Illager

An illager^[1] is a type of hostile mob that regularly spawns in woodland mansions, patrols, raids, and pillager outposts. All illagers are hostile toward players, villagers (excluding baby villagers), wandering traders and iron golems.

Classification[]

There are five specific criteria for a mob to be considered an illager:

• "Johnny" vindicators do not attack the mob. (except ravagers)
• The mob cannot be damaged by evoker fangs. (except ravagers)
• The mob cannot be damaged by a ravager's roar.
• The mob does not fight back when hit by a missed Arrow shot by a pillager or illusioner.‌^{[JE only]}
• The mob does attack villagers but ignores baby villagers, unlike zombie variants.

List of mobs[]

Illagers[]

Name	Face	Behavior	Notes	Image
Pillager		Hostile	Pillagers wield crossbows, firing arrows at players from a distance. They spawn in pillager patrols, raids and pillager outposts. Pillagers occasionally drop their own weapons, ominous banners (if they happen to be an illager captain), and arrows‌[BE only].
Vindicator			Vindicators charge at you while attempting to hit you with their iron axe. They spawn in raids and woodland mansions. Vindicators occasionally drop emeralds, their own weapon and ominous banners (if they happen to be an illager captain).
Evoker			Evokers cast spells to attack players, summoning snapping fangs and flying minions to attack. They do not attack, instead attempting to run away as soon as players get close. They spawn in raids and woodland mansions. Evokers drop totems of undying and occasionally drop emeralds and ominous banners (if they happen to be an illager captain).
Illusioner‌[JE only]		Hostile	Illusioners usually fire arrows at players with their bow, but are also capable of spellcasting, using illusory clones and blindness illusions in combat. Illusioners do not spawn naturally, do not have a spawn egg, and can only be summoned via commands. Illusioners occasionally drop bows and ominous banners (if they happen to spawn in as an illager captain). This mob is a Minecraft: Java Edition exclusive feature. This mob can only be summoned by the use of commands.

Non-illager allies[]

Name	Face	Behavior	Notes	Image
Vex		Hostile	Vexes are capable of flight and can even move through blocks, occasionally lunging at the player in order to hit them with their iron sword. They are only seen as minions summoned by the evokers. Vexes drop nothing but experience‌[JE only].Vexes occasionally drop their own weapon‌[BE only].
Witch		Hostile	Witches are spell casting non-Illager allies that wield their various potions in combat, both hindering players and healing themselves and ally mobs around them. They spawn naturally at night, in swamp huts, during raids, and if a villager is struck by lightning. Witches occasionally drop sticks, glass bottles, glowstone dust, redstone dust, spider eyes, gunpowder, sugar, and potions.
Ravager		Hostile	Ravagers are large, powerful beasts that will charge at their prey and bite down on them with their jaws. While they can be stunned with a shield, they will let out a deadly roar once they snap out of it. They can only spawn in raids. Ravagers drop saddles.

Ravager Jockeys[]

A ravager jockey is an illager that spawns riding a ravager. The riders can be pillagers, vindicators, or evokers.

Java Edition

A ravager ridden by a pillager spawns at raids in wave 5. Ravagers ridden by vindicators and evokers spawn at wave 7.

Bedrock Edition

A ravager ridden by pillager spawns at raids in waves 5 and 7. Ravagers ridden by evokers also spawn at wave 7. The ravagers ridden by vindicators do not spawn in raids, and can be spawned only with commands.

Occurrences[]

Illagers spawn naturally in patrol and raids. They always spawn naturally in groups while in patrols and raids, or inside their structures.

• Pillagers spawn in pillager outposts.
• Vindicators and evokers spawn in woodland mansions.

Only pillagers, vindicators, and evokers spawn naturally.

Vindicators and evokers that spawn naturally in woodland mansions do not despawn or respawn.

Ravagers spawn exclusively in raids.

Raid Captain[]

Illagers sometimes have their own captain. Any illager has a small chance to be a raid captain with an ominous banner (even when using a spawn egg‌^{[Java Edition only]}, or when summoned by commands). Raid captains can spawn in raids‌^{[Java Edition only]} and patrols.^{[more information needed]}

in Java Edition, the ominous banner equips on the illager's helmet slot. in Bedrock Edition, the illager banner equips on the illager's chestplate slot.

