EASY AUTOMATIC MOB FARM | 1100+ DROPS Per HOUR
A multi-layer automatic mob farm using scare mechanics from villagers, cats, and dogs to funnel hostile mobs into a kill chamber. Can be stacked multiple times for increased rates, and optionally upgraded with a soul sand elevator for an AFK XP farm. ---
Key Concepts
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| Scare mechanic | Mobs (creepers, zombies, skeletons) are frightened by cats and dogs, causing them to move toward the kill chamber |
| Mob spawning cap | Mobs spawn within 128 blocks of the player; AFKing 128+ blocks above the lowest chest pushes the cap toward the farm and away from caves |
| Stackable design | Each floor is identical — the roof of one layer becomes the floor of the next; double resources per additional layer |
| Carpet spider-blocking | A carpet prevents spiders from spawning within a 2-block radius; placement in a "V" pattern rather than corners is more effective |
Notes
Required Materials (Per Layer)
- 2 stacks + 10 of any builder block
- 44 slabs (any type)
- 24 trapdoors
- 6 carpets
- 2 water buckets
- 2 villagers, 2 cats, 2 dogs (tamed/sitting; no name tags required)
- 4 signs, 1 lava bucket, 2 hoppers, 2 chests, light sources
- 10 stacks of slabs (craft with stonecutter: 5 stacks of blocks → 10 stacks of slabs)
- 9.5 stacks of builder blocks
- 1 water bucket + 2 stacks of kelp
- ~half stack of filter blocks (prevents zombie burning)
- 3 trapdoors, 3 hoppers, 2 chests
Building the Lower Villager Pod
- Dig a 3×2 trench, 2 blocks deep
- On one corner of the pit, dig down 2 blocks on each side — this is the villager's standing spot
- Build angled walls outward (diagonal 1-2-3, then a 3-wide back wall) on both sides
- Enclose the back with a solid wall
- Raise the villager's platform to 2 blocks high
- Line the entire interior top with slabs
- Place trapdoors on the **lower half of the top block** (not upper half) to contain the villager without blocking mob sight lines
- Use a minecart rail to deliver the villager into the pod
Placing Cats and Dogs
- Dog: place behind the central back wall using 3 trapdoors arranged in a circle; close all trapdoors to secure
- Cat: placed in its own enclosure similarly using trapdoors
- Both must be in **sitting** mode
Carpets (Spider Prevention)
- Place carpets in the 4 outer corners + 1–2 front corners
- If spiders still spawn in the center, switch from corner placement to a **"V" pattern**
- Carpets block spider spawns in a 2-block radius
Upper Villager Pod (Second Layer)
- Build sidewalls 3 blocks high from the lower roof
- Roof the lower villager creates the floor for the upper farm level
- Upper villager pod is 3 blocks offset from center, 2 blocks wide, with a back wall
- Trapdoor placement mirrors the lower level
- Fill in the floor, add slabs on top, then repeat entity placement (villager, cat, dog via minecart)
Stacking
- Stack as many layers as desired — each additional layer doubles required resources
- Creator reports running 8–9 layers in a test world with strong results
Kill Chamber
- Located beneath the farm
- Dig out: 7-block run → drop 1 block → 6-block run → drop 1 block → 6-block run
- At the end, dig out a working room, drop 1–2 blocks more
- Place chest to the outside with a hopper feeding into it
- Use a transparent block (glass, stairs) above the chest for access
- Place signs on either side of the hopper, then 1 block out and 1 block up for the next signs — lava sits on these signs
- Place a solid block above the lava to prevent mobs from swimming up
- Add water source at the front to flush mobs toward the lava
Roof Construction
- Come 6 blocks out from each corner of the farm
- Build up to the correct Y-level (2 blocks above the top of the farm)
- Fill entire area with **lower-half slabs** to create a dark spawning surface
Lighting the Surroundings
- Place torches **8 blocks back from each corner** of the farm on both sides
- Place 2 torches under the bottom slab edge
- This raises ambient light level enough to prevent mobs spawning outside the farm while keeping the farm interior dark (light level 6–7)
AFK XP Upgrade (Soul Sand Elevator)
- Build down into the ground from the kill chamber area
- Create a small "cat chamber" at the base with soul sand and water flowing out the back to pull mobs in
- Run a soul sand elevator up to the AFK platform
- AFK platform should be ~120–128 blocks above the lowest chest
- Mobs are funneled up and into a confined area for the player to kill manually for XP
Efficiency Tip — Corner Sight Lines
- Zombies spawning in corners may not detect the villager quickly
- Fix: replace corner blocks with **slabs or outward-facing stairs**
- This gives mobs a clear line of sight to the villager immediately upon spawning
Creeper Farm Compatibility
- Adding trapdoors in specific spots converts sections to **creeper-only** spawning
- Creator runs 3 creeper-only sections alongside general mob sections in the same structure
Actionable Takeaways
- Use a stonecutter to convert 5 stacks of blocks into 10 stacks of slabs for the roof — saves significant resources
- AFK at least 128 blocks above your lowest chest to maximize spawns inside the farm
- Place torches 8 blocks from each farm corner to suppress outside spawning without lighting up the farm interior
- Replace corner floor blocks with slabs or outward-facing stairs to immediately give spawned mobs line-of-sight to the villager
- Test carpet placement in a "V" configuration (not just corners) if spiders keep spawning in the center
- Stack layers using double resources per additional floor for dramatically higher drop rates
Quotes Worth Keeping
Any mobs will spawn within a 128-block radius of the player — if you go up 128 blocks above your lowest chest, you have a better chance of all your mobs spawning in the farm as opposed to all the caves and everything else around it.
At least within the snapshot... creepers are still afraid of cats.