“It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls.”
- Aristophanes
Hi everyone! So playing around in Infdev the last few days, I kept getting ideas about how to build a truly impenetrable fortress. To prevent me from forgetting all of them, I decided to boot up Creative mode (since I’m not going to spend hours harvesting/building a fortress that’ll be erased in a few weeks :smile.gif:) and make an example of this castle, using Infdev principles.
And since I’d already done all that, I thought to myself; why not post it on the forums? Then we’ll get the interchange of ideas- people might potentially learn things about defensive architecture, and flaws in my design might be pointed out so I can learn new things as well. Everyone wins!
So, here it is. I’ll be building this castle from the ground up, with pictures. Something to keep in mind: This is not a quick house you throw together to keep you safe for a night. This is a massive undertaking in Infdev, probably taking the coordination of several people to get it finished in any reasonable amount of time. The end result, though, is quite impressive- a fortress suitable for defending any trade route, or a keep to protect a city.
We begin with
Phase 1- Location
First thing’s first. Where will you build your fortress? There are different schools of thought on this. Some prefer underground lairs, citing their stealth as their main defense. While they are undetectable if done right, all it takes is one enemy watching someone enter to remove that advantage, and then you’re vulnerable from all directions. Others prefer building towers on mountaintops, using their inaccessibility and line of sight as justification. They do have things to recommend them, true; but the mountain makes them quite easily mined under, and you remove any access to water being so high up.
I prefer sea-level fortresses. You can have good line of sight by building a tower, and the access to water enables several defenses (more on that later). Additionally, at least until Notch implements airplanes or blimps, you never have to worry about being attacked from above, unlike underground lairs. Finally, nothing says “I OWN THIS LAND” like a huge freaking castle.
So we’re at sea level. It doesn’t matter how far inland you are, though you should have a water source with infinite water located. Since this is Creative, I leveled a spot by hand, though in Infdev it will probably be easier to find a flat spot.
That will serve as our construction site. While we’re at it, let’s level the land around us. Nothing’s more embarrassing than having an enemy climb a tree over your walls. Even if he can’t do that, you’ll want to remove any terrain features that can be used as cover from arrows.
Before:
After:
Awesome, we have a site. Moving on to…
Phase 2- Foundation
Keeping in mind that it’s easier to build a strong fortress from the start than to build a weak one and improving it later, we’re starting heavy. We’re building from the ground up, so we need to incorporate defenses against that most insidious of attacker, the miner, into our floor.
I’ve made a foundation out of stone three meters high. I realize there are stronger materials out there, and if you’re incredibly wealthy enough to build a fortress out of steel or diamond, you go right ahead- that’s awesome. But I’m using stone. This foundation provides several advantages.
-It raises our walls up higher, which is always nice.
-If the enemy brings TNT, they’ll mostly hit floor rather than wall, which means they’ll have to fight you while jumping up, giving you an advantage.
-It enables several defensive tricks that I’ll cover later.
I realize the foundation in the picture looks rather big, but trust me; you’ll want it big. It’s smaller than it looks. Also, the bricks and dirt are just there as a yardstick.
Next, we have:
Phase 3- The Walls
Ah, walls. Every Minecrafter’s best friend. Arguably the main feature of a fortress. Despite this, walls will not kill any enemies on their own. Their main purpose is to delay attackers so you can kill them while you remain out of reach.
With this in mind, I prefer a three-layered wall. The outer layer is of stone, the middle is of sand or gravel, and the inner is, again, stone. If you were to put steel or diamond anywhere, though, the inner wall is your best bet.
Here’s a cross-section:
This way, the outer wall will resist some attacks. The sandy middle will delay attackers, as they’ll have to dig through the falling layers, then the inner will resist more attacks.
Here’s a picture of the finished walls:
Notice that by leaving the top of the sand open, we gain two advantages. First, if someone managed to sneak up on us and has cracked the wall, we’ll notice the falling sand. Second, if they do get through the sand, we have a nice hole to shoot them from above (or pour lava on them :twisted:) while they mine the second wall. That’s the reason for putting a ring of steel or diamond at eye-level in the inner wall, were you so inclined; more time to shoot them.
Discerning readers will notice a flaw in the above picture, though: There’s no gate! I’m fixing that now.
Phase 3.5- The Gate
The gate is the most vulnerable part of the walls. That’s why I’m making a couple alterations to the walls to add some protection.
