What Happens If I Kill a Villager in Minecraft? A Comprehensive Guide
Killing a villager in Minecraft is not a simple act with no consequences. While villagers might not react with the same kind of emotional outrage that a real person would, the game implements a reputation system that significantly impacts your interactions within a village. The immediate and long-term effects can range from minor annoyances to major inconveniences, making it essential for players to understand the implications before resorting to such actions. In short, directly killing a villager results in a decrease in your reputation within that village, and depending on how much you’ve previously angered them this might turn the Iron Golems hostile to you, and also raise trade prices. Let’s delve deeper into what happens when you eliminate a villager in Minecraft.
Understanding the Consequences of Villager Deaths
Reputation and the Iron Golem
The most immediate consequence of killing a villager is a decrease in your reputation level within that village. This reputation level, though not explicitly displayed in-game, is a crucial factor governing how villagers and Iron Golems react to you. Each harmful action against a villager or an Iron Golem directly decreases your reputation, and a low enough score will have the Golems turn hostile towards you. If your reputation drops to -15 or lower, the village’s Iron Golems will become aggressive, attacking you on sight. Given the Iron Golem’s strength, you’ll find it extremely challenging to rebuild your reputation while these guardians are hostile, thus, avoiding this scenario is crucial for good relations with a village.
Villager Trading Behavior
Besides the hostile Golems, your trade prices with the villagers are affected as well if you kill or hurt one of their own. Every negative action will raise trade prices, requiring you to spend more Emeralds for their resources. Villagers are more likely to increase prices when their loved ones get hurt. This can quickly make accessing trades from the villagers more expensive and more difficult.
What Doesn’t Happen
It’s equally important to understand what does not happen when you kill a villager. Unlike some other games, villagers do not drop any items or experience upon death. This means killing them won’t grant you any resources or power, removing any incentive for farming them. Additionally, while killing villagers will lower your reputation and consequently impact trades, it won’t directly stop breeding. While they might stop breeding for a short period if they die from other causes, your actions will not directly affect this mechanic of the game.
Factors to Consider
Direct vs. Indirect Harm
The reputation system is directly tied to your actions. Killing a villager directly, such as through a sword, bow, or potion, will incur the full penalty. However, if a villager dies due to environmental hazards or from a zombie attack without your direct involvement, the reputation penalty is less severe or non-existent, which means that you can potentially avoid penalties if you are careful about how you’re making them die.
Types of Villagers
The type of villager killed does have a minor effect. Killing a Nitwit villager will still decrease your reputation, and even more so than killing normal villagers, as it can also affect your trades by increasing the price of items.
The Village’s Awareness
The impact of your actions is localized to the village where the killing occurs. If you harm villagers in one village, it will not affect your reputation in another village.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens to villagers after they die?
When villagers die, they simply disappear without leaving any items or experience. Their existence is terminated, and their role in the village is filled by other villagers as the village continues to function normally. They will eventually respawn if the village conditions are met.
Do villagers respawn if killed?
Yes, villagers will respawn if killed as long as the village structures, especially doors, and beds are still intact. They require a bed and a valid village to respawn and continue the village’s growth and economy.
Do villagers get mad if you hit them?
Yes, villagers get visibly angry when hit. They will show this by producing angry particle effects around them. This anger is part of the reputation mechanic, and will negatively impact your relations.
Can you bully a villager?
Yes, you can “bully” a villager. The game recognizes actions such as hitting them multiple times consecutively, pushing them around, or dropping them into pits as bullying, which will affect the way the villagers interact with you.
Do villagers get mad if you take their bed?
Yes, taking a villager’s bed will anger them, just like hitting them or waking them up. If you perform a series of negative actions, they will become angry.
How can you get villagers to forgive you?
The best way to improve your reputation with villagers after making them angry is by trading with them. Each successful trade raises your reputation. Another method is to cure a zombie villager, which will drastically improve your relations with the entire village.
Can villagers steal your items?
No, villagers cannot steal items from chests or other storage containers. The only exception is farmers using composters and collecting the bonemeal. Nitwits are also an exception as they can open chests and take your Emeralds, as that is all they seek.
Do pillagers attack baby villagers?
No, pillagers and other illagers do not attack baby villagers. They will entirely ignore them. The only hostile mobs that will target and attack baby villagers are zombies, husks, and drowned.
Does killing iron golems anger villagers?
While historically it did anger them, in current versions of Minecraft, killing Iron Golems does not directly make villagers angry, though they were mad in older updates. The villagers still recognize this as a bad thing, but only killing the villagers will result in a reputation hit.
Do villagers forget you cured them?
Villagers will remember being cured. However, there’s a bug that, if you save and quit while curing a villager, the cured villager can revert to being uncured the next time you log into the game.
Can villagers rob you?
Generally, villagers don’t steal your items. As mentioned previously, only Nitwit villagers will be the first villagers who can open chests and steal your Emeralds.
Can you kidnap a villager?
Yes, you can kidnap a villager by forcing them into a boat. They will not escape the boat unless broken, allowing you to transport them across large distances.
Can you lock a villager in a house?
Yes, you can lock villagers in houses or other structures, effectively confining them to a space of your choosing. This can be useful for trading and other purposes.
Are there evil villagers in Minecraft?
Yes, the “evil” villagers are called Illagers, and include Pillagers, Evokers, and Vindicators, among others. These mobs are hostile and will attack players and villagers alike.
How rare is an emerald in Minecraft?
Emeralds are indeed rare, with many players considering them more valuable than diamonds due to their limited availability and use for trading with villagers. Emeralds are more rare than diamonds, making them harder to find and more valuable.
Conclusion
Killing a villager in Minecraft, while seemingly a simple action, has several consequences that can drastically impact your interactions with a village. Understanding these consequences is crucial for maintaining good relations and accessing the valuable resources offered by villagers. From a decrease in reputation to hostile Iron Golems and increased trade prices, the game actively discourages this harmful behavior. By understanding and respecting the established rules of village life, players can enjoy a much smoother and more beneficial experience within the world of Minecraft. Remember, treating villagers with respect is not just ethical; it’s strategically advantageous.