How To Trade With A Wandering Trader In Minecraft
Do you ever feel like you have been playing Minecraft for a long time, but still cannot find the items you are looking for? You have scoured every cave, explored every biome, and still come up empty-handed. What if I told you there is a magical, mysterious merchant who can provide you with the rarest items? This mob, known as a wandering trader, will appear in your world and give you the items you have always wanted.
The wandering trader is a unique and mysterious mob in Minecraft that offers special trades for a variety of items. It is a peaceful mob that appears randomly in your Overworld, accompanied by two trader llamas. This wandering trader entity will offer a selection of trades for various items, including those that are difficult to obtain, such as nautilus shells, saplings, or dyes. The trades offered are random and change with each new trader that spawns, so you have to be ready to trade when you see him.
Unlike villagers, wandering traders do not have a specific home or profession, and they lack a trade progression system or experience levels. They are a great way to acquire hard-to-find resources without having to travel long distances. The wandering trader will despawn after a certain amount of time, so you have to be quick to make a trade with him.
Key Takeaways
- The wandering trader is a passive mob that appears randomly in the Overworld, accompanied by two leashed trader llamas.
- Wandering traders offer unique items, such as the globe banner pattern and maps for woodland and ocean explorers.
- Wandering traders do not have a trade progression system, and their trades do not restock.
What is a Wandering Trader in Minecraft, and what do they do?
A wandering trader is a peaceful, blue-robed mob that will appear in the Overworld. The wandering trader entity is a unique merchant, offering a limited set of wandering trader trades that differ from those provided by normal villagers. They sell items generated in the world or related to nature, including plants, dyes, and buckets of fish. The wandering trader’s inventory is much smaller than that of a villager and includes a selection of random trades, such as coral blocks, nautilus shells, and various saplings. A wandering trader’s trades are fixed, and they do not have a trade progression system, unlike villagers.
Every trade with a wandering trader involves emeralds as currency. They offer a small set of trades that differ greatly from traditional villagers. They are a valuable resources entity for obtaining obtain biome specific materials, and they are the only renewable source of items like sand, red sand, coral blocks, and small dripleaves without glitches. Wandering traders also trade less common items such as coral blocks, blue ice, and nautilus shells. A visible mob during the day, they become an invisible mob at night by drinking milk to remove the potion effect they get from drinking milk.
How to Find a Wandering Trader in Minecraft
A wandering trader will typically spawn within a 48-block radius of a random player and is often accompanied by two trader llamas. They appear randomly and can also form a nighttime mob. A wandering trader prefers to spawn near a claimed bell in a village if one is within 48 blocks of the player. Wandering traders prefer to wander within 16 blocks of their initial spawning location after they spawn. The wandering trader only spawns in the Overworld and avoids deep dark biomes.
The chance for a wandering trader to spawn initially starts at 25% and increases with each failed attempt up to a maximum of 75%. If the spawn attempt immediately fails, the chance for a wandering trader to spawn again will increase. The wandering trader will attempt to spawn every 20 minutes in-game time if conditions are met. There are an additional ten attempts to find a valid mob spawning location. If no player is found during a spawn attempt, the spawn chance resets to 25% for future attempts. The trader wanders around their initial spawning target location for a short period before despawning, so you need to be quick to trade.
How to Disable Wandering Traders in Minecraft
There is no simple game setting to disable the wandering trader. The most effective method to stop a wandering trader from spawning is to create a repeating command block. The command:
/kill @e[type=wandering_trader]
It will target the wandering trader entity and kill it as soon as it spawns. This is a good way to prevent the wandering trader mob from appearing without affecting other mobs. Alternatively, you can create a deep pit or use a Nether portal to prevent the wandering trader from despawning, which is useful for bulk trading.
Can You Kill a Wandering Trader in Minecraft?
Yes, you can kill a wandering trader. If you kill the wandering trader mob, they will drop two leads. The wandering trader dies entity just like any other entity in the game. Wandering traders will flee from players when attacked, while their llamas will retaliate by spitting if their master is hit. Wandering traders can sometimes form a caravan with wild llamas that follow the leashed trader llamas. However, killing wandering traders does not anger iron golems, unlike villagers.
Wandering Trader Commands in Minecraft
You can use commands to summon a wandering trader at any time. The main command to spawn one is:
/summon wandering_trader
This is useful for creative worlds or for testing out new features. You can also use commands to change an existing trader’s behavior, like preventing them from despawning.
Wandering Trader Trades
A wandering trader is a great source for unique and rare items through its special wandering trader trades. They offer a wide variety of random trades that can include biome-specific materials, such as jungle saplings, red sand, or even blue ice. Wandering traders typically offer a mix of six random trades from a pool of over 70 potential items upon each spawn. These five random trades are set when the wandering trader spawns and remain unchanged.
Wandering traders can sell rare plants and flowers, including blue ice, ferns, vines, lily pads, bamboo, and coral blocks. Wandering traders offer various dyes, including blue dye, light gray dye, and lime dye. Wandering traders can trade blocks like packed ice, sand, podzol, and dripstone blocks. Once you player successfully trades for an item, that specific trade is gone forever, so you need to be quick. The wandering trader’s inventory is a great way to obtain items without having to travel to distant biomes.
Custom Trades
While a wandering trader’s trades are random, you can use a command to give them custom trades. This can be particularly useful if you work in a creative field or want to experiment. You will use the /data modify command to change the trader’s data. For example, this command will give a wandering trader a new trade to exchange one emerald for one diamond:
/data modify entity @e[type=wandering_trader,limit=1] {Offers:{Recipes:[{buy:{id:"minecraft:emerald",Count:1},sell:{id:"minecraft:diamond",Count:1}}]}}
You can create different custom trades by altering the item IDs and counts within the code. Remember, a wandering trader’s trades are fixed, and they will not level up or unlock any new trades on their own.
Do wandering traders sell nautilus shells in Minecraft?
Yes, a wandering trader can sell nautilus shells. They are one of the most common wandering trader trades. They are essential for crafting conduits, and a wandering trader provides a great way to obtain these without needing to find an ocean biome. The wandering trader’s offerings change each time a new one spawns, so you might have to wait for a new wandering trader to get your hands on a shell.
Can I turn a wandering trader into a villager in Minecraft?
No, you cannot turn a wandering trader into a villager. A wandering trader is a separate type of mob and does not have a villager profession. Unlike villagers, they do not use a job site block, and their trades cannot be changed. The novice master trading system, which applies to villagers, does not work on a wandering trader. The trades are fixed, and they will not level up or unlock new trades.
Do wandering traders restock in Minecraft?
No, a wandering trader does not restock their trades. Their trades are permanent for their lifespan. Once you player successfully trades for an item, that trade is gone for good. Unlike villagers, their trades do not reset. The wandering trader locks trades after a few purchases, meaning you cannot buy more of the same item. Any existing trades are a one-time thing. The available trades are set when the wandering trader spawns.
Do wandering traders despawn in Minecraft?
Yes, a wandering trader despawns after a set amount of time. They will despawn after being loaded for 48,000 game ticks, which is about 40 minutes or two full Minecraft days. This happens whether you interact with them or not. The wandering trader despawns and any locked trades and items are lost permanently. The despawn timer freezes if you move the wandering trader into an unloaded chunk or another dimension.
Conclusion
The wandering trader is a useful mob that can provide valuable and rare items in exchange for emeralds. Their wandering trader trades offer a way to get biome-specific items without extensive travel. From their random trades to their despawning behavior, understanding the wandering trader will help you make the most of their brief visit. Whether you need a specific type of sapling or a nautilus shell, the wandering trader can be a great resource.