Minecraft Guide to Villagers

12.15.2022

They aren't quite people, but they aren't not people.

You are familiar with the basics. A new map showing a village within a viewing distance of the spawn points is a good indicator that you have found a great seed. It's an amazing experience to discover a village during your cursory explorations. Although it is less fun, having to defend villages against every threat known to Minecraft-kind can be just as exciting.

Villages are an important part of Minecraft. They give quiet worlds a little more life and make it feel less lonely. It is important to know how many villages have mechanics. Want to learn more? We have the answer.

What is the role of villagers?

Merriam-Webster defines a “villain” as “an inhabitant of an village.” That's about it.

Villagers are peaceful mobs that live in procedurally generated villages within your Minecraft worlds. Villagers can trade with you a wide variety of goods in exchange for emeralds or other goods. This makes them valuable commodities if you are not an exploration type.

They add more than just a bit of life to your worlds. Instead of a collection of oddly-shaped land masses and different-colored trees being your only company, they also add some variety. If your playstyle is compatible with them, having a village near you has some limited but very important benefits.

There are many options, but most of them are based on the job they do. Farmers wear straw hats while blacksmiths have leather aprons. This is a quick way of identifying the type of villager you are looking for. Each profession will allow the villager to trade in different things.

Depending on their jobs, villager behavior will differ. A farmer will tend to crops and provide food for the other villagers. Unemployed villagers will tend to wander more than nitwits (a special type of villager who is unable or unwilling to work) while others will stay put and sleep.

Where can you find villages

Villages come in many shapes and sizes. They can be found in many biomes. Plains, sunflower plains and deserts are all possible.

These villages are easy to find if you just explore. Continue exploring. Villages can be created anywhere within compatible biomes. The nearest village could be just a few hundred meters away. You can cut down on time by getting a horse or a boat (if you live near water), or you can skip the wait completely by choosing a world seeds that starts you right next to a village.

Many biomes have their own design language for villages which lends them credibility. The problem with Minecraft's method of spawning villages is that they can be created anywhere. This means that villages will spawn dirt or sand over any crevices and/or carve out pieces from holes. This can lead to bizarre landscapes around villages.

What are the best things to do in a village?

A village is more than just the villagers. Villages usually have a variety of buildings and houses, plots of crops and a central gathering place with a bell for alarms. Many villages have paths connecting them, with lampposts and other decorations at their edges.

You could find beds, crafting tables and furnaces in the houses. The chests that sometimes spawn within houses are even more appealing.

Many of the buildings in a village may have a job when they are created. A house for a librarian, a house to the farmer, or a forge for a blacksmith are just some examples. Each of these buildings has different probabilities, and they change depending on the biome in which the village is spawning.

Two things result from this. One, the villager assigned to these houses will often take on the job. Two, special buildings may contain unique chests containing special loot. There are too many options to list all of them, but each job has a chance to spawn a chest with a different loot and each biome has their own chest.

Here's what you will find in chests based on your biome:

Plains

– Potato- Apple
– Bread
– Dandelion
Poppy
– Oak sapling
Feather
Book
– Gold nugget
– Emerald

Savannahs

– Wheat seeds
– Bread
Grass
Tall grass
– Acacia sapling
Torch
– Bucket
– Saddle
– Gold nugget
– Emerald

Deserts

– Wheat
– Bread
– Dead bush
Cactus
– Green dye
Clay
Book
– Emerald

Snowy

– Beetroot seeds
– Potato
– Bread
– Beetroot soup
– Snowball
– Snow Block
– Blue Ice
– Coal
– Furnace
– Emerald

Taiga

– Pumpkin seeds
– Potato
– Bread
– Pumpkin pie
– Spruce sapling
– Spruce log
Fern
– Large fern
Oak sign
– Iron nugget
– Emerald
Here are the contents of chests depending on the job.

