Minecraft Dungeons Emeralds: How to Farm and Use Merchants
This guide covers how to farm emeralds in Minecraft Dungeons and how to use the camp merchants properly.
The merchants are not a side feature. They are a route to gear that substitutes for grinding missions, which makes them more important the less time you have.
▼ Minecraft Dungeons guides on this site
✅ Beginner Guide: What to Do First
✅ How to Level Gear Without Grinding
✅ How to Pick Weapons, Armor and Artifacts
✅ How Enchantments Work and Where to Spend
✅ Farming Emeralds and Using the Merchants
✅ Difficulty Levels and When to Move Up
✅ Multiplayer and Why There Is No Matchmaking
✅ All 6 DLC Packs and What to Buy First
▼ Minecraft Dungeons II articles
Are the merchants a real alternative to grinding?
The answer: yes. Paying emeralds for gear and running missions for gear are close to the same mechanic.
Paying a merchant at camp gives you a random piece of gear. For anyone who cannot spend hours re-running missions, this is the more realistic way to acquire equipment.
What is the difference between the Blacksmith and the Wandering Trader?
▼ The main camp merchants
▶ Blacksmith — pay emeralds for a random weapon or piece of armor
▶ Wandering Trader — pay emeralds for a random artifact
You have three artifact slots and you want them covering different roles, so the Wandering Trader is worth visiting regularly too. An unfilled artifact slot drags down your average power level.
Does your power level affect what the merchants stock?
The answer: this is the most important point — yes. Merchant gear is scaled to your current power level.
Which means rolling the merchants while wearing weak gear only produces weak gear. It is exactly the same mechanic as mission drops.
▼ What to do before you spend
① Equip the highest power numbers you own across all six slots
② Pass through a loading screen so the change registers
③ Then talk to the merchant
Skip that step and the emeralds you saved turn into cheap gear.
How do you farm emeralds?
▶ Pick them up during missions — from kills and from the environment
▶ Salvage gear — unwanted items convert into a small amount of emeralds
▶ Run at a higher difficulty — more income per run
The one people overlook is salvaging. Unused gear sitting in your inventory contributes nothing to your average power. Converting it into emeralds and enchantment points is strictly better than hoarding it.
How do you unlock the merchants?
The answer: clear the mission Pumpkin Pastures.
Difficulty does not matter. Clearing it on any setting unlocks them, so lower it if you are struggling. You can also rescue merchants from any mission carrying the captured-merchant icon on the map.
Who should be using the merchants, and who can wait?
▼ Use them if you
▶ Cannot set aside long play sessions, so your run count stays low
▶ Have artifact slots sitting empty
▶ Want a specific item and are tired of waiting on drops
▼ You can wait if you
▶ Already grind enough that your gear updates naturally
▶ Are still at a low power level and need to build a baseline first
(rolling now only produces gear at that same level)
Summary
▶ Merchants are a substitute for grinding
▶ Blacksmith = weapons and armor / Wandering Trader = artifacts
▶ Stock is scaled to your power level. Gear up before you spend
▶ Pass a loading screen before rolling
▶ Salvage unwanted gear for emeralds and points
▶ Unlocked by clearing Pumpkin Pastures on any difficulty
