Cannons are multiblock structures that fire explosive projectiles, that can be fired from y level 46 and above.
¶ Movecraft Cannons
Most cannons are designed to be used on specific Movecraft vehicles (aka ‘crafts’). The Weapons HUD is special panel that shows information on the state of your craft's cannons.
Firepower is a unit used to limit the total amount of cannons that can be mounted on a craft. Each craft's Firepower Limit determines the maximum Firepower that all of the craft's cannons can have, and it is listed in each respective Craft Class page.
¶ Ground Cannons
Other cannons can be used without Movecraft. There are divided into two types:
- Defense cannons can only be fired from inside non-peaceful towns.
- Wilderness cannons can be fired from unclaimed land. These are used to attack non-peaceful towns during sieges.
Cannons cannot damage peaceful towns nor be fired from inside them.
¶ Sieges
Non-peaceful towns can be damaged by cannons during sieges if any of its defenders are close to the town. However, most cannon damage to towns will be automatically repaired after the siege ends.
¶ Cannon Types
There exists a variety of cannons you can use for different purposes. Each cannon has its own requirements and projectiles that can be loaded in.
A cannon's (Maximum) Range in this page is calculated by firing a projectile horizontally at 45 degrees vertical angle, from and to the same y level. Each projectile fired will not always be consistent in distance travelled due to projectile spread.
The position of cannons' blocks is exact for building cannons, and is shown in all screenshots below. On the other hand, the orientation of these blocks does not matter when building the cannons themselves, and is only indicative here for aesthetic reasons.
¶ Basic Cannons
These cannons can generally be used on the ground or on a select few lesser craft. When built on the ground, they can only be fired from inside Non-Peaceful towns.
Please note the Tripwire Hook limit of 3 per chunk.
¶ Small Cannon
A basic, antique cannon. Exclusive to the Cog, Caravel and East Indiaman.
Firepower: 1
Cannon ID: cannon
Requirements:
- 3x Black Wool
- 1x Stone Button
- 1x Tripwire Hook
- 1x Torch
Projectiles:
- Cobblestone
Range: 150 m
Any reload chest must be filled with gunpowder as well as cobblestone.
¶ Large 57mm Artillery
Powerful land defense cannon.
Firepower: 4
Cannon ID: 57mmArtilleryL
Requirements:
- 1x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 5x Stone Brick Wall
- 2x Iron Block
- 2x Iron Bars
- 1x Tripwire Hook
Projectiles:
- Armor-Piercing
- Incendiary
- Shell
Range: 150 m
¶ Field Gun
Versatile field artillery that can be piloted as a FieldGun Movecraft vehicle (/pilot FieldGun), which allows it to be moved. It can be fired from Wilderness. Trucks can mount Field Guns.
The Field Gun is the only cannon that can fire canister shot, an anti-personnel projectile.
Firepower: 5
Requirements:
- 8x Andesite Stairs
- 4x Stone Brick Wall
- 4x Stone Brick Slab
- 2x Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Brick Stairs
- 1x Oak Stairs
- 1x Tripwire Hook (place behind the Oak Stairs)
Projectiles:
- Armor-Piercing
- Canister Shot
- Incendiary
- Shell
Range: 200 m
¶ 240mm Artillery
A powerful cannon that can be used from Wilderness. A wide variety of cannon projectiles can be used with it.
Firepower: 6
Cannon ID: 240mmHowitzerL
Requirements:
- 8x Stone Bricks
- 6x Stone Brick Wall
- 4x Stone Brick Stairs
- 3x Light Gray Concrete
- 1x Iron Bars
- 2x Chain
- 1x Tripwire Hook
Projectiles:
- Armor-Piercing
- Incendiary
- Shell
Range: 300 m
¶ Howitzer
Ultra-long range indirect fire artillery. Fires shells at a minimum vertical angle of 45°. It is the only cannon that can fire HE, Shrapnel and Observer projectiles. The Howitzer can only be fired from Wilderness.
