| Health points |
100 |
|---|---|
| Behavior |
Neutral |
| Attack strength |
To mobs: |
| Hitbox size |
In Java Edition: In Bedrock Edition: |
| Speed |
0.25 |
| Knockback resistance |
1.0 |
| Spawn |
Near a pillager outpost |
| Usable items |
|
An iron golem is a large, strong neutral utility mob that defends players and villagers. It is one of the few mobs that can be built then spawned in the game.
Contents
Spawning
Villages
In Java Edition, villagers can summon iron golems, either when they are gossiping or panicking. When a villager tries to summon a golem, up to 10 attempts are made to spawn a golem within a 16×13×16 box centered on the villager (villager block position +7/−8 blocks along x/z axes and +6/−6 blocks along y axis). A random y column is picked and then the topmost block in that column is selected that is air, water, or lava, and has a "solid-blocking" block underneath, or block at y=+6 if none such is available in that column. The target location is then checked whether the block underneath has a solid top surface (which is not the same as "solid-blocking"). The target block and 2 blocks above must not be a full block, nor be redstone-powered, nor be rails, and the two blocks above must not be water. This means the iron golem can spawn inside 1-deep water or inside blocks like slabs, fences, and carpets (if other checks pass). Adjacent blocks are irrelevant, so golems can spawn partially inside adjacent solid blocks.[1] However, the spawning iron golem still must not collide with any existing entities.
In Bedrock Edition, an iron golem can spawn naturally when a village first generates in the world. Iron golems also spawn in villages having at least 20 beds and 10 villagers. The golem attempts to spawn in a 16×12×16 volume around the village center defined by a bed or a bell. For a village to spawn iron golems, 75% of the villagers in the village must have worked in the past day, 100% of the villagers must be linked to a bed, and a player must be within 64 blocks of the village center horizontally and within 44 blocks vertically in simulation distance of 4.
Distance can be calculated with this formula: Horizontal=32+8*simulation distance and Vertical=12+8*simulation distance. The chance of attempting a spawn is 1⁄700 per game tick, which averages to one spawn attempt every 35 seconds. Iron golems can spawn provided the 2×4×2 space above the spawn point (that is, horizontally centered on the northwest corner of the block it spawns on) contains only non-full blocks, and the block it spawns on is solid. If the village's original iron golem is killed, a new one cannot spawn unless all of these conditions are met; therefore, small villages do not regenerate an iron golem unless the village is expanded.
Creation
Iron golems are created by placing four iron blocks in a T shape (as shown in the image), and then placing a carved pumpkin, jack o'lantern or pumpkin[BE only] on top of the center upper block. The pumpkin may be placed by the player, a dispenser or an enderman, but it must be placed last. It needs at least one block of space around the bottom iron block to be able to spawn and cannot spawn in a confined area, even grass can prevent an iron golem from spawning. Alternatively, the blocks can be placed in any order with an uncarved pumpkin; the player can shear the pumpkin to spawn the golem. When successfully transformed, it is naturally passive toward all players under all circumstances. It can, however, attack the player’s tamed wolves, if punched accidentally, but it never directly attacks the player. The constructed golem attacks hostile mobs like a naturally spawned iron golem.
The block arrangement can be placed upright, lying down, or upside-down. The four empty spaces in the diagram (above and below each of the arms) must be air blocks. Any non-air block (including blocks such as snow layers, grass, and water) present in any of the empty spaces prevent the golem from spawning.
In Java Edition, the player can place a pumpkin on the four blocks of iron, then shear the pumpkin. The iron golem still spawns like normal.
Like other constructed mobs, iron golems always spawn facing south. Their large size may cause them to take suffocation damage from nearby solid blocks at the level of their head.
Dropping a pumpkin on the correct arrangement of iron blocks does not spawn a iron golem.
Pillager outposts
An iron golem found within one of the cages surrounding an outpost.
