Minecraft Dungeons guide: How to unlock new vendors and upgrade the Camp

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image
Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image (Image credit: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)

The Camp is every player's central hub in Minecraft Dungeons and is the perfect locale to tweak loadouts, change gear, power-up characters, and more. The Camp is pretty scarce in its first iteration, though, and doesn't offer a ton of services for players to use. This will change as you progress through Minecraft Dungeons and its plethora of content. Upgrade your Camp by finding and rescuing five beneficial vendors to permanently join your Camp, along with a brand-new sixth vendor who joins when you earn a specific kind of currency.

Here's what you need to know about upgrading your Camp with new vendors in Minecraft Dungeons:

How do I upgrade my Camp in Minecraft Dungeons?

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)

Whenever you first begin your Minecraft Dungeons journey, the Camp is nothing but a small area to explore and a map table. Earlier in the game, you may find chests filled with small amounts of emeralds hidden around your Camp, but little else. Vendors have yet to offer their goods and services in your Camp, the trophy house near the top has yet to display the spoils of your victories, and you're unable to access the second half of your Camp.

Wherever you play Minecraft Dungeons, or whichever version of Minecraft Dungeons you purchased, the Camp remains the same. Mojang Studios has been great at ensuring upgrades and additions to the Camp are made available to everyone and is included in Minecraft Dungeons' base game.

Some of the ways you can improve the Camp in Minecraft Dungeons includes:

  • Filling your house with trophies. As you play through every main mission in Minecraft Dungeons' base game, you'll slowly accumulate trophies and decorations in the house near the top of your Camp. Every item here represents a victory over an area or boss and is cosmetic-only.
  • Unlocking the secret building. There's a secret building in your Camp that eventually leads to finding and unlocking the secret cow level in Minecraft Dungeons. To access this building, you first have to defeat the Arch-Illager. Once you've done that, jump pads will appear in Camp that will let you gain access to the building and lower the drawbridge.
  • Unlocking all six vendors. Finally, the biggest feature in your Camp is the vendors, which offer various services and ways to purchase new gear, upgrade your existing equipment, or even gift something to friends playing with you. Every vendor has a different way to be unlocked (and upgraded), but we've already done the searching for you.

Where can I find and unlock vendors for my Camp in Minecraft Dungeons?

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)

After the launch of the Flames of the Nether update, Minecraft Dungeons currently contains six different vendors. Each vendor has its own purpose and quirks and is unlocked in slightly different ways.

Players can buy new equipment from vendors in Minecraft Dungeons, including weapons, armor, artifacts, and even Unique gear. They can also upgrade the awesome gear they already have, and even share extra goodies with their friends. Vendors have become valuable and crucial assets in Minecraft Dungeons, and players should try and unlock them all as soon as possible.

Here's what you need to know about each vendor and how you can unlock them:

Village Merchant

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
  • Unlock requirement: Find and rescue from Creeper Woods
  • Upgrade requirement: Find and rescue villagers from missions

The Village Merchant is likely the first vendor you'll come across in Minecraft Dungeons, as they appear in the first proper level you'll play. More than that, it's actually a requirement to free the Village Merchant to progress through Creeper Woods (and they appear relatively early in the level), so they're practically impossible to avoid (even if you wanted to).

Once you've unlocked the Village Merchant, you can immediately begin using their services. The Village Merchant offers a wide selection of medium-grade gear (weapons, armor, and artifacts). None of it will be Unique, and it's typically right in line with what your current gear is power-level-wise. Gear from the Village Merchant is reasonably priced, though, and fully upgraded offers a full six potential slots.

Mystery Merchant

Minecraft Dungeons Mystery Merchant

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  • Unlock requirement: Find and rescue from Pumpkin Pastures
  • Upgrade requirement: Defeat enchanted mobs during missions

The Mystery Merchant will probably be the second vendor you'll unlock in Minecraft Dungeons, and is found in the Pumpkin Pastures level. It's actually possible to miss the Mystery Merchant, so make sure you're exploring every nook and cranny as your progress through Pumpkin Pastures.

