How to Guarantee a Zombie Villager in Minecraft: A Comprehensive Guide
So, you’re on the hunt for a zombie villager in Minecraft, but the random spawning mechanics are proving unreliable? You’re in the right place. Securing a zombie villager isn’t just about luck; it’s about understanding the game’s mechanics and using them to your advantage. While they can appear randomly, there are methods to significantly increase your chances, even guaranteeing one with the right setup and difficulty. This guide will explore all the ways to get your hands on a zombie villager, including the guaranteed method, and then cover everything you might want to know about these unique mobs.
The Guaranteed Method: Leveraging Difficulty and the Zombie-Villager Conversion
The most reliable method to guarantee a zombie villager is by taking advantage of Minecraft’s difficulty settings. The conversion process is simple: when a zombie kills a villager, there’s a chance the villager will turn into a zombie villager. This conversion rate depends entirely on the game’s difficulty:
- Easy Mode: On Easy difficulty, a villager will never turn into a zombie villager after being killed by a zombie. The villager will simply die.
- Normal Mode: In Normal difficulty, there’s a 50% chance that a villager will transform into a zombie villager after being killed by a zombie.
- Hard Mode: On Hard difficulty, a villager always turns into a zombie villager when killed by any type of zombie. This is your guaranteed method.
Therefore, to ensure you get a zombie villager 100% of the time, you must play on Hard difficulty and have a villager killed by a zombie.
Setting Up the Conversion
Here’s how to make the conversion happen efficiently:
- Secure a Villager: Capture a villager and keep it in a secure location where it cannot escape. Ensure this enclosure has at least one block of headroom, but is otherwise as small as possible to ensure that the zombie cannot be blocked by the villager when attacking.
- Lure a Zombie: Attract a zombie to the same location as the villager. A simple open space adjacent to the villager enclosure can suffice, allowing the zombie to make its way towards the captive.
- Release the Zombie: Open the pathway between the zombie and villager, but ensuring that the zombie is still one block beneath the villager. Zombies cannot jump over blocks, making this set up ideal for conversion.
- Wait for the Conversion: Ensure you are on Hard difficulty. Once the zombie kills the villager, it will transform into a zombie villager.
Why This Works
The game’s mechanics on Hard mode are designed this way to create a more challenging experience. In Hard mode, zombies are more aggressive, do more damage, and can break down wooden doors, all while having the 100% conversion rate. Understanding this mechanic allows players to strategically use the difficulty settings to their advantage when they require a zombie villager.
Frequently Asked Questions About Zombie Villagers
To further aid your understanding of zombie villagers, let’s delve into a series of frequently asked questions:
1. How Rare is it to See a Zombie Villager Naturally?
Naturally, zombie villagers have a 5% chance of spawning in any biome where zombies also spawn. This makes them rarer than regular zombies, which is why relying on random spawns is not the most efficient way to get one. However, this natural spawn chance can still be valuable, especially during night-time exploration.
2. Can a Baby Zombie Villager Spawn?
Yes, baby zombie villagers can spawn, and they also retain the 5% spawn rate. What makes them especially unique, however, is that they are always unemployed and faster than their adult counterparts. They will never age or grow up, remaining as a baby mob indefinitely.
3. What is the Rarest Zombie Villager?
The rarest zombie villager is a baby zombie villager with full enchanted diamond armor, an enchanted iron sword, riding a chicken. This rarity is due to the individual spawn chances of each component: a 5% chance for a baby zombie villager to spawn with full enchanted diamond armor (0.04% chance), a 0.05% chance for it to have an enchanted iron sword, and a 1% chance of riding a chicken. This combination makes it the rarest mob in the entire game.
4. How Long do You Wait for a Zombie Villager to Convert Back?
After curing a zombie villager, it will take approximately 3 to 5 minutes for it to convert back into a regular villager. It will also remain weakened after the conversion.
5. Do Zombie Villagers Despawn?
Zombie villagers are unique in that they do not despawn if the player has traded with them at least once prior to their death or zombification. This rule, however, applies only in Java Edition; Bedrock may vary. They also still count towards the hostile mob cap, unlike other persistent mobs.
6. Can You Tell if a Zombie Villager is a Nitwit?
No, you cannot. Zombie villagers can be unemployed, but they cannot be nitwits. If a nitwit villager becomes a zombie villager, it will lose its nitwit status and become an unemployed zombie villager. Baby zombie villagers are always unemployed.
7. Do Zombie Villagers Spawn from Spawners?
Yes, zombie villagers can spawn from spawners. This provides another, though still somewhat unreliable, way to encounter them. It’s important to keep in mind that it is still only a 5% spawn chance alongside regular zombies.
8. How Far Away do Zombies Scare Villagers?
Villagers are scared by zombies up to 8 blocks away. However, they need to see two other villagers within a 10 block radius to react. They also need to be able to interrupt their line of sight to the zombie from time to time to sleep or work.
9. Why Isn’t the Zombie Attacking the Villager?
If a zombie isn’t attacking a villager, it’s most likely due to a difference in elevation. Zombies can’t jump to the same elevation as a villager. To make sure the zombie attacks, ensure it’s one block below the villager and is not being obstructed.
10. Why Do My Villagers Keep Dying to Zombies Instead of Turning?
Villagers can die if they take too much damage while being infected, because they are damaged once at the beginning of the infection, and a second time right before they convert. If their health is low, this damage will be enough to kill them rather than infect them. The 100% infection rate on Hard difficulty bypasses this issue, ensuring that they always turn and never just die.
11. Can You Cure a Baby Zombie Villager?
Yes, you can cure a baby zombie villager. The curing process is the same as for adult zombie villagers: you need to weaken them with a Splash Potion of Weakness, and then feed them a Golden Apple. The cured baby villager will still not age.
12. How Do You Purify a Zombie Villager?
Purifying, or curing, a zombie villager involves the following steps:
- Enclose the zombie villager: Put it in a safe, enclosed space where it cannot harm you or escape.
- Weaken it: Throw a Splash Potion of Weakness at the zombie villager.
- Feed it: Give it a Golden Apple.
- Wait: It will shake and convert back into a villager in a few minutes.
13. Can You Cure a Nitwit?
You cannot cure a nitwit to become a villager of your choosing, but you can convert a nitwit into a regular, unemployed villager by zombifying them first, then curing them.
14. Does Hitting Villagers Increase Their Prices?
Yes, hitting villagers or their Iron Golem will create negative gossip, which raises their prices. Killing villagers or a Golem creates major negative gossip, leading to even higher price increases. So it’s best to treat them nicely.
15. Are Villagers Scared of Zombie Heads?
Yes, villagers are scared of zombie heads. If you wear a zombie head, villagers will run to their homes, and Iron Golems may attack you.
Conclusion
While a zombie villager can appear randomly in the world, you don’t have to rely on chance. By using the Hard difficulty method, you can guarantee a conversion of a villager into a zombie villager. Understanding the mechanics behind zombie villager spawning and conversion, you will be more equipped to engage with these mobs, whether it’s for curing, trading, or simply for their unique appearance. Keep the FAQ in mind, and you’ll have everything you need to become a zombie villager expert in no time. Happy Minecrafting!