Minecraft Villager Trades: The Ultimate Guide

Hey there, fellow Minecraft enthusiasts! Ever wondered how to get the best deals from those quirky villagers in your game? Well, you've come to the right place! This guide dives deep into the fascinating world of villager trades, covering everything from the basics to advanced techniques. Let's get started and turn you into a master negotiator!

Understanding Villager Trades

Villager trades are the cornerstone of sustainable resource acquisition in Minecraft. Instead of relying solely on mining or farming, you can establish a thriving economy with villagers, exchanging emeralds for valuable items like tools, armor, enchanted books, and rare resources. But before we dive into the specifics, let's understand how villager trading works.

Each villager has a profession, indicated by their clothing. This profession determines the types of trades they offer. For example, a librarian will trade books and enchanted books, while a blacksmith will trade tools and armor. The trades available from a villager are randomized when they first become employed, but you can re-roll these trades by breaking and replacing their job site block (more on that later!). Also, each trade has a limited number of uses. Once you've traded with a villager a certain number of times for a particular item, they will lock that trade temporarily, encouraging you to diversify your purchases and come back later. This mechanic prevents you from exploiting a single trade and keeps the villager economy balanced. Finally, villager trades are affected by your reputation with the village. If you've helped defend the village from raids or cured zombie villagers, you'll receive discounts on trades, making them even more advantageous. Conversely, if you've attacked villagers or stolen from the village, you'll face higher prices. Understanding these basic mechanics is crucial for maximizing your villager trading efficiency.

Types of Villagers and Their Trades

Knowing villager types is essential for efficiently acquiring resources. Each villager profession offers unique trades, making some more valuable than others depending on your needs. Let's explore the different types of villagers and the resources they offer, so you can strategically plan your village layout and villager employment.

Armorer

Armorers are your go-to for protective gear. They trade iron, coal, and emeralds for armor pieces. At higher levels, they offer diamond armor, making them invaluable for gearing up for dangerous expeditions. They can also sell enchanted armor, saving you the hassle of enchanting it yourself. Keeping a high-level armorer around is a must for any serious player looking to survive the perils of the Minecraft world. They usually want coal, iron ingots, or emeralds, and they sell iron armor, chainmail armor, and diamond armor. Late game, they will sell diamond armor with enchantments.

Cleric

Clerics deal in magical and medicinal items. They buy rotten flesh and sell emeralds, potions, and ender pearls. They're particularly useful for obtaining ender pearls early in the game, which are essential for accessing the End dimension. Plus, their potion selection can provide you with valuable buffs for combat and exploration. The cleric is very useful because it allows you to sell rotten flesh, which is commonly found as a byproduct of fighting zombies. Then they will sell you ender pearls, which can be hard to come by early game. Also, they will sell you bottles o' enchanting, which can give you levels to get better enchantments.

Farmer

Farmers are the backbone of any sustainable village. They buy crops like wheat, carrots, potatoes, and beetroot in exchange for emeralds. They also sell various food items, making them a reliable source of sustenance. Setting up automated farms near your farmers is an excellent way to generate a steady income of emeralds. They will buy almost any crop you give them, and they will sell you bread, stew, and golden carrots. They are very useful in establishing an early game food source that is fully automatic.

Fisherman

Fishermen provide a source of food and other useful items. They buy fish and sell emeralds, cooked fish, and fishing rods. While not as essential as farmers, they can be a valuable addition to your village, especially if you have a readily available source of fish. They are also very easy to set up because they are so cheap, only requiring a barrel to get started. They buy fish, and sell cooked fish, fishing rods, and campfires.

Fletcher

Fletchers specialize in ranged combat equipment. They buy sticks, feathers, and flint in exchange for emeralds. They also sell bows and arrows, making them a valuable resource for archers. At higher levels, they offer enchanted bows, providing a significant advantage in combat. They are also useful for getting emeralds from sticks, which are very easy to acquire early game. They buy sticks, and sell bows, arrows, and tipped arrows.

Leatherworker

Leatherworkers deal in leather and leather-related items. They buy leather and sell leather armor, saddles, and horse armor. While leather armor isn't the strongest, saddles are essential for riding horses, and horse armor can provide additional protection for your steeds. They buy leather and sell leather armor, saddles, and horse armor.

Librarian

Librarians are arguably the most valuable villagers. They buy paper and sell books, bookshelves, and enchanted books. Enchanted books are essential for applying enchantments to your tools, armor, and weapons, making librarians indispensable for end-game progression. Re-rolling their trades to get the best enchantments is a common practice among experienced players. Librarians are highly sought after because they are the only way to get specific enchantments on books. To get them to trade, they want paper, and they sell books, bookshelves, lanterns, and enchanted books. If you get a good enchantment, it is worth it to keep them around.

Mason

Masons work with stone and clay. They buy stone, clay, and granite in exchange for emeralds. They also sell bricks, terracotta, and other decorative blocks, making them useful for builders. They buy stone, clay, and granite, and sell bricks, terracotta, and other decorative blocks.

Nitwit

Nitwits are the unemployed villagers. They are the green villagers. They do not have a job and therefore cannot trade.

Shepherd

Shepherds work with wool. They buy wool and sell emeralds, wool, and carpets. They are very easy to set up because sheep are very common, and can automatically be sheared with an observer and dispenser. They buy wool and sell emeralds, wool, and carpets.