Blacksmith(s)

– Apple
– Bread
– Oak sapling
Stick
– Saddle
– Iron pickaxe
– Iron sword
– Iron shovel
– All iron armor
All horse armor
– Coal
– Iron ingot
– Gold ingot
– Emerald
Obsidian

Fletcher

– Egg
Flint
Stick
– Arrow
– Emerald

Tanner

– Bread
– Leather
– Saddle
All leather armor
– Emerald

Shepherd

– Wheat
– White wool
– Light gray wool
– Gray wool
– Black wool
– Brown wool
Shears
– Emerald

Cartographer

– Bread
– Oak sapling
– Paper
– Map
– Compass

Butcher

– Wheat
– Raw beef
– Raw pork
– Raw mutton
– Coal
– Emerald

Mason

– Bread
– Yellow dye
Clay
– Flower pot
Stone
– Smooth stone
Stone bricks
– Emerald

What is the threat to a village?

It seems that villages are constantly in fear. They face many threats, making it difficult for villages to survive without your help. Here are the top 10 threats that could affect your villagers, from the most common to least:

Zombies and drowned attackers. Two hostile mobs are known to selectively attack villages and attack them on the spot. These mobs can also be found in and around villages. On harder difficulties, zombies can even break down doors, leaving villagers even more defenseless.
This is the easiest threat to combat, as they can be deterred with simple torches or a wall.

Zombie villagers. A zombie villager can become a zombie villager if it is drowned or killed by a virus. The chance of surviving normal difficulties is 50%. The chance of converting a villager to Christianity is 100% for hard difficulties.
This is another thing you can avoid, but it can cause problems if you aren't careful. Particularly when faced with difficult problems.

Raids. Mojang recently added pillagers to Minecraft in one of its major updates. Pillagers are hostile mobs that look a lot like villagers but are very aggressive and armed with crossbows. Ravagers are large beasts with a lot of attack and health and often accompany pillagers during raids.

You'll get a Bad Omen status if you kill or attack a pillager captain while on your adventures. This status will remain in effect for well over one hour. This effect activates when you enter a village and you will start a raid that creates waves of enemies. Unpreparedness during raids can quickly lead you to your demise and the destruction your village.

Drinking milk will reverse the effect. Walls or trenches can be used to stop pillagers entering your village, although their crossbows can still prove dangerous.

Zombie sieges. These rare events only occur in large villages with 20 or more villager. If you have been investing time and resources in your village, this is something you should be aware of. A zombie siege will spawn a large number of zombies in your village's center, regardless of whether walls or torches are present. Your own fortitude, iron golems, and will be the only thing that can deter them.

Lightning strikes. This may seem odd, but even lightning can pose danger to your villager. Normaly, villagers seek shelter immediately after a storm or rain. In the event of a villager becoming stranded outside, lightning can strike.
A witch is a villager who is struck by lightning. This is a hostile mob which throws poisons and potions while cackling menacingly. They can be a nuisance and ruin your day. Make sure that all your villager have somewhere to go in case of a storm.

How can you protect a village from being overthrown?

All these threats are looming over innocent villages, so it might be in your best interest to protect them. There are many ways to do this, from simply lighting the village to building defenses outside, to hiring a private army to protect it, and everything in between.

It's time to light it up. In areas that are darkened, creepers, skeletons, and zombie mobs often spawn at night. Torches are one of the best ways to deter villages from being attacked. A ton of torches is a good idea as villages aren't lit well by default.

Maintain the walls. Torches can be used to keep hostile mobs away from the village. However, walls and trenches can stop mobs entering from outside. There are many ways to do this. A simple wall of at least 2 blocks height will keep anything out. You can also make a trench at least 2 blocks deep and put a fence inside.

Protect the weak. Iron golems are your village's last line of defense. Villages are not completely protected by walls and torches. To protect them, you can build an army of iron golems that will automatically defend the villager population and repel hostile mobs.
It is best to use all three methods. None of these are perfect solutions. Iron golems are not able to be everywhere at once and may arrive too late for a villager. While walls and torches can be great, zombie sieges are able to end it all.

