How to Have a Safe Shelter in Minecraft

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

Imagine that you're having a perfectly enjoyable experience playing Minecraft, when your bliss is cut short by a mob attack. Zombies, Endermen and creepers that plague the game can easily ruin your day. What you need is a good sturdy shelter to keep you safe and happy!

Steps

1
Replace wooden doors with iron doors Hard or Hardcore mode. In either one of these settings, zombies can break down wooden doors.
2
Light up the area around your house. Hostile mobs like creepers, zombies, and skeletons can't spawn somewhere where it is too bright.
3
Build some walls around your house. Make them three high with a one block over-hang so that spiders can't get over.
4
Put a moat of water around your house. Make the water flows away from your house to push away enemies. Dig the moat at least 3 blocks deep to trap mobs in there.
5
Have a watchtower to spot mobs from in your shelter. You can also create rooftop so you can snipe the mobs from above with a bow and arrows.
6
Have a bunker under your house to go to if your house is invaded. Keep it stocked with armor, weapons and food.
7
Always have a second way out of your house: preferably underground.
- If you are building an underground escape route, make sure it's properly lit with torches.
8
If you're good with redstone, hook up a trapdoor bridge over your moat.
9
If you're really serious about defending your shelter consider putting in some flood gates to flush out Endermen who teleport into your base.
10
If you can, keep some cats. Creepers are afraid of cats and this will keep them away. Keep some dogs, too, so you can kill off any mob who manages to enter your house faster.
11
Put a one-block-wide moat of lava around your house. You'll be able to easily jump over the moat if it's only one block wide, but mobs will just fall in, because they keep walking towards your house. For extra security, you could put this moat a little closer to your house than your water moat, in case any mobs succeeded in getting past the first one.
12
Don't leave windows open. If you have any windows in your house, fill them with glass so skeleton arrows don't come through.
13
Remember the golden rule of PVP (player vs player). If you don't have the advantage, run! If your house is invaded, don't go up against them with a wooden sword and half hunger.

Community Q&A

Question

Are there blocks safe from being blown up by creepers?

Community Answer

Yes. Cobblestone is pretty creeper-resistant. You might just get a one block hole in the wall.
Question

How do I keep my dog from getting killed

Community Answer

To keep your dog/wolf from being killed, always ensure they have full health before you attack a mob. Check the height of the tail to determine their health. If it is straight up, they have full health, if it is really low, their health is low. Use meat to regenerate health.
Question

Is there a block that's safe from endermen so they won't take it?

Gerbillover

Community Answer

Endermen can't pick up cobblestone, stone, wood, or most building materials. They mostly only pick up natural blocks like plants, grass, dirt and sand.
Question

Can Endermen open doors?

Entity303

Community Answer

Endermen can’t open doors, but they can teleport to the other side of them.
Question

Can a cat attack tamed wolves?

September Kordelewski

Community Answer

Not if they are tamed. They would have no reason to attack because tamed cats are under your control. The cat would attack wolves if they were hostile (those wolves have red eyes). They can also attack creepers, which is very useful because wolves don't.
Question

How do I keep all enemies out of my house?

Community Answer

Endermen usually spawn at night. If you don't want them to go into your house, don't make your house over two blocks in height. To prevent other mobs such as creeper, zombie, skeleton, you can make walls from your house. You should use cobblestone.
Question

Can the redstone torch stop the spawning of mobs?

Community Answer

It can stop the spawning of some mobs. Other mobs still manage to spawn.
Question

Is it possible to kill an enderman with only water?

Gerbillover

Community Answer

Yes, but it's very hard because they will teleport away from the water when it hits them. However, they tend to just outright die during rain if there is no shelter.
Question

If I only have wood, what formation should I use to build the house in survival?

Banana Head

Top Answerer

First, if the wood is in blocks, convert all the wood that you will use for building to wooden planks. Build a small house that has a 3 x 3 floor, 2 blocks high, then roof. Use the rest of the wood to build a wall 1 block off the ground. This will stop zombies, skeletons, and creepers from getting close to your house. 2 blocks high is enough for you to move around, but will protect against enderman.
Question

Would it work to have a water moat 5 blocks and a lava one 5 blocks if I'm in creative? And do any mobs break bricks?

Banana Head

Top Answerer

Creepers can break blocks by exploding, zombies can break down wooden doors on hardcore mode, and enderman can pick up blocks and teleport them away. The lava moat will certainly help burn mobs that try to cross it.