Minecraft Wiki:Projects/Construction Defense

Project aim
To completely merge all of the separate defense topics on the wiki

People Involved (feel free to add yourself to the list if you wish to help!)

 * warlordjones

Content copied from:
Minecraft_Wiki:Projects/Minecraft_Defense_Manual Tutorials/Defense Tutorials/Shelter_Defense Tutorials/Home_Defense Tutorials/Snow_golem_defense_turrets

Intro/general notes:
The best defense measures are those that prevent hostile mobs from spawning entirely or at least prevent hostile mobs from ever getting close to the protected area. As such, integral to all defense systems in Minecraft are:


 * Completeness - all defenses need to completely defend the protected area, so that mobs entering from any side or angle and of any type will not break through


 * Light - a regular system of lighting is needed so that, during the night, hostile mobs will be prevented from spawning within the protected area


 * Sustainability - defenses should work regardless of player input and, ideally, would be able protect an area indefinitely, either by never degrading in the first place (e.g. walls) or by renewing themselves automatically


 * Easy to use - The best defense in the world is useless if it kills the owner. A good defense must be safe and easy to use. If you have to press 2 buttons and destroy a block to activate it, it is too complicated.

It is important to remember that each mob type will treat each defence differently; for example, a ring of burning netherrack is a damager to most mobs, but does nothing against zombie pigmen. Likewise, a wall is an obstacle to a creeper, but is a delayer to a spider (and not a very effective one at that).

General tips:
1. Armor is highly underrated... even leather armor (and what else are you going to use all that leather for?) could save your life. Should you be going hunting for Ender Pearls, looking for Strongholds or Underground mines, or just going for a nighttime stroll... armor will be very handy

2. Keep at least two swords, a sword is your main source of defense (and offense) but they can run out in the blink of an eye. Keep a spare, just in case.

3. Mainly for the nether, have a bow and a stack of arrows, to defend yourself from those ghastly Ghasts (though use in the overworld is handy too)

4. A trick that I use is to have one window in your house open with a dispenser facing outwards, stacked with arrows, and a pressure plate directly in front of it outside, so that you can stand at your window at night, to draw a monster's attention, and it will walk onto the pressure plate... activating the dispenser... need I say more? (although you will regularly find raw food and leather underneath.

6. Though many players like to use gold for its color and value, it is unadvisable to use gold in armor or swords. It does not have very good defensive qualities,and is quickly diminished. If you do not have diamond to make armor, then use iron. Its defense for a full suit of armor or a sword is much higher than gold. (if you don't have iron or don't have enough then use wood)

Most problems in your defense will likely stem from a poor light net around your base. Changing the settings to the classic lighting engine can help you find holes in your light pattern.

In the end a good defensive strategy is only as good as the people that run it. Remember a strategy requires discipline. If you plan on running out for a midnight stroll every night, then don't build a defense, it won't make you any safer.

Types of defense
Delayers: These do no damage but slow down attackers Obstacles: Something that forces a attacker to take a different route unless they can overcome it. Damagers: These cause damage to the attackers Misc: things that does not fit into the above categories Attacker-specific defense: do you really need an explanation?

Delayers
Snow golem defense turret:

Use: [edit] The main use of a snow golem defense turret is to keep enemies away from your house, they can also be deployed near NPC Villages to protect NPC villagers from hostile mobs and break up sieges. The mobs will then attack the Snow Golems as opposed to you or the villagers, and knock them back. See more about this strategy on the Snow Golem page.

Construction: 1.Dig a 3x3x3 hole into the ground.

2.From the center of the hole build up 5 blocks of a non-flammable material such as Cobblestone.

3.Surround the top block of the tower with non-flammable material so that there is a 3x3 square with one open block between the square and the hole.

4.Build another 3x3 square directly atop the last but without a center block.

5.On one of the non corner blocks build up 2 blocks, place a slab on all other non-corner blocks.

6.Create a snow golem in the middle.

7.On the 2 block tower from the top block place 1 block in so that it is above the golem's head and the golem cannot jump.

8.Delete the slabs and 2 block tower but leave the middle block floating, if you like you can make it a 3x3 square above the golem, however this is not necessary because after Beta 1.8 (The adventure update) Skeletons no longer fire in an arc, rather a straight line.

9.Delete the first 3x3 square (the one 1 block above the hole) without deleting the middle (the snow golem is standing on that!)

10.Delete the bottom 4 blocks of the tower but not the one your golem is standing on.

11.Place 1 lava on the bottom of the block the golem is on. Since the golem deals no damage (except to Blaze) and mobs will attack it if hit when they come up to it there is a chance they will die in the lava.

12.If you wish to make it more deadly you can place Cacti at the corners.

