Minecraft iron golem spawning explained

Iron golems are neutral mobs in Minecraft that spawn in various ways and places. These are strong mobs made of iron that can protect villagers and players against various hostile mobs like zombies, skeletons, creaking, pillagers, piglins, etc. Spawning mechanics of these creatures is quite interesting in the game since they can be spawned by other mobs, players, or even in a structure.

Here are all the ways in which iron golems spawn in Minecraft.

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Ways in which iron golems spawn in Minecraft

Villager spawning iron golems

Villagers have the ability to spawn infinite iron golems (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang Studios)

The most interesting and detailed spawning mechanics of an iron golem is when villagers create them. They have the special ability to spawn an unlimited amount of iron golems if certain criteria are met around them. Villagers spawning iron golems also differ in Java and Bedrock Edition. Hence, this section will be further divided into two sections.

Java Edition

In Java Edition, villagers can spawn an iron golem while panicking or gossiping if the following criteria are met:

1. A villager has slept in the last 20 minutes.
2. A villager has not detected an iron golem within a 16-block radius for the last 30 seconds.
3. A villager has not been near an iron golem summoning for the last 30 minutes.
4. A villager finds two more villagers to start panicking because of a hostile creature. (In total, three villagers are required to spawn an iron golem.)
5. A villager finds four more villagers to start gossiping. (In total, five villagers are required to spawn an iron golem.)
6. A valid spawn point for the iron golem is found.

Over the years, players have observed the spawning mechanics of an iron golem and have exploited some of them to create iron farms. These farms consist of three villagers with beds and one zombie to scare them.

On the surface, an iron golem killing area is created. If no iron golem is found, the three villagers will start panicking and create one exactly in the killing area since other areas are spawn-proof.

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Bedrock Edition

In Bedrock Edition, an iron golem can only spawn in an area where there are 20 beds and at least 10 villagers. These resources are necessary to spawn an iron golem artificially. Otherwise, they can naturally spawn when a village generates in a world.

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Player creating iron golems

Players can also create iron golems in Minecraft (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang Studios)

Players also have the ability to create an iron golem in Minecraft on their own using four blocks of iron and one carved pumpkin block. The configuration can be seen in the picture above.

One detail to note here is that the carved pumpkin block should be the last to be placed. Furthermore, these blocks shouldn't be blocked by any other whatsoever. Even a small grass block can prevent iron golems from spawning.

These manually created iron golems will never be hostile towards players, even if they are attacked by their creator.

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Pillager Outposts spawning iron golems

Iron golems can also spawn as prisoners in a Pillager Outpost (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang Studios)

Lastly, iron golems can spawn in Pillager Outposts as prisoners of the pillagers. They do not spawn in each one, but the exact percentage of them spawning in one is unknown.

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