Mob Traps

[myrkana]

In the year I've played btw I've never made a mob trap bigger than a small 5x5 with 2 saws for killing :/ how do you go about making a really effective one using pre-end tech? Anyone have some mob farm photos I can look at or some links explaining how to make one?


any help is appreciated as I'm a complete mob trap noob >...>

[Western-Knight]

I like a large checkerboard-style spawning area with cobble and vine-trap holes above a large waterflow leading into your killing area. Can be almost any size/dimension you want and it's simple.

If that design's been made obsolete by a recent update I apologize.

[whitechaos35]

I posted this image in the EmeraldCrack thread.

Spoiler

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Like Western-Knight, I like a simple checkerboard layered trap.

[Yhetti]

snip

This is how I normally do mine, but I never put pillars, may I ask, why the pillars?

[erikdk321]

Making it wide is more important than making it tall since chunks also have a mobcap, i normally dont make checkerboard patterns because spiders gets stuck.

[FlowerChild]

Making it wide is more important than making it tall since chunks also have a mobcap

Errrr...can you please backup statements like that? You seem to be falling into a nasty habit of creating false rumors about how the mod and/or MC work by stating your personal assumptions as fact.

I've never seen *any* indication in the code that there is any chunk-based spawn cap, and by now, I'm more than a little familiar with how it works.

[whitechaos35]

snip

This is how I normally do mine, but I never put pillars, may I ask, why the pillars?

Spiders require 3x3x1 (x by z by y) air blocks centered on the spawning block. The pillars prevent spiders from spawning. Keeping spiders from spawning has a number of advantages, such as higher throughput (since the spiders like to climb the walls) and a higher probability of iron equipment dropping.

[erikdk321]

To be honest, i have nothing to back it up, im really sorry, i know i should have :/ Ill make sure to research in the future, this is something i was told by someone on a server im playing on atm. Again sorry :/

Edit: Found some infomation about it on the wiki, i might have misunderstood it though, but if i understand correctly, what i said earlier is true.

[FlowerChild]

Edit: Found some infomation about it on the wiki, i might have misunderstood it though, but if i understand correctly, what i said earlier is true.

Then link it man. References are your friend.

[erikdk321]

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Spawn#Mobs
Scroll down a little and you'll see some matematic things, again, im probably missunderstanding things and should shut up.

[jkievlan]

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Spawn#Mobs
Scroll down a little and you'll see some matematic things, again, im probably missunderstanding things and should shut up.

I see what you mean -- the mob cap is based on the "total number of chunks eligible for spawning" -- but remember, that's not just chunks in your mob trap, that's the total number of chunks within a 17x17-block square around you, the player. That's a good reason to light up that area both aboveground and underground (to restricts spawns to the inside of the trap), but not a good reason to spread out your mob trap.

On the other hand, keep in mind that if the system attempts to spawn a mob in a lighted area, it will simply fail (i.e., it doesn't seek out a valid location). That means that a small trap might not fill the mob cap (due to not receiving enough spawn attempts), so there's a lot of value in having a large enough mob trap to fill the cap.

[magikeh]

To be honest, i have nothing to back it up, im really sorry, i know i should have :/ Ill make sure to research in the future, this is something i was told by someone on a server im playing on atm. Again sorry :/

Edit: Found some infomation about it on the wiki, i might have misunderstood it though, but if i understand correctly, what i said earlier is true.

I believe that what you are referring to is about the height of chunks rather than the cap per chunk. Back when Mojang increased the build height in VMC they changed the spawn mechanics of mobs, so that each chunk above the 128 layer (i believe) was disregarded for the spawning algorithm IF and only if there are no blocks (other than air) within that upper chunk. Therefore, when the spawn algorithm goes to do a random check of the available spawning blocks, there is a higher chance that a block within your trap will be chosen. Also since the spawning algorithm loops only through the XZ plane of chunks, if your trap is built Below y=128 (and there are no other interfering blocks) it will have better spawn rates.

A good place to start learining about it is from JL2579, here is his video where he talks about the relation of height and mob spawns.

PS: Myr, watch the whole video. Its put together very well and it'll help you in making a decision on what type of trap you want to make.

[erikdk321]

Thanks for correcting me guys

[FlowerChild]

Thanks for correcting me guys

There's no shame in making mistakes or making assumptions man. We obviously can't take the time to verify every single piece of information we come across in life. What I find is dangerous, and what is a personal pet peeve of mine is when people state opinions as fact, as it has a tendency to cause them to spread where I may even wind up hearing others stating the same thing months later after repeated attempts at corrections. In day to day life, I'm actually immediately suspicious of people that have a tendency towards stating things as fact, and wind up taking everything they say with increased suspicion as a result. It frankly makes me feel like they're trying to continually con me.

You'll notice how often I include things like "I think" or "I assume" or "I heard" in my own writing. This isn't just a figure of speech or a result of my particular mannerisms, but rather is the intentional result of me labeling information based on its level of quality as a specific warning to the reader when I'm not 100% certain of something or I have yet to verify it. If I state something as outright fact, you can be pretty certain I've seen it with my own eyes and/or have taken the time to verify it's really the case.

It's also why I always try to jump all over stuff like this when it happens, as I know there are many more reading these forums than participating in them, and that they may very reasonably take statements phrased as fact at face value.

Anyways, just to say that clearly stating something as what you *think* to be true, rather than as what is actually true goes a long way in avoiding confusion and unintentional misinformation.

[Yhetti]

snip

This is how I normally do mine, but I never put pillars, may I ask, why the pillars?

