Raid Farm Design: Infinite Emeralds and Totems

Raid farms stand as some of the most powerful and rewarding automated systems in Minecraft. When properly constructed, they become virtually infinite sources of valuable resources, most notably emeralds (essential for villager trading) and Totems of Undying (providing a crucial cheat-death mechanic). Beyond these staples, they also yield enchanted books, iron tools and armor, saddles, crossbows, Ominous Banners, and significant amounts of gunpowder from witches. Mastering raid farm construction is a significant step towards late-game resource independence, fundamentally changing how players interact with villager trading and approach dangerous situations. The sheer volume of emeralds generated allows for easy acquisition of enchanted books, diamond gear, and other rare items from villagers, while an abundant supply of Totems encourages bolder exploration and combat strategies, especially against powerful foes like the Wither or Ender Dragon. This guide will walk you through building an efficient raid farm. While many designs exist, from simple starter versions suitable for early-late game to complex "stacking" raid farms involving multiple villages for maximum rates, the core principles remain similar. Understanding these principles allows adaptation and troubleshooting across various designs, enabling you to potentially tweak existing blueprints or even design your own variations based on your specific needs and available resources.

Prerequisites

Before you begin construction, ensure you have the necessary components and conditions met. Proper preparation will save significant time and frustration, especially when dealing with logistics like villager transport and large-scale building high in the sky. Rushing the setup often leads to subtle mistakes that can cripple the farm's efficiency or safety.

• A Pillager Outpost (Highly Recommended): While raids can be triggered near any village by a player with the Bad Omen effect, pillager outposts offer a consistent and predictable source of Pillager Captains (the ones carrying Ominous Banners). Locating your farm near an outpost (within easy travel distance, like a few hundred blocks, allowing you to fly or ride over quickly), or building a dedicated "captain farm" mechanism at the outpost itself, streamlines the process of acquiring Bad Omen repeatedly. Scouting for an outpost should be a priority; check plains, deserts, savannas, taigas, snowy plains, groves, snowy slopes, jagged peaks, frozen peaks, and stony peaks biomes (they are quite common!). Using Cartographer villagers to trade for Woodland Explorer Maps can sometimes reveal nearby outposts, though this isn't guaranteed. If an outpost is unavailable, you'll rely on finding wandering Pillager Patrols, which spawn randomly near the player after several in-game days (specifically, after 100 minutes or 5 Minecraft days, with increasing spawn chances thereafter if one hasn't spawned). This method is far less reliable, often involving long waiting periods and making continuous farming tedious, as patrols can spawn in inconvenient locations or be missed entirely. Building the raid farm directly above the outpost structure (around Y=150 or higher) is often the optimal strategy, as it allows for easy acquisition of Bad Omen from captains spawning below without needing a separate travel mechanism. You just need a way to safely kill the captain (e.g., dropping them into a pit, using ranged attacks) without killing other pillagers unnecessarily. Remember that the Bad Omen effect persists through death and milk buckets remove it, so be careful when returning to base if you don't want to accidentally trigger a raid there. The level of Bad Omen increases with each banner-carrying captain killed (up to level 5 in Java, level 1 in Bedrock, though higher levels can be obtained via commands), potentially increasing the difficulty and number of waves in the raid, although most farm designs handle this without issue.
• At Least One Villager: This villager acts as the 'bait' or the center of the artificial village that the raid will target. This villager needs to be kept safe and secure within the farm structure, completely isolated from potential harm. A bed is technically required near the villager for the game to recognize the location as a village capable of being raided, as it establishes the village center point, specifically the pillow-end of the bed. The villager must be able to pathfind to the bed and link with it (indicated by green particles appearing over the bed and villager), even if they are immediately pushed or contained away from it afterwards. Simply placing a bed nearby isn't sufficient; the link must be established. Breaking and replacing the bed might be necessary if the villager doesn't link correctly. The villager doesn't need a profession, but must be meticulously protected from stray arrows, Ravager roars (which can damage nearby blocks if not contained, so avoid placing the villager pod directly adjacent to the killing chamber floor), and especially Vexes, which can phase through solid blocks. Encasing the villager in glass or ensuring no direct line of sight from the raid spawning/killing area can help mitigate Vex attacks. Using double layers of solid blocks around the villager compartment offers additional security. Transporting this villager high up to the farm location (often built high in the sky to isolate spawns) can be tricky; using boats on leads (especially effective over land or ice paths), minecarts on rails (resource-intensive but reliable), or water streams with soul sand elevators (bubble columns) are common methods. Building a temporary staircase or scaffolding is another option, though laborious. Remember to bring extra materials for the transport process, as mistakes can happen. Consider breeding villagers near the farm's base location first and then transporting the offspring, rather than moving one from a distant village.
• Building Materials (Solid Blocks, Glass, Slabs): You'll need a substantial amount of solid, spawnable blocks for the raid spawning platforms (like cobblestone, stone, deepslate, wood planks – plan for at least 15-20 stacks, potentially more for larger designs). These blocks must allow standard mob spawning on their top surface according to light level rules (though light level doesn't affect raid spawns directly, the block type itself must be valid). Avoid using blocks like leaves, glass, bottom slabs, stairs, or blocks with complex hitboxes for the actual spawning floor. Non-spawnable blocks like glass are crucial for containing mobs, creating pathways, protecting the villager while allowing visibility, and preventing unwanted spawns in specific areas. You'll need several stacks of glass. Slabs (specifically bottom slabs) are essential for spawn-proofing areas where you don't want raid members or other hostile mobs to appear, such as the roof of the farm, pathways, and areas around the collection system. Use them liberally on any solid block surface you don't intend as a spawning platform. Other vital materials include:
  • Water Buckets: At least 4-8 buckets are typically needed. Water is used extensively for pushing raid mobs from the spawning platforms into the central killing chamber or transport streams. Precise water placement is key to efficient mob movement. Infinite water sources should be created near the build site.
  • Lava Bucket: One bucket is often used in the killing mechanism. A block of lava suspended above a hopper or flowing water can quickly dispatch most raid mobs. Ensure it's placed carefully to avoid destroying items or escaping mobs. Soul Campfires or fall damage are alternative killing methods.
  • Hoppers and Chests: A collection system is vital for gathering the loot. Plan for at least 10-20 hoppers (depending on the killing floor size) feeding into several double chests. An item sorter can be integrated later but isn't strictly necessary initially.
  • Signs or Fence Gates: Around 1-2 stacks. These are used to hold back water source blocks, allowing mobs to fall or flow past while controlling the water's spread. Trapdoors can sometimes serve a similar purpose. Signs are generally cheaper and easier to place in large quantities.
  • Leaves or other non-spawnable blocks: Several stacks for surrounding the farm. Building a large perimeter (roughly 128 blocks radius horizontally, and extending significantly below the farm) made of or covered in non-spawnable blocks like leaves, glass, or bottom slabs is crucial. This prevents other hostile mobs from spawning in the vicinity and filling the mob cap, which would severely reduce or completely halt raid spawns. This "spawn-proofing" step is non-negotiable for high efficiency.
  • (Optional) Redstone Components: Simple farms might not need redstone, but more advanced designs might incorporate pistons (for trident killers, which preserve looting effects), observers, repeaters, or dispensers for automated Bad Omen acquisition or killing processes.
  • Scaffolding or Dirt: Large quantities for easily reaching the build height and creating temporary platforms during construction. Scaffolding is much faster to remove than dirt pillars.