How to capture a ravager in Minecraft

Found often during pillager raids, ravagers are strong hostile mobs in Minecraft that can be a handful to deal with.

Ramming and biting their opposition, ravagers can be difficult to take on without sufficient equipment and weapons. However, another option exists which involves capturing the angry beast.

Although the ravager can damage some foliage and crop blocks, it is possible to fence the creature in and give it a degree of permanence. This allows players to essentially "keep" the ravager contained despite it still being hostile. There is also an added effect if players apply a name tag to the Minecraft mob to keep it from despawning.

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Minecraft: Capturing and containing a ravager

Ravagers can be fenced in and also given name tags to keep them from despawning at distance (Image via Reddit user u/eagleguy7)

Capturing a ravager in Minecraft can be difficult and dangerous, but with the right planning, it's possible to snag the headstrong war beast for one's collection.

One efficient strategy involves the use of a minecart when a village is raided to remove the ravager from its squad of pillagers, both taking it out of the fight and also placing it in a location where it can be tagged and contained.

First, Minecraft players will need to create an enclosure for the ravager. Since ravagers are very heavy set and are unable to jump over low blocks, creating a stable of sorts using a gate is possible, as well as simply fencing the mob in. Be sure to provide ample room to move within the enclosure, as it might be necessary in case things go wrong while capturing the ravager.

The next step is optional, but a very helpful one. By placing rails leading into the enclosure back to the nearest village, Minecraft players can then place a minecart at the end of the rail system on the village side.

Place a button or lever close to the rail system to automate sending the minecart back to the enclosure. This will allow Minecraft players to bait the ravager into the minecart and ship it to its new home.

Lastly, players will likely want to grab a name tag if at all possible. Using one on the ravager will keep it from despawning from the player being far away. By using one experience level and applying a name to the name tag at an anvil, players can both keep the ravager around and give it a fun name.

Additionally, name-tagging a ravager and keeping its enclosure somewhat close to a village will prevent future raids from occurring at the location unless the ravager dies (though this may be patched by Mojang in the future).

An incredibly basic example of a rail system sending a ravager to a one-block-high enclosure (Image via Mojang)

It is also advised to keep a shield close and some armor equipped, as blocking a ravager with a shield in Minecraft provides the opportunity to stun it for a few seconds, providing the opportunity to get out of the mob's attack range.

Armor will cushion any damage received in the attempt of capturing the ravager as well, which is a good idea considering the amount of damage they can inflict.

Overall, the broken-down steps to taming a ravager in Minecraft are as follows:

1. Create the enclosure/stable.
2. Create the rail system leading inside it.
3. Place a minecart at the opposite end of the rail system.
4. Acquire and reforge a name tag with a name.
5. Initiate a raid on a village, usually via the use of the Bad Omen status effect.
6. Lure the ravager to step into the minecart.
7. Activate the rails and send the ravager to the enclosure.
8. Complete the enclosure by sealing any gaps potentially made by the rail system.
9. Tag the ravager with the name tag.
10. Remove the minecart from out under the ravager.
11. If necessary, defeat any remaining pillagers. The raid should end eventually despite the ravager not being killed.