Minecraft Mobs Explained: Villagers

Villagers

When you come into their towns, expect nothing but deals. Well, a deal for them. They’ll trade with you without hesitation and not offer much in return. Occasionally, you’ll get a deal in your favor, but don’t look forward to it.

Biology

Villagers are a passive mob that spawns in villages. Villagers come with many different professions and forms. The different professions of Villagers are farmers, blacksmiths, butchers, priests, and librarians. Their different forms are Baby Villagers (practically the same thing as a normal villager, but a baby) and the Zombie Villagers. Zombie Villagers act as if they are normal zombies, but keep the qualities of a villager. Currently, the only quality kept on a Zombie Villager that comes from the normal villagers is the head, which has a green hue versus the normal skin color. In the upcoming 1.9 update, however, Zombie Villagers will keep their normal professions and will have ripped, dirty versions of their clothes to match.

Trading

When a player right-clicks on a Villager, an interface will appear where you are able to trade. While the trading mechanic is the same for each profession of Villager, the items traded are not. When accepting a deal with a Villager and trading, over time new ‘tiers’ of items for trade become available. When all ‘tiers’ are activated, no new tiers will be unlocked. The Villager who is a priest will trade things which are enchanted, these items may involve Bottle O’ Enchanting or things of that nature. Trading a Villager with the profession of farming will trade you items centered around food. The Villager who is a blacksmith will trade you items along the lines of swords, armors, coal and more. Trading a librarian Villager will often trade things like books (enchanted and non-enchanted), bookshelves, clocks and compasses (and much more). Lastly, the butcher will trade you things along the lines of leather and meats, whether that be a Saddle or food in general.

Pretty Social

Villagers are known for running around and either interacting with other Villagers or exploring their small towns. If a player runs within a certain distance of a Villager, the Villager will stare at the player and until they are chased off by a zombie, when the night cycle begins or when it starts to storm. Villagers will run into their homes and will not leave until any of these on-going events end. At times, you will see many Villagers in one specific area. Villagers have a tendency to pack as many people into a building as they can.

If a Baby Villager notices an Iron Golem and the Iron Golem is holding a flower of the poppy variety, the young villager will take the flower from his hands. If the Iron Golem is not holding a flower, the Baby Villagers will watch the Iron Golem instead. A fun side note, that many players have often speculated, is when Baby Villagers are running around with each other they may be playing “tag”. This has neither been confirmed nor denied, but many people have noticed this and have posted various videos about the topic.

Doors? Really?

Doors. You read that right. The determining factor in whether or not a Villager will mate with another Villager is (quite literally) a Door. Villagers generally mate until the population of Villagers in a city is 30% to 40% more than the number of Doors. When two Villagers mate, if one is a farmer and another is a farmer, it does not necessarily mean that the child will be a farmer. There is no set way to get a determined profession of Villager through breeding.

Along the lines of breeding is willingness. If two Villagers are going to mate they need to be willing. For a Villager to become willing the player can do two different things. The first thing a player can do to make a Villager willing is to throw 12 potatoes, 12 carrots and 3 bread on the Villager. This will entice the Villager to become willing. When the Villager eats the food, they will become willing. The second thing a player can do to entice a Villager to become willing is to trade. Trading with Villagers for the first time will make a Villager willing. Trading a Villager again after the first time will create a 20% chance of becoming Willing.

In Conclusion
Villagers are a very interesting mob and there is definitely more to them than what we generally see. We suggest you go and find a Village in your Minecraft world and see which things your Villagers do in one Village versus another. Look out when trading though, the locals might try and cheat you!