Iron golems can also be found surrounding pillager outposts, confined inside dark oak cages. When freed, they can help the player by attacking any nearby pillagers. Pillagers do not attack iron golems in cages, although the iron golem can attack any pillagers that are one block near the cage, because iron golems can attack through a one-block wall.
Drops
Iron golems drop when they die:
- 3–5 Iron Ingots
- 0–2 poppies
Killing an iron golem with a weapon enchanted by Looting has no effect on the number of iron ingots or poppies dropped. Trading prices are unaffected by the killing of iron golems; however, village popularity decreases by 10, affecting village iron golem behavior if the popularity ranges below -15[BE only].
Behavior
An iron golem offering a poppy.
Iron golems wander around a village in a patrol-like fashion, staying close to buildings and other structures. Like villagers, iron golems do not wander away from a village, regardless of how they were spawned, but sometimes stand at the border of the village.
An iron golem sometimes faces a villager as if they are conversing. Iron golems can spawn poppies in their hands and offer them to villagers, symbolizing the friendly relationship between villagers and iron golems. Baby villagers accept the poppy offered by the iron golem.[Bedrock Edition only][2] Attacking an iron golem that is not player-built while the iron golem is holding out a poppy causes it to "confiscate" the poppy and attack the player instead. If the iron golem sees a target while it is offering the poppy, it runs away toward the target like before and kills the target instead.
In Bedrock Edition, iron golems completely ignore villagers, pushing them aside while walking if a villager is in the iron golem's path, but they still offer poppies if possible.
If not within a village, iron golems slowly wander around attacking hostile mobs, usually making their way to a nearby village. If in that village, the iron golem doesn't leave.
Iron golems can walk up a full block height without jumping and walk over a 1 block wide hole without falling in. They avoid water, lava, fire, and cactus. Iron golems are immune to both drowning and fall damage. When in water, they sink, but can still move freely.
In Java Edition, when an iron golem's health reduces to 75%, cracks appear on its surface. An iron golem can be healed when the player right-clicks the chest of the iron golem with an iron ingot. This action consumes the ingot.[upcoming: BE 1.18.10]
As with all utility mobs, iron golems can be leashed. The leashed iron golem does not try to break from the lead when it sees a hostile mob. Instead, it looks at the mob while moving. An iron golem that is leashed in mid-air moves its arms and legs while moving. If an iron golem is leashed to a fence, it attacks the hostile mob but does not follow the mob if the hostile mob goes out the attack range, as the iron golem cannot break free from fence leads.
In Java Edition, when iron golems move when provoked, they look like if they're taking strides toward the mob. Iron golems that aren't provoked move slower in Java Edition. Iron golems move faster in Bedrock Edition, as it walks like its normal walking speed, either when provoked or not provoked.
Iron golems cannot pick up weapons or armor, but the player can use NBT commands in Java Edition to give the iron golem weapons or armor, although the armor or weapons are not visible.
Attacking
When attacking, an iron golem moves quickly toward its target and swings its arms up violently to attack, flinging the target into the air, and dealing 7
to 21 × 10.5 damage in Normal difficulty. Iron golems have a large attack range, allowing them to attack through a solid 1 block thick wall, even without a line of sight to the target. When an iron golem attacks, it also deals a long knockback range. Iron golems cannot attack targets that are three blocks high above the same ground level as the golem.
It is possible for multiple golems to hit the same target simultaneously, flinging the victim to a height proportional to the number of golems that attacked. The mob/player flung can die from fall damage.
If an iron golem attacks a group of zombies, for example, it targets one zombie to attack until that zombie dies before it attacks a different zombie, even while other zombies are attacking at the same time. The iron golem attacks hostile mobs that attack it in order.
If the mob is flung out of sight, the iron golem attacks the next mob that attacks it. Sometimes, the iron golem might attack the nearest hostile mob if they are in groups.
When an iron golem kills any mob, the player can obtain items dropped by the mob, but no experience orbs. Iron golems that kill a raid mob in Bedrock Edition also causes the mob to drop its raid loot, even when the mob wasn't attacked by the player before it is killed.
