Bad Omen

Overview

Bad Omen is a countdown to a raid that you choose to start, and since 1.21 that word — choose — is the whole design. It used to arrive automatically when you killed a raid captain, which meant a wandering player could stumble into a village and trigger a raid they had no kit for. Now the captain drops an Ominous Bottle instead, and the effect only exists if you drink it. Nothing happens while the omen sits on you; it does not attract mobs, does nothing to your stats and simply waits. The trigger is walking into a village, at which point Bad Omen converts into Raid Omen and a raid starts shortly afterwards at that position. The bottle's level decides how many waves you face and how nasty they are, so a stack of level I bottles is a farming tool and a level V bottle is a serious commitment. The other half of the mechanic is the trial chamber: carry Bad Omen into one and it converts into Trial Omen instead, upgrading the spawners rather than summoning pillagers. One effect, two completely different consequences depending on where you walk.

Starting a raid deliberately, at a village you have prepared, to farm emeralds and totems — or converting it into Trial Omen inside a trial chamber for better loot.

Triggers a raid when you enter a village. Since 1.21 killing a raid captain drops an Ominous Bottle rather than applying the effect directly, and drinking that bottle is what gives you Bad Omen; at the village boundary it then converts into Raid Omen instead of starting the raid instantly.

As a status effect, Bad Omen counts as harmful. No potion produces it, so it lasts however long the source keeps applying it.

You will see it as an inventory icon in the top-right corner with a countdown, plus a trail of particles in the effect's colour — faint rather than absent when a beacon or a conduit applied it. There is no beacon version, so it always runs out.

How to get it

Drink an Ominous Bottle, which raid captains drop when killed — 1 bottle per captain, at a level from I to V. Killing a captain no longer applies the effect directly, which is the 1.21 change that catches returning players out.

Tips

• Do not drink the bottle until you are standing where you want the raid; the omen is patient and the raid is not.
• Higher-level bottles mean more waves, so keep level I bottles for routine emerald farming and save level V for a prepared arena.
• Carrying it into a trial chamber gives Trial Omen instead of a raid — the two triggers are mutually exclusive.
• Milk clears it, which is the escape hatch if you drank one and then realised your armour is in a chest at home.

Version notes

Since Java 1.21 raid captains drop an Ominous Bottle rather than applying Bad Omen on death, and Bad Omen converts to Raid Omen at a village boundary instead of starting the raid instantly.

What each level does

The level shown in the inventory is the amplifier plus one, which is why Bad Omen II is amplifier 1 in a command. Each level does the following:

Anything above V is command-only — the amplifier field runs as far as 255.

Properties

Bad Omen has no potion form; it comes from Drinking an Ominous Bottle (dropped by raid captains) and lasts as long as its source keeps applying it. Drinking milk clears it, along with every other effect you are carrying.

Where it comes from

Bad Omen comes from Drinking an Ominous Bottle (dropped by raid captains).

• Drinking an Ominous Bottle (dropped by raid captains)

Command

With cheats on, this gives you Bad Omen I for thirty seconds. The last number is the amplifier, so 1 is level II.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesHow to Brew Every Potion in Minecraft→
• ToolsPotion Brewing Planner→

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

DarknessGlowingInfestedLevitationMining FatigueNauseaOozingRaid Omen