CLAY BALL
1 trade involving this item across 1 trader.
View on Items Database →- Last checked
- 11 August 2026
- Java Edition
- 26.2, 1 of 1 row found
- Bedrock Edition
- 1.26.30.5, 1 of 1 matching
- Edition differences
- none, both editions match
Clay Ball in villager trading
Clay Ball is a raw-material trade: villagers pay emeralds for it, which makes it a candidate for an automated emerald farm rather than something you purchase back.
Clay Ball is a building block. The Mason offers polished and processed stone variants that would otherwise need a stonecutter and raw materials to produce. No recipe in Java 26.2 produces it: it comes out of clay.
Villagers that buy Clay Ball(you give Clay Ball, get emeralds)
Java 26.2
Bedrock 1.26.30.5
The 1 trade on this item was read out of the trade files Minecraft Java 26.2 ships in its own data, checked on against the item, both amounts and the use limit. Bedrock 1.26.30.5 is read as well, and where it disagrees the row says how. Which files, and what is not checked.
Your odds of finding Clay Ball
Every villager listed below shows this trade: their tier draws its whole pool, so there is nothing to roll for. What is left to plan is throughput.
| Villager | Tier | Villagers with this offer | Rolls to see it | Most from one villager | After a cure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason | Novice | 100% (2 in 2)Bedrock -50% (-1 in 2) | none, it is always there | 32 emeralds a day2 restocks a day | 4 clay ballwas 10, 6 off |
The chance is the draw size over the pool size in the game's own trade set file for that tier. The Bedrock line under it is the same sum on Bedrock's own table, which splits a tier into groups and draws out of each one separately, so the two editions often disagree. The day figure is the trade's use limit times the 2 restocks a villager is allowed per in-game day (Villager.allowedToRestock), so it is a ceiling and not an average: it assumes you are there for every restock. The cure column is 125 reputation times the trade's own multiplier, floored, and never takes a cost below one. Counted from the game's own draw sizes. How that check works.
Who trades Clay Ball, and at what price
To sell Clay Ball for emeralds, bring it to a Mason at the Novice tier (10 units per 1 emerald).
Is trading Clay Ball worth it?
The best rate any villager offers is an emerald per 10 clay balls, from the Mason, and nothing else on the list pays out faster. No villager sells clay ball back, so it is emeralds out and nothing in.
| Clay BallNovice | 10 | |
 | Nether QuartzExpert | 12 | |
| AndesiteJourneyman | 16 | ||
| DioriteJourneyman | 16 | ||
| GraniteJourneyman | 16 | ||
| StoneApprentice | 20 |
Clay Ball against the other 71 ways to earn an emerald
One slot at the Mason takes 10 clay balls a trade, 16 trades, 16 emeralds. 8 of the 72 villagers that pay emeralds, emptied out:
| A full slot of | To | Emeralds | Worth in Clay Ball |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 acacia boats | master Fisherman | 12 | 120 clay balls |
| 48 iron ingots | apprentice Armorer | 12 | 120 clay balls |
| 48 scutes | expert Leatherworker | 12 | 120 clay balls |
| 108 glass bottles | expert Cleric | 12 | 120 clay balls |
| 192 any dye | apprentice Shepherd | 16 | 160 clay balls |
| 240 coal | novice Toolsmith | 16 | 160 clay balls |
| 320 wheat | novice Farmer | 16 | 160 clay balls |
| 360 flint | journeyman Toolsmith | 12 | 120 clay balls |
16 acacia boats against 480 flint for the same 16 emeralds, 30 times the carrying, and the shortest wait is the Shepherd at 10 real minutes of shelf, gathering not counted. Clay Ball itself pays 10 an emerald, so 31 of the 72 ask less and 36 ask more.
How Clay Ball trading works
Every clay ball offer here locks after 16 uses, and a villager restocks up to twice per Minecraft day, so one is good for 32 of these trades a day and no more.
The earliest clay ball shows up is the Mason's Novice tier, which a villager has the moment it claims the workstation.
How long Clay Ball takes in real time
160 clay balls empty one slot at the Mason, 2400 ticks (Villager.allowedToRestock) at 20 a second (TickRateManager) refill it 2 real minutes later, and the 24000-tick villager day (Timelines) holds 2 of those fills in 20 real minutes.
So one mason moves 320 clay balls against 32 emeralds a Minecraft day, 10 clay balls every 37.5 real seconds, 1.6 emeralds a real minute. 64 clay balls fit inside one of those slots, refill untouched.
Tips for trading Clay Ball
- One villager, one restock: the Mason pays an emerald per 10 clay balls and that slot runs 16 trades, so 160 clay balls (2.5 stacks) is all one will take before it locks, for 16 emeralds in total.
- Where they go back: that Mason also sells bricks, 10 for 1 emerald, its cheapest offer.
- Also on the Mason's list: stone, chiseled stone bricks, granite, andesite, diorite, polished andesite.
Clay Ball trading FAQ
How many clay balls make an emerald?
Which villager sells Clay Ball?
Same trader, other items
The Mason works at a stonecutter and also trades:
Brick