Not to be confused with Village & Pillage.
This article is about the generated structure. For the mobs that inhabit villages, see Villager. For the upcoming novel, see Minecraft: The Village.
A village is a group or complex of buildings and other structures that generate naturally in the Overworld. A village is inhabited by villagers, as people, cats, as pets, iron golems, for defense, passive livestock mobs, for farms, occasional zombie villagers, and wandering traders with their trader llamas. A village is a source of resources to the player, obtained from trading, loot chests, and other materials found in the village. Villages are also a target of raid attacks by illagers when a player walks into a village with the Bad Omen effect.
Contents
- 1 Generation
- 2 Events
- 2.1 Raids
- 2.2 Zombie sieges
- 3 Structure
- 3.1 Buildings
- 3.2 Paths
- 3.3 Loot
- 4 Abandoned villages
- 5 Mechanics
- 5.1 Java Edition
- 5.2 Bedrock Edition
- 5.3 Gathering site
- 5.4 Job site blocks
- 6 History
- 7 Issues
- 8 Trivia
- 9 Gallery
- 9.1 MINECON Earth 2018
- 9.2 Pre–Village and Pillage
- 9.3 Bedrock Edition
- 9.4 Odd generation
- 9.4.1 Pre–Village and Pillage
- 10 References
Generation[]
Villages generate naturally in plains, savanna, taiga, meadows, snowy plains, and desert biomes. In Bedrock Edition, they also generate in snowy taiga and sunflower plains biomes. The type of the village, and therefore the style of all structures within it, is determined by the biome at the village center or meeting point. The buildings and wood depend on the biome the village is in. If the meeting point does not generate in one of the above biomes, the village defaults to plains style.
The following table shows the village styles corresponding to different biomes.
Village style | Biome |
---|---|
Desert | Desert |
Plains | Plains Sunflower plains[BE only] Meadow Any other not listed here[note 1] |
Savanna | Savanna |
Snowy | Snowy plains |
Taiga | Taiga Snowy taiga[BE only] |
- ↑ If generated through mods, data packs or behavior packs
The number of villagers spawned depends on the number of beds in the village. Villagers spawn only in houses that have beds, while job site buildings (with no beds) always generate without villagers.
If a building or pathway generates over open-air, circular or square platforms of grass or sand (depending on the terrain) generates below the structure, which can cause surface oddities. These platforms do not generate beside cliffs or over the void; rather, they generate on the lowest blocks. Platforms can be clearly seen when a village building generates over an ocean. Farms generate a few blocks of open space above them if they happen to generate inside a hill. Village buildings can also generate suddenly on the top of a windswept hills while the other buildings are at the bottom of the windswept hills. This happens often in savanna villages.
Some villages generate as abandoned; see § Abandoned villages below.
Villages are slightly more common in Bedrock Edition than in Java Edition. There is a roughly 1⁄2 chance that at least one village is present within 500 blocks of the world spawn point in Java Edition, while this chance is about 2⁄3 in Bedrock Edition. This is due to the fact that villages can generate in more biomes in Bedrock Edition, as well as being closer to each other within an eligible biome.
Despite the existence of jungle and swamp villagers, there are no swamp or jungle villages in the game.
- Upon generation
Villager | Iron Golem | Zombie Villager | Horse | Pig | Cow | Sheep | Camel |
- Villagers spawn in regular villages only.
- Iron golems spawn in regular villages only, one spawns near a village meeting point.
- Zombie villagers spawn in abandoned villages only.
- Horses, pigs, cows, and sheep spawn in regular villages and abandoned villages.
- Camels spawn in regular desert villages and abandoned desert villages.[verify]
- Periodically
Cat | Wandering Trader | Trader Llama | Iron Golem |
- Cats spawn naturally inside villages, one for every four beds for a maximum of five.
- One wandering trader spawns periodically at a village meeting point.
- Two trader llamas spawn periodically at a village meeting point alongside a wandering trader.
- In Bedrock Edition, iron golems spawn periodically around the village center if there are at least 10 villagers and 20 beds in a village, for a maximum of two. In Java Edition, they are summoned by a Villager if the villager spawning them has slept.
