For the longest time, the Nether in Minecraft was one of the most boring and tedious areas in the game. There was no real incentive to go to this area, other than to find one Nether fortress for Blazes and Nether Warts. However, thanks to the 1.16 update, the Nether has become an exciting place of multiple biomes and brand-new mobs.
The Piglins were probably the biggest addition to the Nether overall. These variations of the Zombie Pigmen have a slightly different design, and they're much more intelligent. Their complex behavior is what makes them so interesting to interact with and, for newcomers to the game, it's not always obvious how to take advantage of these new pig friends (well, almost friends).
Updated May 31, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: Now that the Piglins have been around for a while, we know more about them than ever! This article has been updated to include a few extra tidbits
13 They Take Any Gold Item
The Piglins are absolutely enamored with gold. It's the one thing that makes their world go around, and so it's something the player should prepare for them in advance before entering the Nether.
Although the classic item of trade for Piglins is a gold ingot, in reality they'll accept any item that's made out of gold. As such, golden carrots, golden apples, any golden gear and even gold blocks will be enough for them to show interest.
12 They Won't Attack You If You're Wearing Gold
So long as you're wearing at least one piece of golden armor (helmet, chestplate, leggings, or boots), the normal Piglins are completely passive creatures.
We recommend wearing a golden helmet; golden armor (like golden weapons) is not very durable, and a golden helmet will have the least drastic effect on your defensive capabilities.
If you happen not to be wearing any golden armor, though, Piglins aren't even that dangerous - they only have a light aggravation level. It's when you attack one of them that they seriously get pissed.
11 You Can Barter With Them
If you want, it's possible to barter with Piglins who are not hostile to you.
It's important to know that "bartering" is something exclusively done with Piglins, while "trading" is what you can do with Villagers and Wandering Traders. The difference between the two is that, with trading, you get to see a menu and some options of what you can get. When bartering with Piglins, on the other hand, what you receive is random.
To do it, just approach a Piglin and drop a gold bar in front of them (or "use" the gold bar on the Piglin). Only gold bars work, not other gold items. They will spend a few moments examining it before spitting out their trade. You may get something rare, like an Enchanted Book or an Ender Pearl, or you may get something plain, like some Leather or Arrows.
10 They Can Be Calmed With Gold For An Achievement
It's no secret that Piglins absolutely adore gold, but what's interesting to note is that they'll stop anything and everything at the sight of it. No matter what they're running after, if the player chucks some gold items their way, they'll drop everything.
This means that even if a Piglin is chasing after the player and wanting to whack them with a sword, if the player drops gold in their way they'll stop what they're doing to examine the item. Gold really is their ultimate pacifier.
Doing this (dropping a gold item for a Piglin while they're hostile against you) will also earn you an achievement called "Ooh, Shiny!"
9 They Can Zombify
The primary home of Piglins is of course the Nether, and there's no way they'll ever appear in any other dimension, unless the player somehow manages to make that happen. Teleporting a Piglin into the Overworld or even transporting one into the Nether has some very interesting effects.
The Piglin will actually become zombified and even has tiny particle effects hovering around it as though under the influence of a potion. It just goes to show they're not exactly made for life outside of their dear crimson forests where they live in most abundance.
8 Brutes Will Always Be Hostile
Although regular Piglins can be reasoned with, there's one special type of Piglin that just doesn't care how fashionable the player is - they attack even if you're wearing golden armor. The Piglin Brutes are recognized by their unique clothing, which is a black armor with a golden belt buckle and an arm piece.
Thankfully, Brutes only spawn in Bastion Remnants, so there's no way of running into these crazy mobs anywhere else. They'll attack the player on sight within 16 blocks, and run after them with an axe, dealing substantial damage.
7 They Randomly Attack Hoglins
When observing the Piglins and their lives in the crimson forest from afar, it might look like they at first live in harmony with the Hoglins. Hoglins are the warthog-looking animals that trot around the forest and attack the player on sight.
However, the Piglins are not herding these animals. In fact, they're just peacefully coexisting. That is, until a Piglin randomly decides to start hunting one, which happens in a way that has no rhyme or reason. After defeating a Hoglin they might even engage in a victory dance.
6 They Hate When Chests Are Opened Or Gold Is Mined
Piglins will always leave a player with golden gear on them alone, but there are exceptions to that rule. That's because Piglins are extremely greedy creatures and very possessive over items around themselves. They can't stand it if something gets mined or opened.
That means opening any containers like chests, shulker boxes or even barrels in their presence will anger them. Mining gold nuggets or gold blocks or even gilded blackstone will also make them instantly see red, so beware of them while traversing areas like the Bastion Remnant.
5 They're Scared Of Soul Fire
Despite being ruthless creatures only entertained by the prospect of getting more and more gold, Piglins do have things they fear. More specifically, they're absolutely terrified of soul fire, which is a blue variant of regular fire found in soul sand valley biomes. Campfires, lanterns and torches of this variant also work as great repellents if you're hoping to keep them away.
Their baby Piglins are also afraid of other creatures in the Nether, namely Wither Skeletons or the Wither themselves if for some reason summoned by the player nearby them.
These are all great tools to use against Piglins when in a pinch.
4 They Can Open Doors
Piglins are pretty extraordinary as mobs, due to how versatile they are. Not just that, they behave in a way that sets them somewhere between an Illager, a villager and a hostile mob. It's hard to pin them down, which is why they're so cool and unique.
One of the major things they can do is actually open and close wooden doors. This is a good detail to be aware of if the player plans on living in the Nether, either for aesthetic purposes or to challenge themselves. In that sense, they are very similar to villagers.
3 They Spawn In Three Main Biomes
Piglins will primarily spawn in three different biomes:
- The Nether Wases
- Crimson Forests
- Bastion Remnants
The main biome in the Nether is called the Nether Wastes, which mostly spawns Zombie Pigmen. However, there will still be a few Piglins spawning here and there, which is why having some gold gear at hand is always useful.
The best place to find Piglins, however, is the Crimson Forest biome, which is a red variant of the Warped Forest biome. Bastion Remnants will also have tons of Piglins inside.
The only biome Piglins tend to avoid is the Soul Sand valley due to the amount of soul fire, which they fear.
2 Baby Piglins Play With Baby Hoglins
Where there are regular Piglins, you may also find Baby Piglins! These cute little guys are completely passive and you can give them gold, but they won't give you anything in return.
As if they weren't already cute enough, Baby Piglins also play with Baby Hoglins! Indeed, if you keep a sharp eye out, you may catch them riding these creatures! Up to three Babies can ride a Hoglin at once.
1 They Celebrate Over Your Dead Body
After a successful kill, you may notice that Piglin have a few little rituals. Their targets are usually Hoglins, so keep an eye out for those if you want to see this. The Piglin cheer in celebration (there's a special sound dedicated to it) and do a little dance with their arms raised out to their sides.
If they manage to kill you, you'll hear the same celebratory sounds over your own corpse. They won't dance over your body (they only do that after killing a Hoglin), but it's pretty humiliating nonetheless.