Iron golems never attack each other, as iron golems cannot "accidentally" hit another iron golem when attacking.
Provocation by players
An iron golem built by a player never attacks players, even when hit or when the player attacks another villager or another golem in front of the player-built golem. A player-built golem attacks the player's tamed wolf if the wolf attacks the golem.
A naturally-spawned iron golem becomes hostile toward a player who attacks a villager near an iron golem. Also, if a player has -15 popularity or less in a village, or has -100 or lower reputation with any nearby villager, naturally-spawned iron golems become hostile to that player until the player's popularity climbs above -15 and reputation with all nearby villagers goes above -100.
A village iron golem retaliates when attacked by a player (even throwing an ender pearl at an iron golem provokes it). If a village has more than one naturally-spawned iron golems and a player attacks one in front of the other(s), all of iron golems in that type may become hostile to the player.
Throwing a positive splash potion or a positive lingering potion does not anger Iron golems.
Provocation by other mobs
Although they are guardians of villages, iron golems are not actually provoked when a mob attacks a nearby villager (in contrast to a player attacking a villager). With the exception of creepers, ghasts and goats (although they still can attack ghasts if close), they are provoked when attacked by any mobs, and by the presence of nearby monsters. Even if a witch accidentally throws a positive splash potion at an iron golem during a raid, this does not stop the iron golem from attacking the witch. Iron golems are ineffective against flying hostile mobs that don't venture into the iron golem's reach, such as phantoms.
The list below contains mobs (including players) that can have hostile interactions with iron golems. The iron golem also attacks neutral mobs or hostile mobs that attack the player such as piglins or zombified piglins.
| Entity | Iron golem attacks the mob? | Attacks the iron golem? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaze | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | |
| Chicken Jockey | Yes | Yes | Iron golems attack the rider, not the chicken. The rider (not the chicken) attacks the golem. When a zombified piglin rider is attacked, the group of zombified piglins retaliate. |
| Creeper | No | Accidentally | A nearby creeper explosion can still damage the golem. |
| Ender Dragon | Yes | Accidentally[verify] | When in near vicinity, iron golems try to attack the ender dragon, although they are rarely able to. |
| Enderman | Yes | When attacked | Unlike when a player looks at an enderman, an enderman is not provoked by an iron golem looking at it. |
| Endermite | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | |
| Ghast | Partial | No | Iron golems do not seek or approach any ghast outside its attack range, but can attack ghasts that happen to approach within reach. |
| Giant [unused mob] [JE only] | Yes | No | Giants cannot move or attack due to lacking AI. |
| Goat | No | Randomly | |
| Guardian Elder Guardian |
Yes | Defensive | Guardians and elder guardians can still damage iron golems with their spikes defense. |
| Hoglin | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | A group of hoglins does not retaliate if babies are attacked. |
| Illagers: Evoker |
Yes | Yes | Iron golems also attack unarmed pillagers, despite them being passive in Java Edition. |
| Iron Golem | No | No | Iron golems never attack each other, and cannot hit each other by accident. |
| Llama Trader Llama |
When attacked | Accidentally | An iron golem attacks a llama that accidentally hits the golem with its spit. After being hit by the golem, the llama deliberately attacks the golem. |
| Magma Cube | Yes | Yes (all except small-sized)[JE only] No (all[BE only] or small-sized[JE only]) |
|
| Phantom | Yes | No | |
| Piglin | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | Iron golems also attack baby piglins, despite them being passive. Piglins also attack as a group if one piglin or piglin brute is attacked by an iron golem. |
| Piglin Brute | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | Piglin brutes also attack as a group if one piglin or piglin brute is attacked by an iron golem. |
| Player | Partial No (player-built, or in Peaceful difficulty) |
