to build a complex mob system.
What you need
- 1 zombie spawner (find one in dungeons under Y=63)
- Stack of any solid block
- 4 hoppers + 1 chest
- 1 sword (Looting III preferred)
The build (10 minutes)
- Light up all caves in a 128-block radius (kills outside mob cap)
- Block off the spawner room — leave the spawner active
- Dig out a 9×9×4 area centered on the spawner so it sees player line-of-sight from any tile
- Build a water current that funnels zombies into a 1-block kill spot
- Position the kill spot 22 blocks below where you stand (fall damage softens them)
- Hoppers under the kill block → chest
How to AFK
Stand on the platform 5-10 blocks from the kill spot. Hold attack with a Looting III sword. Zombies fall, you 1-tap them, XP fountains, drops flow.
Yield rates
| Build quality | XP/hr | Iron/hr | Rotten flesh/hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (1 spawner) | 8-12k | 50-80 ingots | 30+ stacks |
| Optimized water funnel | 15-22k | 120-180 | 60+ stacks |
| Multi-spawner cluster (rare) | 35k+ | 300+ | 150+ |
What zombies actually drop on DonutSMP
- Rotten flesh — common, sells for ~3 coins each on /sell, useful for trading with cleric villagers
- Iron ingots — ~2% drop rate, jumps to ~5% with Looting III
- Carrots / potatoes — rare, ~2.5% with Looting III
- Armor pieces — extremely rare; chain helmets/chestplates sell to traders for ok coin
The Looting III multiplier
Without Looting: ~1 iron / 100 zombies. With Looting III: ~5 iron / 100 zombies. Always use Looting III even if you sell the sword between sessions.
Selling the drops
| Drop | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Iron ingot | /order | 50 coins |
| Rotten flesh | /sell | 3 coins |
| Carrots | /sell | 2 coins |
| Iron block (crafted) | /order | 480 coins |
Per AFK hour with optimized farm: ~5-9k coins from drops + 20k XP banked.
Common mistakes
- ❌ Breaking the spawner accidentally (silk touch CAN'T pick up monster spawners — break it = lose it forever)
- ❌ Not lighting up caves first (other mob cap eats spawns)
- ❌ Kill chamber too small (zombies don't despawn from your platform but they pile up and clog)
- ❌ Forgetting Looting III sword
Frequently Asked
Can I move the spawner? No. Spawners can't be silk-touched in DonutSMP (or vanilla). Build the farm where you found it.
Why are spawner-based farms better than open mob farms? Spawners ignore mob cap. They keep producing even with other farms in render distance.
Can I sell the spawner location? On DonutSMP some players do — a public zombie spawner location can sell for 1-5M coins to a buyer who builds around it.
Published at Jun 04, 2026
