Interesting Minecraft illager lore theories you should know

Illagers are a group of hostile mobs in Minecraft. Most of them look awfully similar to villagers but will attack players in various ways. There are multiple kinds of Illagers, with different weapons and powers. When players spawn in a new world, they will soon encounter these illagers while exploring the Overworld.

After playing the game for a while, gamers will notice that these hostile creatures have some form of connection with other beings in the Overworld, especially villagers and the new creaking mob. Here are some interesting lore theories about Illagers that are worth knowing.

Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinion. None of the theories have been officially confirmed by Mojang.

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Lore theories about Illagers in Minecraft

Illagers were once banished by villagers

Illagers were once banished by villagers (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

As mentioned above, most Illagers (except ravager) look extremely similar to villagers. Hence, there is a popular lore theory about how Illagers once used to be villagers. They did not have a gray skin color and were peaceful.

Soon, however, a cult of villagers started practicing magical rituals that were considered quite dangerous by other villagers. Hence, they were eventually banished from the village. The cult grew into what we know as the Illagers. They gradually became enemies to the villagers, placing Illager Outposts everywhere and operating from the Woodland Mansion, their new home.

There is also a theory that they always see us, the players, as enemies because they think we are friends with the villagers. Hence, after 5 in-game days, illagers can be employed to create a patrol and find players and kill them.

However, if the players managed to kill them, they previously received the bad omen status effect, which would then trigger a raid if players entered a village. The bad omen status effect has since been changed.

From these details, a lore theory can be speculated that Illagers and villagers used to be the same before the former were banished for their evil acts.

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Illagers are scared of creaking

Illagers are scared of the creaking mob (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

In December 2024, Mojang released The Garden Awakens game drop, in which they added a new Pale Garden biome and the creaking mob. The biome was essentially a variant of the Dark Oak Forest, where the Woodland Mansion generates. The creaking spawned from its creaking heart block buried deep inside a pale oak tree.

When the creaking was heard in the snapshot, many people started to notice that the Illagers, considered one of the strongest and most dangerous hostile mobs, were scared of the new creature. This tells us that there is a hidden lore between them.

Since creaking spawned in Pale Garden, which is a variant of Dark Oak Forest, a theory can be woven that Illagers were the ones to perform a particular ritual that somewhat corrupted half the Dark Oak Forest and turned it into the Pale Garden. Furthermore, because of their magical ritual, they conceived the creaking mob, which they were scared of and were unable to control.

When exploring the Woodland Mansion, players can find resin clumps in some chests, hinting at a chance that Illagers tried to kill the creaking, but were unable to; hence, they simply stole some resin clumps and ran away from the creature.

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