At player's discretion | A naturally-spawned iron golem or commands-spawned iron golem attacks the player if the player attacks the golem or a villager while playing in the Adventure and Survival mode. A naturally-spawned iron golem can also attack any nearby player who has -15 or lower popularity, or -100 or lower reputation with any nearby villager in a village. |
| Pufferfish | When attacked | Defensive | Iron golems attack pufferfish if damaged by the pufferfish's defense. |
| Shulker | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | |
| Silverfish | Yes | Yes[BE only] When attacked[JE only] |
|
| Skeleton Skeleton Horseman Stray Wither Skeleton |
Yes | Yes | Iron golems attack Skeletons riding skeleton horses (along with the other way around). However, they do not attack the skeleton horse itself. |
| Slime | Yes | No | Slimes chase iron golems, but cannot attack. |
| Snow Golem | When attacked | Accidentally | The iron golem retaliates when a snow golem accidentally hits it with a snowball. |
| Spider Cave Spider Spider Jockey |
Yes | Yes | |
| Vex | Yes | Partial | A vex attacks an iron golem rarely when the vex is near to golem. It attacks immediately when an evoker summons three vexes. |
| Villager | When attacked[JE only] No[BE only] |
Accidentally | An iron golem retaliates against a villager who accidentally damages it by setting off a firework.[Java Edition only][3] |
| Witch | Yes | Yes[BE only] Partial[JE only] |
Attack iron golems if patrolling in an illager patrol or iron golem attacking one witch. The witch throws splash potions of Poison or Harming when an iron golem attacks the witch.[Java Edition only] |
| Wither | Yes | Yes | Iron golems always attack withers, even when the attacks do no damage while the wither is generating health after being summoned. |
| Wolf (tamed) | When attacked | In defense of owner | Tamed wolves attack the iron golem if it attacks its owner, or the owner attacks the golem. When attacked by the wolf, the golem retaliates. A player-built iron golem attacks the player's wolves if attacked by the wolf. Iron golems and untamed wolves never attack one another. |
| Zoglin | Yes | Yes | Unlike hoglins, a group does not attack the golem if the golem attacks one zoglin. |
| Zombie variants: |
Yes | Yes (all except drowned) Partial (drowned) |
Swimming drowned do not attack any mob that is not touching water during daytime. |
| Zombified Piglin | Yes | When attacked, group retaliates | |
| All other mobs | No | No |
An iron golem looks down at a husk, but cannot attack the husk.
A naturally-spawned iron golem knows where raiding illager locations are from behind solid walls and from underground and attempts to move toward them. An iron golem created by the player or summoned by a command cannot detect raiders through obstructions. Iron golems also looks down or looks up if the hostile mob is above or below the iron golem.
Being attacked
Zombies (and variants), zoglins, skeletons (and variants), silverfish[BE only], spiders, cave spiders, magma cubes[JE only], withers, illagers and witches[BE only] naturally attack iron golems on sight and may cause major damage, especially if the mobs attack in groups.
Iron golems have 100% knockback resistance from normal attacks. They can still be knocked back by the Knockback enchantment on swords and the Punch enchantment on bows.[Java Edition only]
Cracking
Iron golems have different stages of being cracked to show their health. When their health is above 74 × 37, they do not have any cracks. When their health is between 50 × 25 and 74 × 37, some cracks appear. When their health is between 25 × 12.5 and 49 × 24.5, they appear more cracked. When their health is lower than 25 × 12.5, many cracks are visible.
No deterioration
More than 75% of health remaining
Low deterioration
More than 50% but no more than 75% of health remaining
Average deterioration
More than 25% but no more than 50% of health remaining
Strong deterioration
No more than 25% of health remaining
Healing
In Java Edition, using an iron ingot on an iron golem restores its health by 25 × 12.5.[4]
Preferred path
Like villagers, iron golems in Bedrock Edition use a strategy of pathfinding that prioritizes walking on certain "low-cost" blocks.
Iron golems attempt to walk on a one-block-wide path, despite them being two blocks wide. An iron golem favors a wider path if it sees one.
Climbing
Iron golems can climb ladders or vines if the ladder or vine is in its path, or if pushed onto a ladder or vine.