13. If you'd like to collect the drops, in the 3x3 hole, make the deepest layer have water on one side leading to a collection center, the middle layer signs, and the top layer lava.

Note on snow golem venerability: Make sure you protect the golems from the rain or they will die. Also as mentioned on the snow golem page they will take damage in a desert or jungle biome so defenses utilising them cannot be used in these biomes.

Water moat: A trench at least 3 blocks deep and 2 wide will slow mobs (and kill slimes). You can create a redstone drawbridge for safe crossing:

Build a 4 wide, 8 long bridge over the moat, with one high blocks at each side.

Remove the floor of the bridge and place trapdoors instead, attached to the side barriers.

Place redstone all the way along the top of the barriers.

Place blocks one level above the redstone so players can not jump onto the sides.

Link the two lines of redstone at a lever.

Pull the lever to open the drawbridge, not letting anything in; or close it so you and your faction can get out.

Spiders can't jump the bridge, players will fall in the lava, and zombies and other mobs can not cross it, unless it is left closed, so it pretty much keeps everything out.

A man-made lake is even better!

N.B. Lava moats are classed as damagers.

Soulsand: A ring of soulsand surrounding your home will also delay mobs. Unfortunately this requires trips into the highly dangerous nether to obtain. A strip has to be a minimum 3 blocks wide to be effective.

Light ring: Light, in the form of evenly dispersed source blocks, should not be underestimated. Even without any physical defensive measures, a wide ring of torches will prevent most hostile mobs from spawning, and if the area is large enough, their random wanderings will not take them all the way through to within attack range of the player by the next sunrise. even if the ring is not that wide it delays the mobs by forcing them to spawn further from the player.

Waterfall
Waterfalls are an effective way to protect your doorway as a last ditch line of defense. By using an over hang, a player can run a waterfall down and over the entrance to their home. A one block deep ditch as wide as the waterfall will prevent the water from flowing in unwanted directions. If a creeper, skeleton, or zombie walks into the waterfall, they will be pushed down into the ditch, effectively stopping them. Though the ditch can be made deeper, it is unadvisable since the player may accidentally fall into the ditch themselves. The downward presure of the waterfall will cause the player to swim upwards much more slowly than usual, so one block deep is recommended. To enter their home, a player must jump into the waterfall and keep moving forward. This will deposit the player safely on the other side of the waterfall.

Obstacles
Walls: The simplest obstacle is of course the wall. They are the most common means of stopping mobs from entering an area. They can be constructed of just about any material, with varying advantages and disadvantages.

These are simple to make, just make sure to:

1) Make them at least 3 blocks high and a strong wall is 6 blocks high. 2) Add an extension around the outside to defend against spiders. 3) Torches should be added to the top or sides of the wall, unless low-visibility is desired (for example, to reduce the chance of other players noticing a camouflaged wall on an SMP server).

Materials: Cobblestone and dirt are the most common materials for making walls, due to their abundance as a waste material from mining, and ease of obtaining, respectively. Walls made in desert biomes may also be made of sand or sandstone but it is recommended to create them from cacti as they are also a damager. The player will only need to place a one block high cactus as it will then grow into a 3-block tall wall.

While dirt does not resist explosions well, for most purposes it is suitable. Both dirt and sand walls are frequently used to surround "first night" shelters. It is especially efficient if the wall is made quite thick as the dirt will absorb the force of the explosion.

Cobblestone, and the more aesthetically pleasing smooth stone, are the preferred materials for established miners. It has a respectable blast resistance, while being plentiful.

Sandstone is only marginally better than sand, and should be avoided except for aesthetic reasons.

Glass, ice, glass panes and iron bars are useful as they can be seen through, revealing threats on the other side without exposure. These blocks can also be used to view Endermen without attracting their aggression. The drawback is that these blocks are vulnerable to damage by creeper explosions.

The ultimate in wall construction without cheats or ops privileges is obsidian. When constructing, it is faster to position buckets of lava and cool them with water than it is to cool a pool of lava and mine it.

Notes:
 * Fences can be used to make walls that act higher than they really are, since a fence block is treated as 1.5 blocks high if something is trying to jump over it.


 * To prevent spiders simply climbing over the wall add of protrusions or overhangs to the wall to prevent them climbing right over.


 * You can line the base and/or top of the wall with burning Netherrack, so that creatures running into the wall stand in the flames, or creatures that make it over the wall must pass through flames on the way.


 * To deter Endermen you can make the wall three blocks thick with a hollow space in the middle filled with water. To damage other mobs if the first layer of wall is breached you can replace this with lava.


 * To stop explosions damaging your wall you can put a water layer on the outside of the wall to absorb the blast.


