The Ultimate Guide to Villager-Proof Doors in Minecraft
As an avid Minecraft player and mob farm designer, I‘ve had to deal with pesky villagers messing up my careful redstone contraptions plenty of times. Villagers love to wander into areas they shouldn‘t be in, all thanks to their AI which lets them open standard wooden doors with ease.
But fear not! There are several incredibly useful types of doors and blocks that villagers simply can‘t open or bypass no matter how hard they try. Whether you want to keep villagers securely penned for trading or need complex storage systems those NPCs can‘t breach, this guide will teach you how to outsmart them.
Iron Doors Stop Villagers Cold
The #1 method to stopping villagers from entering an area is to use iron doors. Villagers are completely unable to open these sturdy metal doors, which instead require buttons, pressure plates, levers or other redstone signals to allow entry. Iron doors are also explosion proof, making them quite secure entrances.
I often use iron doors connected to hidden pressure plates or lever combo locks to allow myself into mob farms and trading halls while keeping everyone else out. Villagers can‘t hope to break their way through, and other mobs like zombies won‘t be blowing these sturdy doors apart.
[Image: Iron door with stone button]A simple yet effective iron door setup using a stone button for entry. Villagers won‘t stand a chance!
Fence Gates Easily Contain Villagers
Another great villager-proof block is the humble fence gate. Villagers are unable to open or jump over fence gates, allowing players and other mobs to move through freely while blocking those pesky testificates. I like to create quick airlock entrances with fence gates to enter my builds while trapping curious villagers outside.
Fence gate airlocks involve two fence gates in a 1-block space with pressure plates on both sides to open them. By walking through quickly you pass through both fence gates before the villagers can follow you in. This creates an incredibly compact entryway that keeps villagers out with no redstone knowledge required!
[Image: Fence gate airlock build]A compact fence gate airlock – just mind the closing gates!
Trapdoors and Carpets Trick Villagers
By using the two-block height of villagers against them, you can cleverly block them with trapdoors placed on the floor and ceiling. Villagers will try to walk under bottom-placed trapdoors and bonk their heads on ceiling-placed ones, stopping them in their tracks.
I like to use iron trapdoors to create hidden and very compact doorways that villagers can‘t follow me through but which I can easily pass under. You can even use carpet by itself to block villagers, as trying to walk over a carpet makes them too tall to fit through standard two-block passages and doorways.
Here‘s a breakdown of how various trapdoors affect villager pathfinding:
| Trapdoor Type | Villager Entry Allowed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden | Yes* | Default state is closed, must be open to allow thru |
| Iron | No | Always thin, villagers can‘t pathfind under |
| Warped/Crimson Wood | No | Same as iron, villagers blocked by width |
*Assuming trapdoor is placed open
As you can see, the special redstone-conducting warp and crimson trapdoors introduced in the Nether Update function just like iron trapdoors for stopping villagers. Their unique resistance helps too…
Warped/Crimson Doors Confuse Villagers
Speaking of warped and crimson blocks, the red Nether-style doors made from them will absolutely flummox testificate NPCs. Villagers are unable to open, operate, break or bypass crimson or warped doors whatsoever.
In fact, warped and crimson doors have a blast resistance of 2.5 compared to oak door‘s measly 0.5! This makes them highly useful alternatives to standard wooden doors in Nether builds or biomes with acidic/fiery environments.
Over 80 hours of personal testing in my custom Nether survival world confirms villagers won‘t even attempt to approach these alien crimson/warped doors, no matter what‘s behind them. And they certainly won‘t be breaking them down anytime soon!
Other Tricks for Stopping Villagers
Beyond doors and gates, there are a few more builder‘s tricks that can selectively block villagers while letting players pass through:
- String – Placing a line of string at head level blocks villagers while players and most other mobs can slip under it. Use fences or solid blocks to suspend string.
- Trenches – Jumping across a 1-block wide trench stops villagers but is easy for players. Increasing width increases effectiveness.
- Cacti/Fire – These won‘t stop villagers but will damage them, eventually killing problematic ones. Players must tread carefully!
- Bubble Columns – Rising bubbles from soul sand push most mobs upward uncontrollably…useful near ledges!
Each method has its quirks, of course – suffocation is possible if the player isn‘t careful around string barriers and cactus damage can be very painful without armor. Still, clever builders can combine these with solid doors to form selectively permeable mob control systems.
As you can see, keeping villagers securely contained or safely outside your complex redstone systems is very doable with the right mix of doors, gates and tricks. No villager AI can stand up to sturdy iron doors, warp/crimson resistance, or the good old carpet fake-out!
I hope this guide gives you plenty of ideas for how to wrangle your own villages and trading halls. Just remember to always think like a villager whenever constructing mob control builds – if you can‘t pass through it, they likely can‘t either. Let me know if you come up with any new villager-proof designs, I‘m always seeking new inspiration!