Sounds
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Footsteps | Friendly Creatures | Plays when it walks around the village. | entity.iron_golem.step | subtitles.block.generic.footsteps | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Iron Golem breaks | Friendly Creatures | Plays when it breaks from high to low health. | entity.iron_golem.damage | subtitles.entity.iron_golem.damage | 0.8 | 0.8 / 1.0 | 16 | |
| Iron Golem dies | Friendly Creatures | Plays when it dies. | entity.iron_golem.death | subtitles.entity.iron_golem.death | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Iron Golem hurts | Friendly Creatures | Plays when it takes damage. | entity.iron_golem.hurt | subtitles.entity.iron_golem.hurt | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Iron Golem repaired | Friendly Creatures | Plays when it is repaired to full health. | entity.iron_golem.repair | subtitles.entity.iron_golem.repair | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Iron Golem attacks | Friendly Creatures | Plays when it attacks hostile creatures in the village. | entity.iron_golem.attack | subtitles.entity.iron_golem.attack | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 |
Data values
ID
| Name | Resource location | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Golem | iron_golem | entity.minecraft.iron_golem |
| Name | Resource location | Numeric ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Golem | iron_golem | 20 | entity.iron_golem.name |
Entity data
Iron golems have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.
- Entity data
- Additional fields for mobs that can become angry
- Tags common to all entities
- Tags common to all mobs
- PlayerCreated: 1 or 0 (true/false) - if true, this golem is player-created and never attacks players.
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other platforms | |||||
| Body Guard | Create an Iron Golem | — | 20G | Bronze | ||
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Parent | Actual requirements (if different) | Resource location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Acquire Hardware | Smelt an iron ingot | Getting an Upgrade | Have an iron ingot in your inventory. | story/smelt_iron
|
 | Hired Help | Summon an Iron Golem to help defend a village | What a Deal! | Summon an iron golem. | adventure/summon_iron_golem
|
History
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.1 | 12w08a |  Added iron golems.
| |||
| One iron golem may spawn in a village for every 16 villagers. | |||||
| 1.2-pre | Mechanical and stomping sounds have been added for the iron golem. | ||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w32a | Iron golems now attack slimes and magma cubes. | |||
| ? | One iron golem can now spawn for every 10 villagers in a village. | ||||
| 1.7.2 | 13w36a | Because roses have been replaced with poppies, the iron golem's drop has been changed. | |||
| 1.8 | 14w03a | Iron golems now drop only iron ingots when killed by the player, either through combat, potions, or player-activated mechanisms such as manually lit TNT. If killed without player intervention, they now drop only poppies. | |||
| 14w04a | The previous change has been reverted; iron golems always drop iron ingots again. | ||||
| Iron golems can now be spawned by dispensing a pumpkin. | |||||
| 14w25a | Iron golems can now be built sideways and upside-down instead of just upright. | ||||
| 14w26c | Jack o'lanterns can no longer be used to build iron golems. | ||||
| 14w33a | Zombies, skeletons, spiders, cave spiders, slimes, magma cubes and blazes now attack iron golems, without provocation. | ||||
| 1.8.1 | pre1 | Jack o'lanterns can now be used to build iron golems again. | |||
| Creepers no longer attack iron golems. | |||||
| 1.9 | 15w39a | Iron golems are now slightly shorter (2.7 blocks tall rather than 2.9). | |||
| 15w46a | Iron golems now spawn with 100% knockback resistance. | ||||
| 1.11 | 16w32a | The entity ID of the iron golem has been changed from VillagerGolem to villager_golem. | |||
| 1.13 | 17w47a | Iron golems can now also use a carved pumpkin to be created. | |||
| pre5 | The entity ID of the iron golem has been changed from villager_golem to iron_golem. | ||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | The texture of iron golems has been updated. | |||
| 18w47a | Iron golems now spawn in cages next to pillager outposts. | ||||
| 19w08a | A single iron golem now always spawns as part of a village. | ||||
 The texture of the iron golem has been tweaked. The bottom of the left arm is now the same as the right arm. The part of the under of the head and the under of the waist has been changed. | |||||
| 1.14.3 | pre1 | Panicking villagers now have a higher chance of spawning iron golems. | |||
| 1.15 | 19w41a | Iron golems now crack as they take damage.
