How to Get an Iron Golem to Stay at Your House in Minecraft
Keeping an Iron Golem near your base in Minecraft can offer a fantastic layer of defense and a generally comforting presence. However, these gentle giants can sometimes seem to have minds of their own, wandering off on patrol or getting distracted by distant threats. So, how do you make sure an Iron Golem sticks around your house and provides the protection you need? Here’s a comprehensive guide to keeping your iron buddy close.
The most effective methods for keeping an Iron Golem near your house revolve around three key strategies: village association, confinement, and forced loyalty. Each approach leverages different aspects of the game mechanics and offers varying levels of reliability and effort.
Method 1: Leveraging Village Mechanics
The most natural way to keep an Iron Golem nearby is by incorporating your house into a village. Iron Golems are programmed to stay within the boundaries of a village they consider to be their home. Here’s how you can make your house part of a village and ensure your golem stays nearby:
- Establish a Village Center: To make your house the center of a village, ensure there are villagers within a reasonable radius of your property. At least 20 villagers and 10 beds are often needed to reliably trigger a natural Iron Golem spawn. The precise radius is about 64 blocks.
- Structure and Proximity: Iron Golems tend to patrol areas near buildings and other structures within a village. Making your house a substantial building with clear boundaries will encourage the golem to spend more time around it.
- Avoid Village Borders: Be aware that sometimes Iron Golems stand at the border of a village. If your house is near the edge of your village area, you may still see wandering.
- Protection Duty: Iron Golems will generally stay within the village and prioritize protecting the villagers within. By having your house serve as a vital part of the village, you increase the chance of the Iron Golem remaining close.
This approach takes some preparation but is sustainable and requires less active management once set up.
Method 2: Confinement through Fences and Leads
Sometimes, village mechanics aren’t enough, especially if your house isn’t naturally the center of a larger village or your village spans a wide area. That’s when confinement becomes useful.
- Fencing In an Area: The most straightforward approach is to build a fenced enclosure around your house. This keeps the golem from wandering too far, ensuring it remains near your base. Iron Golems will not pursue enemies outside the fenced area.
- Leash to a Fence Post: Alternatively, or additionally, you can use a lead to tie the Iron Golem to a fence post near your house. This keeps the golem in place while still allowing it to patrol in a limited area. This is a solid way to keep the golem in one spot.
- Strategic Placement: Position the fence or leash where you want the Iron Golem to spend the majority of its time, such as near the entrance or at a central location within your base.
This method is effective but can feel less organic than the village method.
Method 3: The ‘Buried Villager’ Method
A less common, but intriguing approach mentioned in older versions of Minecraft is the ‘buried villager’ method.
- Protecting a Buried Villager: As the original information suggested, burying a villager in your front yard and then spawning an Iron Golem can encourage the golem to stay close to protect the villager. However, this method may no longer be reliable in the latest versions of Minecraft.
- Limited Reliability: Keep in mind, this method is risky as the buried villager is extremely vulnerable to suffocation if the terrain shifts.
- Not Recommended: Given the unreliability, vulnerability, and the existence of more efficient methods, this is not a recommended method.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Will an Iron Golem Always Stay Near the Village?
Generally, yes. Iron Golems are designed to stay within the boundaries of their village, patrolling and protecting its inhabitants. However, if the village spans a large area, a golem may wander to the edge or focus on one area more than others.
2. Why Does My Iron Golem Sometimes Wander Off?
There are a few reasons why an Iron Golem might wander:
- Hostile Mob Detection: They may be drawn to a hostile mob they’ve detected, even if the mob is not directly near your base.
- Patrolling Behavior: Iron Golems patrol their village, sometimes leading them away from your house.
- Village Boundaries: They might be near the border of the village, leading them away from the center of your base.
3. How Can I Stop an Iron Golem From Wandering to a Specific Area?
Using a fence or lead is the best method to restrict an Iron Golem from going to a specific area. Building a small enclosure around your house or attaching a lead to a fence post near your house will keep them close.
4. Can I Lure an Iron Golem Back to My House?
Unfortunately, no. Iron Golems cannot be lured using any items. They will only follow you if you have angered them, which is not advised. However, you can use water streams to help move them, a strategy particularly useful if your golem is stuck far away. Build a canal and guide them.
5. How Do I Get an Iron Golem to Follow Me?
Iron Golems do not follow players passively. If you attack one, it will follow you aggressively. However, this is not the method most players are looking for when they talk about “following” as the golem becomes hostile. You cannot “befriend” a golem in the same way you would tame a dog.
6. Can I Make an Iron Golem “Happy”?
There is no concept of “happiness” in the traditional sense for Iron Golems. They are programmed to protect villagers and will not attack you unless you attack them first. Hitting a Golem will cause it to attack you, however. You can throw a poppy at an Iron Golem and they will pick it up, but this does not affect their behavior.
7. What Happens if I Accidentally Hit My Iron Golem?
If you accidentally hit an Iron Golem, it will become aggressive towards you. Be extremely careful not to hit the golems you want to protect you. Be ready to run!
8. Can I Stop Iron Golems from Spawning in Unwanted Places?
Yes. If you’re finding Iron Golems spawning in your house, this usually indicates that your house is the center of a village. To prevent spawns, use bottom slabs, iron trapdoors, or any other blocks that prevent mobs from spawning on top, for your flooring and roofing. You can also limit the number of villagers.
9. What Blocks Prevent Iron Golems From Spawning?
Iron Golems cannot spawn on:
- Bottom half slabs.
- Iron trapdoors.
- Blocks that block light.
- Transparent blocks, such as glass and leaves (though they can still spawn on glass).
10. Does Carpet Prevent Iron Golem Spawning?
Yes, carpet prevents Iron Golems from spawning because it is not a full block.
11. How Far Away Should an Iron Golem Farm Be From My Base?
An Iron Golem farm should be at least 64 blocks away from any other village to ensure proper spawning mechanics.
12. Will Iron Golems Protect Me From Other Players?
Yes. If another player attacks you, your Iron Golems will target that player, similar to how tamed wolves work.
13. Do Iron Golems Get Angry if I Kill a Wandering Trader?
No. Iron Golems do not get angry if you kill a wandering trader, despite the traders themselves being considered a “villager-like mob”.
14. Do Iron Golems Get Angry if I Kill Other Villagers?
No. In modern versions of Minecraft, Iron Golems do not get angry if you kill villagers. However, the other villagers will become angry and raise their prices if you kill a villager nearby.
15. How Can I Create a Dedicated Iron Golem Protection System?
Combining village mechanics, fencing, and leads is the best way to control and manage your Iron Golems. By building your base in the center of a village and using leads or fences, you can have a dedicated security system in your Minecraft world.
By understanding these mechanics and utilizing these methods, you can ensure that your Iron Golem will stay near your house and provide the protection you desire in Minecraft.