Which Villagers Can’t Trade? A Minecraft Master’s Guide
The world of Minecraft is populated by villagers, those charming (and sometimes frustrating) NPCs who offer a crucial way to acquire valuable items, enchantments, and resources. However, not all villagers are created equal. There are specific reasons why you might find yourself unable to trade with a particular villager. So, to answer the burning question directly: The villagers who cannot trade are unemployed villagers before they have been assigned a profession and Nitwits. Nitwits, easily identifiable by their green robes, are villagers who will never be able to hold a job, making them essentially useless for trading purposes.
Understanding Villager Professions
Before diving deeper, let’s clarify the core concept: villager professions. Each profession corresponds to a specific job site block. For instance, a Librarian needs a Lectern, a Fletcher needs a Fletching Table, and so on. Unemployed villagers will seek out an available job site within their vicinity and, upon claiming it, transform into a villager with that profession. This is when the magic of trading begins!
Nitwits: The Exception to the Rule
Nitwits, however, are the exception. These villagers, clad in their distinctive green attire, are unable to claim job sites and therefore remain permanently jobless. You can place job site blocks near them all you want; they will never pick them up. This makes them unsuitable for trading and relegated to essentially being village ambiance. Some players even consider them fodder for zombie sieges (though we wouldn’t officially endorse such drastic measures!).
Reasons Why Trade Might Be Temporarily Unavailable
Even with a villager that can trade, there are situations where you might find trades temporarily unavailable:
- Exhausted Trades: Villagers have a limited number of times they can perform a specific trade before it locks. This mechanic, known as “supply and demand,” prevents players from excessively exploiting one particular trade.
- Work Schedule: After exhausting their trades, villagers need to replenish their stock by working at their workstation. They can restock their trades several times during the day. However, they won’t restock trades during the night.
- Time of Day: Villagers adhere to a daily schedule. During the night they go to sleep. During thunderstorms they might be seeking refuge in a building, away from their workstation.
- Gossip/Reputation System: Poor reputation in a village can impact trade prices and potentially lock trades. This generally involves attacking villagers or failing to defend the village during a raid.
Troubleshooting Trade Issues
If you’re encountering issues with trading, consider the following troubleshooting steps:
- Verify the Villager’s Profession: Ensure the villager has a profession and isn’t a Nitwit.
- Check for a Workstation: Confirm the villager has access to their assigned workstation. It needs to be close enough for them to interact with it.
- Daylight and Time: Make sure it’s daytime and the villager is not sleeping or hiding from a storm.
- Trade Exhaustion: The villager may simply need to restock. Wait for them to interact with their workstation.
- Reputation: Review your reputation within the village. If you’ve angered the villagers, prices might be inflated or trades locked.
- Bed Availability: Ensure there are enough beds in the village for the villagers to claim.
Villager Trading: A Valuable Tool
Despite the occasional challenges, villager trading remains an invaluable tool in Minecraft. It offers consistent access to resources that might otherwise be difficult or time-consuming to obtain. Learning the intricacies of villager behavior and trading mechanics is a crucial step toward mastering the game.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Villager Trading
Here are some commonly asked questions about villager trading, along with detailed answers to help you become a villager trading expert:
1. Why won’t my unemployed villager take a job?
An unemployed villager should take a job if there is an unclaimed job block available nearby and they are not a Nitwit. Make sure the block isn’t already claimed by another villager. Also, ensure the villager can physically reach the job site block. Sometimes, pathing issues can prevent them from claiming it.
2. How do I assign a specific job to a villager?
To assign a specific job, ensure that only the desired workstation is available nearby when the villager is unemployed. Remove any other workstations in the area. Once the villager claims the desired workstation, you can reintroduce other workstations without them changing their profession.
3. What happens if a villager’s workstation is destroyed?
If a villager’s workstation is destroyed, they will become unemployed again. This gives you the opportunity to assign them a new job or move them to another location.
4. Can I change a villager’s profession after they’ve traded?
Yes, you can change a villager’s profession even after they’ve traded. Break their current workstation, and after a short time, they will become unemployed. Then, introduce a new workstation.
5. How does the “supply and demand” system work with villager trades?
The “supply and demand” system influences the prices and availability of trades. If you repeatedly trade for a specific item, the price of that item will increase, and the villager may eventually run out of stock. The villager needs to work at its workstation to restock and reset the prices.
6. Do cured zombie villagers always offer discounts?
Yes, a cured zombie villager will offer significant discounts on their trades, especially for the player who cured them. These discounts are permanent and can stack if the villager is cured multiple times, eventually reaching the minimum price of one emerald.
7. What are the best villager trades for getting emeralds?
Armorers, Toolsmiths, and Weaponsmiths offer a reliable trade of coal for emeralds. Farmers also offer common trades like wheat, carrots, or potatoes for emeralds. These trades provide a consistent source of emeralds early in the game.
8. What are the best villager trades overall?
Librarians are highly sought after for their enchanted books, particularly Mending. Other valuable trades include diamond gear from Armorers and Toolsmiths, and Ender Pearls from Clerics.
9. How do I get a Mending villager?
In versions 1.20 and later, Mending librarians are most commonly found in swamp biomes. Locate a swamp, build a house, obtain a swamp villager, place a lectern near them, and wait for them to become a librarian with the mending trade. If they don’t have Mending, break the Lectern and replace it until they offer the desired trade.
10. How many trades can a villager have?
In Java Edition, villagers can have up to 10 trades, with each level unlocking a maximum of two new trades. In Bedrock Edition, villagers have 7–10 trade slots.
11. Do villagers need beds to trade?
Beds are primarily required for villager breeding. While beds aren’t directly tied to trading itself, having a well-populated village with happy villagers generally leads to a more stable trading environment.
12. What can I do to lower villager trade prices permanently?
Turning a villager into a zombie and then curing them is the most effective way to permanently lower their trade prices. Defeating pillagers during a raid will also temporarily reduce trade prices in the village.
13. Why do villagers sometimes make disagreeing noises?
Villagers make disagreeing noises if they don’t have enough of an item to complete a trade, if the trade is locked due to overuse, or if your reputation in the village is poor.
14. Can villagers breed if they are not working?
Job sites are not required for villagers to breed. However, villagers need to be willing to breed, which requires them to have access to beds and food.
15. Are villagers from Animal Crossing the same as villagers from Minecraft?
No, the villagers from Animal Crossing and Minecraft are completely different. They are from different game franchises and have distinct appearances, behaviors, and roles.
By understanding these intricacies, you can maximize your trading efficiency and gain access to a wealth of valuable resources in Minecraft. Remember to respect your villagers (mostly!), provide them with comfortable living conditions, and they’ll reward you with incredible trades. For more information about games and learning, be sure to visit the Games Learning Society website at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/.