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The thing about Redstone circuits is that you can make something as complicated as you want to make it, and that’s not what we’re listing below. Here we will note a few of the most popular, and easily replicated, uses of Redstone circuitry. What we’re not listing is the sort of crazy, high-end, self farming fields and monster farms that you’ll find around the great world web – those things would require a walkthrough all of their own just to describe.

Doorbell

Why?

Iron Doors can be rigged to only open from the inside via a mechanism of a home so what better way for a player to signal a desire to enter than via the medium of sound?

How?

The simplest doorbell requires you to link a button to a note block. Easy.

More complicated setups ask for the use of a split in the wire along with a repeater set to a time delay along one of the strands – this means that after pressing the button the wire will immediately tell one block to sound but the other ‘line’ of wire will wait a second or two before passing the message to its own block. By doing this you can achieve the typical ‘ding dong’ sound effect, and even that is but the tip of the iceberg.

The best place to build a doorbell is underneath the door, running the Redstone ‘inside’ the wall, down underground.

Secret Switches

Why?

A good way to keep unwanted guests out is to hide away your door mechanisms from their prying eyes. Plus it’s just cool, y’know?

How?

You can do this in a number of ways, from inner buttons that must be shot with an arrow to underground levers or concealed pressure plates. However it’s activated you’ll want to lay the Redstone wire underneath the ground, linking the door and the discrete mechanism from underneath.

Pitfall Trap

Why?

Perhaps you want to pray on your friends, perhaps you want to catch offguard monster as they amble towards your home, either way the Pitfall trap is functional and entertaining.

How?

There are a few variations on this but they all revolve around linking a mechanism to a trapdoor. From buttons to pressure plates just before the pitfall to tripwires, this is a typical, amusing and versatile trap. You’ll want to run the Redwire through the walls of your building, ensuring that it’s hidden from view. This might mean a long loop and it might be essential to use a repeater to boost the signal if it is too long, but it’s the most discrete method and with a trap like this, discretion is the key to success.

Booby Trapped Chest

Why?

The Trapped Chest object exists expressly for Redstone abuse because, honestly, who likes unscrupulous scallywags trying to steal their swag? No-one, that’s who, so make their presence felt through use of the Trapped Chest.

How?

You’ll want to run a wire from behind the chest, looping around ‘behind’ the room so as not to make anyone aware of your schemes. Popular setups involve the typical trapdoor, but more mischevious players might hide a lava flow above the chest, held back by trapdoor, only to have it dumped on the would be looter on activation. You might want to consider some sort of ventilation system if you’re thinking this far ahead, but the timed nature of the Chest’s Redstone pulse does mean that the Trapdoor will close, stopping the flow after a while.

Explosive Cannon

Why?

Because launching TNT is fun, that’s why. Is there a more amusing way to decimate the landscape? No. No there isn’t.

How?

Simple really. Just make a repeater cannon and hook it up to a power source. This isn’t a trap so placing it over the land is fine and personally we like a level for activation. It feels particularly satisfying. Boom!

Video - Interesting Applications of Redstone Wire

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Microsoft Game Studios
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii, Wii U, XB 360, XB One
  • Genre
    Sandbox, Survival
  • Guide Release
    18 May 2013
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    James Bowden

Share this free guide:

  • The best way to survive your first night - optimise your time.
  • Key items, valuable techniques and advise on how best to advance through the game.
  • Information on over 150 natural, crafted and smelted items.
  • Construction ideas for novice players, including castles and ‘Hobbit Holes’.
  • More than 45 minutes of helpful, narrated video showcasing survival basics, monument building, trap construction.
  • Explanation of Redstone and its varied application in gadgets such as trapdoors and doorbells.
  • Essential graphical mods to make the PC version of Minecraft look and run better than ever before.

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