The most common method of killing hostile mobs in a mob farm is through a drop. No brainer one would think... but I happen to be trying out skyblock and iron is very scarce.
So, ideally I'd like a method to kill and collect the drops that is less resource intensive.
The following comes to mine:
1) The ideal option... is there a block that will kill the mobs but let the items fall through? (then I could use a water flow below to direct the items to a single hopper and chest.
2) Failing that, what other method allows killing the mobs and flushing the goods to a single hopper/chest?
If you place a hopper in a minecart, it will strangely suck items down through one block (of any sort) as it rolls on the tracks below it. Not sure if that saves a whole lot of iron and other resources or not, depending on the size of the floor. It's not a glitch and is a very common method of collecting mob drops. You then need a hopper unloading station:
The video has both loading an unloading stations, but if you're using it to collect mob drops on the floor above the rolling minecart, you'll just need a way to get them out of the minecart hopper, and that's what the unloading station is for.
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I designed a solution to this in my own skyblock world. It uses a single iron ingot, but you also need 7 pieces of redstone. Thankfully witches make those cheaper than iron.
When a mob falls, it trips the tripwire hook, closing the fence gate. They die from fall damage, and then it opens again letting the items fall below.
I've tested it, and it doesn't break when you drop multiple mobs through. It will just keep the gates closed.
You'll need to make a few tweaks for it to support spiders though. I usually block spider spawning in my mob grinders since they tend to get stuck and string isn't all that important, even in skyblock.
Also, the glass and andesite can be any solid block you want. I used glass for visibility, but cobblestone or planks would work fine.
TheDeviantCrafte's solution looks particularly good, but I need to think of a way to adapt it to a 3x3 drop shaft (I use a 3x3 in order to have the water extend to the outer ring of blocks (with signs) so that everything, even spiders, goes splat.
Maybe a ring of gates, a water flow below, and a cactus to nail anything above the water that survives.
But I am still hoping that there might be something simple for a 3x3 shaft that works with just one hopper.
I also discovered that I might need to extend the drop, even with a 25-30 drop the witches are surviving... grr.
I wonder if it is possible to do a lava blade in 1.12.2 that doesn't destroy drops. Or maybe switch to a drowner.
If you can go to the Nether, a floor made out of magma blocks will kill the mobs standing on it...then you can have your flow of water on top of it, to drain all drops.
The only mob that magma blocks won't kill is witches. This in itself is not a bug, as witches can easily drink potions fast enough to avoid dying, but due to a related bug regarding how Minecraft deals with "busy" mobs it means witches will never despawn while trapped on top of magma blocks.
If you can drop them in a small space, say 2x2, then your solid floor could be attached to sticky pistons. A trip wire and a delay chain of repeaters could retract the floor just after the mob hits the ground and dies. Then under the floor you could have a water stream to carry the drops to a hopper.
The most common method of killing hostile mobs in a mob farm is through a drop. No brainer one would think... but I happen to be trying out skyblock and iron is very scarce.
So, ideally I'd like a method to kill and collect the drops that is less resource intensive.
The following comes to mine:
1) The ideal option... is there a block that will kill the mobs but let the items fall through? (then I could use a water flow below to direct the items to a single hopper and chest.
2) Failing that, what other method allows killing the mobs and flushing the goods to a single hopper/chest?
If you place a hopper in a minecart, it will strangely suck items down through one block (of any sort) as it rolls on the tracks below it. Not sure if that saves a whole lot of iron and other resources or not, depending on the size of the floor. It's not a glitch and is a very common method of collecting mob drops. You then need a hopper unloading station:
The video has both loading an unloading stations, but if you're using it to collect mob drops on the floor above the rolling minecart, you'll just need a way to get them out of the minecart hopper, and that's what the unloading station is for.
My short story-like journals; quick-and-easy reads:
My Quest for Elytra Complete! (Pic Intense, End-Game Spoilers)
[Journal & Pics] After a Year and a Half, I Finally Found a Jungle
FrozenCore: Hardcore Death; 3/20/15 to 5/3/15; Eight Weeks on a Frozen World in Pictures
I designed a solution to this in my own skyblock world. It uses a single iron ingot, but you also need 7 pieces of redstone. Thankfully witches make those cheaper than iron.
When a mob falls, it trips the tripwire hook, closing the fence gate. They die from fall damage, and then it opens again letting the items fall below.
I've tested it, and it doesn't break when you drop multiple mobs through. It will just keep the gates closed.
You'll need to make a few tweaks for it to support spiders though. I usually block spider spawning in my mob grinders since they tend to get stuck and string isn't all that important, even in skyblock.
Also, the glass and andesite can be any solid block you want. I used glass for visibility, but cobblestone or planks would work fine.
Thanks to both,
TheDeviantCrafte's solution looks particularly good, but I need to think of a way to adapt it to a 3x3 drop shaft (I use a 3x3 in order to have the water extend to the outer ring of blocks (with signs) so that everything, even spiders, goes splat.
Maybe a ring of gates, a water flow below, and a cactus to nail anything above the water that survives.
But I am still hoping that there might be something simple for a 3x3 shaft that works with just one hopper.
I also discovered that I might need to extend the drop, even with a 25-30 drop the witches are surviving... grr.
I wonder if it is possible to do a lava blade in 1.12.2 that doesn't destroy drops. Or maybe switch to a drowner.
maybe try a end rod. It is the narrowest solid block available.
as above the a fence gate closed by a tripwire with a torch to keep it open when no mob is there would be best
If you can go to the Nether, a floor made out of magma blocks will kill the mobs standing on it...then you can have your flow of water on top of it, to drain all drops.
The only mob that magma blocks won't kill is witches. This in itself is not a bug, as witches can easily drink potions fast enough to avoid dying, but due to a related bug regarding how Minecraft deals with "busy" mobs it means witches will never despawn while trapped on top of magma blocks.
Oh I see...Well, then maybe witches would be the only mobs Mehcraft would have to kill... a bit of xp there.
If you can drop them in a small space, say 2x2, then your solid floor could be attached to sticky pistons. A trip wire and a delay chain of repeaters could retract the floor just after the mob hits the ground and dies. Then under the floor you could have a water stream to carry the drops to a hopper.