Gold farms are among the best farms in all of Minecraft. These Nether-based farms take advantage of a classic game mechanic: once the player attacks a Zombified Piglin, all nearby Zombified Piglins become hostile toward the player. This allows dozens of these mobs to be lured into a killing chamber, where they can be farmed for rotten flesh and gold nuggets. The dropped gold nuggets can be crafted into gold ingots and used to fuel piglin trading farms.
There are many different gold farm designs, ranging from extremely complex and costly builds to simple beginner-friendly versions. Even a basic Zombified Piglin farm can reach very high efficiency. This guide explains how to build an extremely cheap and simple starter gold farm for Minecraft 1.21.
Required Materials
This simple gold farm only requires low-cost resources:
- 8 Hoppers
- 4 Chests
- 10 Trapdoors
- 4 Ladders
- Approximately one stack of building blocks
Step 1: Dig the Base Pit
Once you have gathered all materials, begin construction by digging a pit 3 blocks deep, 5 blocks long, and 3 blocks wide. This small area is all the space the farm requires.
Step 2: Build the Item Collection System
Jump down into the pit. Place a chest in the center of one long side, then attach a second chest beside it to make a double chest. Place another double chest on the floor nearby, and connect the two double chests with hoppers. This system stores all dropped rotten flesh, gold nuggets, and other loot.
After setting up the storage, place six hoppers in a 2×3 grid feeding into the main storage chest. This hopper grid forms the floor of the killing area.
Step 3: Seal the Lower Hopper Layer
Place three solid blocks along the bottom gap between the hoppers and chests, then place three trapdoors underneath these blocks. This prevents baby zombified piglins from escaping the farm and attacking you.
Step 4: Place Upper Trapdoors
Dig a temporary staircase to return to the surface. Place six open trapdoors directly above the 2×3 hopper platform. Angled open trapdoors trick aggressive piglins into thinking they can reach the player, causing them to fall down into the farm chamber.
Step 5: Enclose the Killing Chamber
Build walls and a roof around the farm to prevent hostile piglins from escaping and attacking you. The roof also stops stray Ghasts from spotting you and firing explosive fireballs.
Leave the trapdoor side completely open to let piglins fall in. Add a dividing wall in the center of the chamber for extra safety, preventing mobs from getting too close to the player’s position.
Step 6: Add an Access Passage
Before fully sealing the roof, place a ladder inside the chamber for easy entry and exit. Top the ladder with a trapdoor to keep the roof fully mob-proof.
Step 7: Activate the Farm
To start the farm, provoke a Zombified Piglin into aggression mode. You can safely do this from a distance using a bow, crossbow, or trident. Alternatively, you can hit one piglin with melee and quickly retreat.
Kill the fallen piglins slowly and patiently to give more piglins time to spawn and aggro, maximizing your farm’s output.