How to Survive Raids When Illagers Spawn With Diamond Armor

What Changes in Combat

With this mod, Illagers can roll iron, chainmail, or diamond armor, dramatically raising their effective health and reducing your damage output. Pillagers and illusioners also gain melee attacks when they lack a bow or crossbow, so they will close distance instead of only shooting.

Practical Tactics

• Bring armor-piercing options. Axes disable shields, and weapons with high raw damage cut through armor better than fast, low-damage hits.
• Use Smite or Sharpness. Smite is strong against undead, not Illagers, so prioritize Sharpness for general damage.
• Control terrain. Funnel Illagers into choke points so their melee-capable pillagers can't swarm you.
• Prioritize evokers and illusioners. Evokers summon vexes and fangs; illusioners blind you and now hit in melee. Kill them before the armored frontline.
• Use potions. Strength and Swiftness help you out-trade; Harming potions bypass armor entirely.
• Exploit fall damage and fire. Armor does not stop fall or fire damage, so lure them off ledges or into lava.

Preparation Checklist

Stock golden apples, a shield, and a backup weapon. Build a defensible base with a roof so pillagers can't shoot from range while you deal with the melee threats.