I know there aren’t any doors or anything- it’s Creative. Use your imagination. :smile.gif:
I’ve extended the walls on either side of the door to funnel the enemies a bit, giving you more time… to shoot them. (Noticing a theme here?) The sand is suspended by a pane of easily shattered glass, which should block their way a bit longer.
Admittedly, the gate is a bit weak. It’s possible to seal the door with stone and mine it out every time anyone needs to enter or exit, and you might want to do that. I think that’s too much work unless you actually see an army coming, though.
You’re going to be glad you built the gate for the next part. I personally fell off five times building…
Phase 4- The Ramparts
These address a major problem with our walls. Specifically, people can shoot us when we’re on them. Here’s a picture of what we’re going for:
The ramparts should extend at least two meters out from your walls, but no more than four meters out. Any more than that is pointless and increases your ‘dead zone’ where you can’t shoot the enemy.
The outer black, as you see, has crenellations- alternating between three meters tall and a half-block. Three meters tall gives some protection from arrows to people further inside the fortress, and the half-block enables our archers to step up and fire while still giving some small protection.
If you look carefully, you’ll see a hole behind every other crenellation. In real life, these were called “murder holes”, and I find they live up to their name quite well. Their purpose is to allow you to shoot at people right up against your wall. Every other crenellation gives you enough lines of sight to cover the entirety of your walls while still giving you some crenellations to hide behind. That’s why you might want ramparts larger than 2 meters, by the way; to give you more crenellations to hide behind. (You always want the holes right up against your wall, regardless.) I realize having these holes gives enemies a convenient spot to build ladders; may I suggest pouring lava on them if they try?
Okay, walls! Woo! We have a fort! We’re not done, though.
Phase 5- The Tower
Admittedly, you don’t need a tower. I would get one, though. Having a tower gives you a better line of sight, as you’re higher up. It also gives you a place to fall back to, should the enemy manage to get inside your walls. I personally also use the tower as a way to get onto the walls in the first place, so if enemies get into the courtyard they can’t just climb your staircase/ladder to fight you on the walls.
You’ll want your tower to be at least two meters away from the interior of your walls. This way, you can shoot people in the courtyard with ease. Put the door to it on the opposite side from your gate. Every step they’ve gotta travel to get inside is good. Even if they just mine through the wall, it’s still time spent.
I don’t need to tell you the basics of building a tower, do I? :biggrin.gif:
Some notes on the interior, though. You’ll want the tower divided into rooms separated by decks, with the lowest deck being at least seven meters above the top of your wall. The reason behind this is your arm is six meters long (apparently), so if enemies get onto your walls and poke holes in your tower, they can’t jump in and start mining the floor out from under your defenders. I only made one room/deck, so the deck is actually the tower’s top, but higher rooms should be at least eight meters tall.
Here’s an example. The brick is to mark the level of the wall.
Also, see that the staircase isn’t against the wall. It is easier to build that way, but having it in the middle of the room gives the enemy climbing it no protection against…
The holes in the ceiling! There’s a stone funnel around the opening to the next deck; this is to funnel poured lava. Nothing ruins an invading army’s day quite like lava. :twisted:
The tower’s top:
The crenellations are a bit shorter; only two meters tall, as the extra meter would provide no extra protection. There also aren’t any half-blocks, as at this angle they block your archers’ lines of sight too much. In my fort, I jump from the tower’s top to the walls to access them. If your tower is taller you may want to consider building a jump-point specifically for that purpose.
So, we have a foundation, walls, and a tower. Fortress! But we’re still a bit too vulnerable to miners for my taste.
Phase 6- The Undercroft
This is that part that no one will see until it’s too late. I didn’t get good cross-section pictures of it, but here are the basics of it. You dig out a section under your foundation one meter tall and as big as your foundation. Line it with stone, then go underneath that and dig one two meters tall and lined with stone. Like this:
Finally, flood everything and connect them both to a source of infinite water. This right here is why I prefer sea-level bases. The best way to build it, I discovered after building it, is to make the chamber four meters deep, then make the divider at meter three. (It took me a half hour and many revisions to discover that.)
The theory is the enemy will dig towards your base. They’ll find what they think is your foundation (being made of stone). They’ll breach it… and be flooded! Frantic, they will swim up into the two-meter-tall undercroft. Finding it too big to easily block and drain, they will mine the ceiling. Mining underwater is slow work, but finally they breach it… only to find more water rushing at them! And since Notch made our player entities solid, even if they can make an air pocket in the top layer, only one person can use it. Best case scenario, they drown. Worst case, they survive but are injured. Either way, your advantage or even victory.
