How to Get Zombie Villagers to Hold Items in Minecraft

The world of Minecraft is full of unique and engaging mechanics, and one of the most fascinating is the behavior of zombie villagers. These undead mobs aren’t just mindless threats; they can interact with their environment in surprising ways, including picking up and holding items. But how exactly do you get a zombie villager to hold an item? The answer is surprisingly straightforward: you drop the item on the ground near them.

Zombie villagers, much like their regular zombie counterparts, automatically pick up any item they come across, with a few exceptions. They will then use any armor, weapons, or tools they acquire. It’s not about commands or special actions; it’s all about the item’s presence within their grab radius.

How Zombie Villagers Pick Up Items

The process is simple, but here’s a more detailed breakdown:

• Item Dropping: You, the player, need to physically drop the item you want the zombie villager to hold onto the ground. This can be done from your inventory or by breaking a block containing the item.
• Proximity: The dropped item needs to be within a certain proximity to the zombie villager. If the item is too far away, the zombie villager will not attempt to pick it up.
• Automatic Pickup: If the conditions are met, the zombie villager will automatically move towards the item and pick it up, adding it to its inventory.
• Item Preference: Zombie villagers will equip the best item available to them. This means if a zombie is currently holding a wooden sword and you drop a stone sword, it will usually swap out the wooden for the stone sword. However, they do not have a storage inventory. They will simply drop the current items for better ones.
• Exceptions: There are exceptions to what a zombie villager will pick up. They will not pick up jack o’lanterns, mob heads, and pumpkins because these are worn on their heads instead.

Item Swapping and Prioritization

It is important to note that zombie villagers have a concept of “better” items. If a zombie villager is already holding an item, it will only pick up a new item if it is considered an upgrade. For instance:

• A zombie villager holding a wooden sword will readily swap it for a stone, iron, diamond, or netherite sword.
• Similarly, a zombie villager wearing leather armor will swap it for iron or diamond armor.
• A zombie villager holding no weapon will pick up almost any weapon dropped.

This prioritization system is simple but efficient. It ensures that zombies will often become more dangerous and well-equipped if you are carelessly dropping valuable items around them.

Factors Influencing Item Pickup

While the core mechanic is straightforward, some factors impact how frequently you’ll see zombies picking up items in the first place:

• Difficulty: The likelihood of a zombie (or skeleton) spawning with the ability to pick up items is directly influenced by the game’s difficulty.
  • Hard Mode: On Hard mode, every Skeleton spawns with the ability to pick up items. For zombies, it is a 20% chance.
  • Normal Mode: On Normal mode, zombies have a 7% chance to spawn with item pickup ability. Skeletons do not always pick up items on this setting.
  • Easy Mode: On Easy mode, the chances for zombies to pick up items drops to 1%. Skeletons will not pickup items.
• Rarity of the Behavior: Keep in mind that not all zombies can pick up items to begin with. It’s a specific behavior tied to their individual spawn characteristics. This means you might need to find a few before encountering one with this ability.

Manipulating Item Pickup

While you can’t directly control whether a zombie villager will spawn with item pickup ability, you can use the item swapping mechanic to strategically equip them. Here are some tips:

• Creating an Armored Mob: You can drop armor and weaponry one piece at a time to fully equip the zombie villager. This can transform an ordinary zombie villager into a much more dangerous foe.
• Controlled Testing: Drop items in a contained area to better control which zombie villager gets which equipment.
• “Better” Weapons: Ensure you are always dropping better tier weapons and armor. A zombie villager with diamond armor will not pick up an iron piece, so dropping the “best” items is crucial.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To further enhance your understanding of zombie villagers and item interaction, here are some commonly asked questions:

1. Do zombie villagers keep their inventory when they are killed?

No, when a zombie villager is killed, all the items it was holding are lost. Even if the /gamerule keepInventory setting is turned on, it does not apply to zombies or zombie villagers.

2. What are the chances of a zombie spawning with the ability to pick up items?

The chance depends on the game’s difficulty: 20% on Hard, 7% on Normal, and 1% on Easy. Also on hardmode, all skeletons will spawn with the ability to pick up bows, swords, and armor.

3. How do I get a zombie villager 100% of the time?

On Hard difficulty, if a zombie kills a villager, the villager will always turn into a zombie villager. On normal there is a 50% chance, and on easy it will simply die.

4. Can curing a villager lower prices forever?

Yes, a newly-cured villager offers a permanent trade discount to the player who cured it. Curing a villager more than once increases this discount. The price can eventually reach the minimum of one emerald.

5. What is the rarest zombie villager in Minecraft?

The rarest zombie villager is a Baby Zombie Villager with full enchanted diamond armor and an enchanted iron sword riding a chicken. This is because the baby villager has a low chance to spawn with all of those items.

6. Can zombie villagers put on armor?

Yes, zombie villagers can put on armor and weapons. However, if they try to equip a mob head, their nose will clip through it.

7. What is the rarest thing a zombie can drop?

The most common drops are rotten flesh, with rarer drops including iron ingots, potatoes, and carrots. Zombies may sometimes drop weapons and armor that they have spawned with.

8. Why isn’t my zombie picking up the item?

There are a few reasons why your zombie might not pick up the item: 1) It might not be able to pick up items. 2) The item you dropped isn’t better than the one it already has. 3) The item isn’t within the zombie villager’s pickup radius.

9. Can zombie villagers turn you into a zombie if they scratch you?

A scratch from a zombie carries a 7% chance that you will turn into a zombie. It is important to keep your health high.

10. Can golden carrots cure zombie villagers?

No, golden apples are used to cure zombie villagers, not golden carrots.

11. How long does it take for a zombie villager to cure?

After feeding a zombie villager a golden apple, the curing process takes approximately 3 to 5 minutes.

12. Why isn’t the zombie attacking the villager?

Zombies cannot jump to the same elevation as a villager. To reproduce this, ensure the zombie is one block below the villager. The villager will then remain safe.

13. How many times should you cure a villager?

A villager can be cured up to five times in vanilla Minecraft. Each cure gives better trading rates, but some servers may limit this.

14. What are some of the best villager types to trade with?

Some of the best villager types for trading include the Cartographer, Librarian, Fletcher, Cleric, Armorer, Weaponsmith, Toolsmith, and Mason.

15. Can nitwit villagers breed?

Yes, nitwit villagers can breed like regular villagers, despite not having professions.

Conclusion

Understanding how to get zombie villagers to hold items can open up new possibilities for gameplay, from creating unique challenges to exploiting this behavior for your benefit. The simple mechanic of dropping items and the inherent item prioritization system makes it both easy and strategic to equip them. By considering these mechanics and the factors influencing item pickup, you can better understand and interact with these fascinating undead mobs in the world of Minecraft.