Event[]

Illagers have their own in-game events, led by raid captains‌^{[Java Edition only]}:

• Patrol — a naturally spawned group of five pillagers roaming the landscape and monitoring the villages.
• Raid — waves of illagers and witches spawn and attack a village with ominous horn blares. in Java Edition, An illager captain spawns in each wave with other illagers, usually with a vindicator as the captain. It is triggered when a player with the Bad OmenBad Omen status effect enters a village. Raiders and villagers usually have different behavior in a raid. In Bedrock Edition, any killed raiders drops special loot. Both raiders and villagers celebrate after defeating or saving a village respectively.

Effects[]

Killing a raid captain in patrols, in a mansion,‌^{[JE only]} or in an outpost inflicts the player with the Bad Omen effect, which triggers a raid when that player enters a village with the effect still active. The level of the effect increases the enchantment power of pillagers' and vindicators' crossbows and axes, respectively, and omens with a level higher than 1 cause an extra wave of raiders to occur ‌^{[JE only]}. When all waves have been finished in a raid, the Hero of the Village effect is given, which decreases prices when trading with villagers. The level of the effect scales with the level of the omen that triggered the raid.

Rune[]

Illagers have an alphabet called illageralt, a rune font from Minecraft Dungeons. This font is currently usable only via commands.

Java Edition[]

All illagers ignore baby villagers, but may still hit them by accident.

Illagers do not retaliate when hit by a missed arrow shot by a pillager or illusioner.

A vindicator can disable the player's shield with its iron axe attack, even when riding a mob. If a player fails to land a melee attack on a vindicator that rides a ravager during a raid in Hard difficulty, the vindicator rider can deal great damage to a player without protection from a shield.

All illagers, ravagers, and witches within 48 blocks of a bell that has been rung gain three seconds of the Glowing effect, effectively highlighting them through walls.

Reinforcements[]

On all difficulty levels, damaged illager mobs call all other illagers of their respective type within an area centered on the attacked illager to target the attacker, as long as the attacker is a non-illager. For example, pillagers attack a skeleton that injures another pillager, but pillagers do not aid a vindicator hit by a skeleton.^{[more information needed]}

Raids[]

During raids, Vindicators can open doors like villagers. They can break wooden doors in normal or hard difficulty, if they cannot open the door successfully.^[2]Evokers and illusioners gain high movement speed without any effect.

A raid captain spawns in each wave with other raiders, usually with a vindicator as the captain.

Illagers pick up ominous banners dropped by raid captains, depends on how many raid captains die in this wave. If the raid captain is still alive, they do not pick up the banner from last wave remains or if thrown by the player.

Patrol[]

All illagers, ravagers, and witches join nearby patrol actively. If a "Johnny" vindicator joins a patrol, all patrol members assume the "Johnny" vindicator's aggressive behavior.

Bedrock Edition[]

Vindicators and evokers do not despawn and are passive on Peaceful difficulty.

All illagers and vexes ignore baby villagers, but pillagers and illusioners may still shoot them by accident.

A dispenser can equip an evoker, vindicator, or pillager with armor. However, no armor is visible on them and no armor drops upon death.

Pillagers and ravagers do not purposefully attack other illagers. However, non-pillagers and non-ravager do attack pillagers who hit them with missed arrows.^[3] Vindicators and evokers retaliate against a pillager if the pillager accidentally hits the vindicator or evoker with an arrow, although the evoker fang deals no damage to pillagers. Vexes summoned by an injured evoker can still attack the pillager.

A "ravager with vindicator rider" is unused in Bedrock Edition. It can be summoned by a spawn event command without raid configuration.

After the Texture Update, illagers still use the Java Edition 1.14 snapshot texture, including some of the Marketplace textures (for example, the pillager's arms).^[4][5] Also, a ravager's leg texture in Bedrock Edition is different from that in Java edition.

History[]

Trivia[]

• According to Minecraft Mobestiary, illagers were "expelled" from villages due to their "unspeakable activities". After the release of Minecraft Dungeons, the setting of illagers has been changed and expanded.^[6]
• Witches allied with the illagers during raids. Cory Scheviak jokingly explained that witches spawned in raids are just along for the ride.^[7]

Gallery[]

• 

  A poster by Mojang Studios of the Village and Pillage update.

• 

  An illager patrol looking at a villager secretly at night.

• 

  A vindicator from Minecraft Mobestiary.

• 

  Three pillagers and two vindicators attacking a nitwit villager.

• 

  A ravager that is destroying leaves.

• 

  Pillager and Vindicator Hight comparison.

• 

  All the illager mobs, including a vex.

References[]