The undercroft’s lower level, dug out:
Sheathed in stone:
Flooded:
Almost done!
Phase 7- Finishing Up
Only two things left- the moat and the flag. I know not everyone likes moats, and admittedly they do have their pros and cons. I went with one because it was for the ‘demonstration’ castle.
It’s three meters across and three deep, with only one meter of water in it. That’s for the best- it means those who fall in are slowed by the water but still unable to simply swim out. IIRC, TNT goes out in water, which adds an additional problem for attackers. It also increases the effective height of your castle. I chose to put my moat right against my walls for that reason; you may want to put it farther out, slowing enemies before they can plant TNT or ladders.
And, the flag.
Truly, the owner of this keep owns the land around it. It would be suicidal to attack. It’s impregnable- it cannot be pregnated! Or something.
Do a victory dance and anticipate the demise of your foes, for in this castle, you are nigh invincible. Or are you? If you can see a flaw in it, please, post it below. It means I get to think of a way to defend against more stuff- and I like doing that!
I could easily get in that. To have a truly impenetrable fortress, it must have a layer of lava, sandwiched between multiple layers of furnaces/whatever is the strongest and easiest material. Then the inside must be a maze filled with traps. I could get way more detailed about it but I'm tired.
Ack! I spot flaws! Lemme help you, my guide-making friend. :wink.gif:
1. Those walls you made could be improved upon. Make the wall on the inside one block shorter than the level of sand. If the attacker stealthily digs into the sand, you can see from just about anywhere it's been breached. Lemme show you:
THEN add all your other things, like ramparts. :smile.gif:
2. You don't say how to defend yourself while you're still BUILDING it. Say you're underground making those undercroft thingys. Your base should be able to defend ITSELF, if you know what I mean, for at least two minutes. That moat? It should be wider! That way the attacker can't just build across it.... :tongue.gif:
3. Your logic about using diamond and steel walls is flawed. DO NOT, trust me. Some people like to use furnaces and stuff, and I approve that idea, ugly as it may look, because it's practical. Walls are a delay, as you said; therefore, don't use the precious minerals attacks want to BLOCK them. Else they can just sneak in, take some of the steel or diamond, and RUN. No need to break in completely.
4. You don't mention the lava/water/obsidian trick. You know, where you place a lava spring on water to make it obsidian or whatever. Obsidian is ridiculously strong and yields nothing but cobble when deleted; it's truly the utlimate wall defense. Someone recently made a guide in the indev forum about how to build them practically, so check it out. :smile.gif:
4. Oh no.... Then it can't even be used for walls. Someone can steal it. >_> Shiiit.
1. That may work. Just a suggestion for seeing the sand height difference more easily. :smile.gif:
2. It should AT LEAST be big enough that someone can't simply dirt themselves over it. It may be even better if the whole moat is surrounded in rock/furnace/whatever-the-hell. That way when the unlucky sap falls in, he can't dig out in less than ten seconds by building a staircase on the outside.
3. Lol, imagine diamond walls. You leave the map for five minutes to get some chips and a soda, and when you come back ten people are at your walls, picking away. xD
Due to the new update on sand/gravel falling gracefully as entities, attackers can place a torch underneath a sand column/wall, as soon as he mines the first block. The rest of the sand will turn into mini-blocks because they can't take up the same space as the torch.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My Youtube channel.
Contains Pachebel's Canon made with noteblocks, a working Rubik's cube made with pistons, and the ultimate TNT cannon.
Thanks for all the replies! If I may respond... :smile.gif:
Ditherliss- You can't get that much lava. That's in the same category as walls made of diamond, so I didn't bother saying that. Although I had forgotten about furnaces, I hate how they look. :smile.gif:
Zaikantos- There is no sand under the moat. If you knew that, I can't imagine what you mean. Can you explain?
Quote from Catmando »
1. Those walls you made could be improved upon. -snip-
Good idea! I like that improvement.
Quote from Catmando »
2. You don't say how to defend yourself while you're still BUILDING it. -snip-
I would hope you have people defending you while you're underground, but maybe the moat should be wider. The trouble is, it takes a lot longer to dig a moat than to build a castle.
Isythos- Interesting! What he means is to put a fourth 'wall' that is nothing more than water between the sand and the inner wall. Then people couldn't put torches on it to block falling sand (which I didn't know about and hope dearly is a bug) and the water currents would push them away.