Once you've unlocked the Mystery Merchant, they'll immediately join your Camp. The Mystery Merchant holds pretty true to their name, in that what you're buying from them is mostly a mystery. You can choose from a wide selection of different crates, each of which only tells you if it's a weapon, armor, or artifact. Whatever crate you choose will give you a random piece of gear from that category at an appropriate power level. Prices are low and you can get Uniques, but you can never be sure. The Mystery Merchant has six slots when fully upgraded.

Gift Wrapper

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
  • Unlock requirement: Find and rescue from Soggy Swamp
  • Upgrade requirement: Cannot be upgraded

The Gift Wrapper is the next vendor in Minecraft Dungeons, and can be found while explore the Soggy Swamps level. Like the Mystery Merchant, you can potentially leave Soggy Swamps without rescuing the Gift Wrapper, so be sure to explore as much as you can.

Once you've unlocked the Gift Wrapper, you'll notice that this vendor is the outlier amongst Minecraft Dungeons vendors. Instead of directly benefiting the player, the Gift Wrapper instead lets you gift any piece of gear you want to another player in your lobby. This is great if you want to help out a fellow player with an awesome piece of loot or have extra Uniques you want to share. You can only send and receive one thing per mission you complete, and the Gift Wrapper cannot be upgraded. Prices are reasonable and don't really change over time.

Blacksmith

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
  • Unlock requirement: Find and rescue from Redstone Mines
  • Upgrade requirement: Complete higher difficulty levels

The Blacksmith is the next vendor in Minecraft Dungeons, and is arguably the most important of the bunch. Players can find the Blacksmith while exploring Redstone Mines, and they're usually pretty easy to find.

The Blacksmith doesn't sell you new gear, and instead lets you upgrade your existing gear. Give the Blacksmith any gear you want, get your enchantment points back, complete three missions at your recommended, and have that gear returned to you with a brand-new, more appropriate power level. The Blacksmith is vital for players in the endgame. Prices vary depending on what you want to upgrade. The Blacksmith itself can be upgraded up to three slots by defeating the Arch-Ilager on higher difficulties.

Luxury Merchant

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
  • Unlock requirement: FInd and rescue from Cacti Canyon
  • Upgrade requirement: Defeat powerful boss and mini-boss mobs

The Luxury Merchant is the final vendor you'll find on the main island in Minecraft Dungeons, and can be found by exploring the Cacti Canyon level.

The Luxury Merchant is closest to the Village Merchant, and sells all kinds of gear to the player. Instead of a large collection of medium-grade gear at reasonable prices, however, the Luxury Merchant offers a small collection of high-quality gear at equally-high prices. While you probably won't be rushing to drop all of your emeralds on everything the Luxury Merchant has to offer, you can also find exclusive and powerful Unique gear from the Luxury Merchant. You can upgrade the Luxury Merchant to have up to three slots, and it's worth checking in after every completed mission.

Piglin Merchant

Minecraft Dungeons Camp Upgrade Image

Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy (Image credit: Source: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
  • Unlock requirement: Joins Camp after the player first collects gold
  • Upgrade requirement: Open and complete Ancient Hunts

The Piglin Merchant is the newest vendor to join Minecraft Dungeons, and hails from the recent Flames of the Nether expansion. Players won't have to go out and search for the Piglin Merchant. Instead, play missions from Flames of the Nether or a brand-new Ancient Hunt and earn some gold. The Piglin Merchant will join your Camp after you earn your first piece of gold.

Once the Piglin Merchant has joined your Camp, you can use your newly acquired gold to purchase gear from the Piglin Merchant. The Piglin Merchant can offer all kinds of sweet loot, including the all-new and incredibly-appealing Gilded gear. Be sure to collect all the gold you can get your hands on for a chance at your next piece of powerful Gilded gear. The Piglin Merchant can be upgraded to up to three slots by completing Ancient Hunts.

Never miss a beat in Minecraft Dungeons or any of your games with one of the Best Headsets for Xbox Series X|S. You can also show your love of Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons with something from our list of Best Merch, Toys, and Gifts for Minercraft.

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Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.