The Howitzer must be loaded with gunpowder before firing. Loading more gunpowder increases the Howitzer's range (up to a maximum of around 500 blocks), but also its temperature.
At high temperatures, the Howitzer can explode. The Howitzer will slowly cool down by itself, but right-clicking it with ice will accelerate this process. The Howitzer's temperature and explosion chance can be checked by right-clicking it with a gold nugget.
The Observer projectile is a special projectile exclusive to the Howitzer that makes its operator follow the projectile until it impacts the ground. Upon impact, the operator is teleported back to the Howitzer. This is extremely useful for adjusting aim at long ranges.
Trucks can mount Howitzers.
Requirements:
- 10 Stone Brick Slab
- 3 Smooth Stone Slab
- 1 Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 4 Iron Bar
- 2 Iron Block
- 3 Stone Bricks
- 1 Tripwire Hook
- 2 Stone Brick Wall
- 2 Stone Brick Stairs
Projectiles:
- HE Shell
- Smoke Shell
- Flare
- Observer (load a spyglass)
- Shrapnel
¶ Target Assist
Manually aiming a Howitzer can be a cumbersome affair, even with the help of Observer projectiles. Target Assist was added to make this process less tedious. It will automatically adjust the Howitzer's aim to a set of given coordinates, provided it is within the Howitzer's range.
To use Target Assist:
- Type
/targetassist set <x> <y> <z>. - Punch every Howitzer that you want aimed at the target.
Angles calculated by Target Assist may deviate from those necessary to precisely hit the position by a few degrees, meaning some manual adjustment can be required.
¶ Anti-Air Gun
The Anti-Air Gun has a big vertical angle for taking out enemy aircraft, but is limited horizontally. Please note that this cannon is entirely separate and different from Anti-Aircraft Dispensers that launch fireballs.
Firepower: 0; Craft have separate limits for this cannon.
Cannon ID: AntiAirGun
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x Stone Bricks (above the Observer)
- 6x Stone Brick Stairs
- 1x Iron Block
- 1x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Button
- 2x Iron Bars
- 3x Grindstone
- 6x End Rod (2 on each Grindstone)
Projectile: Anti-Air Ammunition
¶ Craft Cannons
These cannons can only be used on battle-tier craft classes that are piloted. They are loaded with exclusive projectiles to each cannon.
Please note that, when manually tearing down Craft Cannons, they cannot be destroyed by breaking the barrel, but only the base (typically the Observer). This does not affect ship combat.
¶ 4-Inch Gun
Can be used on the Aircraft Carrier, Corvette, Destroyer, and Submarine.
Firepower: 10
Cannon ID: 4InchGun
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x Iron Block
- 1x Stone Bricks
- 1x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Button
- 3x Stone Brick Wall
Projectile: 4-Inch Shell
¶ 9-Inch Gun
Can be used on the Cruiser.
Firepower: 12.5
Cannon ID: 9InchGun
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 3x Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Brick Slab
- 1x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Button
- 1x Iron Block
- 4x Stone Brick Wall
Projectile: 9-Inch Shell
¶ 12-Inch Gun
Can be used on the Cruiser and Dreadnought.
Firepower: 20
Cannon ID: 12InchGun
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 3x Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Brick Slab
- 1x Stone Brick Stairs
- 1x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Button
- 2x Iron Block
- 5x Stone Brick Wall
Projectile: 12-Inch Shell
¶ 14-Inch Gun
Can be used on the Dreadnought.
Firepower: 25
Cannon ID: 14InchGun
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 3x Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Brick Slab
- 1x Stone Brick Stairs
- 1x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 1x Stone Button
- 3x Iron Block
- 5x Stone Brick Wall
Projectile: 14-Inch Shell
¶ Fighter Gun
Exclusive to the Fighter.
Cannon ID: FighterGun
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x Stone Brick Stairs
- 2x End Rod
Projectile: Fighter Gun Magazine (holds 25 rounds)
¶ Fighter Autocannon
Exclusive to the Fighter. Fires more slowly than the Fighter Gun, but inflicts more block damage.
