How to kill an iron golem in Minecraft

Iron golems are powerful Minecraft mobs with a whopping 50 hearts (that's 5 times more than a player!). They can kill an unarmoured player in just two hits (one if you die from fall damage after being hit). They spawn naturally in villages and their sole goal is to protect villagers. When killed, iron golems drop 3-5 iron ingots (and 0-2 poppies) making them useful early game. Naturally, players have developed strategies to kill iron golems without getting hit by one. This blog post will highlight all of them.

Method 1 (Stacking Up)

Please note that this method is recommended for Java Minecraft and while it can be used on Bedrock, it is susceptible to glitches.

1. Hit the iron golem and quickly run away (ensure that you have three blocks in your inventory at this point).

2. Find a flat piece of land and stack up three blocks (make sure the golem can’t climb onto a nearby block making you higher only by two blocks).

3. Hit the golem until it dies and pick up its useful drops.

Method 2 (Digging Down)

This method is recommended for Bedrock Minecraft as it is less susceptible to glitches.

1. Hit the iron golem and quickly run away (ensure that you have a shovel in your inventory at this point).

2. Dig down three blocks with your shovel.

3. Hit the iron golem until it dies and pick up its useful drops.

Methods 3 & 4 (Accidental Provocation)

If you accidentally provoke an iron golem (making it hostile towards you) and are unprepared as you don’t have a shovel or blocks, quickly locate a house in the village (Method 3) or some water nearby (Method 4). Go inside the house/water and the iron golem won’t be able to hit you (although you do need to be careful with your positioning). Carefully kill the iron golem and collect its drops.

Method 5 (Using Boats)

1. Place a boat next to the golem and either push it in or wait for it to get into it.

2. Keep a safe distance away and proceed to start hitting the golem.

3. Once it dies, collect its useful drops.

Fun Facts

1. You might notice that as you start to hit an iron golem, its body will start to “crack”. To fix this (by healing it), simply take some iron ingots and right click the golem’s body. This will regenerate the golem’s health.

2. Iron golems can sometimes make a rare gesture and hold out a poppy to a villager. Very Sweet!

If you liked this blogpost, learn how to turn off fire spread in Minecraft, and how to swim in Minecraft, and about quick charge in Minecraft.

If you are interested in more Minecraft content, checkout our Minecraft glossary, what horses eat in Minecraft, how to get scutes,how to get a barrier block, making pumpkin pie, villagers opening doors, getting Acacia wood, and our blogpost on how to kill mobs in Minecraft. You might also like our blogpost on Minecraft Player-vs-Player mode of gameplay. Also checkout and participate in Kodeclik's Minecraft Settlement Creation contest. Also learn about Minecraft MLG.

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