- During events
Zombie [JE only] | Chicken Jockey [JE only] | Pillager | Vindicator | Evoker | Vex | Ravager | Witch |
- Zombies spawn during zombie sieges. Chicken jockeys spawn rarely during zombie sieges.
- Pillagers, vindicators, evokers, vexes, ravagers, and witches spawn during raids.
- Witches also spawn when a villager is struck by lightning within four blocks of the bolt.
Events[]
Raids[]
Main article: Raid
A player who kills an illager captain (found in an outpost or a patrol) receives the Bad Omen effect for 100 minutes. Like other status effects, Bad Omen can also be cleared by dying or drinking milk. Entering a village boundary while the effect is active triggers a raid, in which groups of illagers spawn and attack the village. Killing multiple captains in Java Edition gives the player a higher level of Bad Omen, and the higher the level, the higher the chance for the raiding mobs to wield enchanted weapons.
Zombie sieges[]
Main article: Zombie siege
This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.
Zombie sieges are in-game events where many zombies spawn in a village, regardless of how well lit or walled off a village is. They have a 10% chance of occurring at midnight every night or during thunderstorms when a village has at least 20 valid beds. There is no indication of a zombie siege happening except for an unusually high number of zombies.
Structure[]
For the technical details behind village structures, see Village/Structure. For the blueprints of village structures, see Village/Structure/Blueprints. For structures prior to Village & Pillage, see Village/Structure (old). For blueprints of structures prior to Village & Pillage, see Village/Structure (old)/Blueprints.
Buildings[]
The number of buildings making up a village can vary, and not every village consists of all building types at once. Apart from the meeting point, which is unique and systematic, the number of buildings of each type is randomly generated and increased in superflat[Java Edition only] worlds. More than one meeting point can generate in superflat worlds. The number of lamp posts and decorative structures (hay bales, melon patch, pumpkin patch, farms, snow and ice patches) has no restriction, as they are generated where no other buildings can be placed. These structures could have functions, and could be of great use to the player. Paths are found between the buildings of the village and often extend beyond them.
Structures are chosen randomly from a pool of possible buildings. No one building has a greater chance to appear than another.
The full list of the village house blueprints can be accessed by going here.
Architecture style, and blocks making up the village structures, vary according to village type. Not every building can generate in a single village, although some blocks can be found in any village, such as job site blocks and food items. Buildings have different probabilities of generating, depending on village type; for example, a weaponsmith shop is more likely to appear in a Taiga village than other villages.
In Bedrock Edition, villages don't generate with expected structures; for example, a fletcher house doesn't appear in a plains village and a stone mason house doesn't appear in a savanna village.[1]
Paths[]
Villages generate paths between the buildings and extending outside of the village. Village paths generate at the level of existing terrain, potentially going up steep hills or down ravines without regard for whether an entity could actually traverse the path. Paths do not go below sea level and replace only grass blocks (with air above), water, lava, sand, sandstone, and red sandstone; all other blocks are ignored and the blocks underneath are considered for replacement instead. Villagers use these paths to travel across the village.
In plains, savanna, taiga, and snowy villages, paths are comprised of dirt paths and grass. Savanna villages also generate farmland and crops in some paths. Dirt paths that generate over water are replaced by the village style's planks type. Desert villages generate with smooth sandstone paths.
In Buffet worlds with cave generation, paths may generate on a separate layer from the rest of the buildings. In floating island generation, paths may not generate at all.
Trees, lamp posts, and other decorative structures can generate in the middle of paths as obstructions.[2]
Loot
Main article: Village/Loot
[edit]
Abandoned villages[]
A village has a 2% chance of generating as an abandoned village (also known as zombie village).