Ditherliss- You can't get that much lava. That's in the same category as walls made of diamond, so I didn't bother saying that. Although I had forgotten about furnaces, I hate how they look. :smile.gif:
1. Just go into a tunnel or buy some buckets of lava from someone in a town.
2. The Furnaces would be inside of the wall, I never said you couldn't cover it up. Like I said, I left a lot out due to being tired.
The Lava/Obsidian middle layer is a great Idea. It'll deter just about anyone. But if someone is committed to the point where they bring diamond, then you're probably screwed anyway.
Thank you, SteGriff. :smile.gif: If you want to point something out, I'm fine with that- I'm actually trying to use this forums as a way to improve my own build strategies as well as that of others. I don't claim to be God of Castles.
I really hadn't thought about using lava, although I still think you would need far, far too much of it for it to be practical. Not only that, with the odd way things flow now, it would be hazardous to your own health! But the point of this fortress isn't to defend itself forever, its purpose it to make it very very easy for anyone already inside to kill people who they don't like. Now, once Notch implements traps I'll try to update my designs. :smile.gif:
Nice guide.
To improve the defenses, I would replace the top layer of sand in the wall with lava. Then, when they dig out all the sand, they burn to death.
This is a good idea and addresses my complaint of it taking way too much lava. I like it.
Makaroni- In the middle of the ocean is a great place to build, if you can manage it. The only problem with it- what are you guarding, exactly? If we have ships and trade I can see it being a great shipping lane protector/blocker, but otherwise it seems a bit extravagant.
Ditherliss- You can't get that much lava. That's in the same category as walls made of diamond, so I didn't bother saying that. Although I had forgotten about furnaces, I hate how they look. :smile.gif:
1. Just go into a tunnel or buy some buckets of lava from someone in a town.
2. The Furnaces would be inside of the wall, I never said you couldn't cover it up. Like I said, I left a lot out due to being tired.
You only need two lava to get an infinite amount. You can make a well thingy out of it that always replenishes.
Where = lava source and = lava spawned from source.
Ditherliss- You can't get that much lava. That's in the same category as walls made of diamond, so I didn't bother saying that. Although I had forgotten about furnaces, I hate how they look. :smile.gif:
1. Just go into a tunnel or buy some buckets of lava from someone in a town.
2. The Furnaces would be inside of the wall, I never said you couldn't cover it up. Like I said, I left a lot out due to being tired.
You only need two lava to get an infinite amount. You can make a well thingy out of it that always replenishes.
Where = lava source and = lava spawned from source.
The same goes for water.
Yes, for water, but didn't Notch say he was making lava sources unable to be gotten? I assume he meant either by directly picking them up or creating them like you describe, but I may be wrong.
no wall is really impenetrable. it would take just about 2 tnt's to go through that wall. :|
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Do not wallow do not stall
Time waits for none at all
Your allowance may crawl,
It may fly or even vanish
But none will seem more lavished
Than time lost to all.
no wall is really impenetrable. it would take just about 2 tnt's to go through that wall. :|
Very true. But I'm not just going to let you TNT my wall.
Besides which, if you TNT my moat you end up in... a flooded tunnel under my castle. If you build upwards and TNT me at eye-level (where most people, IMO, would), you'll still just make a small hole in my floor. And this is assuming you can get there in the first place, and not be an arrow-pincushion or a charred lavacorpse.
no wall is really impenetrable. it would take just about 2 tnt's to go through that wall. :|
Very true. But I'm not just going to let you TNT my wall.
Besides which, if you TNT my moat you end up in... a flooded tunnel under my castle. If you build upwards and TNT me at eye-level (where most people, IMO, would), you'll still just make a small hole in my floor. And this is assuming you can get there in the first place, and not be an arrow-pincushion or a charred lavacorpse.
8-)
first of all you would have a very low chance of seeing whoever is dynamiting your wall. it could be done anywhere. second of all, TNT explodes a 5 block radius, so it won't be a "small hole".
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Do not wallow do not stall
Time waits for none at all
Your allowance may crawl,
It may fly or even vanish
But none will seem more lavished
Than time lost to all.
first of all you would have a very low chance of seeing whoever is dynamiting your wall. it could be done anywhere. second of all, TNT explodes a 5 block radius, so it won't be a "small hole".
TNT does not create a 5x5x5 hole in the Minecraft world. At best it'll remove a 5x5 region of blocks on the outermost layer, a small hole.
