Tutorials/Defense

Considering the upcoming Adventure Update and the introduction of new creatures, there's a good chance that your base will need defense structures more advanced than just a cobblestone wall. Thus, I propose:

1. All tutorials or mechanisms of defense are brought here.

2. Said articles are organized into chapters

3. Add more defense mechanisms as the game updates or the mind wanders.

By doing this, we can centralize the defenses and make it easier for all players, particularly those new to the game. It will also make updates more manageable as we don't have to scramble all around the wiki.

Overview: A Good Defense
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:
 * Complete Barriers - physical obstructions to hostile mob movement that completely surround the protected area, preventing hostile mob advance
 * Light - a regular system of lighting that, during the night, will prevent hostile mobs 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

Spiders
Simply place a 'lip' over any wall to prevent spiders scaling it, as shown schematically below

___      Outside world