Protecting your village is worth the investment if you care about it. This is especially important if you plan to expand your village or make it larger.

How can you summon iron golems

Iron golems, which are large passive mobs, exist to protect villagers and ward off scarier mobs such as zombies and skeletons. While most villages are small enough to spawn one iron golem, it is a good idea if you need more.

You will need the following to summon iron golems:

4 iron blocks. Iron blocks can be made by combining nine iron ingots on a crafting table. It is expensive, but it is worth it.
1 carved pumpkin. Pumpkins can be found all over the globe. To summon your iron golem, you'll need one.
Once you have everything in order, you will need to:

Place the iron blocks in a “t”. You can place them in any orientation you like, but each corner must be air.

Place the carved pumpkin on top. This is the final step. To become the head, place your carved pumpkin on the iron “t”.

Your creation is amazing! You should summon the iron golem only outside tall buildings or in plain sight, as they are much taller than most mobs.
If you wish to summon many iron golems, however, it is possible but not without the associated costs. A wall around your village is a good idea, as iron golems that have been summoned rather then naturally spawned tends to wander more.

How do you breed villager?

You will need to learn how to breed your villager villagers if you want to expand your village or replenish the lost. Three prerequisites are required for villager to be able to breed and create new villagers.

Beds, beds, beds. The number of beds in a village determines the village's maximum population. A bed is valid if it has a door that connects to it and has at least two blocks of air directly above. It must be safe and usable.
Food, food, food. Villagers can pick up things as they go about their daily lives. You'll also notice that sometimes villagers will throw food at one another. Villagers are more likely to be open to receiving food, which can encourage them to reproduce. When a flood of hearts radiates from the village, you will know that they have been well-fed.
Another villager. It takes two to make it work, you know. At least two villages must be willing to breed together and live in close proximity.

After all these requirements have been met, your villagers will be able to spawn a baby villager. Although the baby villager is a little more timid than the adult villager, it will eventually grow up to be a fully fledged adult villager.

There are two options if you don't have enough villager to breed them. You have two options: either you can kidnap a villager or cure a zombie villager.

A villager can tackle each one individually, and sees its home as what is close to it. If you take a villager from the village where they were born and bring them within the range of a new village, they will “move” to that village. This is possible using a minecart or rail system.

You can also cure a zombie villager. This is a great alternative if your villager has been decimated or if you want to create your own village. Although it is time-consuming and costly, we have a guide to help you get started.

How can you trade with villagers?

Villages will be of interest to most players due to the extensive trading system that is built into them. This allows you to get things that are otherwise very difficult or impossible in your area.

All villagers with a profession (like librarians or butchers, blacksmiths etcetera), are able to trade with players. Unemployed villagers, baby villagers, and nitwits are not allowed to trade. A special trading menu is opened when you interact with a villager who can trade. It shows you which trades are available.

These trades vary from village to village, and some trades are only possible with certain professions. Librarians might trade for books or paper, while butchers would prefer meat.

Villagers have access to a leveling system that unlocks new trades as they advance. There are five levels total: novice, apprentice, journeyman and expert. Master is the highest. It's mutually beneficial for both the villager and the trader to exchange with them regularly.

You not only have a relationship to individual villager regarding trades, but you also build a relationship for the village as a whole. This is known as your popularity. The better your popularity, the higher the trade prices. The prices will be higher if you are less popular.

Although the items available for trade are varied, there is one thing that unites all trades: emeralds. If you believe trading is beneficial, you will want to hoard emeralds.

There are three ways to obtain emeralds

Mining. The Overworld's bottom is where you will find emeralds. Emeralds are much rarer than diamonds. They can only be found in mountain biomes and one at a given time. I recommend that you get a pickaxe with the Fortune Enchantment so that you can find 2 to 3 emeralds per locate.

Looting. You can find emeralds in all kinds of chests, but they are most common in villages. You might be able to find lucky emeralds in chests wherever you go.