And yeah, this seems good. Although an idea for a lava curtain comes to mind. Basically you arrange lava in such a way that you make a wall of falling lava that falls into deep pits. There would be a five block empty area just behind the lava, so nobody can place blocks inside it. The only way to pierce through it would be using water to form obsidian, but that would look quite obvious and take a while to mine a walkway through.
first of all you would have a very low chance of seeing whoever is dynamiting your wall. it could be done anywhere. second of all, TNT explodes a 5 block radius, so it won't be a "small hole".
TNT does not create a 5x5x5 hole in the Minecraft world. At best it'll remove a 5x5 region of blocks on the outermost layer, a small hole.
And yeah, this seems good. Although an idea for a lava curtain comes to mind. Basically you arrange lava in such a way that you make a wall of falling lava that falls into deep pits. There would be a five block empty area just behind the lava, so nobody can place blocks inside it. The only way to pierce through it would be using water to form obsidian, but that would look quite obvious and take a while to mine a walkway through.
I'll try to make something as an example.
or just make a bridge from where you're standing to block the lava and then pass under it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Do not wallow do not stall
Time waits for none at all
Your allowance may crawl,
It may fly or even vanish
But none will seem more lavished
Than time lost to all.
I just realized.
A floating fortress in the middle of a large, deep ocean, floating several blocks above sea level (such that anyone swimming will not be able to create blocks against the walls/floor of the fortress), will be very very difficult to invade. Unfortunately, I can't think of any practical way to enter, at the moment. Well, besides a massive bridge.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My Youtube channel.
Contains Pachebel's Canon made with noteblocks, a working Rubik's cube made with pistons, and the ultimate TNT cannon.
Hi everyone! So playing around in Infdev the last few days, I kept getting ideas about how to build a truly impenetrable fortress. To prevent me from forgetting all of them, I decided to boot up Creative mode (since I’m not going to spend hours harvesting/building a fortress that’ll be erased in a few weeks :smile.gif:) and make an example of this castle, using Infdev principles.
And since I’d already done all that, I thought to myself; why not post it on the forums? Then we’ll get the interchange of ideas- people might potentially learn things about defensive architecture, and flaws in my design might be pointed out so I can learn new things as well. Everyone wins!
So, here it is. I’ll be building this castle from the ground up, with pictures. Something to keep in mind: This is not a quick house you throw together to keep you safe for a night. This is a massive undertaking in Infdev, probably taking the coordination of several people to get it finished in any reasonable amount of time. The end result, though, is quite impressive- a fortress suitable for defending any trade route, or a keep to protect a city.
We begin with
Phase 1- Location
First thing’s first. Where will you build your fortress? There are different schools of thought on this. Some prefer underground lairs, citing their stealth as their main defense. While they are undetectable if done right, all it takes is one enemy watching someone enter to remove that advantage, and then you’re vulnerable from all directions. Others prefer building towers on mountaintops, using their inaccessibility and line of sight as justification. They do have things to recommend them, true; but the mountain makes them quite easily mined under, and you remove any access to water being so high up.
I prefer sea-level fortresses. You can have good line of sight by building a tower, and the access to water enables several defenses (more on that later). Additionally, at least until Notch implements airplanes or blimps, you never have to worry about being attacked from above, unlike underground lairs. Finally, nothing says “I OWN THIS LAND” like a huge freaking castle.
So we’re at sea level. It doesn’t matter how far inland you are, though you should have a water source with infinite water located. Since this is Creative, I leveled a spot by hand, though in Infdev it will probably be easier to find a flat spot.
That will serve as our construction site. While we’re at it, let’s level the land around us. Nothing’s more embarrassing than having an enemy climb a tree over your walls. Even if he can’t do that, you’ll want to remove any terrain features that can be used as cover from arrows.
Before:
After:
Awesome, we have a site. Moving on to…
Phase 2- Foundation
Keeping in mind that it’s easier to build a strong fortress from the start than to build a weak one and improving it later, we’re starting heavy. We’re building from the ground up, so we need to incorporate defenses against that most insidious of attacker, the miner, into our floor.
I’ve made a foundation out of stone three meters high. I realize there are stronger materials out there, and if you’re incredibly wealthy enough to build a fortress out of steel or diamond, you go right ahead- that’s awesome. But I’m using stone. This foundation provides several advantages.
-It raises our walls up higher, which is always nice.
-If the enemy brings TNT, they’ll mostly hit floor rather than wall, which means they’ll have to fight you while jumping up, giving you an advantage.
-It enables several defensive tricks that I’ll cover later.
I realize the foundation in the picture looks rather big, but trust me; you’ll want it big. It’s smaller than it looks. Also, the bricks and dirt are just there as a yardstick.
Next, we have:
Phase 3- The Walls
Ah, walls. Every Minecrafter’s best friend. Arguably the main feature of a fortress. Despite this, walls will not kill any enemies on their own. Their main purpose is to delay attackers so you can kill them while you remain out of reach.
With this in mind, I prefer a three-layered wall. The outer layer is of stone, the middle is of sand or gravel, and the inner is, again, stone. If you were to put steel or diamond anywhere, though, the inner wall is your best bet.
Here’s a cross-section:
This way, the outer wall will resist some attacks. The sandy middle will delay attackers, as they’ll have to dig through the falling layers, then the inner will resist more attacks.
Here’s a picture of the finished walls:
Notice that by leaving the top of the sand open, we gain two advantages. First, if someone managed to sneak up on us and has cracked the wall, we’ll notice the falling sand. Second, if they do get through the sand, we have a nice hole to shoot them from above (or pour lava on them :twisted:) while they mine the second wall. That’s the reason for putting a ring of steel or diamond at eye-level in the inner wall, were you so inclined; more time to shoot them.
Discerning readers will notice a flaw in the above picture, though: There’s no gate! I’m fixing that now.
Phase 3.5- The Gate
The gate is the most vulnerable part of the walls. That’s why I’m making a couple alterations to the walls to add some protection.
I know there aren’t any doors or anything- it’s Creative. Use your imagination. :smile.gif:
I’ve extended the walls on either side of the door to funnel the enemies a bit, giving you more time… to shoot them. (Noticing a theme here?) The sand is suspended by a pane of easily shattered glass, which should block their way a bit longer.
Admittedly, the gate is a bit weak. It’s possible to seal the door with stone and mine it out every time anyone needs to enter or exit, and you might want to do that. I think that’s too much work unless you actually see an army coming, though.
You’re going to be glad you built the gate for the next part. I personally fell off five times building…
Phase 4- The Ramparts
These address a major problem with our walls. Specifically, people can shoot us when we’re on them. Here’s a picture of what we’re going for:
The ramparts should extend at least two meters out from your walls, but no more than four meters out. Any more than that is pointless and increases your ‘dead zone’ where you can’t shoot the enemy.
The outer black, as you see, has crenellations- alternating between three meters tall and a half-block. Three meters tall gives some protection from arrows to people further inside the fortress, and the half-block enables our archers to step up and fire while still giving some small protection.
If you look carefully, you’ll see a hole behind every other crenellation. In real life, these were called “murder holes”, and I find they live up to their name quite well. Their purpose is to allow you to shoot at people right up against your wall. Every other crenellation gives you enough lines of sight to cover the entirety of your walls while still giving you some crenellations to hide behind. That’s why you might want ramparts larger than 2 meters, by the way; to give you more crenellations to hide behind. (You always want the holes right up against your wall, regardless.) I realize having these holes gives enemies a convenient spot to build ladders; may I suggest pouring lava on them if they try?
Okay, walls! Woo! We have a fort! We’re not done, though.
Phase 5- The Tower
Admittedly, you don’t need a tower. I would get one, though. Having a tower gives you a better line of sight, as you’re higher up. It also gives you a place to fall back to, should the enemy manage to get inside your walls. I personally also use the tower as a way to get onto the walls in the first place, so if enemies get into the courtyard they can’t just climb your staircase/ladder to fight you on the walls.
You’ll want your tower to be at least two meters away from the interior of your walls. This way, you can shoot people in the courtyard with ease. Put the door to it on the opposite side from your gate. Every step they’ve gotta travel to get inside is good. Even if they just mine through the wall, it’s still time spent.
I don’t need to tell you the basics of building a tower, do I? :biggrin.gif:
Some notes on the interior, though. You’ll want the tower divided into rooms separated by decks, with the lowest deck being at least seven meters above the top of your wall. The reason behind this is your arm is six meters long (apparently), so if enemies get onto your walls and poke holes in your tower, they can’t jump in and start mining the floor out from under your defenders. I only made one room/deck, so the deck is actually the tower’s top, but higher rooms should be at least eight meters tall.
Here’s an example. The brick is to mark the level of the wall.
