How to Cure Zombie Villagers in Minecraft
Full guide to curing zombie villagers for permanent trade discounts. Covers the splash potion method, golden apple requirement, timing, and how gossip-based discounts work.
Curing zombie villagers is the best way to get permanent trade discounts in Minecraft. A cured villager offers significantly lower prices than a regular villager, and the discount stacks with repeated curing. This mechanic is the foundation of cheap trading setups and is essential for any serious trading hall. On top of the discounts, curing is also how you can get villagers in biomes or locations where none spawn naturally.
What you need
| Item | How to get it |
|---|---|
| Splash Potion of Weakness (or Lingering Potion of Weakness) | Brew an Awkward Potion with a Fermented Spider Eye, then add gunpowder to make it a splash potion. |
| Golden Apple (regular, not enchanted) | Craft with 8 gold ingots surrounding an apple. Also found in dungeon, mineshaft, and ruined portal chests. |
You can also use a Witch to apply the weakness effect. Witches throw Splash Potions of Weakness at their targets. If you can lure a witch near a zombie villager and get it to throw the potion, you skip the brewing step entirely. This is tricky to pull off but some players use it in early-game situations.
Step-by-step curing process
- Find or create a zombie villager. Zombie villagers spawn naturally at night (5% of all zombie spawns are zombie villagers). You can also let a zombie kill a regular villager. On Hard difficulty, there is a 100% chance the villager converts to a zombie villager instead of dying. On Normal, the chance is 50%. On Easy, villagers always die and never convert.
- Trap the zombie villager. Build a small enclosure or use a boat. The zombie villager needs to be contained so it does not burn in sunlight or attack you. A roofed 2x1 space works. Make sure it has a roof or is underground.
- Apply Weakness. Throw the Splash Potion of Weakness at the zombie villager. You will see gray swirl particles around it, confirming the effect is active.
- Feed it a Golden Apple. Right-click (use button) the zombie villager with a golden apple. The zombie villager starts shaking and emitting red particles. A loud hissing/bubbling sound plays.
- Wait. The curing process takes 3 to 5 minutes. During this time, the zombie villager is still hostile and must remain contained. Do not kill it.
- The villager converts. After the timer completes, the zombie villager transforms into a regular villager with a profession (or unemployed if it had none). It now offers discounted trades.
How discounts work
When you cure a zombie villager, the cured villager gains "major positive gossip" about you. This gossip propagates to nearby villagers as well. The result is a significant discount on all trades from the cured villager and smaller discounts from villagers that heard the gossip.
On Java Edition, the discount from a single cure is substantial. Trades that normally cost 20+ emeralds can drop to 1 emerald. The discount decays over time but very slowly, and you can re-cure the villager to refresh it (see the max discounts guide).
On Bedrock Edition, the discount is permanent and does not decay. However, the discount from a single cure is smaller than on Java. Multiple cures stack, and after 5 cures on Bedrock, most trades reach their minimum price.
Curing near other villagers
The gossip system means that if you cure a zombie villager within range of other villagers (about 16 blocks), those villagers also gain positive gossip about you and offer discounts. This is a powerful technique: set up all your trading hall villagers in close proximity, then cure one zombie villager nearby. Every villager in range gets a discount. You can repeat this process to stack discounts across your entire trading hall.
Difficulty matters
The difficulty setting determines whether a killed villager converts to a zombie villager:
- Hard: 100% conversion rate. Always use Hard if you are intentionally converting villagers.
- Normal: 50% conversion rate. Risky; you might lose the villager.
- Easy: 0% conversion rate. Villagers always die. Curing is not possible through intentional conversion on Easy.
Where to find zombie villagers
- 5% of all naturally spawning zombies are zombie villagers.
- Zombie villages (abandoned villages) generate with zombie villagers instead of regular villagers.
- Igloos with basements contain a trapped zombie villager and a brewing stand with a Splash Potion of Weakness, essentially a tutorial for the curing mechanic.
Automating the process
For large-scale trading halls, some players build "curing stations" where they can repeatedly zombie-ify and cure the same villager. The process:
- Build a chamber with a trapdoor or piston that lets a zombie in.
- Let the zombie convert the villager (set difficulty to Hard).
- Splash the weakness potion and feed the golden apple.
- Wait for the cure, then repeat for stacking discounts.
This is the basis of the max discount method. Each cure cycle stacks more positive gossip, driving prices lower and lower.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cure a zombie villager more than once?
Yes. You can let a zombie convert the villager back into a zombie villager, then cure it again. Each cure adds more positive gossip and increases the discount. On Java, there is a practical cap where prices hit 1 emerald for most trades.
Does the difficulty need to stay on Hard?
Only during the zombie conversion step. Once the villager is a zombie villager, you can switch back to any difficulty to cure it. The curing process works on all difficulties.
What if the zombie kills me instead?
Trap the zombie first. Use a boat, a two-block-deep pit, or a fenced area. Never try to cure a zombie villager in the open where other mobs can interfere.
Do cured villagers keep their old trades?
Yes, if they had been traded with before being zombified. A villager that was locked (had at least one trade completed) retains its trades, experience level, and profession through the zombie-cure cycle. An untreated villager that was never traded with may lose its profession and trades.
Can I cure zombie villagers in the Nether or End?
Yes. The curing process works in all dimensions. This is actually useful for establishing villager trading posts in the Nether.
For more details on mob mechanics, see mobs.astroworldmc.com.
Want to try villager trading on a server with a full player economy? Astroworld MC runs economy survival with an auction house, custom enchants, and crossplay. IP: play.astroworldmc.com