Cannon ID: FighterAutocannon
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x Grind Stone
- 1x End Rod
- 1x Chain
Projectile: Fighter Autocannon Magazine (holds 15 rounds)
¶ Heavy Tank Cannon
Exclusive to the Heavy Tank.
Cannon ID: HeavyTankCannon
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 2x Iron Block
- 2x Stone Bricks
- 7x Stone Brick Wall
Projectiles:
- Heavy Tank Shell
- Incendiary Shell
¶ Infantry Fighting Vehicle Cannon
Exclusive to the IFV.
Cannon ID: IFVCannon
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 2x Iron Block
- 2x Grindstone
- 3x End Rod
- 1x Chain
Projectile: IFV MG Magazine (holds 40 ammo)
¶ Tank Cannon
Exclusive to the Tank.
Cannon ID: TankCannon
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x Iron Block
- 2x Stone Bricks
- 5x Stone Brick Wall
Projectiles:
- Tank Shell
- Incendiary Shell
¶ Tank Machine Gun
Exclusive to the Tank.
Cannon ID: TankMG
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x Stone Brick Stairs
- 1x Oak Fence Gate
- 1x End Rod
Projectile: Tank MG Magazine (fires 40 rounds one after another at a rate of 5 per second)
¶ Bomb Bay
Exclusive to the Bomber. Drops bombs vertically downwards.
Cannon ID: BombBay
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 2x Polished Deepslate Stairs
- 1x Grindstone
Projectile: Bomb
¶ Missile Launcher
Main article: Guided Projectiles
Exclusive to the Bomber. Fires missiles which can be either unguided, or guided using /lockon.
Cannon ID: MissileLauncher
Requirements:
- 1x End Rod
- 1x Lightning Rod
- 1x Oak Fence Gate
Projectile: Air-Launched Missiles
¶ Flare Launcher
Main article: Guided Projectiles
Exclusive to the Fighter and Bomber. Fires flares that distract locked-on missiles. Since locked-on missiles are only enabled on the Creative server, this does not yet have a use on Nations.
Cannon ID: FlareLauncher
Requirements:
- 1x Observer
- 1x End Rod
Projectile: Flares (5 flares each item)
¶ Projectiles
Cannons can be loaded with a large variety of projectiles to fire at enemies and structures. Their recipes can be found under the “CCNet Explosives & Ammunition” category of the Slimefun guide. Cannon projectiles are used for battlefield control, whereas hand grenades are effective in player-to-player combat. Cannon projectiles can also inflict damage and negative effects to friendly players.
Most cannon projectiles and hand grenades inflict Shell Shock, a negative effect. Shell Shock triples the damage a Shock class gun deals on-hit. Players will glow while shell-shocked, allowing them to be more easily identified by enemies. The duration is lowered with each block away from the impact and in the Shell Shock Radius.
Cannon projectiles are either of two types:
- Explosive projectiles are used to deal damage to structures and/or enemies.
- Effect projectiles inflict special effects.
Effect durations are based on distance from impact, maximum durations listed below.
