Raids are occurrences where pillagers, vindicators, ravagers, and evokers (capable of summoning vexes) launch an invasion on a village with the intent of eliminating as many villagers as they can.

If you're playing Java Edition and facing the challenge of a high-level raid on hard difficulty, it's important to carefully consider your decision before diving in, especially if you lack confidence in your abilities. Even with powerful enchanted netherite equipment, the absence of proper tactics, skills, and necessary potions can result in your demise. While Bedrock Edition typically poses less of a concern due to its older combat system, it's still important to note that there is still a significant level of risk involved.

1. Item Preparation

Having the right equipment is crucial for initiating a raid, as it significantly enhances your chances of survival and achieving victory. When it comes to armor, it's recommended to obtain Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Mending, and Feather Falling IV. For your sword, aim for Sweeping Edge III, Sharpness V, Fire Aspect II, Unbreaking III, and Mending. Similarly, for the bow, prioritize enchantments such as Infinity, Power V, Flame, Punch II, and Unbreaking III. As for the axe, Efficiency V, Sharpness V, Unbreaking III, and Mending are ideal choices.

Enchantment
Players need good equips for high level raids.

Additional weapons that can prove useful include a crossbow enchanted with Quick Charge III, Piercing IV or Multishot, Unbreaking III, and Mending. A trident enchanted with Riptide III, Unbreaking III, and Mending can also be advantageous. Additionally, a shield enchanted with Unbreaking III and Mending is recommended, serving as a viable substitute for a totem during your initial raid attempts. It's important to note that shields become temporarily disabled when struck by a vindicator's axe for 5 seconds, so be prepared to retreat when your shield is down.

To further aid your efforts, keeping a supply of totems can prove beneficial in sticky situations, while potions can provide advantageous effects for your character.

Healing items like Food, Potions and Enchanted Apples are also a must-have.

2. Preparing the village

Before the raid starts, a good idea is to prepare the village before the raiders attack. There are multiple ways to do so:

Walling off the village

An effective approach is to create a protective barrier around the village by constructing a solid wall using sturdy materials like cobblestone or wood. By utilizing solid blocks, such as these, raiders will be unable to breach the wall, leaving them stranded as they attempt to navigate around it. Once the village is securely walled off, you can employ ladders to ascend the wall and engage the raiders from a distance using a bow. Alternatively, you have the option to use walls or fences to enclose and safeguard the village. It's important to remain vigilant, however, as pillagers can still launch projectiles, and evokers have the ability to summon fangs or vexes to target both the villagers and iron golems.

Best Minecraft Village
Building a wall would prevent all the melee mobs from attacking.

Setting traps

After successfully enclosing your village, you have the opportunity to set up various traps beyond the perimeter to inflict damage on the raiders. Deploying traps such as lava and cobweb can impede the raiders' progress and cause harm to them, while iron golems can swiftly eliminate them. Creating holes along the outer edges of the wall can serve as effective traps, preventing the raiders from advancing any further. Additionally, incorporating a moat filled with water, lava, or a deep ditch can be beneficial. Raiders are unable to walk off edges, so constructing steps leading down into the hole will entice them to pathfind into it, effectively trapping them. To enhance the damage dealt, you can consider adding elements such as magma, lava, wither roses, or sweet berries.

Trapdoor Drawbridge
Trapdoors like this are useful in dealing with raid mobs.

In the case of a desert village, it is advisable to gather all the nearby cacti and strategically place them at key locations around the village, ensuring they are at a height of 2-3 blocks. It's worth noting that ravagers in the raid are unable to destroy the cacti, providing an additional defensive measure.

Blocking villager doorways

An incredibly effective tactic is to barricade the entrances to the houses where the villagers reside. By doing so, you can ensure that raiders (except Vexes) are unable to reach the villagers inside, effectively safeguarding them while you focus on dealing with the raiders. To facilitate getting the villagers into their houses initially, ringing a bell can serve as a simple method. Additionally, it can be advantageous to have some villagers concealed underground. If possible, consider setting up a dispenser that can splash them with invisibility, further enhancing their protection.

In the case of a raid taking place in a desert village, it is advisable to block the windows as well, regardless of their height. Unlike other village house types, desert village houses generally lack windows that can be covered, except for a small slit in some cases or a taller window if a potted cactus is present. Taking measures to block these openings is important to ensure the villagers' safety during the raid.

Ringing the bell to get all villagers back into their houses

When the raid bar begins to generate, it is recommended to ring the bell multiple times to alert the villagers. This way, any villagers who may have missed the initial bell sound will have the opportunity to safely retreat back into their houses. It is crucial to promptly seal the doors (or windows, specifically in a desert village) to prevent raid mobs from opening the doors or launching attacks through the windows. This defensive measure helps ensure the villagers' protection during the raid.

Iron Golems

Construct a substantial number of iron golems to aid you in defeating the raid, safeguarding the village, and providing assistance during battles. These golems can serve as a diversion, drawing the attention of raiders and allowing you to focus on eliminating the illagers while they are preoccupied with the golems. It is important to note that accidentally shooting the golems is not a concern since they are not hostile towards players, unless you have cheats enabled and intentionally summoned aggressive iron golems. However, it is still advisable to avoid hitting or shooting the golems excessively, as they can lose health if you use a powerful weapon. To support their well-being, you can throw healing splash potions or regeneration potions at them or utilize iron ingots to heal them after the raid.

Iron Golem
Iron Golems are villagers' biggest ally.

If you sustain injuries during the raid, it is recommended to swiftly locate your iron golem(s) and toss a splash potion of healing at your feet. This action will restore health to both you and the iron golem, with only one potion required.

In the event that you accidentally strike a naturally spawned iron golem (or one you summoned) and it retaliates, you can divert its attention by directing it towards the raid mobs. Utilize this opportunity to calm down the iron golem by either keeping a distance from it for a minute or temporarily switching your game mode to creative and then back to survival.

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