Meet the Evoker

What are the Illagers doing in that dank, secluded mansion of theirs? With its redstone jails, elaborate altars and hidden rooms housing strange obsidian structures - it really seems like they are plotting something.

“We kind of just leave it open to the players to make their own interpretation,” says Jens, “I just wanted them to look like they’d actually take care of their own business, like they have a purpose. Normal Villagers just walk around and take what’s given to them, but the Illagers were supposed to be a little bit more active.”

According to Jens, that’s one of the reasons Illagers have arms that they can wave about, wielding axes in the case of the Vindicator, or casting terrible conjurations in the case of the Evoker.

But if you hear that noise while sneaking through the worming passages of the Woodland Mansion, you best be on your guard. Evokers can summon devilish flying beasts, called Vexes, that can pass through walls to swoop at the player. If that wasn’t enough, they have a secondary attack which conjures a row of fangs to erupt from the ground - all part of Jens’ plan to keep the player moving. “I wanted to force players to move around and not just stand with a shield and wait,” Jens says.

It makes for a frenetic fight - Vindicators dashing in to take a swing, Vexes harrying you from the skies, and fangs snapping at your feet as you attempt to deal with targets both near and far. But the Woodland Mansion houses many treasures worth the risk - not least of which resides within the robes of the Evoker himself. Best him in combat and he will drop a Totem of Undying - a magic relic that, if equipped during some fatal calamity, will bring the player back from the brink of death!