Difficulty
Easy has 3 waves, Normal 5, Hard 7. Raids do not happen on Peaceful.
Bad Omen level
At Bad Omen I there is no bonus wave. Drink an Ominous Bottle of a higher level, or stack Bad Omen, for the bonus wave.
Raid totals
By type: 14 vindicator, 4 evoker, 24 pillager, 4 witch, 4 ravager.
Random extras
On top of the counts shown, each wave can roll a small random extra: up to one more pillager or vindicator on Normal (two on Hard), an extra witch on later waves, and an extra ridden ravager on the bonus wave. Plan for a few more than the base numbers.
A raid starts when a player with the Bad Omen effect enters a village. It runs a fixed number of waves (3 on Easy, 5 on Normal, 7 on Hard) of illagers and ravagers, each wave with a set composition. Every wave has a captain carrying the ominous banner, later waves add ridden ravagers, and Bad Omen II or higher tacks on one bonus wave. Clear them all without dying for the Hero of the Village discount.
The raiders are pillagers, vindicators, evokers, witches and ravagers. Witches heal the others, evokers summon vexes and fangs, vindicators hit hard in melee, and ravagers are the heavy units with 100 health each. The planner above shows the exact mix for every wave so you know what is coming before the horn sounds.
These counts come straight from the game's raid spawn tables, so they match what actually appears. Each wave can also roll a small random extra (a pillager or two, a late witch, a ridden ravager on the bonus wave), which the planner calls out separately.
Base raiders per wave, where P is pillager, V vindicator, E evoker, W witch and R ravager. A bonus wave (Bad Omen II and up) repeats the final wave shown for that difficulty:
| Wave | Easy | Normal | Hard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 P | 4 P | 4 P |
| 2 | 2 V, 3 P | 2 V, 3 P | 2 V, 3 P |
| 3 | 3 P, 1 R | 3 P, 1 R | 3 P, 1 R |
| 4 | - | 1 V, 4 P, 3 W | 1 V, 4 P, 3 W |
| 5 | - | 4 V, 1 E, 4 P, 1 R | 4 V, 1 E, 4 P, 1 R |
| 6 | - | - | 2 V, 1 E, 4 P |
| 7 | - | - | 5 V, 2 E, 2 P, 1 W, 2 R |
Ravagers are ridden by a pillager on wave 5, and by an evoker then vindicators on wave 7 and the bonus wave. Each wave's captain is the first vindicator, or a pillager if the wave has none.
Beating an entire raid without dying gives every player who helped the Hero of the Village effect, a big discount on villager trades that scales with the highest raid omen level you cleared. Players farm this by killing a raid captain to pick up Bad Omen, then triggering and clearing a raid at a prepared village with iron golems and a safe kill spot.
To make the raid easier, light and wall the village so raiders funnel into one lane, keep iron golems alive to tank the ravagers, and use a bow or crossbow with Piercing to clear ranged pillagers before they group up. Witches are the priority kill in mixed waves because they heal the rest of the wave.
Use the totals in the planner to bring enough arrows and potions for the whole raid, and remember the bonus wave doubles the final wave's threat if you walked in with Bad Omen II or higher.
The number of waves depends on world difficulty: Easy has 3 waves, Normal has 5, and Hard has 7. Raids never happen on Peaceful. If the player who started the raid has Bad Omen level 2 or higher, one extra bonus wave is added that repeats the final wave, so a Hard raid with Bad Omen II runs 8 waves.
Each wave has a fixed base composition pulled from the game's spawn tables. Early waves are mostly pillagers, then vindicators, witches, evokers and ravagers are layered in. On Hard, wave 7 is the largest with five vindicators, two evokers, two pillagers, a witch and two ravagers. The planner above lists the exact counts for every wave at your chosen difficulty.
Bad Omen is the effect that starts a raid when you enter a village with it. Its level sets the raid omen level. At level 1 there is no bonus wave; at level 2 or higher one bonus wave is added. In current versions the level above 2 does not add more waves, it just guarantees the single bonus wave. You get higher Bad Omen from Ominous Bottles or by stacking the effect.
Ravagers are ridden depending on the wave number. On wave 5 the ravager is ridden by a pillager. On wave 7 and the bonus wave the first ravager is ridden by an evoker and any further ravagers are ridden by vindicators. A ridden ravager is much more dangerous because the rider attacks while the ravager charges, so prioritize knocking the rider off or killing the ravager fast.
Each wave has one captain: the first vindicator in the wave, or a pillager if the wave has no vindicator. The captain carries the ominous banner above its head. Killing a captain while you do not already have Bad Omen gives you the Bad Omen effect, which is how players farm raids on purpose. Defeating a full raid without dying grants the Hero of the Village discount.
A full base raid (without the random extra spawns) is about 388 health on Easy, 902 on Normal, and 1,512 on Hard, since ravagers alone have 100 health each. The bonus wave from Bad Omen adds the final wave's health again. Each wave can also roll a few random extra raiders, so plan your gear and arrows for a bit more than the base totals shown.
Working out trade discounts after the raid, or browse more Minecraft tools: