Tutorials/Traps

This is a list of traps for creatures or players. Add your own, if you have created and tested a different one. Traps are a subset of Mechanisms.

Trap Effectiveness (WIP)

	Trap	Effectiveness	Cost
Undetectable Traps	Arrow	1	8
	Dispenser	?	?
Wired Traps	Arrow Dispenser	1	20
	Advanced Arrow Dispenser	2	33

Effectiveness is an estimate from one, being the least damaging, to five, being "perfectly" fatal. Cost is calculated based on the resources required for the most basic implementation of trap. Common items, such as dirt, wood, or stone, count as one point, iron ingots, flint, redstone, or friendly mob drops as two, and rare metals and hostile mob drops as three. Add the points together to get the cost.

Trap Guides

A list of traps and tutorials can be found on the Trap Guides page.

Mined Block Traps

This type of trap uses a player mining a block (usually cutting down a tree, but that isn't too attractive) to set off the trap (usually TNT, but could use other variants such as a lava trap, etc.). A "NOT" gate is used so that when the player destroys a block with a redstone torch on it, the second phase of redstone is turned on, causing the TNT to be set off.

An advantage to this trap is that it is undetectable, and you don't have to "lure" the players into stepping on a pressure plate, or pulling a lever. It is also easy to build, since you can wire multiple blocks all over the map, rather than having to re-build a hallway or building every time it gets set off.

It is obviously possible to use a block other than a tree, but it may look out of place. Choose location carefully, e.g. in the desert use a cactus instead of a tree (be careful when doing that as the sand may fall, if you need to cover a pit up try a dirt block with sand on it or sandstone), in a luxury city you can use diamond...

It could work for this type of trap to be reused without going to repair it that often (on a server, when a protected block is mined it disappears, then returns), but a large supply of TNT/lava would be needed. A video example of this trap in action can be found below.

Also, there is a version where a precious block (diamond block for example)is placed on a celing to lure the enemy to mine the block, where above the rare block is a 1-block high x width of room x length of room lava pit so that when the enemy mines the block lava pours down into the room, effectively killing the enemy. You can also make a drain to remove lava from room collect items.

CO-OP Traps

One example of a trap is to put a pressure plate and wire it to a note block or dispenser. When the note block goes off (or dispenser dispenses an item) the victim will pour lava on the intruders from above. (This trap may be very difficult to do because you would have to find a person who is willing to stand there all day with a bucket). This trap can also be executed by the friend digging a hole under the thief and slash him with a sword (the advantages of this trap is it is very hastily made and can be used on new bases while you build a better trap.)

Lavafall

This trap will allow you to burn the player or mob chasing you. (Note: This trap is usually undesirable due to the fact that their items will burn as well) The player or mob will follow you into a 1x2 corridor 6 blocks long, (The maximum flow length of water or lava is 8 blocks) then they will activate a STONE pressure pad so if they do see the plate, they cannot test it with a miniblock by pressing Q. This trap will utilize the 'controlling water or lava with redstone' technique. See redstone (wire) for details on how to do this.

Items you will need: 1-10 redstone dust

A space where a 1x6 corridor can be dug out

A pickaxe

A shovel

A bucket of lava

2 iron doors

2 buttons or levers

1. Hollow out a 1x6 corridor

2. Dig a spiral staircase so that you are 2 blocks a bove the coridor

3. Place redstone going up the stairs

4. Dig 3 blocks to the left

5. Place the pressure pad at the end of the redstone in the corridor

6. Place your lava at the side closest to the redstone wiring

7. Dig out the blocks where the lava starts

8. Put the iron doors at each end

9. Exit the hallway before completing the trap

10. Place buttons on the OUTSIDE of each door

It does not matter if you step on the pad due to lava's slow movement

Machine gun

A machine gun in minecraft is a good way to defend yourself and your house of enemies & monsters. You just need to put a few dispesensers in the direction you want put some cobblestones on it and connect it via redstone with a clock. Here's a video of how to build it.

Disarming Traps

When faced with a trap, the safest course of action is often to disarm the trigger by destroying the trap's components.

• Destroy pressure plates. Pressure plates send the same message whether they are inactive or destroyed. Destroying a pressure plate will seldom trigger a trap.

• Be wary of active redstone. Inactive redstone is safe, but destroying active redstone dust can trigger traps, as it is usually connected to an inverter.

You can dispatch active redstone wires with the use of two redstone torches:
  X = torch Y = redstone wire B= Any block
Front view:
  XYX
  BBB
Top view:
Layer 1:
  B B
  BBB
Layer 2:
  X X
  YYY
And then destroy the center redstone:
  X X
  Y Y
It will keep the positive input for both ends, but cutting the two ends off, keeping the current
on forever.

• Never alter a clock generator! It may be connected to another one by a logic gate that checks if they tick together. This way the breaking or altering one may trigger a massive TNT charge or other anti-defuse mechanisms.

• Consider the fact that the creator may be nearby. Often times, the builder of a trap will be near the trap, waiting to collect his victim's possessions. If you encounter a trap, be ready for a fight.

• Remove the trap's dangerous components. If you can reach the dangerous bits of a trap, destroy them. Take the arrows out of a dispenser, and pocket the dispenser while you're at it. Take any cacti you see as well. TNT should not be a problem, since the 1.7 update TNT blocks can be broken and collected

• Some texture packs may make traps easier to disarm than others. While you might accidentally walk across a pressure plate and activate a trap while using one texture pack, you may spot it instantly with a different one. It may also help to use an x-ray texture pack to spot parts of the trap that you may not have been able to see before, which should help you better understand how the trap works.

• If all else fails, try to safely trigger the trap. Either step on the trigger and run, or use redstone to trigger it from a distance. It is best to have a good understanding of the nature of the trap before attempting to trigger it, as one can easily underestimate its size.

• You can also trigger the trap, log off, and log back on after a moment has passed.

Crushing Trap

This trap uses pistons to crush skeletons, zombies or players to death. Can be used on animals and spiders, but you'll need to lower the cieling by one block. You will need plenty of sticky pistons, cobble, redstone dust, and a button/lever.

1) First, make sure you have hollowed out the room to 6 blocks high.

2) Look up, and place sticky pistons all around so they are facing down at you on the 4th block up.

3) Place a basic block like cobble just beneath all of the sticky pistons. The room should now appear to be 2 blocks high, with 2 empty blocks about the pistons.

4) Now, place cobble above all the pistons.

5) Cover the top cobble layer with redstone dust.

6) Make a trail from one of the pistons with redstone dust to a button or lever over to the side.

Upon activating the button/lever, the pistons will push the blocks down and start damaging anything stuck inside them. This will kill most things rather quickly.

You can easily convert this to use pressure plates on the ground to activate it as a trap. Quickly farm mobs or booby trap your lair with this. Enjoy!

Monster Traps

A monster trap involves 2 main parts, a spawning floor, and a "grinder" which kills the mobs. The purpose of this trap is to collect items that monsters drop, such as gunpowder, arrows, bones, etc. In most monster traps, mobs are spawned on platforms, then fall into channels to be carried to the exit of the spawning floor to be killed. Water is used to keep all the monsters moving in the correct direction. A video example on how to build one is included below. dungeons can also be used as a spawning floor.

Pit Attack

Make a 3x3, 5x5 or 8x8 pit deep enough for you to slash something stuck down there, about 3 or 4 blocks. Lure a mob in (for passives, use a fishing rod) and finish them off from above.

How to make a Killer / Grinder

Triggered Pit Trap

This is targeted at 2 enemies: People who have never encountered the trap or Pressure Plates, and pesky zombies. It's mainly a rudimentary house defence. Dig a 2x1 pit, 2 blocks deep. Put 1 block of any material next to either side of the pit, then mount Trapdoors on them. Next, simply put Pressure Plates in front of the trap. Finally, put in your own personal way of using it to kill. Throw in some lava, install a way to stab the zombies to death, your choice. Getting past it, you simply have to jump over the blocks next to the trap onto the Trapdoors, therefore not triggering it and getting stuck/drowning/melting.

Diagram: B = Block X = Air T = Trapdoor P = Pressure Plate

Front: BTTB BXXB BXXB BBBB

Side: PB

B
B
B

Fall Damage Mob Killer

Simply make a 20x20 platform, maybe 30x30, 50x50 or 100x100 if you have space, on air, and a drop (build it from top of a mountain) so at night you can cower in an explosive proof wall with an outer lip, and hostile mobs should spawn on top if it's high and wide enough, and evntually wander down to their death. Bring up grass to gain feathers, leather, porkchops and wool.

To have some serious fun, make a 1x1 hole in your wall, and raise it four level above ground level. Fill the bottom with cacti that will grow to 3 blocks tall. Let them do this, and then flow water from the side opposite to the hole, but it might not work so make it mega-long. You stand where the water comes out to collect free mob drops. A good way to deal with those pesky spider jockies.

Suffocation Trap

If monsters have chased you to your house, you can make a trap to kill them from safety. On top of your house, in front of the door, make several pistons which face your door. Connect them all to one lever. Open the pistons, so that the piston heads extend to touch the wall of your house. Now, put at least two layers of sand on all of them. The sand will fall if the pistons retract, but it stays on top if they are extended.

Now, if monsters are pushing up against your door, you can pull the lever to turn off the pistons. The sand will fall and kill anything outside. You can now cover the pistons up to make it look better. This trap also creates a temporary wall, if a creeper has exploded your main wall.

Drowning Trap

To this trap you will need:

1 shovel 3 redstone 2 trapdoors 1 bucket with water

First, dig a hole 6 blocks deep (1x6) fill everything with water. Then, do like this:

W=Water P=Pressureplate R=Redstone T=Trapdoor

PTTWWWW
R R

Done!