The enemies in Minecraft have changed a lot over the years. Villagers eventually spread out into different cultures, nighttime is more dangerous than ever before, and there are more boss enemies to take on than in the early days of the classic game. One enemy mob that changed, too, was the Zombie Pigman.
The Zombie Pigmen became Piglins and, of course, Zombified Piglins in the 1.16 update about a year ago, and a lot changed about the way they behave. There are now multiple different types of Piglins, as well as new interactions the player can have with the Nether's most numerous inhabitants.
7 Piglin Are Aggressive Unless You Are Wearing Something Gold
Piglins only spawn in the Nether, and generally will attack players on sight. One Piglin can bring many more with it, so it's best to avoid combat by simply wearing a single piece of gold armor. It can be a piece of boot, chest, leg, or headgear, but not a weapon or other golden item in your inventory.
For some reason not fully explained, the Piglin of the Nether worship gold and, in fact, cease all hostility when presented with it. Perhaps it's an ancient symbol of power, or maybe they're just attracted to its shininess. One thing's for sure – they don't give their own gold away without a fight.
6 There Are Four Main Ways To Get Piglin Angry...
Piglins are technically the only mob in the game that starts out by default as hostile towards the player but can be turned peaceful. Most mobs that lean both ways, like Spiders and Iron Golems, have to be provoked to attack.
Just being near a Piglin isn't the only way to anger them. Even if you're wearing golden armor, you can still cause them to turn on you if you damage another Piglin, open a chest, or break some of the Piglins' nearby Gold. Before opening a chest in a Bastion, make sure no Piglin are close by who you might attract.
5 ...But Piglin Brutes Are Always Looking For A Fight
Not all Piglins have the capacity for peace. Piglin Brutes aren't distracted by gold, they will still attack the player even if they have full golden armor equipped (except in peaceful mode). They always spawn in Bastion Remnants when the world is initially created, meaning they don't come back when killed.
Piglin Brutes live up to their name as a much stronger version of the average Piglin. They are equipped with a golden axe, but no armor. Although it isn't the highest tier item in the game, a golden axe does significant damage – plus, Piglin Brutes have 50 HP total, almost four times that of a normal Piglin.
4 You Can Trade With Them Using Gold Ingots
Normal Piglins are much more easily distracted by gold than their Brute counterparts, and will in fact pick up golden items off the ground if the player drops them. It's a useful tactic to get out of a sticky situation in the Nether, but it's also useful for getting rare items found sparingly throughout the world.
Piglins will only drop an item in return if the player drops a Gold Ingot specifically. The Piglin will pick up the ingot, look at it, then drop one of 18 different items. These items range from an Enchanted Book, Fire Resistance potions, an Ender Pearl, Spectral Arrows, Obsidian, and more specialty items.
3 They Turn Into Zombified Piglins In The Normal World
If a Piglin finds its way to a Nether Portal, it will teleport through just like a normal player back to the regular world. However, Piglins cannot survive outside of the Nether for very long, and transform into Zombified Piglins after just 15 seconds of being outside the Nether.
Zombified Piglins actually spawn as non-hostile, and have to be near another Piglin getting hurt to turn on the player. Unfortunately, though, they can't be traded with like normal Piglins.
2 There's A Chance For Hog-Riding Baby Piglin To Spawn
In the Nether, there are creatures called Hoglins that are extremely hard to deal with, compared to many enemies in the zone. They are also one of the many mobs in the game that has a chance to spawn as a much smaller baby version, just like regular Piglins.
If you spend enough time in the Nether, you might come across a Baby Piglin that spawned riding on top of one of these Baby Hoglins. Better yet, there's a chance for up to three Baby Piglins to spawn on the same Hoglin, sitting on top of one another.
1 If Piglins Kill The Player, They Will Celebrate Over The Body
It's perfectly normal for players to celebrate when they finally kill a tough enemy; what's less normal, though, is when NPCs do it back to you. Piglins are one of the only mobs in Minecraft who will celebrate when they kill the player.
Wait for a few seconds on the death screen and you will hear Piglins hoarking and snorting loudly over your corpse while they raise their arms up in celebration. They clearly don't like intruders, one just has to wonder what happens to your body when you respawn back in the overworld.