In an abandoned village, all generated villagers are instead zombie villagers, and all doors and torches are missing. The zombie villagers do not despawn, but have no resistance to sunlight. The zombie villagers spawned inside these villages behave similar to drowned as they stay in the shade even when a player or villager are nearby, only coming out when the sun has set. In abandoned villages, most cobblestone blocks are replaced by mossy cobblestone, random blocks (particularly wood) are replaced by cobwebs, and all glass panes(besides those of the church) are replaced by brown stained glass panes to represent dirty glass. The job blocks, crops and interiors are mostly left intact. Abandoned villages also spawn stray cats, as well as the usual village livestock, but they do not spawn iron golems. The amount of buildings in an abandoned village can be slightly more than a normal village.
Mechanics[]
Main article: Village mechanics
Java Edition[]
A subchunk is a "village center" if it contains at least one claimed bed, bell, or job site block. The 26 subchunks in a 3×3×3 cube around such a subchunk are also considered part of a village.
Villages as a whole have no defined "center", "size", or "radius", it's all based on proximity to any "village center" subchunk.
Bedrock Edition[]
A village always consists of at least one acceptable bed and one villager. Rarely, a village structure can generate without beds, thus not qualifying as a village. Upon creation, a village center is defined as a bed claimed by the first villager (a village leader), or the gathering site block (a bell), and the village's size is the greater of 32 blocks or the distance to the furthest bed from the center. Any villager, village golem, siege-spawned zombie, or raid-spawned illagers can pathfind back into the village if they find themselves farther than that many blocks from the center.
Villages are established by the number of valid beds in the village.
The maximum population of a village is the number of valid beds. If the population drops below that point (due to death or removal), but there are at least two villagers left who can reach each other, the villagers mate and breed until the population is at the maximum.
In Bedrock Edition, a village is created when at least one villager links to one bed. The village continues to exist as long as one of its villagers remains linked to one of its beds. If all beds are unlinked (by being destroyed, by players sleeping in them, or by villagers failing to pathfind to them), then the village ceases to exist. When this happens the villagers lose all links to job site blocks and bells, and cannot use them.
When the first villager links to a bed a village of size 65×25×65 blocks is created, centered on the pillow of that bed. The boundaries, and consequently the center (which is important because it defines where cats and iron golems can spawn), may change as other villagers link or unlink from point of interest (POI) blocks. When the boundaries change the center usually shifts to the location of POI block near the midpoint between the farthest out POI in each direction. In naturally generated villages there is usually a bell near the village center, but aside from that bells have no special role distinct from other POI in how the game defines and manages the village center and boundaries.
Gathering site[]
Villages have gathering sites where villagers may mingle. A gathering site is defined as a bell located within the village boundary. A wandering trader may spawn at a gathering site, accompanied by trader llamas. A villager will also ring the bell when a raid starts.
Job site blocks[]
Job site blocks are blocks such as grindstones, smithing tables, and lecterns, which are used by villagers. Villagers with the corresponding professions spend their time in front of their job site block, except for nitwits, baby villagers and unemployed villagers (villagers without profession overlays). Upon claiming a job site block, green particles appear above both the villager and the job site block, and the villager takes up the profession of the job site block if unemployed. Villagers that have already been traded with can claim only job site blocks related to their profession. Employed villagers that are not linked to a job site block are unable to restock their trades. Villagers cannot link to a job site block that has already been claimed by another villager. There are thirteen job site blocks in the game, each linking to their respective villager profession.