| Type | Name | Explosion Radius | Shell Shock Radius, Duration (point blank range) |
Description |
| Basic Cannon Projectiles |
||||
| Explosive | Cobblestone | 5 | 8, 8s | Basic explosive projectile. |
| Explosive | Shell | 4 | 16, 16s | Upgraded explosive projectile. |
| Explosive | High Explosive (HE) Shell | 4 | 18, 20s | Upgraded explosive projectile; more destructive variant of the Shell. |
| Explosive | Armor-Piercing Shell | 8 | 16, 14s | High-tier explosive projectile; a precise shell that penetrates up to 4 blocks in order to deal deep damage to craft, walls, and enemies. Effective against Terracotta armor on piloted craft. Effects: Shell Shock II 6s. |
| Explosive | Anti-Air Ammunition | 5 | - | Loaded in the Anti-Air Gun. |
| Explosive | Canister Shot | 4 | 3, 5s | High-tier explosive projectile; a precise, anti-personnel shell that deals high damage to players. If it fails to make contact with a block quickly, it may explode mid-air within 3 seconds. |
| Effect | Incendiary Shell | 5 | 12, 18s | Sets players and flammable structures on fire. |
| Explosive |
Shrapnel Shell |
|||
| Craft Cannon Projectiles |
||||
| Explosive | 4-Inch Naval Shell | 7 | - | Loaded in the 4-Inch Gun. |
| Explosive | 9-Inch Naval Shell | 8 | - | Loaded in the 9-Inch Gun. |
| Explosive | 12-Inch Naval Shell | 6 | - | Loaded in the 12-Inch Gun. |
| Explosive | 14-Inch Naval Shell | 6 | - | Loaded in the 14-Inch Gun. |
| Explosive | Tank Shell | 8 | - | Loaded in the Tank Cannon. |
| Explosive | Heavy Tank Shell | 10 | - | Loaded in the Heavy Tank Cannon. |
| Explosive | Fighter Gun Magazine | - | - |
Loaded in the Fighter Gun. Each Magazine holds 25 ammo. |
| Explosive | Fighter Autocannon Magazine | - | - |
Loaded in the Fighter Autocannon. Each Magazine holds 15 ammo. |
| Explosive | IFV MG Magazine | 2 | - |
Loaded in the Infantry Fighting Vehicle Cannon. Deals no block damage. Each Magazine holds 40 ammo. |
| Explosive | Tank MG Magazine | 2 | - |
Loaded in the Tank Machine Gun. Deals no block damage. Each Magazine holds 40 ammo. |
¶ Cannon Control
¶ Loading
A cannon needs a projectile, and in some cases, gunpowder, in order to fire. If the cannon requires gunpowder, it has to be loaded in before a projectile and pushed by using Iron Bars (right click) on the barrel.
To load the cannon, hold the projectile or gunpowder, and right click on the barrel.
¶ Aiming
Aiming is the adjustment of a cannon's firing angle, meaning the yaw and pitch (also called aiming angles). Angles may have negative and positive values to indicate where the barrel is currently aiming vertically and horizontally - in addition, Glass indicators may show up while aiming, to approximately indicate the firing angle, and Glowstone indicators for the approximate calculated projectile destination. If both the vertical and the horizontal angle are zero, the barrel is aiming at the center, as it was built in the world.
For the vertical angle (pitch):
- Zero angle means the cannon is aiming toward the horizon.
- Positive angle means the cannon is aiming upward.
- Negative angle means the cannon is aiming downward.
For the horizontal angle (yaw):
- Zero angle means aiming neither right nor left.
- Positive angle means the cannon is aiming toward the right.
- Negative angle means the cannon is aiming toward the left.
There are 3 modes of adjusting the aiming angles of cannons.
1) Manual Adjustment Mode
Vertical angle
Interacting with the front, back, above, and below faces of the blocks on the cannon let you adjust its vertical angle aim in 0.5 degree increments.
- Right click to add 0.5 degrees (aim an increment higher).
- Shift + Right click to subtract 0.5 degrees (aim an increment lower).
Horizontal angle
Interacting with the right face(*) of the blocks on the cannon let you adjust its horizontal angle aim in 0.5 degree increments.
- Right click to add 0.5 degrees (aim an increment to the right).
- Shift + Right click to subtract 0.5 degrees (aim an increment to the left).
Interacting with the left face(*) of the blocks on the cannon let you adjust its horizontal angle aim in 0.5 degree increments.
- Right click to subtract 0.5 degrees (aim an increment to the left).
- Shift + Right click to add 0.5 degrees (aim an increment to the right).
(*): Left and right faces of the cannon, when looking at the back of the barrel (the same direction the barrel is looking toward, as it was built).
2) Clock Aiming Mode
Right click on the cannon while holding a Clock to enter aiming mode.
When aiming mode is enabled, holding the Shift key will adjust the cannon's aiming angles in bigger or smaller increments, depending on your pitch and yaw from the current angle. Clock adjustment is faster than manual adjustment.
