How to farm XP using Allays and Infested potions in Minecraft Java 1.21

Minecraft's 1.21 update introduced multiple new potions, including Potions of Infestation that cause an afflicted target to spawn silverfish when harmed. Interestingly, this has presented some pretty intriguing applications for experience point farming, particularly when Allays are used with these potions. But how can you implement this farm in your game world?

Thanks to Allays' natural healing abilities in Minecraft: Java Edition, it's possible to give them the Infested status effect with potions and allow them to continue spawning silverfish without dying. The silverfish can then be killed and their dropped experience orbs can be collected for you to use when you need them.

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How to build an infested Allay XP farm in Minecraft Java

Infested Allay farms take time and resources but create good XP gains in Minecraft (Image via Sir_James_Ender/YouTube)

Before getting started with this Minecraft XP farm, you'll need a sizable collection of resources to construct it. The following resources will be necessary for completing this particular XP farm design:

• 158 building blocks that aren't stone/cobblestone/stone bricks, as silverfish can inhabit these blocks
• Five observer blocks
• One dispenser block
• Two hoppers
• Eight pieces of redstone dust
• Two chests
• Three wooden trapdoors
• One campfire
• Two note blocks
• One water bucket
• One armor stand
• Seven ladders
• One fence gate
• As many Splash Potions of Infestation as you can obtain
• At least one Allay
• Amethyst shards for Allay duplication
• One piston
• One lever

With all of your Minecraft resources collected, you can begin building the farm before populating it with Allays and giving it the Infested status effect.

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Constructing the farm

The first platform for this Minecraft XP farm (Image via Mojang)

Building this particular XP farm in Minecraft Java 1.21 can be tricky, but if the steps are followed closely, it should work just as expected and provide tons of experience orbs to collect. Below, you can find the steps for constructing this farm:

The First Platform of your Minecraft XP farm

1. Begin by placing a Minecraft building block and then a note block on top of it.
2. Move horizontally three blocks to the left, then place two building blocks on top of each other.
3. One block to the right and one block forward of the blocks placed in Step 2, place another 2-block pillar.
4. Create two six-block-tall pillars across from the pillars placed in Steps 2-3. This should create a column with a one-block space between all the pillars.
5. Building out from the side of one of the six-block-tall pillars, use your building blocks to build a horizontal edge that's four blocks wide. Place down a temporary Minecraft block at the end of this edge. Turn and build out another edge that's five blocks wide. Place another temporary block, then turn and build another edge that's five blocks wide before finally placing a final temporary block and turning and building the last edge that's four blocks wide. This should create an outer "frame" flanking the two six-block pillars from Step 4.
6. Fill in the edges you built in Step 5 to create a platform. However, don't cover the hole created by the columns in Steps 2-4. You can also remove the temporary Minecraft blocks you placed in Step 5. This should result in a 7x7 square platform with its corners missing and a hole between the platform and the pillars from Steps 2-4.
7. Place your fence gate in the hole created by the platform and the pillars. Ensure that the gate is level with the platform.

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The Allay chamber in this Minecraft XP farm (Image via Mojang)

Building the Allay Chamber for your Minecraft XP farm

1. Next up, use your Minecraft building blocks and construct a wall around the edges of your platform. It should be as tall as the pillars you constructed in the previous steps, which should be three blocks high from the base of the platform.
2. Construct a roof to close in the wall that you built in the previous step. However, you'll need to leave a one-block hole two blocks away from the center of the roof.
3. Return to the note block you placed and crouch jump to place five observers. They should all be pointing upward when you're finished.
4. Place your ladders on the block column that includes the note block and the observers, allowing you to climb to the top of the Allay chamber.
5. Enter the chamber you've constructed place a campfire in the center of the roof and extinguish it with a shovel.
6. Take your trapdoors and place them adjacent to the campfire on the roof, but leave the side nearest the hole in the roof alone.
7. Place a dispenser on the side of the roof where you didn't place the trapdoor. It should be pointed into the campfire and have the hole in the roof directly behind it.
8. Return to the roof and place a hopper so that it's pointing into the dispenser, and place a second hopper on top of it.
9. Place a double chest on top of the final hopper and fill it with your Splash Potions of Infestation.

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Adding the Allays and Final Touches for your Minecraft XP farm

1. From here, re-enter your Allay chamber and place a note block underneath the campfire.
2. Connect the note block to the chamber wall with two observers. Ensure that their arrows are pointing toward each other, as this will create a clock with the note block in Minecraft Java.
3. Return to the roof and break the center block above the campfire, then create 4-block-high pillars around the hole.
4. Create a platform from the pillars you created in Step 3, complete with walls and a roof, but keep the hole in the center open.
5. Bring your Allay(s) into the chamber created in Step 4 via lead, command, or spawn egg if you're in Minecraft's creative mode. Place down a jukebox and insert a music disc into it to start playing music, then give the Allays amethyst shards to duplicate them. The more Allays you have in the chamber, the more XP you can gain.
6. Take any temporary blocks you may have and give them to your Allays, then throw the remainder of those blocks into the campfire hole, which will force the Allays down into the hole. Once all the Allays are in the hole, seal them in with a building block, and then you can break the temporary chamber that you and the Allays were inside of.
7. Place three solid blocks on top of the block you used to seal the Allays in, then break the middle block and place a piston pointing downward. Use a lever and activate the piston to push the block below it, then break the lever.
8. Repeat Step 7 until the piston no longer operates, then return to the main chamber and remove the note block and observers in the clock you created earlier.
9. Return to the roof of the farm, and place redstone dust trailing from your topmost observer until you reach two blocks' distance from your double chest. Place a redstone repeater and set it to three ticks, then place a final piece of redstone dust adjacent to the side of your double chest.
10. Return to the central chamber and use a water bucket on the corner opposite the hole where the fence gate is placed and open the fence gate.
11. Behind the pillar of observers paired with the note block, place an armor stand in the corner.

This Minecraft Java XP farm can be tricky to construct, but once the steps have been followed correctly, you'll be able to stand in the corner with the armor stand and use a Sweeping Edge-enchanted Sword to swipe at the silverfish spawned by the farm. The farm can be activated by triggering the note block on the outside pillar, which will activate the campfire and hoppers.

The hoppers will supply the dispenser with Potions of Infestation, infecting the little Allay mobs and causing them to spawn silverfish in Minecraft when they take damage from the campfire. This creates a stream of silverfish being funneled into the kill zone via water flow, where you can stand in the corner with the armor stand and clip through the wall to kill them with Sweeping Edge.