Raid captain: Java: each wave has one captain. Nearby illagers can pick up the ominous banner if the captain dies.
How Minecraft raids work
A raid is the village siege that starts after Raid Omen expires while you are standing in a village. On current Java, a patrol or outpost captain still gives Bad Omen, and the raid itself is armed by drinking an ominous bottle or by converting Bad Omen into Raid Omen as you enter the village. That conversion lasts 30 seconds, so milk still cancels a raid you are not ready for. Peaceful never starts a raid. Stay in the village until the omen expires and the first horn sounds if you want the fight.
Use the planner as a fight and farm chart, not a command generator. It answers the questions players actually ask before they drink the bottle: how many waves, which raiders can spawn on each wave, how much base HP is coming, and whether a higher Raid Omen is worth the extra wave on Java.
Wave counts, difficulty, and Raid Omen
Both editions use 3 waves on Easy, 5 on Normal, and 7 on Hard. Java adds one extra wave when Raid Omen is II or higher, and that extra wave matches the strength of the last regular wave. Bedrock keeps the 3 / 5 / 7 count no matter how high the omen is. A stronger ominous bottle on Java does not multiply every wave. It adds that one bonus wave and raises the chance that raiders spawn with enchanted gear.
How to read the wave chart
Java does not spawn one fixed group on every attempt. Later waves roll bonus pillagers, vindicators, witches, and sometimes evokers, so the published tables are min-max ranges. Easy can add a spare pillager on later waves. Normal and Hard can add extra raiders or a witch. Hard also rolls an extra pillager or vindicator on every wave. If you are clearing a raid farm, plan for the high end of each range. Bedrock uses fixed counts, so those rows stay at a single number.
Ravagers, captains, and extra joiners
Ravager jockeys are listed as their own rows so you can see when a pillager, vindicator, or evoker is sitting on the ravager. Evoker vexes are not raid members and do not fill the raid bar, so a raid can end while vexes are still flying. Each Java wave includes one captain with an ominous banner. If that captain dies, a nearby raider can pick the banner up. Patrols or extra illagers that wander into the village can join the raid and push the live count above this table.
Farming raids and Hero of the Village
Players farm raids for raider loot and for Hero of the Village after a clean win. Victory needs at least one villager alive, so the usual farm is a walled village with claimed beds and workstations, a water stream or drop that funnels raiders, and a kill chamber you can reach with a sword, trident, or TNT. Iron golems and a totem of undying cover the moments when a ravager or evoker breaks the pattern. After the raid ends, Hero of the Village discounts every villager in that village, which is why trading halls sit next to the farm.
What a higher omen is worth
On Java, a higher ominous bottle is the usual farm setting because it adds the extra wave and raises enchanted-gear chance from 10% at Raid Omen II to 75% at level V. Hard is where evokers show up in numbers, which means more totems, plus witches, crossbows, emeralds, saddles, and the occasional ominous bottle. On Java Easy with Raid Omen I, illager weapons spawn unenchanted. Bedrock always enchants raid weapons (level 5 on Easy, levels 5-19 on Normal and Hard) and never adds an omen extra wave. Do not start the omen until the villagers are locked in. Milk still cancels Raid Omen if you trigger it by accident. If every villager dies, there is no hero effect and the village is gone.
Java Edition vs Bedrock Edition
The planner switches tables when you change edition because the two games do not share a spawn list. Java publishes ranges and an omen extra wave. Bedrock publishes fixed 3 / 5 / 7 waves. Captains and banner pickup are the Java side of the captain note. Use the edition toggle before you copy a farm design filmed on the other game.
Raid planner FAQ
How many waves does a Minecraft raid have?
Easy has 3 waves, Normal has 5, and Hard has 7. On Java, Raid Omen II or higher adds one extra wave with the same strength as the last wave. Bedrock does not add that wave.
Does a higher ominous bottle add more mobs to every wave?
No. On Java it adds one extra copy of the last wave and raises the chance of enchanted gear. It does not multiply every wave. On Bedrock, omen level does not change the wave count.
Why do some waves show a range like 4-6?
Java rolls bonus pillagers, vindicators, witches, or evokers. The published tables are min-max ranges, and this planner shows that range instead of pretending one count always happens. Bedrock waves use a single fixed count.
How do you start a raid on purpose?
Get Bad Omen from a patrol or outpost captain, or drink an ominous bottle, then enter a village and let Raid Omen expire. Milk cancels the omen. Peaceful never starts a raid. Keep at least one villager alive if you want the victory and Hero of the Village.
What do you get for winning a raid?
A successful raid grants Hero of the Village, which discounts trades in that village. Raiders also drop emeralds, crossbows, enchanted books, saddles, totems from evokers, and the occasional ominous bottle. The exact loot depends on who spawned and on the omen level.
What is a raid captain?
Each Java wave includes one captain with an ominous banner. If that captain dies, another nearby raider can pick the banner up. Captains are how Bad Omen and Raid Omen start.
Do evoker vexes count toward the raid?
No. Vexes are not raid members. The raid can end in victory while vexes are still alive, and they do not fill the raid bar.
Can you farm raids on Bedrock the same way as Java?
The farm idea is the same: keep villagers safe, funnel raiders, and clear every wave. The spawn table is not the same. Bedrock uses fixed counts and does not add an extra wave from omen level, so a Java wave chart will misread a Bedrock farm.
Why is Easy wave 3 a ravager instead of a witch?
On Easy the third wave is pillagers, an optional vindicator, and a ravager. Witches are a Normal and Hard spawn, not the Easy finale.
Where do these spawn numbers come from?
Raid wave composition tables for Java and Bedrock. Health values are the vanilla mob maximums: pillager, vindicator and evoker 24, witch 26, ravager 100. Jockey rows add the rider on top of the ravager.