Island Defense

Island Defense

Whether you are a kind colonist, or a timid pirate, defense will come in handy. Someone will always be there to foil your plans. Here are some easy ways to make a stand when your island is under siege.

Walls Walls are a good way to keep anything bad out. Walls will also limit the directions in which you can be attacked. It is best to use landlord or towny to protect your walls no one one can get in easily. Please read Using Landlord  to protect your walls. This will force any invaders to have to blast cannons through your walls to get in. A good wall is usually 4-5 blocks thick and covers your entire island. Here is a good example of wall coverage:

Portcullis

With the portcullis plugin, it is possible to create nice looking gates into your island. They can be operated from a redstone lever accessible from the inside walls, preferably. Here is a good tutorial regarding the creation of a portcullis. The actual tutorial starts at 1:08.

Cannon Defense

Cannons are not only a good offense, but a very good defense. This is why having thick walls is another good idea. While they can take a few cannon blasts, they are also good for returning fire. This gives you an advantage. While ships can sink, your island cannot.

You will need: Place one iron block down, and another in front of it. Place a button on each end of the cannon. Then, place a torch on top of the "back" iron block. Then place a sign on the side of the same block. The text will fill itself in automatically. (This is also how to create a cannon for a ship.)
 * 2 Iron Blocks
 * 2 Stone Buttons
 * 1 Sign
 * 1 Torch

Firing a Cannon

Firing a cannon is fun and very satisfying. You will need a stick, 1-3 gun powder, and 1 cobblestone to fire off one round.

First, you will need to scour the cannon. Do this by right clicking a cannon with a stick. You should have to do this 10 times. This will clean your cannon. Then, load up your cannon with 1-3 gunpowder by right clicking. More gunpowder will shoot the cannonball further, but putting in more than 3 gunpowder will cause your cannon to explode. After that, right click 1 cobble stone into the cannon.You will then have to push the cobble into the cannon by right clicking with a stick. You can aim the cannon by right clicking the right, left, or front side of the cannon. A right click will raise the vertical angle up by 1, and a shift right click will lower the vertical angle by 1. Aiming on the left and right sides will allow you to move the direction of the cannon ball. Right click the torch when you are ready to fire.