History[]
February 21, 2010 | NPC villages and "monster towns" are mentioned. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 1, 2011 | A picture of villages was released by Notch before Beta 1.8 was released. In the early screenshot, villages were partly made of moss stone. | ||||
July 13, 2011 | An early interview with Notch discussed his plans for the village. | ||||
August 10, 2011 | Notch originally worked on villages by himself, but eventually gave the task to Jeb, so that he could work on other things. | ||||
August 11, 2011 | Jeb has said that during early tests of villages, the lava in a blacksmith often set the village on fire. | ||||
August 26, 2011 | Villages were shown to the public during the PAX 2011 demo, including the interiors. | ||||
Java Edition Beta | |||||
1.8 | Pre-release | Added villages, which only generated in plains and desert biomes. | |||
They were originally intended to be populated with pigmen.[3] | |||||
Java Edition | |||||
1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease | Villagers have been added to villages. They have 'TESTIFICATE' written above their heads. | |||
1.1 | 12w01a | Added superflat, allowing bigger villages. | |||
Blacksmith buildings in villages now hold chests with loot. | |||||
1.2.1 | 12w07a | Villagers now repopulate villages based on how many houses there are available. | |||
Zombie sieges can now occur once a village has reached a certain size. | |||||
The player may now add houses to villages, provided they are enclosed with a roof and wooden door. | |||||
12w08a | Larger villages now spawn iron golems to defend them. | ||||
1.3.1 | 12w21a | Desert villages are now made of sandstone instead of wood and cobblestone. | |||
1.4.2 | 12w32a | Villages now track the "popularity" of individual players by username. | |||
12w36a | Potatoes and carrots can now be found in villages. | ||||
1.5 | 13w03a | Changes to water-block generation now make wells proper infinite water sources. | |||
13w06a | The lamppost glitch in villages has been fixed. | ||||
1.7.2 | 13w36a | Added the savanna biome, which villages can now generate in. | |||
1.8 | 14w03a | Gravel roads in villages now have cobblestone underneath, to prevent them from collapsing into caves. | |||
14w04a | Doors are now added to the closest village. | ||||
14w25a | Zombie sieges have been re-implemented. | ||||
14w30a | Wells in desert villages are now made of sandstone instead of cobblestone. | ||||
1.9 | 15w31a | Farms now include beetroot crops. | |||
1.10 | 16w20a | Village structures are no longer restricted by biome boundaries, meaning that a village that starts in a valid biome can now spread into an adjacent invalid biome. | |||
Villages now generate in taiga biomes (but not their variants), and are made of spruce wood. | |||||
As a result of the above two reasons, the amount of villages that generate has been greatly increased.[4] | |||||
Savanna villages are now made of acacia wood rather than oak. Acacia logs replace cobblestone in all structures except churches. | |||||
Paths no longer generate below sea level, and they are made with different material depending on the existing terrain. | |||||
Grass paths now generate rather than gravel paths, when generated on grass blocks. | |||||
Paths made of planks now generate over water and lava to form bridges. | |||||
Villages now have a 2% chance of generating as an abandoned village, which are inhabited only by zombie villagers, and generate without any doors or torches. | |||||
16w21a | Blacksmiths now generate with cobblestone in all biomes, rather than acacia logs in savannas and sandstone in deserts. | ||||
pre1 | Zombie villagers generated in zombie villages no longer despawn. | ||||
Wooden fences are now substituted with the correct wood type for the biome. | |||||
Paths no longer replace most blocks, instead considering the blocks underneath, preventing them from generating in treetops or bridging ravines. | |||||
1.14 | 18w47a | Added raids, in which groups of illagers attack villages after a player kills an illager patrol leader then enters a village. | |||
November 28, 2018 | A hotfix for all 1.14 snapshots is released, updating the main menu with a panorama of the new villages. | ||||
18w48a | Updated the plains village look, and removed its zombie village accordingly. | ||||
18w49a | Added snowy tundra villages. | ||||
Updated the savanna village look, and removed its zombie village accordingly. | |||||
18w50a | Updated the taiga and desert village looks, and removed their zombie villages accordingly. | ||||
19w04a | Re-added zombie villages in desert and taiga biomes. | ||||
19w06a | Improved village blacksmith building generation to prevent them from catching on fire from lava inside them. | ||||