Also, see that the staircase isn’t against the wall. It is easier to build that way, but having it in the middle of the room gives the enemy climbing it no protection against…
The holes in the ceiling! There’s a stone funnel around the opening to the next deck; this is to funnel poured lava. Nothing ruins an invading army’s day quite like lava. :twisted:
The tower’s top:
The crenellations are a bit shorter; only two meters tall, as the extra meter would provide no extra protection. There also aren’t any half-blocks, as at this angle they block your archers’ lines of sight too much. In my fort, I jump from the tower’s top to the walls to access them. If your tower is taller you may want to consider building a jump-point specifically for that purpose.
So, we have a foundation, walls, and a tower. Fortress! But we’re still a bit too vulnerable to miners for my taste.
Phase 6- The Undercroft
This is that part that no one will see until it’s too late. I didn’t get good cross-section pictures of it, but here are the basics of it. You dig out a section under your foundation one meter tall and as big as your foundation. Line it with stone, then go underneath that and dig one two meters tall and lined with stone. Like this:
is stone
is dirt
[iron] is water
[iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron]
[iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron]
[iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron] [iron]
Does that make sense?
Finally, flood everything and connect them both to a source of infinite water. This right here is why I prefer sea-level bases. The best way to build it, I discovered after building it, is to make the chamber four meters deep, then make the divider at meter three. (It took me a half hour and many revisions to discover that.)
The theory is the enemy will dig towards your base. They’ll find what they think is your foundation (being made of stone). They’ll breach it… and be flooded! Frantic, they will swim up into the two-meter-tall undercroft. Finding it too big to easily block and drain, they will mine the ceiling. Mining underwater is slow work, but finally they breach it… only to find more water rushing at them! And since Notch made our player entities solid, even if they can make an air pocket in the top layer, only one person can use it. Best case scenario, they drown. Worst case, they survive but are injured. Either way, your advantage or even victory.
The undercroft’s lower level, dug out:
Sheathed in stone:
Flooded:
Almost done!
Phase 7- Finishing Up
Only two things left- the moat and the flag. I know not everyone likes moats, and admittedly they do have their pros and cons. I went with one because it was for the ‘demonstration’ castle.
It’s three meters across and three deep, with only one meter of water in it. That’s for the best- it means those who fall in are slowed by the water but still unable to simply swim out. IIRC, TNT goes out in water, which adds an additional problem for attackers. It also increases the effective height of your castle. I chose to put my moat right against my walls for that reason; you may want to put it farther out, slowing enemies before they can plant TNT or ladders.
And, the flag.
Truly, the owner of this keep owns the land around it. It would be suicidal to attack. It’s impregnable- it cannot be pregnated! Or something.
Do a victory dance and anticipate the demise of your foes, for in this castle, you are nigh invincible. Or are you? If you can see a flaw in it, please, post it below. It means I get to think of a way to defend against more stuff- and I like doing that!
Thank you for reading my article. Happy mining!
I post too much.
1. Those walls you made could be improved upon. Make the wall on the inside one block shorter than the level of sand. If the attacker stealthily digs into the sand, you can see from just about anywhere it's been breached. Lemme show you:
THEN add all your other things, like ramparts. :smile.gif:
2. You don't say how to defend yourself while you're still BUILDING it. Say you're underground making those undercroft thingys. Your base should be able to defend ITSELF, if you know what I mean, for at least two minutes. That moat? It should be wider! That way the attacker can't just build across it.... :tongue.gif:
3. Your logic about using diamond and steel walls is flawed. DO NOT, trust me. Some people like to use furnaces and stuff, and I approve that idea, ugly as it may look, because it's practical. Walls are a delay, as you said; therefore, don't use the precious minerals attacks want to BLOCK them. Else they can just sneak in, take some of the steel or diamond, and RUN. No need to break in completely.
4. You don't mention the lava/water/obsidian trick. You know, where you place a lava spring on water to make it obsidian or whatever. Obsidian is ridiculously strong and yields nothing but cobble when deleted; it's truly the utlimate wall defense. Someone recently made a guide in the indev forum about how to build them practically, so check it out. :smile.gif:
You heard that, green and red.
1. That may work. Just a suggestion for seeing the sand height difference more easily. :smile.gif:
2. It should AT LEAST be big enough that someone can't simply dirt themselves over it. It may be even better if the whole moat is surrounded in rock/furnace/whatever-the-hell. That way when the unlucky sap falls in, he can't dig out in less than ten seconds by building a staircase on the outside.
