Pillager
hostileOurs, not the game's own: the biome names next to that structure, 3 drops that the rolls on death do not cover, how a pillager behaves. Same on Bedrock v1.26.40.05 for health. Checked 2026-08-22, and here is how we check.
Added InOverview
In Minecraft, the Pillager is classified as a hostile mob: it will attack players on sight whenever it is able to reach them.
Pillagers make their home in the Overworld, turning up in Pillager Outpost and Villages (during raids).
Its defining trait is simple: ranged attacker using a crossbow.
It carries 24 health points, 12 hearts, and yields 5 experience when it dies.
It was first added in 1.14 and has been a fixture of Minecraft ever since.
A useful detail many players miss: Patrol groups of 2-5 pillagers roam near villages.
Knowing how the Pillager behaves is mostly about survival: recognising it early and reacting correctly is what keeps a night-time excursion from ending in a respawn.
Damage by Difficulty
Spawning
In the wild, the Pillager is generated in Pillager Outpost and Villages (during raids).
Spawns around Pillager Outposts and during raids (wave 1+).
Left alone far from any player, wild pillagers eventually despawn, so use a name tag if you want a specific one to stick around.
Farming pillagers is not a matter of a dark platform: it is the spawn rule above that a farm has to reproduce.
Pillager Outpost
Villages (during raids)Another mob's spawn rule points back at it: the allay, found in cages in Pillager Outposts and Woodland Mansions and the ravager, sometimes ridden by Pillagers, Vindicators, or Evokers.
Where the Pillager spawns
- Inside a pillager outpost the biome list is replaced: weight 1 there, 100% of the monster list, in groups of 1.
Drops
Killing a Pillager produces the following loot:
Nothing here is guaranteed: a kill can give you 1 Ominous Bottle only in specific situations, 0 to 2 Arrows, 1 Crossbow (occasionally, 8.5% chance), and 1 Ominous Banner, but Ominous Banner drops only from patrol captains.
In terms of experience, each kill is worth 5 XP orbs.
These are well worth keeping. Ominous Banner drops only from patrol captains.
Across many kills the guaranteed items pile up steadily while the chance-based extras trickle in, so consistent farming is the way to build a meaningful stockpile.
| Item | Count | Chance | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ominous Bottle | 1 | situational | |
| Arrow | 0 to 2 | not every kill | equipment |
| Crossbow | 1 | 8.5% | equipment |
| Ominous Banner | 1 | situational | Ominous Banner drops only from patrol captains, equipment |
Ominous BottlePillager attributes
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
 Size | 0.6 x 1.95 blocks |
 Tracking range | 8 chunks |
| Follow range | 32 blocks |
 Experience | 5 |
 Movement speed | 0.35 |
 Health | 24 points |
 Attack damage attribute | 5 |
The Pillager does not stand alone on these numbers: the evoker on the same 24 health.
Pillager: 4 values straight out of Minecraft Java 26.2
Nothing in the biome spawn lists and nothing in the rolls on death names the pillager, so the numbers on this page come from one place only: the game's own entry for it in Minecraft Java 26.2sets 24 health, 5 attack damage, 0.35 movement speed and 32 blocks follow range.
| Weapon | Attack damage | Full swings |
|---|---|---|
 golden sword, wooden sword | 4 | 6 |
 stone sword | 5 | 5 |
| iron sword | 6 | 4 |
 diamond sword, golden axe, wooden axe | 7 | 4 |
 netherite sword | 8 | 3 |
 diamond axe, iron axe, stone axe | 9 | 3 |
 netherite axe | 10 | 3 |
Coming the other way, a pillager hit is 20% of a player's 20 health, 5 of them a full bar, all out of the pillager's 4 damage on Normal. On Easy the same pillager hit is 15%, on Hard 25%, so 7 hits against 4.
Behavior & Combat
Behaviourally, ranged attacker using a crossbow. Patrol captains carry Ominous Banners. Killing a captain gives Bad Omen, triggering a raid if you enter a village.
It notices a target from 32 blocks, 10th of 88 for follow range, with the zombified piglin its nearest at 35.
It can hit you for 3 on Easy, 4 on Normal and 5 on Hard, while its own 24 health (12 hearts) determines how many blows it takes to kill.
To deal with one efficiently, exploit its weaknesses: it is vulnerable to Shields and Melee rush.
Since it can attack from range, closing the distance quickly or breaking line of sight with cover is often safer than trading hits at a distance.
As an illager it takes part in raids: defeating the waves a raid throws at a village earns the Hero of the Village effect, which gives discounts on villager trades.
The practical takeaway is to respect its strengths, exploit the weaknesses listed above, and you will rarely lose a fight you choose to take.
Pillager commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| /summon minecraft:pillager | Puts a pillager on the block you are standing on. |
| /give @p minecraft:pillager_spawn_egg | Hands you the pillager spawn egg, so you can place pillagers where you want them. |
| /kill @e[type=minecraft:pillager] | Removes every pillager that is loaded around you. |
Entity id minecraft:pillager, spawn egg minecraft:pillager_spawn_egg.
Pillager farm
The pillager has no biome of its own to spawn in: it comes with the pillager outpost, at 100% of the monster rolls there, 1 at a time.
A pillager farm therefore starts with the pillager outpost itself, lit end to end apart from the spots you keep for pillagers.
Each kill is worth 5 experience and up to 2 arrows, so the size of the pillager farm follows the number you need of that one item.
5 experience per kill
Arrow up to 2Pillager version history
23 April 2019 is the day the pillager arrived, in Minecraft 1.14, and the pillager has been part of the game for 7 years since.
6 other mobs here came with it: the fox, the panda, the trader llama, the ravager, the cat and the wandering trader. Of the 88 mobs we list, 55 were in the game before the pillager and 26 arrived after it.
Every pillager figure on this page is read from Minecraft Java 26.2 as it stands today, not from the version above.
What Pillager sounds like
Turn subtitles on and every pillager sound names itself in the corner of the screen. These are the 4 lines a pillager can put there, and you can play any of them yourself with /playsound minecraft:entity.pillager.ambient master @p.
| Sound | What you hear |
|---|---|
| entity.pillager.ambient |  Pillager murmurs |
| entity.pillager.hurt | Pillager hurts |
| entity.pillager.death | Pillager dies |
| entity.pillager.celebrate | Pillager cheers |
Advancements that need Pillager
3 advancements ask for pillager by name, 1 of them about the pillager alone.
Who's the Pillager Now?Give a Pillager a taste of their own medicine- Monster HunterKill any hostile monster
- Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster
