Tutorials/Monster spawner traps

Monster spawner traps are a type of mob farm that uses a Monster Spawner They employ the mob spawners found in dungeons as a source of mobs. The purpose of these traps is to create an infinite source of items which can be gathered in an efficient way from the mobs spawned by the monster spawner. Two general goals of these traps are to keep the player safe and to allow the mobs to spawn.

Finding the dungeon
Dungeons are found when exploring caves and Abandoned Mine Shaft. They appear to spawn in random places, but almost always underground. Third-Party programs, such as a map viewer, can help the player locate a dungeon, see Programs and Editors).

Mob Spawners can be neutralized by placing torches to light up any dark areas around the spawner. As of Version 1.8.1, there are four types of mobs that can spawn broken into two categories, tall mobs (skeleton and zombie) and spiders (standard and cave spider).

Killing Mechanism
Any standard mob grinder can be connected to a dungeon. However, the purpose of this device is for players who are currently low on materials and can't yet build something larger.

Drowning Traps
Drowning traps employ water to drown the hostile mobs. Mobs float in water and items drop, which allows easy seperation. In this example, the dungeon is a 5x5 zombie spawner.
 * Capture the spawner and place water in one of the corners. The opposite corner should have one dry block.
 * Dig a small hole in the dry corner. This is where the items will drop and a water channel is recommended.
 * Place two signs in the corners and one in the hole. Water considers signs to be solid blocks.
 * When water is placed in the corner, it will be held in place, even though it will look like it is flowing backwards.
 * Place glass panes (any block works, but this is a cheap material and allows easy access while filling up the drowning chamber).
 * Fill the chamber with water to the ceiling.
 * Close up the chamber.
 * Place a collection stream below the drowning chamber. Remove the torches and close up the dungeon walls.

Take out the torches and enclose the dungeon. This was designed for tall mobs, but can be modified for spiders by making the drowning chamber larger. Use signs to hold up water.

Cactus Traps
The following cactus trap is designed for spiders. It has a chance of destroying the items, but this is an inherent issue with cacti.


 * Dig the main channel. The spider spawner is left in the wall forcing spiders to spawn on the small dry patch.
 * Dig two blocks down and one block in just before the cacti. These two holes will hold the collection water sources.
 * Place three ladders on the far side of the collection output. Place one on either piece of sand. Place the two water sources in the holes.
 * Place the main water in the two opennings. The block between them makes the water flow towards the gap in the cacti, slightly improving the collection rate of string.
 * Cover the entire trap and remove all lights.

A Note on Lava
Lava can quickly kill mobs and can be suspended on either a ladder or a sign. To suspend the lava, create a 3-long channel then put a sign or ladder on the last block. Lava spreads three blocks away from the source, so the last section of the lava will be left suspended on the sign or ladder.

Lava generates light, which can lower the spawn rate in the dungeon unless placed far away.

Here is a video example of how to make a dungeon trap using a lava grinder.

Other
Traps that use unusual methods, such as huge pits, fall into this category.
 * Pit Trap
 * For this method, you must dig a pit that reaches far under the dungeon. Depending on the height (at least 23 blocks), the mob will die on impact, as long as there isn't 2+ blocks of water at the bottom. However, this method takes a long time to make and only works for spawners near or above the surface.


 * Sunlight Trap
 * The sunlight trap is like the pit trap, only in the opposite direction. You dig straight up around the spawner block until you reach the surface to let sunlight in. This will only work with zombie and skeleton spawners, because they burn in sunlight. This trap is easiest to make if the dungeon is close to the surface. Unfortunately, this method is extremely ineffective, as mobs will not spawn in sunlight, even from a spawner.