When You Hit a Pigman: Understanding Aggression and Timer Mechanics in Minecraft

When you venture into the fiery depths of the Nether in Minecraft, you’re bound to encounter Zombified Piglins, often casually referred to as pigmen. These golden-sword-wielding, undead pig-creatures are generally passive, but accidentally striking one can quickly turn a peaceful stroll into a chaotic brawl. The burning question on many players’ minds is: when you hit a pigman, how long are they angry for?

The simple answer is, when you hit a Zombified Piglin, or one within a 32-block radius of the initial target is hit, they initiate an anger timer. This timer lasts for a duration between 20 and 40 seconds. However, it’s not quite as simple as the timer expiring. Here’s a deeper look at what happens after you provoke a Zombified Piglin.

The Anger Timer: Initial Aggression and Its Aftermath

Once a pigman is hit, the anger timer starts. During this time, any affected pigmen will sprint towards you, seeking to inflict damage. This is the most intense period of their aggression, and it’s crucial to understand the mechanics at play.

• The 20-40 Second Window: This range is not random; it is a predefined period during which the pigmen’s aggression is at its peak. If you can manage to avoid being hit during these 20 to 40 seconds, the intensity of their chase will subside, but this does not mean they will become peaceful.

• Sprinting to Walking: After the timer runs out, the pigmen will stop sprinting. They will still actively pursue you with the intent to attack, albeit at a slower walking speed. Many players mistakenly think the situation has resolved itself at this point, but the truth is that the pigmen are still hostile and will continue their pursuit if they stay in your range.

• The Aggression Radius: If you hit one pigman, others within 32 blocks will also become hostile. This means that even if you only attacked a lone pigman, you can unintentionally initiate a larger attack if there are many pigmen nearby. This aggro range can cause seemingly peaceful pigmen to join in on the chase.

Forgetting Past Aggression: The Key to Peace

Even after the initial anger timer, pigmen remember your transgression. However, they can eventually “forget” their past aggression. This effectively means they can forgive the player and return to their passive state. This process is key to reducing aggression beyond simply waiting the 20-40 seconds.

• Time and Distance: The most direct way for pigmen to become passive again is by waiting for a significant amount of time or putting a significant amount of distance between you and the angry pigmen. Once you are outside the range for a long enough period, they should de-aggro.

• Despawning and Respawning: To avoid a lengthy wait, you can cause the angry pigmen to despawn. This can be achieved by moving more than 128 blocks away from the location of the initial attack. When you return, the newly spawned pigmen will be neutral. This is because the game despawns entities that are outside a certain range from the player.

• Relogging: Another solution to stop aggression is to simply exit your game and reload your world. The game usually reloads the state of the entities making the existing angry pigmen revert to their neutral state.

The “Chain-Aggro” Phenomenon and Persistent Anger

One of the most frustrating aspects of pigman aggression is the “chain aggro” phenomenon. It occurs because the anger value for each pigman is continuously built up by other pigmen spreading their anger. This means that even if you successfully escape one group of enraged pigmen, newly spawned ones can join in, seeing you engaged in combat and becoming hostile themselves.

This is important to understand, because the cycle of continuously spawning and despawning pigmen can make the issue seem never-ending. If you cannot move out of range and cause them to de-spawn, your only option will likely be to fight your way through them.

Avoiding Aggression: Proactive Strategies

The best way to deal with pigman aggression is to avoid triggering it altogether. Here are some proactive strategies to maintain peace:

• Careful Mining: Be extremely careful when mining in the Nether, particularly around groups of pigmen. An accidental swing of your pickaxe can trigger a chain reaction of aggression.

• Stay Stealthy: If you must navigate through pigmen, try to avoid running directly into them. This gives you better control over your actions and helps you to not accidentally strike them.

• Use of Armor: Wearing at least one piece of gold armor will make Piglins (the live, non-undead version) neutral to you. However, this does not apply to Zombified Piglins. Gold armor will not help you against an enraged pigman.

• Environmental awareness: Be aware of your surroundings. Pigmen tend to spawn in groups so be mindful of the potential chain-aggro effect if you were to hit one.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To further clarify the nuances of pigman aggression, here are some frequently asked questions:

1. Do Piglins stop being mad?

Yes, Piglins can cease hostility. If you distract them up to 5 times with a piece of gold armor equipped after breaking a gold-related block or hurting a Piglin, they will cease hostility entirely. This does not work on Zombified Piglins.

2. I accidentally hit a Zombified Piglin… how do I stop the aggression?

If you accidentally hit a Zombified Piglin, the anger timer will initiate. Either run away for the 20-40 seconds for the sprinting to stop and avoid getting hit. To fully reset their anger, either wait a long period of time, or make the pigmen despawn by moving over 128 blocks away and returning.

3. Can you tame a Zombified Piglin?

No, you cannot tame Zombified Piglins in the vanilla version of Minecraft. There are modded scenarios where this is possible, for example, using a combination of Tinker’s Construct and the Ancient Sword, but in a standard game it is impossible.

4. What kills Zombified Piglins?

Zombified Piglins can be killed by various means including suffocation by sand or gravel, by getting pushed into a cactus, by lava, potions of healing (harming them), and by enchanted swords with smite.

5. What attracts Zombified Piglins?

Pigs. When lightning strikes within 4 blocks of a pig, it transforms into a Zombified Piglin. If the pig is a piglet, it becomes a baby Zombified Piglin.

6. Does lava hurt pigmen?

Zombified Piglins can be damaged by lava, but they won’t die in lava. However they will drown in lava.

7. Can you cure a Zombified Piglin?

Yes, Zombified Piglins can be cured by throwing a potion of weakness at them and then giving them a golden carrot. This will convert them back into regular Piglins.

8. Why won’t Zombified Piglins stop attacking me?

If the anger value for a pigman is continuously built up by other pigmen spreading their anger, they may never reach 0. This issue will persist so long as pigmen continue to naturally spawn and despawn.

9. What heals Zombified Piglins?

Zombified Piglins can be healed with splash potions of harming and can be damaged by splash potions of healing.

10. Can you bring Piglins to the Overworld?

Yes, but when a Piglin enters the Overworld, it will start shaking and will transform into a Zombified Piglin after 15 seconds.

11. Can Zombified Piglins drown?

Yes, they are able to drown, but they cannot be killed by lava, only drown in it.

12. What potion kills Zombified Piglins?

In Minecraft, Zombified Piglins are damaged by Splash Potions of Healing. Splash potions of Harming will heal them.

13. What makes pigmen mad?

When you hit a Zombified Piglin or one within a 32-block radius, it starts an anger timer of 20-40 seconds. They will remember that you attacked them and will continue to attack until they de-spawn or you leave the aggro range.

14. Can you befriend a Piglin?

If you bring a Piglin a new snack like a potato or carrot, they will become temporarily passive. If you give them enough they will follow the player and protect them for a short amount of time.

15. How long does it take for a Zombified Piglin to reset aggro?

The anger timer lasts 20-40 seconds. However, they will continue to attack you until you get outside of their aggro distance, which can be a significant distance away. It is often much easier to move over 128 blocks away and return, causing them to despawn or simply log out of your game and return.

By understanding the mechanics behind pigman aggression and employing the right strategies, you can better navigate the Nether and avoid unwanted confrontations with these relentless foes. Remember patience, distance, and strategic gameplay are key to maintaining peace in the fiery depths of Minecraft’s Nether dimension.