Trading. This one is not surprising. If you have something that a villager needs, you can trade for emeralds. It's a whole economy and works both ways.
Trades are more complex than normal. As in the real world supply and demand are in play. Villagers can only replenish their inventory when they return to work.

If a villager notices that you trade for a particular item often, the price of that trade will increase steadily each time the villager resupplies. The price of that trade will slowly drop if it isn't used for a while. This affects all items, so you will need to switch between trades to avoid having your fun ruined by high prices.

Here's how you can take advantage of the trading system for Minecraft:

Find the trade that interests you. Villagers dress according to their profession. For example, a villager who is dressed as a blacksmith might be able to give you a sword.

Open the trading menu. Just like everything else in a menu, you can use the left trigger or right-click.
Look for the trade that interests you. If you don't find the trade you are interested in, you can look for other villagers or help them level up to unlock new trade opportunities.
Pay the cost. The trade will show you the cost and what you will get in return. It will either be item(s), for emerald(s), or the reverse.
Repeat. You can trade as many times as you like, provided you have the financial resources and are aware of the supply-demand system.
To find out what trades are available, you can hold the item that you want to trade away. If a villager notices that you are holding an item they are interested in, they will offer you the item they will trade for it. If there are multiple trades for your item, they will cycle them through. This allows you to see what villagers might be interested in your item.

What are the trade opportunities for villager?

There are currently 15 professions villager can choose from. Each profession has its own appearance, job sites, and trade options.

How can you increase your popularity?

Your village's popularity is determined by your actions. This in turn affects the way that villager treat you. Your popularity is determined on a scale from -30 to 30. A high popularity will lower trade prices, while a low popularity can increase them.

If your popularity falls below -15, any naturally spawned Iron Golems will immediately attack you. This is not applicable to iron golems that you spawn.

Your popularity is calculated per village. If you accidentally kill someone in a village, it won't affect how others see you.

How can you increase your popularity?

Stop a raid Your popularity will increase by 10 if you defeat a raid of pillagers.
You can level up a villager. Your popularity will increase by 2 to 4 points if you trade with a villager depending on their level.
Trade with a villager. Trade with a villager to increase your popularity.
Attacking a villager. Attacking a villager nets -1 point, killing a villager nets -2 points.
Attacking a villager child. Attacking or killing a villager child is a way to lose popularity points. Villager children are more important than adult villager villagers.
Killing an iron golem. You lose 5 points in popularity if you kill an iron golem that was naturally spawned in a village.

Now, leave the village

The vast majority of Minecraft's world is made up of villages and everything within them. This is evident from the amount of information available. It's amazing that there is still so much more to learn. Mojang has done its part to make villages attractive and rewarding, regardless of your feelings.

What do you think about Minecraft villages? Do you feel joy or dread when you see one? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Playing Win10 Beta and wondering why I couldn't trade – d'oh!

In pocket edition, you can't trade or meet with villager. Works in console, PC and education one. There are a few more that I may have missed. Posted via the Windows Central App Android

How can you determine popularity?

See what happens when you walk up to an iron golem

lol Posted via Windows Central App for Android

I love to blow up villages by injecting TNT into their homes and then blow it up. It's dark, but it's fun and that is why i did it.

This was a great idea. I was trying to find villages.

Is the Win10 beta a replacement for the cleric?
All black, with a white collar.
Is it part of a texture package? I have the Natural one. Edit: Just tried it, and it's the Natural one :-).

Why can't I find a village full of people? They are 4 out of the 5 that I have found, and they are all empty. They are far from my normal play area.

I love villages, but they also spook my mind. In my travels, I have discovered many villages and got to know the villagers. We trade, laugh, and push each other into wells. I must move on. In many cases, however, all that remains is a ghost-town. What happened to all the villagers? I always played peacefully so there weren't mobs… but they all disappeared. Do they still exist? I can only reset the world and hope to discover more villages.

Perhaps the villagers never existed in the first place. Perhaps they were always ghosts.