What's the maximum height mobs can fall from without dying?
Solution 1:
Fall damage is calculated by the following formula:
Fall Damage = number of blocks - 3
1 damage is half a heart. (As is 1 health)
Using this formula and a list of Mob Healths, you can figure out the maximum height from which each mob can fall while staying alive. Simply subtract 1 from a mob's health and add 3!
For example, a Skeleton has 10 hearts (20 health). This means it can take 19 damage without dying. Using the fall damage formula, we can see that the maximum height a Skeleton can fall from without dying is 22.
An Enderman, on the other hand, has 20 hearts (40 health). That means an Enderman can survive a 42 block fall!
Solution 2:
The maximum height, as I remember it, is 22 blocks for a skeleton. This should leave them with 1/2 a heart left, so that they can be killed by a single punch.