Render by Blockaria from the Minecraft: Java Edition models and textures (Mojang).

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HOSTILE Present since 1.14 or earlier

Pillager mob in Minecraft

The Pillager is the crossbow illager that guards outposts, roams the Overworld in patrols and opens every raid. It only ever shoots, so the fight comes down to cover, a shield and closing the gap.

Health: 2412 hearts
Behavior: Hostile
Main drop: Ominous Bottle
Found in: Pillager Outpost

Pillager stats

Health: 24 12 hearts
Behavior: Hostile
Main drop: Ominous Bottle
Spawns in: —
Size: 0.6 × 1.95 blocks
XP when killed: 5+1 to 3 per item it wears
Speed: 0.35
Detection range: 32 blocks

// Experience drops only when a player kills it. Speeds are the game’s internal values, not blocks per second.

How much damage Pillager deals

Damage to a player without armor, by world difficulty. 1 ♥ = 2 damage points.

Ranged attack · Arrow

Base 2, multiplied by the projectile’s speed: the faster it flies, the harder it hits.

What else changes with difficulty

Aim gets more accurate as difficulty rises (spread 10 / 6 / 2)

// Armor, Protection and Resistance reduce these values. Base values read from the game code (26.3).

Where to find Pillager

Doesn’t spawn naturally in a biome: it comes from a structure, a spawner, a block or an event.

Spawning

Group size: 1

Structures

StructuresPillager Outpost

Pillager drops

Pillager dropsFrom the loot table · chance per kill

Ominous BottleCaptain only (carries a banner)×1

Carried items and gearDropped on death, outside the loot table (game code)

The weapon or armor it spawned withEach piece: 8.5% chance, +1% per Looting level. The item comes back damaged.8.5%

Health compared

Health vs other hostile mobshealth points

Witch26

Evoker24

Frostbite24

Pillager24

Vindicator24

Blaze20

Creeper20

Pillager and its family

Mobs built on the same base in the game code, compared on their game values.

Mob	Health	Attack	XP	Speed
Evoker	24	6	10	0.5
Pillager	24	2	5	0.35
Vindicator	24	5	5	0.35

Traits

Properties set in the game files.

IllagerPart of the illager family, hostile to villagers.

RaiderCan join raids on villages.

Advancements with Pillager

Advancements whose criteria involve this mob, from the game files.

Voluntary ExileKill a raid captain. Maybe consider staying away from villages for the time being... Who's the Pillager Now?Give a Pillager a taste of their own medicine Monster HunterKill any hostile monster Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster

Command

Summon a Pillager/summon →

/summon minecraft:pillager ~ ~ ~

Where Pillagers come from

You meet Pillagers in three situations. Around a Pillager Outpost, they keep spawning across the whole structure area, because the outpost has its own spawn list made only of Pillagers. Out in the open, they travel in small patrols led by a captain. And in raids on a village, they make up the first wave and keep showing up in the later ones.

They attack players, villagers, wandering traders and iron golems. In later raid waves, a Pillager can also ride a Ravager.

Captains, the Ominous Bottle and raids

A captain wears the Ominous Banner on its head. It is the only Pillager with loot of its own: kill it outside a raid and it drops an Ominous Bottle. The level of the bottle is random, from I to V. Drinking it gives you Bad Omen at that level, and entering a village with the effect sets off a raid. A higher level means a tougher raid.

You do not have to drink the bottle right away. Keep it in a chest until you are ready. The same effect also turns the spawners of Trial Chambers into ominous ones, through Trial Omen.

How to fight a Pillager

Raise a shield. It blocks the arrows, and a Pillager has no other attack.
Use cover to close in. Move from tree to wall between shots. Up close it keeps reloading, so a few hits with a sword or an axe finish it.
Answer at range with your own bow when a patrol spots you in the open, and focus on one Pillager at a time.
Fight next to a golem. An Iron Golem goes after illagers on sight and takes a lot of hits for you.

Crossbows and outpost loot

Every Pillager holds a crossbow and sometimes drops it when killed, usually worn. The outpost itself is the better source of gear: the chest at the top of the tower can hold a crossbow, arrows, string, Bottles o' Enchanting and crops. Outposts also often hold caged prisoners, an Iron Golem or an Allay, that you can set free once the area is cleared.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026

Pillager — FAQ

Why do Pillagers keep spawning at an outpost?

The outpost has its own spawn list made only of Pillagers. As long as you stay in the structure area, new ones can appear, which is also why outposts make good raid and crossbow farms.

How do you get Bad Omen?

Kill a Pillager captain, the one with the banner on its head, outside a raid, and drink the Ominous Bottle it drops. The bottle's level decides the level of Bad Omen.

Do Pillagers burn in daylight?

No. Pillagers are not undead and stay active during the day, which is why you can meet patrols at any time.

Where does the Pillager spawn?

In three ways: at Pillager Outposts, where new ones keep spawning while you are nearby; in patrols that roam the Overworld from the fifth in-game day on; and in raids on villages.

What does a Pillager drop?

Ominous Bottle. Captain only (carries a banner). It also drops the weapon or armor it spawned with (8.5% chance per piece).