STATUS EFFECT NEUTRAL NO POTION Present since 1.14 or earlier

Bad Omen effect in Minecraft

Bad Omen does nothing on its own: it is a trigger. Walk into a village with it and it becomes Raid Omen, which starts a raid; walk up to a trial spawner and it becomes Trial Omen. You get it by drinking an Ominous Bottle.

At a glance

Type: Neutral
Sources: Ominous Bottle
Removed by: Milk, dying

How to get Bad Omen

UseOminous Bottle

How to get rid of Bad Omen

Removed byMilk Bucket

Drink a Milk Bucket: it clears every effect. Dying also removes it.

Command

Give Bad Omen for 60 seconds/effect →

/effect give @s minecraft:bad_omen 60 0

Remove Bad Omen/effect →

/effect clear @s minecraft:bad_omen

Where Ominous Bottles come from

Raid captains, the Pillagers that wear an ominous banner, drop an Ominous Bottle. A captain killed during a raid drops nothing, so hunt the ones in patrols and at Pillager Outposts. The vaults of the Trial Chambers give bottles too. Killing a captain does not give you the effect: you keep the bottle and drink it when you are ready. Its level, from I to V, sets the level of Bad Omen.

Raid or trial?

Into a village: Bad Omen becomes Raid Omen, and a raid follows. Win it for Hero of the Village.
Near a Trial Spawner: it becomes Trial Omen, the key to ominous spawners and Ominous Vaults.

A higher level means a tougher raid, and a stronger reward if you win.

How to get rid of it

Drank a bottle by mistake, or not ready for a fight? A Milk Bucket removes Bad Omen at once. Otherwise it simply runs out. In multiplayer, tell your friends before you walk into a shared village with it: the raid targets that village.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026