Villager Trading Tiers

Villager trading has become the primary source of many materials in Minecraft which is great, but I feel that it can be set up too early in the game for such rare items. I think a great way to solve this is to have villager tiers.

There can be 3 tiers. Villagers will naturally start at tier 1 and can unlock up to 4 trades, at tier 2 they can unlock up to 7 trades, and at tier 3 max out at 10 trades. Villagers can reach a new tier by the player gifting an item to them once they have unlocked all trades in that tier.

To upgrade from tier 1 to 2, the player could give a villager a “Quarthyst” Emerald, crafted using 4 Nether Quartz, 4 Amethyst and an Emerald. From tier 2 to 3 the player gives a villager a “Chorthyst” Emerald crafted from 4 Chorus Fruit (or something else end dimension exclusive), 4 Amethyst and a Quarthyst Emerald.

The items used to craft the upgrade should be in line with the level of progression of the game, ie. the nether and the end. This encourages players to visit these areas and collect items for this purpose.

While this may not change the overall outcome of villager trading, I think it will make the world feel more dynamic by having the player interact with the villagers and gain their trust by gifting them a rare item to show appreciation of their work.