| |||
| Iron golems can now be healed with iron ingots. | |||||
| 19w44a | Iron golem's damage progress is now based on the ratio of current health to max health. | ||||
| 1.16 | 20w19a | Villagers can now spawn iron golems regardless of their profession status or latest working time. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.12.1 | build 1 | Added iron golems. | |||
| v0.16.0 | build 4 | Iron golems now damage players in Peaceful difficulty. | |||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.0.0 | alpha 1.0.0.0 | Iron golems no longer attack players in Peaceful difficulty. | |||
| 1.1.0 | alpha 1.1.0.0 | The entity ID of the iron golem has been changed from irongolem to iron_golem. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | The texture of iron golems has been updated.
| |||
| Iron golems now spawn in cages next to pillager outposts. | |||||
| 1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.1 | A single iron golem now always spawns as part of a village. | |||
| 1.16.100 | beta 1.16.100.54 | Iron golems attack hoglins. | |||
| ? | Iron golems immediately attack zoglins instead of attacking only when the zoglin attacked first.[5] | ||||
| Upcoming Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.18.10 | beta 1.18.10.26 | Iron golems now crack as they take damage. | |||
| Iron golems can now be healed with iron ingots. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU12 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | Added iron golems. |
| 1.91 | Iron golems now spawn in cages next to pillager outposts. | ||||
| A single iron golem now always spawn as part of a village. | |||||
| Panicking villagers now have a higher chance of spawning iron golems. | |||||
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added iron golems. | ||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Iron Golem" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Two Iron Golems Bump Their Heads.
Trivia
Robot from Laputa: Castle in the Sky
- The iron golem's holding out flowers to villagers is a reference to the ancient robots in Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Laputa: Castle in the Sky.[6] When baby villagers notice the poppy in its hand, they slowly approach, and take the flower eventually.[2] Iron golems do not actually pick up poppies; they spawn them in their hands.
- Iron golems do not get into boats or minecarts on their own, although in Bedrock Edition, pushing a minecart on rails into a golem forces it into the minecart.
- It is possible for an enderman to cause an iron golem to spawn by placing a pumpkin in the correct position on an arrangement of iron blocks previously placed by the player.
- The iron golem is a purchasable avatar item on the Xbox 360 Marketplace.
- It is impossible to spawn an iron golem holding a poppy using a command (such as
summonordata). Its NBT matches with a naturally generated golem (HandItems:[{id:"minecraft:poppy",Count:1b},{}]), but does not visually update.
Gallery
Screenshots
Creation of an iron golem.
An iron golem offers a poppy to several villager children.
An iron golem attacking a spider by throwing it into the air.
An iron golem attacking a witch.
An iron golem attacking the player.
Iron golems acting weirdly in a player-created village, by attempting to cross in a two-block-high gap.
In other media
An Iron Golem in promotional artwork for the Horse Update.
An Iron Golem in promotional artwork for Minecon 2015.
Iron Golems in promotional artwork for the Village and Pillage Update.
Official Iron Golem artwork.
Another official Iron Golem artwork.
Villager and Iron Golem Spirit from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Lego Minecraft Iron Golem.
References
- ↑ MC-148955 Resolved as "Fixed"[verify]
- ↑ a b Baby villagers have not accepted poppies in Java Edition since the Village & Pillage update due to a bug MC-159069.
- ↑ MC-195326
- ↑ MCPE-74081
- ↑ MCPE-74428 – resolved as "Fixed"
- ↑ "@scambot Yes, thanks to @pgeuder who sent me inspirational pictures!" – @jonkagstrom on Twitter, February 23, 2012