19w07a | Re-added zombie villages in plains and savanna biomes. | ||||
Added snowy tundra zombie villages. | |||||
19w08a | Villages now spawn with at least one iron golem. | ||||
19w11a | Village detection is now based on beds, job sites, and meeting points instead of doors. | ||||
1.14.1 | Pre-Release 1 | Many structures are tweaked to have better lighting. | |||
1.16 | Pre-release 2 | "Jellie" cats now spawn naturally in villages. | |||
1.17 | 20w45a | Due to normal and water cauldrons have been split into different blocks, cauldron no longer generate in villages. Instead, water cauldron will generate. | |||
1.18 | experimental snapshot 3 | Villages now generate in meadows. | |||
21w40a | Villages now generate slightly more spread out. | ||||
1.20 (Experimental) | 22w42a | Camels now generate in desert villages. | |||
Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
v0.9.0 | build 1 | Added villages. They generate with gravel, wooden or sandstone bridges. | |||
build 2 | Desert villages are now made of sandstone. | ||||
build 4 | Villages are now rare. | ||||
build 7 | Villages are now more common. | ||||
v0.11.0 | build 1 | Grass path blocks now replace gravel paths in villages. | |||
v0.12.1 | build 1 | Larger villages now spawn iron golems to defend them. | |||
build 8 | Farms now include beetroot crops. | ||||
v0.14.0 | build 3 | The door-to-villager ratio in villages has been increased (was previously 1:1). | |||
v0.15.0 | build 1 | Added savanna and taiga village variants. | |||
Villages can now generate in cold taiga and ice plains biomes. Buildings are made out of spruce wood like taiga villages. | |||||
Villages now have a 2% chance of generating as zombie villages. Buildings in zombie villages include cobweb and moss stone. | |||||
v0.16.0 | ? | Farms no longer generate crops in ice plains and cold taiga villages. | |||
v0.16.2 | Chests can now generate inside large houses in ice plains and cold taiga villages containing farming supplies. | ||||
Bedrock Edition | |||||
1.8.0 | beta 1.8.0.8 | Cats now spawn in villages. | |||
1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | Updated the look of plains, desert, savanna, taiga, snowy tundra, and snowy taiga villages. | |||
Taiga villages are now more common. | |||||
Villages are now set by the number of beds in the village instead of doors. | |||||
Villages now have gathering sites in which a wandering trader can appear. | |||||
Villages now have job sites where villagers go to work. | |||||
Removed zombie villages.[verify] | |||||
1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.1 | Villages now always spawn at least one iron golem. | |||
Changed some structures; plains tannery now include a single cauldron, some poorly lit areas have torches, lava is no longer a fire hazard, added floors in some floorless houses. | |||||
Changed village generation by rebalancing the number of houses (buildings with beds) and job sites (buildings with job site blocks). Sand now also has sandstone support below. | |||||
Plains farms and plains toolsmith houses can now generate in new plains villages. | |||||
Animals now spawn in the village stables, animal pens, shepherd houses, and butcher houses. | |||||
Added chest loot to non-plains village variants. | |||||
Added raids, in which groups of illagers attack villages. | |||||
beta 1.11.0.3 | Players with bad omen now trigger a raid when in villages. | ||||
1.13.0 | beta 1.13.0.9 | Re-added zombie villages. | |||
1.17.30 | beta 1.17.30.22 | The chances of a village being abandoned have been reduced to 2%. | |||
1.17.40 | beta 1.17.40.20 | Villages now generate in meadows. | |||
1.18.0 | beta 1.18.0.22 | Village buildings carve out less terrain around them on generation. | |||
1.20.0 (Experimental) | beta 1.19.50.21 | Camels now generate in desert villages. | |||
Legacy Console Edition | |||||
TU5 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | Added villages. |
TU9 | Blacksmith buildings in villages now hold chests with loot. | ||||
TU14 | 1.04 | Added desert villages. | |||
? | ? | ? | Wells in desert villages are now made of sandstone instead of cobblestone. | ||
TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Savanna biome added, which villages can now generate in. | |
Gravel roads in villages now have cobblestone underneath, to prevent them from collapsing into caves. | |||||
TU43 | CU33 | 1.36 | Patch 13 | Villages can now generate in cold taiga and ice plains biomes, constructed with spruce wood. | |
Villages now generate with grass paths instead of gravel. | |||||
Villages in savanna biomes now generate with acacia wood. | |||||
TU46 | CU36 | 1.38 | Patch 15 | Villages now generate naturally in the taiga biome. | |
