How Long Do Minecraft Raids Last? A Breakdown for Gamers
As a hardcore Minecraft gamer and raid captain, the most common question I see is "how long do raids last?" Whether you‘re gearing up to defend a village or just curious, understanding raid duration is key. In this guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about Minecraft raid length.
The Short Answer
On average, Minecraft raids last 30-45 minutes if you actively fight all the illager waves. If left alone, raids expire after about 40 real-time minutes but hostile mobs stick around.
Actively working to eliminate all illagers is faster and prevents ongoing mob attacks post-raid. Now let‘s break down raid length based on difficulty and wave size.
Raid Duration by Difficulty and Wave Size
When starting a raid, you‘ll get a message showing the difficulty level and number of waves needing defeat. The table below outlines average duration per wave based on difficulty level:
| Difficulty | # Waves | Minutes Per Wave | Total Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 3-4 | 5-10 min | 15-40 min |
| Normal | 5-6 | 5-10 min | 25-60 min |
| Hard | 7+ | 10-15 min | 70+ min |
As you can see, an easy raid with few waves takes 15-40 minutes total. Medium raids last 25-60 minutes. Hard raids take 60+ minutes to finish off all illager waves.
These estimates account for gear, weapons, raid participant numbers, and other factors that quicken or extend raids. Now let‘s look at how to shorten raid duration…
Actively Fighting Raids is Faster Than Expiration
If left alone, raids automatically expire after around 40 minutes while keeping all remaining illagers inside village boundaries.
You‘ll still need to clear out mobs after expiration. It‘s better to actively fight waves, which shaves off time depending on your battle strategy and equipment.
- With maxed out tools and weapons, I can usually finish an easy raid in 15 minutes.
- For normal raids, having a few well-equipped fighter friends reduces duration to 30 minutes.
- Even hard raids can be managed in 45 minutes with potion boosts and coordinated attack formations.
Simply put, actively eliminating illager waves as they come ends a raid faster than waiting 40+ minutes for expiration plus cleanup.
Other Early Raid Ending Methods
Besides the active fighting approach, you also have options to prematurely end raids:
- Drink milk – Removes the Bad Omen effect and halts the raid
- Break all village beds – The raid finishes but villagers get wiped out
- Let all villagers die – Also ends the raid but you lose your village
I don‘t recommend the last two village-destruction methods…but drinking milk can be clutch if you don‘t want to battle waves.
Ultimately, fighting back against illager waves with weapons, numbers, and strategy is the fastest way to end a Minecraft raid while preserving your village. Gear up appropriately for the difficulty level so you can eliminate all mobs in under an hour.
Let me know if this overview on raid duration helped explain what to expect time-wise when the battle horn sounds! I‘m happy to offer more tips and tricks in the comments.
