Best Villagers To Trade With In Minecraft
Villagers have been an integral aspect of Minecraft ever since its beta days, and they’ve evolved quite a bit since their initial addition to the game. In the very beginning, villagers were almost mindless beings wandering around their areas, with limited access to resources such as food and materials.
There are 14 villager trading professions in Minecraft, and over 100 potential traders. The 5 best villagers to trade with are the Librarian, Weaponsmith, Farmer, Armorer, and Toolsmith.
Minecraft villagers are now equipped with various skills and they vary in terms of their biomes and characters – they even have special enemies to watch out for. But, the most significant adaption is their ability to trade with players. Stick around to find out about the best villagers to trade with in Minecraft.
Villagers In Minecraft
Villagers were initially introduced to Minecraft back in 2012 in the form of NPC Mobs, and they cannot naturally trade with players. Players will need to create villages with plenty of doors and small lodgings for the villagers to live in, and they will move in over time.
Villager Trading & Professions In Minecraft
Trading is an awesome Minecraft feature, which allows players to obtain plenty of useful items in-game by exchanging them for other items with various villagers. Each villager that has a profession can be transformed into a trader by placing a job site block next to them.
Below is a summarized Trading and Bartering Guide in Minecraft, thanks to Minecraft Wiki.
Players can change villagers’ jobs by destroying their assigned job blocks, after which they will default to an unemployed villager if there are no other job blocks to claim. After this point, Minecraft players can place down their desired job block and the villager will automatically claim it.
However, things are not as simple when villagers become traders. Once Minecraft players have traded with a villager, the villager will not be able to become unemployed – even if their workstation is broken.
Each trader can have 5 career levels – Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, and Master. Their levels will increase the more players trade with them, and traders will have more valuable items to trade at higher professional levels.
Trading Villagers In Minecraft (Ranked)
Since every villager that has a job can become a trader (apart from the nitwit, who doesn’t have a job), there can be quite a lengthy list of potential traders in Minecraft. There are 14 total villager trading professions in Minecraft, but only a few of them can provide the best items and materials for Minecraft players.
Below is a ranked outline of each villager profession in Minecraft, with all images thanks to Beebom.
15. Nitwit
Nitwit is by far the most useless type of villager, but this addition does undoubtedly add a sense of balance. Still, it may be possible to transform Nitwit into a hardworking and trading villager with an elaborate process.
Rumor has it that Nitwit can become a trader after he is turned into a zombie and then cured. After this point, players would be able to transform Nitwit into any trading villager type they’d like.
14. Leatherworker
Leatherworkers are not as useful as the other trading villagers. But, they can possibly be handy for players at lower levels in some cases or for when you’re trying to get your hands on high-quality gear for horses.
They primarily offer leather armor pieces and leather horse armor, neither of which are used by the large majority of Minecraft players. The only useful item that leatherworkers provide is a horse saddle or even an enchanted horse saddle.
Although players will have to work hard to get these items in this way since they can only create these items at high professional levels. Thankfully, they use cauldrons as their job blocks which are incredibly useful for other means in-game, such as storing powder, lava, or snow, and even dyed water and potions in the Bedrock edition.
13. Wandering Trader
Wandering traders are not actually villagers, since they do not live in any villages and do not spawn in villages either. But, they look and behave like villagers, and are usually accompanied by two leashed llamas.
These wandering traders trade unique and unpredictable items, usually randomized and based on luck of the draw. They can trade anything from packed ice to flowers, and players can expect to see a diverse assortment of goods for sale.
There is no way to turn any villager into a wandering trader, and there isn’t a specific way to get them to spawn either. Although, they typically spawn after 1 in-game day has passed and can spawn anywhere within a 48-block radius from the player’s location.
12. Butcher
Butchers are responsible for providing cooked meat and stews, specifically rabbit stews. This trader can have some really awesome deals at times, occasionally offering players up to 8 pieces of cooked chicken in exchange for only one emerald!