3. Lol, imagine diamond walls. You leave the map for five minutes to get some chips and a soda, and when you come back ten people are at your walls, picking away. xD
You heard that, green and red.
Contains Pachebel's Canon made with noteblocks, a working Rubik's cube made with pistons, and the ultimate TNT cannon.
Ditherliss- You can't get that much lava. That's in the same category as walls made of diamond, so I didn't bother saying that. Although I had forgotten about furnaces, I hate how they look. :smile.gif:
Zaikantos- There is no sand under the moat. If you knew that, I can't imagine what you mean. Can you explain?
Good idea! I like that improvement.
I would hope you have people defending you while you're underground, but maybe the moat should be wider. The trouble is, it takes a lot longer to dig a moat than to build a castle.
Isythos- Interesting! What he means is to put a fourth 'wall' that is nothing more than water between the sand and the inner wall. Then people couldn't put torches on it to block falling sand (which I didn't know about and hope dearly is a bug) and the water currents would push them away.
Keep 'em coming!
1. Just go into a tunnel or buy some buckets of lava from someone in a town.
2. The Furnaces would be inside of the wall, I never said you couldn't cover it up. Like I said, I left a lot out due to being tired.
I post too much.
I post a guide and in three months it gets ten replies and after several bumps it remains dead. :sad.gif: I shoulda used pictures!
Anyway, congrats on another successful guide.
You heard that, green and red.
I really hadn't thought about using lava, although I still think you would need far, far too much of it for it to be practical. Not only that, with the odd way things flow now, it would be hazardous to your own health! But the point of this fortress isn't to defend itself forever, its purpose it to make it very very easy for anyone already inside to kill people who they don't like. Now, once Notch implements traps I'll try to update my designs. :smile.gif:
Catmando- I'll go read your guide now.
This is a good idea and addresses my complaint of it taking way too much lava. I like it.
Makaroni- In the middle of the ocean is a great place to build, if you can manage it. The only problem with it- what are you guarding, exactly? If we have ships and trade I can see it being a great shipping lane protector/blocker, but otherwise it seems a bit extravagant.
You only need two lava to get an infinite amount. You can make a well thingy out of it that always replenishes.
Where = lava source and = lava spawned from source.
The same goes for water.
You heard that, green and red.
Yes, for water, but didn't Notch say he was making lava sources unable to be gotten? I assume he meant either by directly picking them up or creating them like you describe, but I may be wrong.
You heard that, green and red.
Do not wallow do not stall
Time waits for none at all
Your allowance may crawl,
It may fly or even vanish
But none will seem more lavished
Than time lost to all.
Very true. But I'm not just going to let you TNT my wall.
Besides which, if you TNT my moat you end up in... a flooded tunnel under my castle. If you build upwards and TNT me at eye-level (where most people, IMO, would), you'll still just make a small hole in my floor. And this is assuming you can get there in the first place, and not be an arrow-pincushion or a charred lavacorpse.
8-)
first of all you would have a very low chance of seeing whoever is dynamiting your wall. it could be done anywhere. second of all, TNT explodes a 5 block radius, so it won't be a "small hole".
Do not wallow do not stall
Time waits for none at all
Your allowance may crawl,
It may fly or even vanish
But none will seem more lavished
Than time lost to all.
TNT does not create a 5x5x5 hole in the Minecraft world. At best it'll remove a 5x5 region of blocks on the outermost layer, a small hole.
And yeah, this seems good. Although an idea for a lava curtain comes to mind. Basically you arrange lava in such a way that you make a wall of falling lava that falls into deep pits. There would be a five block empty area just behind the lava, so nobody can place blocks inside it. The only way to pierce through it would be using water to form obsidian, but that would look quite obvious and take a while to mine a walkway through.
I'll try to make something as an example.
or just make a bridge from where you're standing to block the lava and then pass under it.
Do not wallow do not stall
Time waits for none at all
Your allowance may crawl,
It may fly or even vanish
But none will seem more lavished
Than time lost to all.
A floating fortress in the middle of a large, deep ocean, floating several blocks above sea level (such that anyone swimming will not be able to create blocks against the walls/floor of the fortress), will be very very difficult to invade. Unfortunately, I can't think of any practical way to enter, at the moment. Well, besides a massive bridge.
Contains Pachebel's Canon made with noteblocks, a working Rubik's cube made with pistons, and the ultimate TNT cannon.