Toolsmith

Toolsmiths are the tool version of the armorer. They buy iron and coal and sell stone tools, iron tools, and diamond tools. They can also sell enchanted tools. Keeping a high-level toolsmith around is a must for any serious player looking to get the best tools in the game. They buy iron and coal, and sell stone tools, iron tools, and diamond tools. Late game, they will sell diamond tools with enchantments.

Weaponsmith

Weaponsmiths are the weapon version of the armorer and toolsmith. They buy iron and coal and sell stone axes, iron axes, and diamond axes. They can also sell enchanted axes and swords. Keeping a high-level weaponsmith around is a must for any serious player looking to get the best weapons in the game. They buy iron and coal, and sell stone axes, iron axes, diamond axes, and swords. Late game, they will sell diamond weapons with enchantments.

Optimizing Villager Trades

To optimize villager trades, it's essential to understand the mechanics that influence trade prices and availability. By leveraging these mechanics, you can maximize your profits and acquire valuable resources more efficiently. This section explores the key factors that impact villager trades and provides strategies for exploiting them.

Curing Zombie Villagers

Curing a zombie villager grants you a permanent discount on all of that villager's trades. This discount stacks with subsequent cures, making cured villagers incredibly valuable. To cure a zombie villager, splash it with a Weakness potion and then feed it a golden apple. The villager will begin to shake and emit particles, eventually transforming back into a normal villager. This is one of the best ways to get discounts, especially if you have a cleric villager to give you the weakness potions.

Village Reputation

Your reputation within a village affects trade prices. Defending the village from raids and avoiding actions that harm villagers will improve your reputation, resulting in lower prices. Conversely, attacking villagers or stealing from the village will decrease your reputation, leading to higher prices. It is generally a good idea to not anger the villagers if you want to get better trades.

Demand and Restocking

Each trade has a limited number of uses before it locks temporarily. This encourages you to diversify your trades and prevents you from exploiting a single trade repeatedly. Villagers restock their trades periodically, allowing you to continue trading with them. Keeping a variety of resources on hand ensures you can take advantage of all available trades as they restock. When a villager locks a trade, you can trade with the other villagers, and come back later. Or, you can wait for the villager to restock, which usually happens within a Minecraft day or two.

Job Site Blocks

Each villager needs a job site block to maintain their profession and restock their trades. If a villager cannot access their job site block, they will not restock their trades. You can also use this mechanic to re-roll a villager's trades by breaking and replacing their job site block until you get the desired trades. This is especially useful for librarians, where specific enchanted books can be highly valuable. If you want to get specific trades, it is best to trap the villager in a small room, and constantly break and replace the job site block to get the best trades possible.

Setting Up a Villager Trading Hall

A villager trading hall is essentially a centralized location where you can safely and efficiently trade with multiple villagers. This setup allows you to organize your villagers by profession, making it easy to find the trades you need. This section guides you through the process of building an efficient and functional villager trading hall.

Design Considerations

When designing your trading hall, consider the following factors: Space: Ensure you have enough space to house all the villager professions you need. Accessibility: Make sure the villagers are easily accessible for trading. Safety: Protect your villagers from zombies and other threats. Organization: Arrange villagers by profession for easy navigation. Aesthetics: Design the hall in a visually appealing way to enhance your gameplay experience.

Construction Steps

1. Choose a Location: Select a safe and easily accessible location for your trading hall.
2. Build the Structure: Construct a building with individual cells for each villager. Each cell should contain a bed and the villager's job site block.
3. Populate the Hall: Bring villagers into the hall and assign them to their respective cells. You can use minecarts or temporary pathways to transport villagers.
4. Secure the Hall: Ensure the hall is well-lit to prevent zombie spawns and reinforce the walls to protect against other threats.
5. Optimize for Trading: Arrange the cells to make trading as efficient as possible. Consider using name tags to label each villager's profession.

Automation

While not strictly necessary, you can automate certain aspects of your trading hall to improve efficiency. For example, you can use hopper minecarts to automatically collect items from villagers and transport them to a central storage location. You can also use redstone contraptions to control lighting and other aspects of the hall.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even with the best planning, you may encounter issues with your villager trading setup. This section addresses common problems and provides solutions to keep your trading hall running smoothly. From preventing villagers from despawning to dealing with zombie invasions, we've got you covered.

Villager Despawning

Villagers can despawn if they are not properly secured. To prevent despawning, ensure that all villagers are contained within a fully enclosed space and have been traded with at least once. Trading with a villager marks them as a persistent entity, preventing them from despawning.

Zombie Invasions

Zombies can pose a significant threat to your villagers, especially during the night. To protect your villagers, ensure that your trading hall is well-lit and reinforced with durable materials. You can also use iron golems to defend the village from zombie attacks.

Trade Locking

As mentioned earlier, each trade has a limited number of uses before it locks temporarily. If a trade locks, simply wait for the villager to restock their trades. You can also encourage restocking by providing the villager with access to their job site block.

Villager Employment Issues

Sometimes, villagers may have trouble claiming their job site block. This can be caused by obstructions or other villagers competing for the same block. Ensure that each villager has unobstructed access to their assigned job site block.

Conclusion

Mastering villager trades in Minecraft can significantly enhance your gameplay experience. By understanding the different types of villagers, optimizing your trades, and setting up an efficient trading hall, you can acquire valuable resources and progress through the game more efficiently. So go out there, build your trading empire, and become the ultimate villager negotiator! Good luck, and happy crafting!