These villager traders use the smoker as their job blocks, which they use to cook meat and create scrumptious meals for players. Players can also use this table for cooking meat in-game, as it works much faster than a normal furnace.
Food is a staple for players in Minecraft, and while players can use other means to acquire food, there may be times when the supply runs short. Butchers are great for moments like these, as they are the most reliable source of food in-game.
11. Fisherman
Fishermen are a relatively new addition to Minecraft, and they are responsible for providing players with seafood. They offer seafood for consumption or usage, such as cooked salmon, cooked cod, or a bucket of cod.
However, these trading villagers can also provide players with useful items like enchanted fishing rods and campfires. Still, players do not necessarily have to purchase and feast on these fish, as fishermen allow players to trade fish for emeralds as well.
These can be used to trade with other trading villagers in-game, which makes fishermen quite useful. They use barrels as their utility blocks, also great for storing various items.
10. Shepherd
Shepherds are not as useful as many other trading villagers. But, they can provide players with plenty of decorative items such as colored wool, paintings, banners, and carpets.
However, they do offer more useful items such as beds and shears as well. Although, most Minecraft players only use this trader for paintings.
An interesting factor about the shepherd trading villager is that the job block is actually more fascinating than the job itself. These traders use looms to create their masterpieces, which can also be used to create unique patterns on banners thanks to a fun and detailed in-game editor.
9. Cartographer
Cartographers trade maps, frames, and banners to players. They can be the most expensive trading villagers in-game at times, but the services and products they offer can really be worth the price in many cases.
In addition to empty maps, frames, and banners, players can get their hands on ocean and woodland explorer maps as well. Players can use specialized maps to track down ocean monuments, woodland mansions, and even buried treasure in Minecraft.
These trading villagers use cartography tables as their job blocks, which allows them to craft various items. Cartographers can be handy for decorative items, but their main benefit in Minecraft is their ability to create maps.
8. Fletcher
Fletchers are the rarest of all trading villagers in Minecraft, trading arrows, flint, crossbows, and bows. If you’re going for a ranged build in Minecraft rather than a melee build, tracking down or creating a Fletcher trading villager will be your greatest asset in the game.
Higher-level fletchers can provide players with awesome ranged weapon items, such as enchanted bows, tipped arrows, and even enchanted crossbows. They use fletching tables as job blocks, which do not have any secondary function at the moment.
7. Mason
Mason (Java Minecraft edition), otherwise known as Stone Mason (Bedrock Minecraft edition), is a stonecutter trading villager that trades various types of bricks and stone blocks. This trader can be valuable for just about any player – after all, building blocks are still the cornerstone of Minecraft.
This trader can provide players with bricks such as dripstone blocks and polished stone blocks at lower levels. At higher levels, players can get their hands on more rare stone types such as colored terracotta, glazed terracotta, blocks of quartz, and quartz pillars.
All of these higher-level items are incredibly tricky to acquire naturally in-game, making Mason really worthwhile to get to high professional levels. This trading villager uses a stonecutter as a job block, which allows bocks to be cut to various sizes and shapes to build intricate cities and lodging.
6. Cleric
Cleric is quite a special trading villager, offering players magical items, Redstone dust, and even the Bottle o’ Enchanting item. Cleric primarily deals in rare magical items, and trading with this villager generally results in players acquiring the most fascinating and interesting items in-game.
In addition to the abovementioned magical items, Cleric can provide magic items like Lapis Lazuli, Ender Eye, and Glowstone, which are incredibly challenging to obtain by standard means in Minecraft.
Players may not always find a Cleric in their village, but this profession is fairly sought after although the available items can be sporadic. Simply place down a brewing stand, which a villager can use to start the profession and become a Cleric trader.
5. Toolsmith
Toolsmiths are incredibly useful in Minecraft, especially since every single player will inevitably need to wield some quality pickaxes at some point. These trading villagers trade tools such as pickaxes and axes for gathering resources, as well as farming tools such as a shovel and hoe.