 * A self-healing wall can be created with a cobblestone generator but is generally more effort than it is worth. it is awesome to watch in action though!

Ditches: Dry ditches, should be at least three blocks tall on the inside edge, with an overhang or protrusions to prevent spiders from climbing them. Ditches should be (at least) three blocks wide at their narrowest point in order to prevent spiders from jumping over them. It is recommended that players leave a means of escaping the ditch to the outside (not the inside, which would defeat the purpose of a ditch), in the eventuality that they are knocked into it by injuries, explosions or simple mistakes.

Materials to line the bottom with to make it more efficient:
 * Soulsand
 * Burning netherrack (destroys drops- for a method that does not you should: line the area before the ditch with burning netherrack so the attacker runs though the flame and into the ditch where drops can be collected later)
 * Cobweb. if you use this the ditch only needs to be one  wide and one deep. However there is currently no legit way of obtaining this on survival.
 * Catci

Damagers
TNT Cannons

TNT Cannons: The best weapon usable. These should be put outside your perimeter. Go to Tutorials/TNT Cannons to find steps to build these.

Murder holes: Simply a one block wide hole deep enough to cause fall damage.

Landmines: To create a land mine, you'll need: Some TNT Pressure plates Any block except obsidian or bedrock First, dig a 2 block deep hole, then you put TNT at the bottom, put a block on top of it. Put any pressure plate on top. When any mob/player steps on the plate, it will trigger the TNT! ...It'll be very ironic if a Creeper happens to step on your pressure plate.

Advantages; Mobs are usually killed in one blast Landmines are relatively easy to make They can be triggered from a safe location with redstone Disadvantages:

Landmines must be recreated after each use The blast may set off other landmines You or your shelter could be destroyed The mob may go past the TNT while chasing you To counter terrain or structures being destroyed, place water on a side of the TNT. This trap will still damage mobs, but the surrounding blocks will not be destroyed. However, the trap won't be as effective.

If you want to make sure that the mob is killed in the explosion and that your base won't blow up, dig a deep hole (break the block NEXT to the one that you're standing on. Jump in, then replace the bottom block(s) with Obsidian and pillar back up. Break the blocks again, and put a TNT block two blocks down, followed by a gravity affected block (either sand or gravel). Put a pressure plate on top and you're done!

Lava moat: A lava-filled moat, on the other hand, will kill any mobs in short order by itself, but also destroy any drops. Lava-moats have the additional benefit of producing light, stopping mobs from spawning nearby without torches. However, it can be laborious to collect large quantities of lava, which requires at minimum buckets and the discovery of a sizable source of lava. Structures over a lava moat (bridges, overhanging walls, etc.) should have fences or a raised edge to stop players from falling or being knocked in. Lava should not be used where there are flammable blocks nearby, especially trees, plank blocks or wool (among others).

Arrow Turrets.

They consist of any number of dispensers attached to a rapid pulsar redstone alternater. Simply add a lever to the side of the Pulsar, and switch it on or off at will. (needless to say, loading the dispensers is a must!)

These will give any player trying to grief, or steal from, one of your structures, a nice shock. This turret is fully automatic, and as long as you have the arrows to support it, it will demolish anything in front of it! Fire charges can also be used if you have the resources. However these are not recommended if your structure is made out of a flammable material! An easier (and lower resource cost) way to make the turrets more damaging is to put a lava curtain in front of them. This will set the arrows passing through on fire so they cause more damage.

Blender Defense System Make a 10 by 10 hole in the ground 5 feet deep,then in the center put 4 blocks in a square.Then put blocks inside the hole by the edges one block high.Plant cacti on the blocks that were built up,then fill in the rest of the hole with water. The current will push mobs in a circle and then mobs will touch the cactus,making it look like a blender.Keep repeating the process until it surrounds your house.

Sticky Piston Crusher: If a mob crosses your perimeter, you can use pistons to crush those Hostile Mobs like insects! However, you cannot get their drops.

Misc.
Defense on the Move:

If stuck out on an expedition, always bring a torch. First, dig a 3x3 hole beneath yourself, then cover the top layer. Second place a bed 1 block away from 2 walls, there the time is reset to day. (be careful, as this also resets you re-spawn point and if you destroy the bed the spawn point will return to the default)

Panic Room

You can make a room made of obsidian, with an iron door and the lever in, you need to have at least: 2 stone pickaxes a sword a bow and some arrows food a set of iron armor Optional: an infinite source of water some TNT a bucket of lava wheat farm (a hoe would be needed) trees (although you can always keep saplings and wood in a chest) a cow for milk

