How to best use villages during Minecraft speedruns

Villages are some of the most useful areas of Minecraft worlds. Especially for those players who love to speedrun, villages can be immensely helpful in advancing through the game. Villages can provide Minecrafters with valuable items that will help them beat the game quickly and efficiently.

While loot chests in villages can sometimes have awesome loot, every chest will be different and up to chance. However, there are some universal uses of villages that players can utilize in almost every village.

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Best uses of villages during Minecraft speedruns

1) Hay bales

Blocks of hay can easily be made into a large amount of bread (Image via Minecraft Seeds)

By far, one of the best aspects of finding a village during a Minecraft speedrun is the abundance of hay bales.

Blocks of hay can easily be made into a large amount of bread. Speedrunners can use this method and never worry about going hungry or collecting more food for the rest of their game.

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2) Fletcher

Fletching tables are easy to craft and only require four wood planks and two pieces of flint (Image via Minecraft)

While many different villager profession types can be more than helpful during speedruns, the fletcher might be the one that comes in handy the most. This is because of the massive supply of arrows collectable from fletchers before going into battle against the ender dragon.

Regardless of whether a village has a fletcher or not, it is relatively simple to turn any unemployed villager into a fletcher. Fletching tables are easy to craft and only require four wood planks and two pieces of flint.

The more arrows collected while in a village, the lesser time players spend trying to craft them. Plus, an abundance of arrows will likely make fighting the ender dragon much easier.

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3) Iron Golem

Unfortunately, not every village will have an iron golem, but they are not necessarily rare to come across (Image via PCGames)

Iron Golems in villages can provide Minecraft speedrunners with iron ingots without the need for mining and smelting. Unfortunately, not every village will have an Iron Golem, but they are not necessarily rare to come across.

While going up against an Iron Golem can be dangerous due to the significant amount of damage the mobs can yield onto entities, doing this correctly might be worthwhile. To kill this mob safely, users can build a small tower to stand on, and which is tall enough to avoid being hit by the mob but short enough to reach them with a weapon.

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4) Building/crafting blocks

(Image via Minecraft)

While it might not always be necessary, villages can help speedrunners avoid spending time mining for building or crafting blocks. These materials are nearly always required when beating Minecraft, and villages are just one place they can be collected.

Village houses are mostly made out of cobblestone or wood. Both these common blocks can be used to bridge across lava in the nether or build up the side of the obsidian towers in the end. Wood can be used for tools and as fuel for cooking and smelting.

Obtaining blocks is not the primary purpose of villages, but this use can be a bonus during a speed run.

Note: this article is subjective and reflects the author’s views.