Why Minecraft villager prices go up and how to fix it

In the world of Minecraft, villagers are among the most useful mobs that can be found in the Overworld. These mobs wear various clothes and engage in tasks like farming, adding life to the game world.

Many villagers in the game can become traders if a job site block, like a lectern, is placed close to them. Once they take on a profession, these villagers will offer various trades related to their jobs, and the cost of these trades can vary based on different factors.

In this article, we'll explore various aspects of villager trading, including the factors that influence their prices and some strategies to mitigate high costs.

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Guide to reducing Minecraft villager trade costs

Engaging in trades with Minecraft villagers who possess professions offers a convenient method of obtaining various items. Nevertheless, several variables come into play that influence the expenses tied to trade offers presented by employed villagers.

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Reasons behind increased prices

A librarian's trades in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

The escalation of trade costs can be directly attributed to your interactions with these valuable entities. Causing harm or killing a trader in the presence of other traders causes a decline in your reputation within the village community.

This, in turn, prompts the targeted trader to substantially elevate their trade offers, subsequently causing a mild surge in the trade prices of fellow villagers within the same village.

The most significant cost surge occurs when you assault a baby villager. While baby villagers aren't able to assume the role of traders, the rumor about you attacking them swiftly spreads across the village, prompting the existing traders to raise their offer costs.

Another factor contributing to increased costs is repetitive trading between the player and a single trader. Fortunately, rectifying this issue is relatively straightforward and can be averted by changing trading partners.

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How to fix increased trade prices

Trade costs can be reduced (Image via Mojang)

The steps you need to take to address the increased trade costs will depend on the underlying cause. Here's what you can do to bring costs back to normal in Minecraft:

Wait it out

If trading too much is the culprit, a simple fix is to refrain from trading with that villager for a few in-game days. This break will prompt the trader to reset their offers, restoring regular prices.

When your reputation drops due to negative interactions with villagers, a longer wait might be necessary for costs to normalize. Alternatively, you can trade at the higher costs to gradually rebuild your reputation, eventually leading to lower costs. However, this method is less efficient.

Zombify and cure the traders

Throwing a splash potion of weakness on a zombie villager (Image via Mojang)

Zombifying and curing a villager in Minecraft is a method to markedly decrease trade costs, even well below the original values. The process is initiated by allowing a zombie to attack a villager, resulting in its transformation into a zombie villager. However, there's a caveat involved.

The chances of a villager going through this change without dying depend on the game's difficulty setting. In easy mode, there's a 25% chance of this happening. This goes up to 50% in normal mode and becomes a guaranteed 100% in hard mode.

To effect a cure, you must possess a splash potion of weakness and a golden apple. The cure is enacted by using the splash potion to weaken the mob and then providing it with a golden apple.

While this process might need to be repeated several times, persisting with these actions will yield a notable reduction in the cost of villager's trades.