Iron is one of the most important materials in Minecraft. It is the main component of mid-game tools, armors and plenty of other useful things such as buckets, anvils, compasses, minecarts... etc. Players can also use Iron in more advanced redstone circuitry. Currently, the most efficient way to farm Iron is via an Iron Golem Farm.

In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase how to make an Iron Golem Farm 1.18 Minecraft (including Bedrock and Java).

Table of Contents

Iron Golems are a great renewable source of Iron Ingots.

1. Iron Golem spawn requirements

Iron golem farming uses the automatic spawn mechanic of villages. However, there are a couple of requirements that players need to fulfill for that to happen:

Java Edition

A villager would attempt to spawn an iron golem if there are no golems alive within a 16 block radius around the villager, and more than 30 seconds have passed. An iron golem needs an available volume in which to spawn (at least 3 transparent blocks above the spawning surface).

Players can cage a zombie inside the village to increase the spawn rate of iron golems. If the zombie is seen by villagers, they panic and try to spawn golems.
Iron Golems can be used as protection for villages or players.

Bedrock Edition

The requirements for spawning Iron Golems are much stricter in Bedrock. Villages only attempt to spawn iron golems when the following requirements are met:

  • The village contains at least 10 villagers.
  • The village contains at least 20 beds.
  • 100% of villagers are linked to a bed.
  • At least 75% of the villagers have worked at their workstations the previous day.
  • A player is within 80 blocks of the village horizontally and within 44 blocks vertically.

Furthermore, there can only be one spawn for every 10 villagers - this means players need to kill the golems as soon as they come out. Increasing the population from 10 to 20 increases rates by about 33%.

2. How to make an Iron Golem farm 1.18

Below is a step-by-step guide to making an Iron Golem farm:

Gather materials

The farm only requires basic tools and materials, which are fairly easy to get.

  • a bucket of water
  • one lava block
  • one hopper
  • 3 stacks of torches
  • several stone or iron pickaxes
  • wood, wool, and cobblestone

Preparation

It is best to build a L-shaped village, with the farm in the crook of the "L". This way the beds are sufficiently near the villagers' job sites for the villagers to pathfind to their job blocks.

Fence the village and light it up to prevent hostile mobs from invading. Afterward, add a few beds to encourage the villagers to breed while building the farm.

Using lava blades to kill Iron Golems is the most efficient way.

Locate the village center

As Golems spawn at the village's center, it is very important to locate it first. The center is important because it determines where structures must be built to spawn, contain, and transport the iron golems.

The village center is typically the northwest corner of the village bell or one of the claimed beds, with the bell given precedence in Java Edition but not in Bedrock Edition.

Construction

Build a two-floor sleeping bunker with 10 beds on each and a stairway between them. Add at least one doorway to at least one bridge that rises up high enough to fit an iron golem underneath.

A common farm design with 20 villagers, beds and spawn platforms.

 

Afterward, make 7-8 blocks of spawning area all around the bunker. (starting 1 block higher than the lowest floor of the bunker). Things are easy from here on - players only need to build a channel to guide the iron golems into a killing area, which requires a block of lava, a hopper, and a collection chest.

3. How to maximize farming rates

The rate of iron ingot production in an iron golem farm is determined by three factors:

  • Number of villagers
  • Number of spawnable blocks
  • The average lifetime of each iron golem

The most efficient farms can yield 400 ingots per hour. To maximize the number of spawnable blocks, the beds are usually arranged tightly around the horizontal center on the Y-level above or below the spawn platform.

Increasing the number of villagers allows additional spawn attempts to succeed during the time it takes to transport and kill existing iron golems. About 20 villagers are enough for an Iron Golem farm 1.18.

The most efficient way to kill iron golems is to use water to transport and lava blades (lava suspended on collisionless blocks such as signs or open fence gates). While players can manually kill golems, killing an iron golem with a weapon enchanted by Looting has no effect on the number of iron ingots or poppies dropped.

>>> Read more: Top 4 Uses For Iron Golems In Minecraft 2022