How to Get a Totem of Undying in Minecraft
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How to Get a Totem of Undying in Minecraft
Tips
The Totem of Undying is one of the most valuable items in Minecraft for survival players — it effectively gives you an extra life in almost any dangerous situation. Farming a few before major fights makes progression much safer and reduces the risk of losing gear.
The fastest way to farm totems is through raids, which means villages become part of the process. If you do not already have one nearby, start with finding a village quickly so you can trigger raids consistently.
Raids also become much more rewarding when your villagers survive. Afterward, discounted trades can help you set up better gear and even improve your trading hall, especially if you already know how to cure a zombie villager in Minecraft.
Totems are most useful when you’re entering high-risk content, so it also makes sense to keep a few ready before the Ender Dragon fight.
⚡ Quick Answer
Step by Step
Totems of Undying are dropped exclusively by Evokers — 100% drop rate, always one per kill. Evokers spawn in two places: inside Woodland Mansions in the overworld, and as part of Raid waves (wave 5 on Normal, wave 6 on Hard). Raids are the fastest repeatable source — trigger one by entering a village with the Bad Omen effect. If you need one quickly, start by learning how to find a village in Minecraft.
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Option A — Woodland Mansion: Use the command /locate structure minecraft:mansion (Java) or explorer maps sold by Cartographer villagers to find the nearest Woodland Mansion. They are rare and can be thousands of blocks away. Each mansion contains 1–3 Evokers.
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Option B — Raids (recommended for farming): Get the Bad Omen effect by killing a Pillager Captain — the one carrying a banner, found at Pillager Outposts or leading Pillager patrols. You’ll see the Bad Omen status icon appear after the kill. Raids are much easier if you already know how to find a village in Minecraft.
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Enter any village while you have Bad Omen to trigger a Raid. A red bar labeled «Raid» appears at the top of the screen. The raid consists of multiple waves of Pillagers, Vindicators, Witches, and eventually Evokers in the later waves.
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Survive all waves and kill the Evoker — it always drops one Totem of Undying. On Hard difficulty the Evoker appears in wave 6. Repeat the process — kill another Pillager Captain, trigger another raid — for as many totems as you need.
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Hold the Totem in your off-hand (shield slot) — press F (Java) or the shield button (Bedrock) to equip it there. It only activates if held in either hand when you take lethal damage, instantly saving you from death with 1 heart and temporary buffs.
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Always keep a Totem in your off-hand during boss fights, Nether exploration, and any dangerous activity — it’s a free extra life that costs nothing to use once you have it. It’s especially valuable if you’re preparing for the Ender Dragon fight.
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Completing a Raid gives the Hero of the Village effect — villagers offer massive discounts on trades for several in-game days, making raids worth doing beyond just the totems.
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Bad Omen stacks up to level 5 — killing multiple Pillager Captains before triggering a raid increases the difficulty and number of enemies, but the Evoker still spawns regardless of level.
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Protect villagers during the raid — if all villagers die the raid counts as failed and you don’t get the Hero of the Village reward, though you still keep any drops including totems.