CHAPTER 3
IRON GOLEM FARM
TIRED OF MINING FOR IRON? Or need a boatload of cauldrons for some special project? An iron golem farm can bring in over a half-stack of iron every hour, more if you have several going at once! This iron golem farm has been popular in different forms for a long time. It is based on how iron golems spawn within villages. Essentially, you create a village large enough to need an iron golem. You kill each iron golem when it spawns, leaving the village still in need and ready to spawn another golem.
Iron Golem Details
Iron golems are 2.7 blocks high and 1.4 blocks wide and spawn in villages that have at least 10 villagers and 21 valid houses. They spawn in a 16x16 area, 6 blocks high, centered on the geometric center of the village. One golem can be spawned for every 10 villagers, and the game checks every 6 or so minutes to see if an iron golem can be spawned. Oddly, iron golems can also spawn inside transparent blocks (like glass) as long as they have a solid block to spawn on. Iron golems also cannot be killed by falling or drowning.
What Makes a Village?
To be recognized by the game as such, a village must have 1 valid house (door) and 1 villager within 16 blocks of the house. A valid house is any door that has at least 1 roof block (a block that blocks sunlight) within 5 blocks behind, and a view to the sky in front. On the skylit side of the door, there must be fewer roof blocks than on the other side, again measured within the 5 blocks directly ahead. This means a valid house can simply be a door by itself with 1 block of dirt behind it.
A village also has a geometric center, which is the average of the coordinates of all the village doors. The village center is subject to changing, however, if villagers recognize “new” doors in the village. The radius of the village is 32 blocks, unless the distance from the center to the farthest door is greater, and then that is the radius. Finally, only doors within a 66-block radius can be counted as within the village. Also, they’re only counted once a villager recognizes them. Villagers wander around, and can check doors within 16 blocks of them to see if they are valid and can belong to the village. A village has a maximum population of .35 times the number of houses (doors).
Note: You’ll want to make sure that your iron golem farm will be about 100 blocks away from any other village. If you want to create several golem farms, make sure that each will be 100 blocks away from any other villages.
Step by Step
1. Place a double chest where you will collect the drops from the golems.
2. Place a hopper facing into the back of the chest. You’ll have to shift while placing to do this.
3. Place 3 more hoppers as shown, all facing toward the chest. These hoppers will collect the drops from the golems.
4. Place a row of building blocks around the collection area, as shown.
5. Build up the walls around the collection area another 4 blocks high. Use glass if you can so that you can see when golems fall.
6. Now, add another layer of 12 blocks arranged in a square, directly over the collection area’s walls. This is the beginning of the first spawning level and is where golems will drop through to the collection and killing area below.
7. The spawning level will reach an additional 8 blocks out from the square you built in Step 6. Count out 8 blocks diagonally (or straight, if you prefer) to see where the corners of this level will be, and join the corners. The final square will be 20 blocks by 20 blocks.
8. Fill in the square with solid building blocks.
9. Add a wall 3 blocks high all around the edge of the platform.
10. Raise the 3 adjacent blocks at a corner (the very corner block and the block at each side) another 2 blocks, as shown.
11. Do the same for the other 3 corners of the platform.
12. Place doors along each side of the platform, from 1 corner to the next, as shown.
13. Inside the platform, in the corner, place 3 temporary blocks. (You’ll remove them shortly.) These blocks will help place some of the final water blocks needed.
14. Repeat Step 13 at each corner.
15. In between 2 of the temporary corner blocks, place a water source block at every block along the wall. If the platform is the right size, the water will flow to the dropping point and then stop. If this doesn’t happen, measure your platform again.
16. Repeat Steps 13 and 14 for all sides of the platform.
17. At 1 corner, place 1 water source block above the temporary block in the very corner. (Don’t place any water above the blocks next to this.) This water source will allow the water at the corner to flow to the central drop.
18. Now, break the 3 temporary blocks at the corner, so just the water source remains.
19. At the 3 other corners of the platform, repeat this process of adding 1 water source and then breaking the temporary blocks.
20. Now, we’ll start building the second spawning area. First, mark the corners of the platform by adding a building block that is 1 block in from the corner walls and at the same height as the top of the doors. (Here, I’ve used polished granite blocks.)
21. Fill in the floor with the corners as guides, as shown.
22. Place a 2-block-high wall around the platform, right above the doors.
23. Add 3 temporary blocks at each corner as shown.
24. On each of the 4 walls, place a water source block at each block between the temporary corner blocks.
25. As you did earlier, place a single water source block at each corner.
26. Break the temporary blocks so that just water is left.
27. To prevent mobs spawning on the walls, add a layer of slabs above the walls.
28. In the lower level, add a torch on the wall in front of and below every door. This addition will stop mobs spawning inside.
29. Back at the collection area, place 2 signs on the left wall above the hoppers and 2 more on the right side. Leave 1 block between the hoppers and the signs.
30. Add 4 blocks of glass at the front to prevent the lava from flowing forward out of the collection area.
31. Now place a single bucket of lava above 1 sign. You can place more above the other signs, but it isn’t necessary. The lava will flow to the 3 blocks adjacent to it but no farther.
32. Close off the collection area with 4 more blocks of glass. When golems spawn above, they will be pushed by the water to the drop and fall through the hole and down to stand on the hoppers. The lava will kill them. But because the lava is at their head level, it won’t burn the ingots and poppies the golems will drop when they die.
33. Now it is time to build the villager enclosures. First, build a squared platform at the corner that extends 3 blocks out from the corner walls, as shown.
34. Build walls up 3 blocks high. Glass blocks are best, as they will let you see inside.
35. Repeat Steps 33 and 34 for each corner of the farm.
36. Here’s the tricky bit: You want to have 4 villagers at each corner. The easiest way to do this is to transport 2 villagers by rail to each enclosure, then breed them so that you end up with 4 villagers.
37. When you have 4 villagers installed at each corner, add a torch inside each enclosure and cover it with slabs to prevent mobs spawning.
38. Your farm is complete. The villagers will need a few minutes to recognize their doors as part of a village. Then the game can recognize all of these doors and villagers as part of a village, one with 12 villagers and 64 doors, in very much need of an iron golem. Within about 6 to 8 minutes, your first iron golem will spawn!
ALTHOUGH YOU CAN INCREASE THE NUMBER OF VILLAGERS IN YOUR FARM, THIS STEP WON’T INCREASE YOUR IRON DROPS SIGNIFICANTLY. WHAT WILL INCREASE YOUR IRON SIGNIFICANTLY IS TO HAVE MORE IRON FARM “VILLAGES.” THE SIMPLEST WAY TO DO THIS IS TO BUILD A FEW MORE IRON GOLEM FARMS, WHOSE VILLAGE CENTERS ARE 100 BLOCKS AWAY FROM EACH OTHER. BUILD 3 MORE AT GROUND LEVEL, IN A SQUARE. OR YOU COULD EVEN BUILD ABOVE!
