Vindicator is a hostile illager armed with an iron axe that spawns in woodland mansions and during raids. It is one of the strongest melee mobs, sprinting toward its targets to deliver powerful axe attacks. Vindicators are highly aggressive and will attack players, villagers, wandering traders, and iron golems on sight.

Vindicators drop 0–1 emeralds when killed, with the amount increasing if they have the Looting enchantment. If a Vindicator is the raid captain, it also drops an ominous banner. They drop 5 experience when killed by a player.

Vindicators cannot be bred and only spawn inside woodland mansions or during village raids. Unlike pillagers, they do not respawn naturally after being defeated.

Vindicators are hostile mobs that attack with powerful melee strikes using their iron axe. They move faster than most mobs when chasing a target and can break wooden doors in Hard difficulty, making them particularly dangerous. If named "Johnny " using a name tag, a Vindicator becomes hostile toward all mobs except other illagers, referencing the "Here’s Johnny !" line from The Shining.