In Minecraft 1.14, it became possible for a new type of enemy, Pillagers, to raid Minecraft Villages. They will attempt to kill the Villagers using hatchets and crossbows, and you need to defend it.
The default villages are incredibly hard to defend as they remain exposed. If you’re going to constantly make use of a village and it’s traders, then it’s worth knocking everything down. That way, you can rebuild the village from scratch so that buildings are much closer together. You can see that I have done on the images below.
You can read our guide below for defending Minecraft Villages from raids and Pillagers. For more guides and best of content, make sure to check out our dedicated area here!
Defending a Village from a Minecraft Raid
Firstly, you should wrap a village in walls. The screenshot below shoes my nearby village which I have changed around completely. Making the village smaller and compact means it’s less likely for Pillagers to spawn inside and it’s much easier to defend.
Using the basic walls is enough, mobs can’t climb over them, but they can still shoot. This is the first way to prevent them from killing your villagers. Just make sure there are no blocks connected which will allow them to jump over.
Building a moat is also a good idea, whether it be out of lava or water. Water is easier, and will make Pillagers approach the village much slower, allowing you to defend for much longer and shoot using a bow and arrow.
Along with walls, there should be a single point of entrance, and this should be blocked off with a gate. With only one way in that is secured, it’s will be impossible for Pillagers to get inside, and for villagers to escape as they can’t open gates.
Tips for Defending a Minecraft Village
Here are some extra tips which will help you defend a Minecraft Village and win the raid:
- Keep an Iron Golem around. They will attack any Pillagers who do manage to get inside.
- Have a chest ready with bows and arrows inside that you can use from a rooftop where you won’t take damage.
- Using Redstone pistons in-front of villagers houses will lock them inside, preventing them from being exposed outside and stop Pillagers getting inside.
- Setting up traps such as TNT where Pillagers often spawn, or holes in the ground which they can fall into on their way to the village.
- Use the Bell in a Village to find out where hidden Pillagers are. When ringing a bell, Pillagers will be visible behind walls and terrain.
