How Rare Are Pillager Patrols?
Pillager patrols in Minecraft are not exceedingly rare, but they aren’t exactly common either. They fall into the category of semi-frequent events designed to add a layer of challenge and unpredictability to the game. Rather than a fixed, predictable schedule, their appearance is governed by a combination of time passed in the world, light levels, and a bit of randomness. While you might not see them every time you step out of your base, you’ll likely encounter them fairly regularly throughout your gameplay experience. This makes understanding their spawn mechanics crucial for managing your Minecraft world effectively. They are designed to be a common threat but not overwhelming, and their presence ensures that the world remains dynamic and not monotonous. Their purpose is to encourage preparedness and combat, and knowing how they spawn allows players to plan accordingly.
Understanding the Spawn Mechanics
Pillager patrols don’t appear immediately when you create a new world. Several factors play a crucial role in determining when and where these patrols will materialize.
Time and World Age
The first critical condition is world age. Patrols start attempting to spawn only after the game’s clock has reached 100 minutes, equivalent to 5 in-game days. This initial time gate ensures that players have some time to establish themselves before encountering these hostile mobs. Once this threshold is met, the game begins attempting to spawn patrols.
Spawn Attempts and Probability
After the initial 100-minute wait, the game introduces a delay of 10–11 minutes between spawn attempts. After this delay, the game rolls a dice, so to speak, giving a 20% chance of success that a patrol will spawn. If the attempt fails, the timer resets and another delay of 10-11 minutes will be observed before another spawn attempt. This random element ensures that patrols don’t spawn with perfect regularity, adding to the unpredictable nature of their appearance.
Location and Light Levels
Location also plays a big role. Pillager patrols can spawn in most biomes, except for mushroom fields. Their spawning isn’t confined to night time. Rather, individual pillagers of a patrol can spawn on blocks with a block light level of 8 or lower, regardless of the sky light. This means that they can spawn during the day if the location provides adequate shade, such as under trees or in caves. However, they can also spawn on blocks such as grass and sand despite the block level of light. Additionally, patrols do not spawn near villages – if a player is within a 5x5x5 sub-chunk cube around a village, patrols will not spawn. The game picks a random location 24-48 blocks along the X and Z axis away from the player. This helps to space out encounters to avoid overwhelming the player, and is designed so that pillagers do not only spawn in areas where players are.
Difficulty Settings and Patrol Composition
The difficulty level also affects what types of illagers are included in the patrol. On Easy and Normal difficulties, only pillagers will spawn, while on Hard difficulty, patrols will consist of 80% pillagers and 20% vindicators. Crucially, one of these illagers will always be the raid captain, identified by the ominous banner they carry.
In Summary
The rarity of pillager patrols lies not in being extremely infrequent, but rather in being a semi-frequent, unpredictable event that depends on specific conditions. They aren’t always present, but if you’ve been playing a world for a few days they will definitely be a persistent threat, which is why players need to learn how to spot the signs and be prepared for encounters.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What triggers a pillager patrol to spawn?
Pillager patrols begin attempting to spawn after 100 minutes (5 in-game days) of world time. After this initial period, there’s a 20% chance of a patrol spawning every 10–11 minutes.
2. How often do pillager patrols actually spawn?
Given the 20% chance after the delay, patrols are not overly frequent. However, they occur often enough to be a regular, ongoing threat. On average, you can expect to see a patrol every 50-60 minutes of active gameplay, though random luck can change this drastically.
3. Can pillager patrols spawn during the day?
Yes, pillager patrols can spawn during the day, provided that they are in a location with a block light level of 8 or lower. Shade, caves, or interior structures can trigger daytime spawns.
4. Do pillager patrols only spawn near villages?
No, pillager patrols are designed to avoid villages during spawn attempts. If a player is too close to a village, the game picks a location further away from the player to attempt to spawn the patrol. The game picks a random location 24–48 blocks along the X and Z axis away from the player to try to spawn the patrol’s captain.
5. Can pillager patrols spawn in any biome?
Illager patrols can spawn in any biome except mushroom fields.
6. What is the size of a typical pillager patrol?
In Java Edition, the size of a patrol varies from one to five pillagers, with one of them being the patrol captain. The exact number is determined by the regional difficulty.
7. How do I identify the pillager captain?
The pillager captain always has an ominous banner on their head. This banner, if obtained, will give you the Bad Omen effect.
8. Do ominous banners attract pillager patrols?
No, ominous banners do not attract pillager patrols. However, getting the banner means you likely killed the patrol captain, thus triggering a potential raid upon entering a village.
9. Does light prevent pillager patrols from spawning?
Yes, a high block light level will stop patrols from spawning in a specific area. They require a light level of 8 or below.
10. Do pillager patrols disappear on their own?
Yes, if a patrol is not near a player, they will despawn from the world. Patrols will pursue their victims until either of them dies, or until they become separated by a distance of ten blocks.
11. Can pillagers spawn inside my base?
If your base has areas with a block light level of 8 or lower, then pillagers can indeed spawn within your base, especially if it’s a few dozen blocks away from a village. Ensure proper lighting.
12. Do pillager patrols spawn on easy mode?
Yes, pillager patrols spawn on all difficulties. However, on Easy and Normal, only pillagers spawn. On Hard difficulty, there will be vindicators alongside the pillagers.
13. What happens when I kill a pillager patrol captain?
Killing the pillager captain gives you the Bad Omen effect. This effect will trigger a raid if you then enter a village. You’ll also be able to collect the ominous banner as a decoration.
14. Can you remove the Bad Omen effect?
Yes, you can remove the Bad Omen effect by drinking milk from a bucket. The only other way to remove this effect is through player death.
15. How can I stop pillager patrols from spawning near my base?
You can reduce the likelihood of patrol spawns by ensuring your base is well-lit, and a distance away from any villages. It is also a good idea to keep your base clear of grass/sand blocks to reduce potential spawn locations.