How to capture villagers in Minecraft

There are a few reasons Minecraft players may choose to trap villagers, but one of the most common ones is to facilitate massive trading or create individual trading cells. This is done to avoid searching for villagers and wasting time.

Fortunately, the capturing and moving of villagers doesn't take much effort. Since their pathing mechanics can be impeded by certain doors or objects which they are unable to interact with, villagers' movements can be easily blocked.

However, in order to keep the villager's designated profession, they need to remain close to their essential blocks. The correct trap will allow players to trade with villagers without them losing their profession.

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Minecraft: Ways to capture and keep villagers in place

Image via Mojang

While moving villagers in Minecraft can be quite taxing, herding and trapping them in one location is fairly easy, especially if players have access to the village's bell.

Since villagers are somewhat tied to their beds, these will be paramount to herding and trapping them in a location. One of the simpler ways to trap villagers is as follows:

1. Find the villagers you wish to trap, remove their beds and place them in your inventory.
2. Create an enclosure for the villagers. This can be as large as desired but must not be too small for the villagers to navigate to their beds. Place an entrance to the enclosure that uses a gate or trapdoor, items that villagers cannot interact within vanilla Minecraft. Ensure the entrance is toggled open.
3. Place the beds within the enclosure.
4. Return to the village bell and ring it, this should bring the villagers out of their homes or workplaces and send them careening towards their beds.
5. Once the villagers are safely within the enclosure, close the gate or trapdoor. The villagers should not be able to open them to escape.

This is the basic premise of capturing villagers in Minecraft, but the method can be modified to isolate them as well. Additionally, placing the villager's workstation nearby will ensure they don't lose their profession for trades.

Ensure that the workstation itself is within walking distance of the villagers trapped inside the enclosure. If they aren't able to physically get to the station, villagers are at risk of losing their profession.

Lastly, enclosures should typically be safe from hazards such as hostile mobs and lightning. In Minecraft, a living villager is an essential asset.

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