Darkness Status Effect Wiki Guide
This Minecraft tutorial explains the Darkness effect with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.
Background
Darkness is a new status effect that was introduced in the Wild Update. This effect is inflicted by the Warden when you are nearby.
In periodic pulses, the Darkness effect will lower the overall brightness of the world so that the darkness creeps up against light sources.
There are levels of Darkness such as Darkness II, Darkness III, Darkness IV and so on. However, there currently doesn’t appear to be any functional difference between the levels.
| Status Effect | Darkness |
|---|---|
| Type | Harmful Effect |
| Description | In periodic pulses, the Darkness effect will lower the overall brightness of the world so that the darkness creeps up against light sources. |
| Effect Icon |  (this icon is only seen if the effect was given using the /effect command) |
| Particles | Gray particles are seen if using the /effect command |
| Items that give Effect |  Sculk Shrieker |
| Mobs that give Effect |  Warden |
| Game Command | /effect command |
Icon and Particle Effects
In normal game play, the Darkness effect happens without seeing the icon appear on the screen, but you will see the icon when you go to your inventory menu.
Using the /effect command
If you use the /effect command, you will see the following icon appear in the top right corner of your screen:
And you will also see the gray particle effects floating around you.
When the Darkness effect wears off, the icon and particle effects will disappear. You will be back to your normal status.
Duration
Depending on how you get the effect, the duration of the Darkness effect will be different. To see how much time is remaining for the effect, go to your inventory menu.
In this example, it says 0:10 under Darkness so this means that there is 10 seconds remaining of the Darkness effect.
Mobs that give the Darkness Effect
The following are mobs that give the Darkness effect:
Warden
Effect ID and Name
Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)
In Minecraft, Darkness has the following effect ID and Name values:
| Icon | Status Effect (Minecraft ID Name) |
ID | Platform | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Darkness (minecraft:darkness) |
33 |  Java Edition (PC/Mac) |
1.19 |
- Icon is the image that will appear when you have this effect.
- Status Effect is what the effect is called and (Minecraft ID Name) is the string value used in the /effect command.
- IDÂ is the Internal number for the effect.
- Platform is the platform that applies.
- Version is the Minecraft version number that the effect was introduced for the name and ID that is listed.
Effect Command for Darkness
Effect Command in Minecraft Java Edition
Darkness:
/effect give @p darkness 99999
Darkness II:
/effect give @p darkness 99999 1
Darkness (highest level):
/effect give @p darkness 99999 255
To remove all status effects including Darkness, you can either drink milk or use the following /effect command:
/effect clear @p
Other Status Effects
Here are the other status effects in Minecraft such as: