Welcome back to Ganiming, it’s Minecraft Monday again! This is a series released every Monday, where we talk about anything Minecraft related! The last episode was fully dedicated to arguably the most important mobs in Minecraft: Villagers. But did you know that an evil version of villagers exists as well?
I still remember the first time I saw an illager patrol lurking around our base. After quite a long break from Minecraft, we decided to start a new world with friends. We heard about the new update, but I did not read the patch notes as I was too excited to get into the game. We set up our base within the local village and after a while, they showed up. As I didn’t know what was happening, all I could muster was ‘’Umm… Dude, why are there some villagers with protest signs coming after me?’’ You can only imagine the confusion my friend went through. So, I decided to make sure nobody else is confused about illagers in Minecraft again!
What are Illagers in Minecraft?
If you’ve played Minecraft in the last couple of years, you’ve most likely already met some illagers. But who exactly are they?
Illagers are hostile mobs that act as antagonistic versions of villagers. There are 4 unique types of illagers in Minecraft, along with some mobs that act as their allies:
Pillager
Pillagers use crossbows and fire arrows at you from a distance. Pillagers are hostile towards players, villagers, iron golems, and wandering traders. If any illagers are attacked by other hostile mobs, pillagers will aid their own. When they are killed, they drop their own weapons, ominous banners (if they are the patrol captain), and arrows.
Fun fact: Crossbows that pillagers use actually have durability, so eventually it will break if he is shooting at you for long enough.
Vindicator
Vindicators wield an iron axe and charge at you trying to hit you with it. Usually, they can only be found in the Woodland mansion or while taking part in raids. If you’re playing on a difficulty higher than normal, there is a chance they will be wielding an enchanted iron axe. They do the third most melee in the whole game, following the iron golem and the warden, so make sure you are well-prepared when fighting them.
Evoker
An Evoker is an Illager who uses spells for combat and can be found in woodland mansions and raids. He is the only source of the totem of undying, so you will have to face them eventually if you want that precious loot. During combat he uses two different spells; one summons armor-piercing spikes that do a lot of damage, and one summons vexes, probably the most annoying mob in the whole game.
Illusioner
If you’re playing regular survival mode with your friends you will never run into an illusioner, as he may only be summoned by using data packs or the ‘/summon illusioner’ in-game command. If you do manage to summon him, he will be hostile. He does not naturally spawn in any places illagers usually spawn. An illusioner uses a bow to attack and makes use of illusions to try and attack an enemy.
Ravager
Ravagers are large hostile ridable mobs, that only spawn alongside illagers in raids. Although illagers ride them, it is not possible for the player to tame them and ride them. When killed, they drop saddles and experience points. They attack enemies by ramming them with their heads, dealing a knockback of 5 blocks. They may also use a biting attack. Ravagers can also destroy certain blocks by charging into them, which include leaves and crops in Java Edition.
Vex
Vex is a small flying hostile mob, that wields an iron sword, can phase through walls, and can only be summoned by evokers. Fighting vexes is probably one of the most annoying things you could fight in Minecraft, as their hitbox is tiny, and they move really fast. When killed, a vex drops only experience points in the Java Edition.
Witch
Witches are not usually associated with illagers. Some witches always spawn as part of raids and help the other illagers. Otherwise, they may spawn in most biomes as long as the light level is 0, and they always spawn in swamp huts. A villager may be turned into a witch if lightning strikes within 4 blocks of him. That witch may not be turned back into a villager and will always be hostile. They fight enemies by using harmful splash potions on the enemy and positive potions on themselves.
Where do Illagers Spawn?
Patrol
Patrol is a naturally spawned group of up to five illagers that roams the landscape and monitors villages. One of the patrol members always acts as a patrol captain and carries an ominous banner on top of his head. If you decide to take the patrol out and kill the captain, you will get a Bad Omen status effect. A raid will start if you enter a village with the Bad Omen effect, so be wary of disposing of patrols before you feel prepared to take on a raid.
Raid
A raid is an in-game event, that is triggered when a player enters a village with a Bad Omen effect. The intensity of the raid is dependent on the difficulty you are playing on, and the level of Bad Omen effect. The effect can stack up to 5 times if you kill multiple patrol captains before entering a village.
During the raid, waves of illagers and witches spawn and attack a village with ominous horn blares. All the mobs we covered a bit higher up participate in a raid, with the exception of illusioners. When you finally defeat all the waves, you will be awarded a Hero of the Village effect, which will give you massive discounts when trading with any surviving villagers.
Pillager Outpost
Pillager outposts are structures that are inhabited by pillagers (surprising right?). They can generate in every biome that can also generate villages, but they are a bit rarer. In Java Edition they will never generate too close to villages. Only pillagers and pillager captains may spawn in these structures and continue spawning even if you take over the outpost.
Woodland Mansion
Woodland Mansion is one of my favorite structures generated in vanilla Minecraft to explore. You can only find it in the dark forest biome, and it serves as a base of operations for illagers, spawning every kind of illager apart from an illusioner. It is also the only place (except the raid) where you can find totems of undying. Its interior lighting is low enough to spawn other hostile mobs as well, so make sure you are prepared before you venture on your exploration quest.
Truthfully, I couldn’t imagine the game without illagers anymore. Having them around as the natural enemy of the villagers does add another layer of fun into the game and unlocks unique fights and loot for you to collect. Hopefully, now you know everything you need to know about the evil versions of villagers. Do you like having illagers in the game? Did you clear the woodland mansion already? Do you have a topic request for the next Minecraft Monday? Talk to us in the comments below!