At higher levels, toolsmiths will be able to provide players with enchanted tools, and they may even offer bells while trading in some cases. They use smithing tables for their job blocks, which can be used to obtain the strongest tools in Minecraft by upgrading diamond tools to netherite tools.
4. Armorer
Armorers are responsible for trading armor pieces, which are essential for survival in Minecraft. They trade in iron, armor, and chain, and players can acquire various pieces of armor, a bell, and a shield from this trading villager.
A high-level armorer trader can provide players with enchanted diamond armor pieces! These traders use a blast furnace as their assigned job blocks, which they use to melt ores in Minecraft.
3. Farmer
Farmers are undeniably one of the most popular trading villagers in Minecraft, as they are useful in just about any situation and for any Minecraft player. They offer high-level food items and ingredients to players, and they are thankfully quite common in the game.
Their provided items can be used as food for survival in Minecraft, but the most notable advantage is that their ingredients can often be used to create some of the best potions in the game. Players can trade items like pie, apples, cookies, bread, cakes, and stews at lower levels.
But, once farmers get to higher levels, they can trade awesome and rare items like golden carrots and glistening melon slices. Farmers use composters as their job blocks, which is also fantastic for creating bonemeal in Minecraft.
2. Weaponsmith
Weaponsmiths are the most sought-after trading villager in the game, as their use is unparalleled across all Minecraft players. These traders offer minerals, bells, and even enchanted weapons, and they are essential for players embarking on a Minecraft speedrun.
They offer weapons like swords and axes with and without enchantments, making them essential for melee players. An interesting fact is that their weaponsmith chests are often more rewarding than their trades.
Players can also make use of their job blocks, grindstones. These blocks can be used to repair tools and weapons, or even remove enchantments from tools.
1. Librarian
Librarians are considered the most valuable trading villagers in Minecraft, as they offer players a wide variety of useful items. Many players rely heavily on enchanted books for enchantments in the game, making Librarians an absolute staple.
These trading villagers are most valuable for their enchantment book trades. But, they can also provide players with other useful items like bookshelves, glass blocks, clocks, compasses, lanterns, and name tags.
Librarians use the lecterns as their job blocks, which is only really useful when playing Minecraft in multiplayer mode. This is since lecterns allow players to place books down so that multiple players can read them simultaneously.
Top 5 Trading Villagers’ Items
Below is an outline of the top 5 trading villagers in Minecraft, as well as what items they trade at each of their professional levels, with icons thanks to Pro Game Guides:
| (1st) Librarian | (2nd) Weaponsmith | (3rd) Farmer | (4th) Armorer | (5th) Toolsmith | |
| Job Block | Lectern | Grindstone | Composter | Blast Furnace | Smithing Table |
| Novice Items | Bookshelf Enchanted Book | Iron Axe | Bread | Iron Helmet Iron Chestplate Iron Leggings Iron Boots | Stone Axe Stone Pickaxe Stone Shovel Stone hoe |
| Apprentice Items | Lantern Enchanted Book Level 2 | Enchanted Iron Sword | Pumpkin Pie Apple | Bell Chainmail Leggings Chainmail Boots | Bell |
| Journeyman Items | Glass Enchanted Book Level 3 | Bell | Cookie | Chainmail Helmet Chainmail Chestplate Shield | Iron Axe Iron Pickaxe Iron Shovel Diamond Hoe |
| Expert Items | Compass Clock Enchanted Book Level 4 | Enchanted Diamond Axe | Suspicious Stew Cake | Diamond Leggins Diamond Boots | Diamond Axe Diamond Shovel |
| Master Items | Name Tag | Enchanted Diamond Sword | Golden Carrot Glistening Melon | Diamond Helmet Diamond Chestplate | Diamond Pickaxe |
Getting any trading villager to a higher level in order to access the best possible tradeable items will take some time. But, with the right trade profession choices and approaches, you’ll definitely be able to progress in the game as smoothly as possible.