Door protection: Protecting doors can be done in 3 ways. 1. Placing a column of sand above the door to seal it when it is removed. 2. Placing water next to the bottom of the door. When the door breaks the offending zombie will enter but other mobs will be slowed down. 3. Placing water next to the top of the door and doing the same for lava on the other side. 4. Pistons and pressure plates. 1                    2                3           D=door T= Tunnel wall S                                               S=sand W= Water S                                               L= Lava TDT            TDT           WDL TDT            WDT          TDT

Alarm System A good defence for people who have a lot of redstone. All it requires is a few noteblocks, some redstone and some wooden pressure plates. Set up the pressure plates around your house, then link some redstone back to a noteblock in your house. You may want to put some noteblocks in different parts of your house. This also works well with the wall defence, you can set up pressure plates just in front of your wall, and then link redstone on the other side. You may also want to put up a more complicated system with redstone torches on a board with numbered signs, corresponding to certain parts of your house and the surrounding area. This is better suited for experienced players.

A self destruct system might be useful, to prevent others in SMP from stealing your belongs. For this to work, the TNT has to be concealed in a wall, and there should be redstone (that is concealed) attached to a button to activate the TNT. It is also recommended that you have a blast-proof room where you store/hide in before you activate the self destruct. The button should also be in this room.

Iron golems: The best way to use these is keep them in an enclosed space with a door operable by lever. If invading mobs get to close or comfort you can flick the lever and release the golems to clear the area. Or you can simply leave them wandering free in a walled off area.

Attacker-specific defense:
1x2 mobs: 4 door trap. Place four doors with left hinges around a pressure pad. place a block above the pressure pad to prevent the mob from jumping free. Like this: --          |PP| --

Creepers: Creepers (and possibly other mobs-only tested with creepers) treat vines as a solid block so a wall of vines is a cheap and easy defense against them. You can also tell i there are and threats outside easily. However with the new AI in the next update this may change.

Ghasts: Ghasts can not see you through transparent blocks (excepting of course block 00), so if in the nether with some glass, you could make a glass box around yourself. This is helpful because you can see when the danger of a Ghast has gone. Building a glass base around your Portal in the Nether is a good idea, because you will be able to see the nether's epic terrain, and still be protected from Ghasts. Cobblestone (which Ghasts cannot damage.) will do just fine,but if you wish to still view your surrounds glass is the best option. However, while glass panes protect you from being noticed and fired on by Ghasts, they are shattered in the event a stray fireball explodes near the panes. Glass blocks do not shatter even when hit directly. To fully Ghast proof a Nether fort use only glass blocks, iron bars, or nether fences for windows.Although, Ghasts are easy to kill if you can hit them: two well-charged arrows or hits with an iron sword will take it down.

Slimes: You may defend against slimes by simply creating a long-ish 1 block wide, 2 block tall corridor as an entrance to a walled of area using: for the sides, dispensers full of arrows on bottom row, and any block that is solid on the top row for the floor, simply cover it in pressure plates. The said slime will travel through the corridor, and every time it lands on a pressure plate, it will be struck by two arrows, and if/when it splits, the process will simply repeat itself. To collect the spoils, simply remove the pressure plates, stroll on through (reloading as you go if needed) and then when you are done, simply replace the pressure plates on the way out. to help prevent mobs entering while you do this, it may be useful to place a door at the entrance/exit in the wall so you may close it when you are in the corridor and open it to begin the executions. This also works for most other mobs that will fit through the corridor.

Zombies and Zombie Pigmen: Zombies and Zombie Pigmen are only a threat should you be surrounded by other mobs (and other zombie pigmen) or if you are low on health. Their only way of hurting you are getting up close and personal or breaking doors to allow entry of other mobs. So use arrows... simple stuff.

Skeletons: Since Skeletons attack from a distance, the best defense is a good offense. If you can get up and personal, the skeleton will not be able to damage you. Of course, when you attack them, they will be pushed backwards. If there are no blocks behind them, they will be able to shoot you again.

Spiders: An easy way to defend against Spiders is a 1*2 tunnel. Spiders cannot pass through it but players (and other 1*2 mobs) can.

Spider Jockeys: Spider Jockeys combine both range, climbing, a melee attack, and an urge to chase the nearest player no matter how far away they are, the best course of action when you are facing one is to kill it off with arrows before the skeleton notices you and starts shooting.

Players: When in multiplayer, with nothing to help you in combat with other players, it is best to have a /home point. Some servers also make it so that you can toggle PvP on and off inside your house/land, so it would be a good idea to have PvP off in your house, and set a /home point inside, so that if you're ever caught outside with a player in diamond armor, wielding a diamond sword, charging at you... you can just type /home and get out of there! Of course, if you are also wearing diamond armor and also have a diamond sword, you could choose to try and hold off said player. Blocking also helps in these situations.