Spiders require 3x3x1 (x by z by y) air blocks centered on the spawning block. The pillars prevent spiders from spawning. Keeping spiders from spawning has a number of advantages, such as higher throughput (since the spiders like to climb the walls) and a higher probability of iron equipment dropping.

I figured it had something to do with spiders, I just never realized that it would get me more iron, I may do this now. I already have way too many spider eyes.

[jkievlan]

You'll notice how often I include things like "I think" or "I assume" or "I heard" in my own writing. This isn't just a figure of speech or a result of my particular mannerisms, but rather is the intentional result of me labeling information based on its level of quality as a specific warning to the reader when I'm not 100% certain of something or I have yet to verify it. If I state something as outright fact, you can be pretty certain I've seen it with my own eyes and/or have taken the time to verify it's really the case.

Well said.

[Mr_Hosed]

For really low tech, I usually just build a 1 chunk tower to level 124 with 4 3x3x1 pads separated by 2 block wide drop channels on all sides (including outer). Using wood, you can keep building this bugger up over time. Sometimes I'll add a half-slab to the middle of each pad (columns aren't necessary) to stop spider spawns. I usually only use these traps for 40-80 hours of gameplay before upgrading to a flush style trap. I'm sure there's some sweet spot ratio of spawn locations per chunk over X # of chunks, but I've never felt a need to optimize it.

My favorite design is the flush style traps. You build 2 spawning pads 7x32 with a 2 wide drop channel between them. On the outer wall you trap water source blocks from the ocean behind pistons. When the pistons are retracted the water should flow to the very edge of the pad, but not into the channel. Every couple of minutes you retract the pistons to flush all the mobs off the spawning pads into the drop channel. On the bottom layer you can create a water canal to feed the mobs into a 2x2 wall of saws. Stupidly large amounts of loot. You can also go above level 64 with this if you have screw pumps, but it's a LOT of screw pumps.

[FlowerChild]

Man, I really need to boost spider drops :P

[ExpHP]

PS: Myr, watch the whole video. Its put together very well and it'll help you in making a decision on what type of trap you want to make.

Did you? Did you reach this part?

It appears that the 128 thing is also old information that keeps propagating around. At some point, the algorithm began to only consider the highest occupied multiple of 16. I played around with this a bit, and it appears to be work this way in 1.5.2 (a mob spawner built entirely under y=16 in an empty world will slow considerably when blocks are present at y=100 in the chunk or adjacent chunks).

[magikeh]

Did you? Did you reach this part?

It appears that the 128 thing is also old information that keeps propagating around. At some point, the algorithm began to only consider the highest occupied multiple of 16. I played around with this a bit, and it appears to be work this way in 1.5.2 (a mob spawner built entirely under y=16 in an empty world will slow considerably when blocks are present at y=100 in the chunk or adjacent chunks).

:D Excellent! Ive been corrected!

[Mason11987]

Man, I really need to boost spider drops :P

I've never really found spiders in my traps to be much of an issue, and I've never built to avoid them, so I'm not sure why people build traps to avoid them so often.

I just do a big grid of platforms with vines between and a 2x2 or maybe 3x3 hold which everything falls into, and at the bottom water pushes mobs into a 2x2 or so wall of saws, the spiders can't clog anything up that way.

[DiamondArms]

Man, I really need to boost spider drops :P

I've never really found spiders in my traps to be much of an issue, and I've never built to avoid them, so I'm not sure why people build traps to avoid them so often.

I just do a big grid of platforms with vines between and a 2x2 or maybe 3x3 hold which everything falls into, and at the bottom water pushes mobs into a 2x2 or so wall of saws, the spiders can't clog anything up that way.

Spider drops are undervalued compared to other mobs. Zombies(iron equipment), Creepers(oysters for diamond ingots) and skeletons(bones, bows and arrows) are usually more preferred outputs. String and eyes are comparatively less useful, as string is not usually needed in large amounts(i've yet to see mass uses for tripwires and stakes) and brewing poisons and inverse potions are optional. Bane of arthropods is also kind of specialized as it's better for specific uses, e.g. clearing out mineshafts and jungles. Smite, Projectile protect and blast protect, on the other hand, are good for more common( and more dangero-*boom*) enemies.

[EmptyNight]

Spider drops are undervalued compared to other mobs. Zombies(iron equipment), Creepers(oysters for diamond ingots) and skeletons(bones, bows and arrows) are usually more preferred outputs. String and eyes are comparatively less useful, as string is not usually needed in large amounts(i've yet to see mass uses for tripwires and stakes) and brewing poisons and inverse potions are optional. Bane of arthropods is also kind of specialized as it's better for specific uses, e.g. clearing out mineshafts and jungles. Smite, Projectile protect and blast protect, on the other hand, are good for more common( and more dangero-*boom*) enemies.

Plus bows can be converted into string.

[Dorugami]

I don't really value creepers for the oysters, more for the explosive nitre I think. Spider eyes are just hook bait and string's not much of an issue.

[DiamondArms]

I don't really value creepers for the oysters, more for the explosive nitre I think. Spider eyes are just hook bait and string's not much of an issue.

Nitre's useful too, but explosives are ultimately optional. Not to say it's not a commonly desired piece of technology...

Thing about hookbait is that there are other items that fill this function. mobfarms produce all of them. unless you have an extensive sugar plantation and/or spare diamonds, you are going to have a decent amount of rotflesh and oysters to bait your rod with.

Plus bows can be converted into string.

that too. and in decent quantities. Faster than I can use them anyway.