How to Build a Raid Farm in Minecraft
Detailed guide to building a raid farm in Minecraft 1.21+ Java Edition. Covers Bad Omen mechanics, villager placement, kill chambers, and emerald/totem drop rates.
Raid farms exploit the raid mechanic to spawn waves of pillagers, vindicators, evokers, witches, and ravagers in a controlled area. They produce emeralds, totems of undying, enchanted gear, saddles, and massive XP. A properly built raid farm is one of the best all-around farms in the game. This guide covers the full build process for Java Edition 1.21+.
Why build a raid farm?
- Only reliable farm for totems of undying (from evokers).
- Produces emeralds in bulk from pillager and vindicator drops.
- Excellent XP (comparable to Enderman farms with the right design).
- Also drops crossbows, iron axes, saddles, and enchanted gear.
- Grants the Hero of the Village effect, giving trading discounts.
How raids work
A raid triggers when a player with the Bad Omen effect enters a village (defined as a location with at least one villager and one claimed bed or workstation). Raids consist of multiple waves (up to 7 on Hard difficulty), each spawning a group of hostile illager mobs. The raid ends when all mobs are killed or the village is destroyed.
In 1.21+, Bad Omen is obtained by killing a pillager captain (the one carrying a banner) at a pillager outpost or patrol. The effect lasts 100 minutes and triggers a raid when you enter a village boundary.
Materials list
| Item | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Villager | 1 | Creates the "village" that triggers raids |
| Bed | 1 | Villager claims it to register a village |
| Workstation block | 1 | Optional but helps villager assignment |
| Building blocks | 500+ | Platform, walls, channels |
| Water buckets | 20+ | Mob transport streams |
| Lava buckets | 4+ | Kill chamber |
| Signs | 30+ | Water and lava control |
| Hoppers | 10+ | Item collection |
| Chests | 6+ | Storage |
| Walls or fence gates | varies | Prevent mob pathfinding escapes |
| Trident with Channeling (optional) | 1 | Converts witches in thunderstorms |
| Pillager outpost nearby | N/A | For obtaining Bad Omen |
Step-by-step build instructions
Step 1: Find a pillager outpost
Locate a pillager outpost. These spawn in plains, desert, savanna, taiga, snowy plains, and similar biomes. The outpost provides a constant supply of pillager captains for the Bad Omen effect. Build the raid farm within 200 blocks of the outpost for convenience.
Step 2: Build the village platform
Build a platform 30 to 50 blocks above the ground (high enough that no natural village exists below). Place one bed and one workstation on the platform. Transport a villager up using a minecart or boat elevator. The villager must claim the bed, creating a valid village center.
Step 3: Protect the villager
Enclose the villager in a small box (3x3x3) with solid walls. Raid mobs attempt to pathfind to villagers, so the villager must be unreachable but alive. If the villager dies, the village is destroyed and raids stop triggering. Consider adding a name tag to the villager.
Step 4: Build the spawning platforms
Raid mobs spawn within the village boundary (centered on the villager's claimed bed, radius of roughly 64 blocks). Build solid platforms at the edges of this boundary. The mobs spawn on these platforms and immediately pathfind toward the villager.
Step 5: Create water channels
Place water streams on the spawning platforms that push raid mobs toward a central collection point. The mobs pathfind toward the villager and walk into the water, which carries them to the kill chamber. Use signs to stop water at the right points.
Top-down view:
[SPAWN PLATFORM]---water--->|
|
[SPAWN PLATFORM]---water--->|-->[KILL CHAMBER]
|
[SPAWN PLATFORM]---water--->|
[VILLAGER in box nearby]
Step 6: Build the kill chamber
The kill chamber needs to handle ravagers (large hitbox), witches (drink fire resistance), and standard illagers. The most reliable method is a drop shaft (23+ blocks for lethal fall damage to most mobs) combined with lava for witches. Alternatively, use entity cramming (push 24+ mobs into a 1x1 space) to bypass fire-resistant witches.
Step 7: Add collection hoppers
Place hoppers at the bottom of the kill chamber, feeding into chests. The drops include emeralds, totems of undying, crossbows, ominous bottles, iron axes, saddles, and occasionally enchanted items.
Step 8: Trigger the raid
Kill a pillager captain at the nearby outpost to get Bad Omen. Walk onto the platform near the villager. The raid begins immediately. Kill (or let the farm kill) each wave. After all waves are complete, kill another captain and start a new raid.
Automating Bad Omen
For continuous farming, build a pillager collection system near the outpost. Trap captains using boats or water channels. Kill them manually or with a trident killer when you are ready to start a new raid. Some designs channel captains from the outpost directly to the player's AFK spot.
Wave composition (Hard difficulty)
| Wave | Mobs |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pillagers |
| 2 | Pillagers, Vindicators |
| 3 | Pillagers, Ravager |
| 4 | Pillagers, Vindicators, Witches |
| 5 | Pillagers, Vindicators, Evoker, Ravager |
| 6 | Pillagers, Vindicators, Evoker, Witches |
| 7 | Pillagers, Vindicators, Evoker, Ravager + Rider, Witches |
Expected drops per raid
- Emeralds: 5 to 15 per raid from vindicator and pillager drops.
- Totems of Undying: 1 to 3 per raid (from evokers, Hard difficulty has more waves with evokers).
- Crossbows: Multiple, often enchanted.
- Iron Axes: From vindicators, sometimes enchanted.
- Saddles: From ravagers (100% drop rate).
Common mistakes
- Villager dies. If the villager is killed by raid mobs, the village ceases to exist and no more raids trigger. Double-wall the villager's enclosure and keep it well-lit.
- Building too low. If the farm is at ground level, raid mobs can spawn on nearby terrain and wander off. Build it high in the air so the only valid spawn surfaces are your platforms.
- Witches surviving lava. Witches drink fire resistance potions. Use entity cramming or fall damage combined with lava rather than lava alone.
- Ravagers getting stuck. Ravagers have a 1.95x1.95 block hitbox. Make all water channels and pathways at least 2 blocks wide so they fit through.
- Not on Hard difficulty. Easy mode has fewer waves and no evokers in the final wave. Play on Hard for maximum drops (especially totems).
Frequently asked questions
Does this work on Bedrock Edition?
The concept works but the raid spawning mechanics differ. Bedrock raids have different wave compositions and mob spawn logic. Build designs specific to Bedrock for reliable results.
How many totems per hour can I get?
On Hard difficulty with a fast kill chamber, you can complete 6 to 10 raids per hour. Each raid drops 1 to 3 totems (from evokers), so expect 6 to 30 totems per hour.
Can I AFK this farm?
Semi-AFK. You need to trigger new raids by obtaining Bad Omen. Some designs automate the captain kill by funneling pillager captains to the player using boats. You still need to be present and within the village boundary.
What is the Hero of the Village effect?
After winning a raid, you get Hero of the Village for 40 minutes. This gives large discounts at villager trades (up to 55% discount at level 5). Combined with a trading hall, this turns raids into a highly profitable trading cycle.
Do raids despawn if I go too far?
Raid mobs do not follow normal despawn rules. They persist as long as the raid is active. However, if you leave the village boundary for too long (roughly 2 minutes), the raid can time out and fail.
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