TU58 | CU49 | 1.60 | Patch 28 | 1.0.8 | Villages generated in the desert or the savanna biome now replace the most sandstone/acacia wood with cobblestone. |
TU60 | CU51 | 1.64 | Patch 30 | 1.0.11 | Villages now generate naturally in cold taiga and snow plains biomes generating with spruce wood. |
Desert villages no longer generate with cobblestone, including blacksmith and church buildings. | |||||
Tables in villages now have brown carpet instead of a pressure plate. | |||||
1.91 | Added raids, in which groups of illagers attack villages after a player kills an illager patrol leader then enters a village. | ||||
Updated the look of plains, desert, savanna, taiga, snowy tundra, and snowy taiga villages. | |||||
Village detection is now based on beds, job sites, and meeting points instead of doors. | |||||
New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
0.1.0 | Added villages. |
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Village" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia[]
- According to Jeb, originally they wanted a system for a village to expand in population if the player improves it. But they found that it was computationally expensive to evaluate what constituted a house, so to make it simple, they decided that a door with an inside and outside counts as a house; however, the house was later changed to beds.[5]
- Prior to Village and Pillage, the farms in villages would avoid overhanging by filling in the area below them with dirt when they spawned. When a farm overhangs a ravine, a tall rectangular dirt structure generates underneath. Buildings would fill the area below them with cobblestone, often resulting in the same behavior.
- Occasionally, surface ravines generate through villages, causing missing pathways or even entire buildings sunken into the ravine. This also applies to cave entrances and other surface oddities.
- In rare cases, players can find a tiny village consisting of one house, or even just one job site-building (a building with job site blocks) without any houses (building with beds), causing the village to not spawn any villagers.
- The plains village is the only type of village with much of its architecture resembling its old counterpart prior to Village & Pillage.
- In Java Edition, village paths generated as dirt paths only on grass blocks and used gravel in other cases. This is no longer the case due to a bug.[6]
- Because of the relatively large amount of biomes, a village house designed for one a particular biome might be located on the border of two biomes.
Gallery[]
A taiga house image tweeted by LadyAgnes.
An igloo structure that generated in a snowy plains village.
A snowy plains village.
Villagers mingling about an iron golem.
Desert pyramid, swamp hut and village close to each other.
3 villages generated in close proximity in plains biome.
A preset for Coastal Village (Bedrock Edition only).
A squid in a farm village.
A village generated close to the desert pyramid, with a desert well on the left on it.
Two wandering traders in the meeting point at the plains village.
Three villagers are offering items in a farm.
A cat in a village.
A bee nest generated in a superflat village.
Noor at a village forge.[8]
MINECON Earth 2018[]
A desert village overhaul shown in MINECON Earth 2018 for 1.14.
New house architecture in a desert village overhaul shown in MINECON Earth 2018 for 1.14.
See AlsoWishing Compass
Pre–Village and Pillage[]
An old desert village generated in mesa biome.
Bedrock Edition[]
First official screenshot of a village generating with dirt path blocks as roads.
A house that was damaged by a creeper explosion.
Odd generation[]
A village generated in the amplified world type. Notice how some of the buildings are built into the windswept hills, and others on huge cobblestone towers.
A desert village that generated in a windswept savanna biome.
A village generated in 5 biomes: Forest, Plains, Cherry Grove, Frozen Peaks, and Grove. There is also a ruined portal nearby, visible in the next image.
Pre–Village and Pillage[]
References[]
- ↑ MCPE-100217—Villages don't generate with expected structures.
- ↑ MC-140460—"Hay bales, trees and light posts can generate on paths"—resolved as "Works As Intended".
- ↑ "It's very likely the townspeople will be pigmen" – @notch (Markus Persson) on X, April 25, 2011
- ↑ MC-152966—"Increase villages generate in versions after 1.10"—resolved as "Fixed".
- ↑ "Meet the villagers" – Minecraft.net
- ↑ MC-147895—Village paths don't generate gravel
- ↑ "Just found this village when testing, they got their own turtle civilization! ^^" – @_LadyAgnes (Agnes Larsson) on X, November 28, 2018
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLON6wZYgsE%7C Minecraft Live is back for 2023!