What is a pillager?
A pillager is a hostile mob from the illager family, the same group of gray-skinned villains that includes vindicators and evokers. Pillagers carry crossbows and attack on sight, firing arrows from a distance. If you have ever run into a roaming band of crossbow-wielding figures in the Overworld, those were pillagers.
They look like villagers gone wrong: tall, pale gray-green skin, a heavy brow, and dull ragged clothing. The difference is the weapon and the attitude. Villagers trade with you. Pillagers shoot you.
Pillagers matter for two reasons. They guard pillager outposts, which hold loot, and they form the backbone of raids, the wave-based attacks that descend on villages. Knowing how they behave makes both situations much easier to handle.
Where pillagers spawn
Pillagers show up in three main places, and each one calls for a slightly different plan.
Pillager outposts
An outpost is a tall dark-wood watchtower that generates in the same kinds of biomes as villages, such as plains, savanna, desert, taiga, and snowy plains. Several pillagers spawn around the tower, and they keep respawning as long as you stay nearby, so an outpost is a steady source of them. The top of the tower usually holds a chest with useful early-game loot, and many outposts have a wooden cage nearby with an allay or another mob trapped inside.
Because the spawns refresh while you are in range, an outpost can be cleared but not permanently emptied unless you light it up and block off the spawn spots. For most players it is easier to grab the chest and move on than to try to hold the ground.
Outposts are worth a visit early in a world. The crossbows pillagers drop give you a ranged weapon before you have the materials to craft a bow setup, and the tower chest can hold handy supplies for the first few days. Just be ready for arrows the moment you get close.
Patrols
Patrols are small groups of pillagers, usually about five, that spawn at random across the Overworld once you are a few in-game days into a world. They wander the surface and close in if they spot you. One member of a patrol is sometimes a captain, marked by a dark banner held above its head. Patrols can appear in daylight and do not care about the time of day.
Raids
Pillagers make up most of the attackers in a raid. When a raid begins, they spawn in waves alongside other illagers and ravagers and head straight for the village center to kill villagers, iron golems, and you. How a raid starts comes down to one effect, which the next section covers.
How pillagers fight
Every pillager carries a crossbow, and that single fact shapes the whole fight. They attack from range, firing arrows that deal solid damage, then pause to reload before the next shot. A pillager keeps its distance and strafes rather than rushing you, which makes them frustrating to chase across open ground.
Their arrows hit for a meaningful chunk of health, and a group firing together can drop you quickly on harder difficulties. They target players, villagers, wandering traders, iron golems, and snow golems, so a single patrol passing through can wipe out an unprotected village.
Pillagers do not burn in daylight the way zombies and skeletons do. They stay active around the clock, so waiting for sunrise is not an option.
Using the reload window
The gap between shots is your opening. After a pillager fires, it needs a moment to reload, and that is when you close the distance and land melee hits. A shield blocks the arrows completely if you raise it as they fire, so a sword-and-shield approach works well against small numbers. Against a full patrol, breaking line of sight behind a wall or hill lets you pick them off one at a time instead of taking fire from all five at once.
Pillagers riding ravagers
In the later waves of a raid, a pillager often rides on the back of a ravager. The ravager is a large, bull-like beast that deals heavy melee damage and knocks you backward, while the pillager on top keeps firing its crossbow. This pairing is one of the hardest parts of any raid. Deal with the ravager first if you can fight it safely, since it is the bigger threat up close, but be ready for the rider to keep shooting even after you separate the two.
Captains, Bad Omen, and raids
The pillager captain is the key to the whole raid system. A captain is any illager carrying an ominous banner, a distinctive dark banner mounted above its head. Captains appear at the top of outpost towers and sometimes lead patrols.
There is a version split worth knowing. In older versions, killing a captain applied the Bad Omen effect to you directly. Since the 1.21 update, a captain instead drops an ominous bottle when it dies, and drinking that bottle gives you Bad Omen, which puts the timing in your hands. Either way the result is the same: step into a village while you have Bad Omen and a raid begins, sealing you into a fight that comes in waves.
Each wave brings more pillagers, plus vindicators, evokers, witches, and ravagers as the raid escalates. Clear every wave and you earn the Hero of the Village effect, which gives you discounts on villager trades. Lose, and the village can be left in ruins.
Bad Omen has a second use in current versions. Carry it into a trial chamber and activate a trial spawner, and the spawner turns ominous, throwing tougher waves at you in exchange for better loot. That makes captains worth hunting even when you are not planning a village raid.
What pillagers drop
A defeated pillager drops a small amount of experience and, some of the time, the crossbow it was holding. That crossbow can come with random enchantments, so it is always worth picking up and checking before you toss it. Pillagers also have a chance to drop arrows.
Captains carry an ominous banner, a unique dark banner that you cannot craft yourself. Depending on your version and how the captain dies, you may be able to collect that banner and place it as a trophy. It is the only way to get one, which makes it a genuine collectible for a base wall.
Tips for handling pillagers
- Keep a shield in your off-hand. Raised at the right moment, it stops crossbow arrows cold.
- Fight near cover. Walls, trees, and uneven terrain break line of sight and stop a whole patrol from shooting you at once.
- Decide before you swing at a captain. Taking one down commits you to a raid the next time you enter a village, so do it on purpose.
- Carry a milk bucket. Drinking milk clears Bad Omen if you change your mind before reaching a village.
- Protect your villagers with a wall and a closed gate. An iron golem helps, but solid fortifications matter more once a raid is underway.
Frequently asked questions
Can you tame a pillager?
No. Pillagers are permanently hostile and cannot be tamed, bred, or turned friendly. They will always attack you, your villagers, and your iron golems.
Do pillagers burn in sunlight?
No. Like all illagers, pillagers are immune to daylight and stay active during the day, so you cannot simply wait them out until morning.
What is the difference between a pillager and a vindicator?
Both are illagers, but a pillager fights at range with a crossbow while a vindicator charges in with an iron axe for melee. Vindicators hit much harder up close, so the two call for different tactics.
How do I get rid of Bad Omen?
Bad Omen comes from killing a captain or drinking an ominous bottle. To clear it, drink milk from a bucket before you enter a village, which removes the effect and cancels the pending raid.
Why do pillagers keep spawning near my base?
If your base sits near a pillager outpost, pillagers will respawn there continuously while you are in range. Patrols can also spawn anywhere in the Overworld once you are a few days into a world, so the occasional group passing through is normal.
Do pillagers spawn on Peaceful difficulty?
No. On Peaceful, hostile mobs do not spawn, so you will not see pillager patrols, and raids do not happen at all. Existing outpost pillagers also despawn when you switch to Peaceful. Bump the difficulty back to Easy or higher if you want to fight them.
Can pillagers open doors?
No. Pillagers cannot open doors. During a raid, though, they path around obstacles and ravagers can plow through crops and other soft blocks, so a single wooden door is not enough to keep a village safe.
The bottom line
The simplest rule with pillagers is to respect the crossbow and watch for the banner. Range and a shield handle the fighting, and a captain is a choice rather than an accident. Take one down on purpose when you want a raid or an ominous trial, and leave it standing when you do not.