To exit aiming mode, walk away from the cannon or right click on it again while holding a clock.
3) Cannon Aiming Director Mode
This feature is explained below, in the “Multiple-Cannon Control” section.
¶ Firing
After adjusting the cannon's aim, and loading a projectile and/or gunpowder in it, you are ready to fire it. There are three ways to fire a cannon (firing modes).
1) Manual firing
Right click the trigger (Tripwire Hook on Basic Cannons / Button on Craft Cannons).
For cannons that do not have a trigger, use the other two firing modes.
Redstone firing is currently disabled for lag-related reasons.
2) Redstone firing
Create a redstone clock and connect it to the trigger, or if there is no trigger to the Observer, with Redstone Dust. The wiring has to be at least 2 Redstone Dust long.
The cannon will keep firing for as long as the redstone clock is active and there are projectiles and gunpowder loaded in its Reload Chests.
3) Multiple-Cannon firing
This feature is explained below, in the “Multiple-Cannon Control” section.
¶ Auto-Reloading
For non-Manual firing, it is highly recommended to use Auto-reloading.
Attaching a single Chest or Barrel (Reload Chest) to the cannon and loading it with the cannon's necessary gunpowder and appropriate projectiles, allows the cannon to reload itself first upon attempting to fire. On Craft Cannons, the Reload Chest is placed anywhere next to the Observer, except the back where Redstone is emitted.
Auto-reloading with Redstone requires an active redstone clock connected to the trigger, and fully automates the reloading and firing processes.
¶ Multiple-Cannon Control
This feature allows you to control all cannons on your piloted craft at once. For multiple-cannon aiming, the aiming angles for all cannons are adjusted toward the exact angles you are looking toward, provided the aiming angles are valid for each cannon. For multiple-cannon firing, multiple-cannon aiming happens automatically before attempting to reload and attempting to fire all cannons that were successfully adjusted, reloaded from an available Reload Chest, and do not have blocked barrels.
Cannons that are aimed outside of their valid aiming angles, will not be adjusted, fired, or affected by multiple-cannon control. Messages about multiple-cannon control are sent through the Action Bar (above your hotbar).
If you use this feature regularly, it is recommended to always type /aim all after piloting a craft with cannons, as your cannon type option is saved through piloting sessions.
There are two methods of multiple cannon control:
1) Using commands.
/aimattempts to adjust all cannons' aiming angles. Holding it aims continuously./fireattempts to adjust all cannons' aiming angles for, reload from an available Reload Chest, and fire all cannons once.
2) Using a normal Clock.
- Right clicking while holding the Clock attempts to adjust all cannons' aiming angles. Holding it aims continuously.
- Left clicking while holding the Clock attempts to adjust all cannons' aiming angles for, reload from an available Reload Chest, and fire all cannons.
- For Fighter Guns, IFV Cannons, and Tank Machine Guns specifically, these mechanics are different. Holding down right click with a Clock in your hand attempts to adjust the aiming angle for and fire all cannons automatically exactly where you are looking toward. It will also reload the cannon if the ammo has run out and there is an available Reload Chest. This is the prime method of firing these cannons due to the fact that their magazines hold multiple ammo, while the
/firecommand fires only one. Left clicking has no further use.
By default, using multiple-cannon control will attempt to aim and/or fire all cannons of all types on your piloted craft. However, you can have the ability to situationally control all cannons of a specific type, if your craft class can hold multiple cannon types. The mechanics here are similar to the ones of multiple-cannon control on all cannons, described above.
1) Using Cannon Aiming Directors. Cannon Aiming Directors allow you to select the cannon type through commands and/or signs on your craft.
- For the Cannon Aiming Director signs, place down a sign anywhere on your craft and type
Aiming Directoron the first line, and the cannon ID on the second line. Then, right click on the sign to enter Cannon Aiming Director Mode. To exit Cannon Aiming Director Mode using the sign, right click on one that hasallwritten on its second line.
- For the Cannon Aiming Director command, typing
/aim (cannon ID)attempts to adjust the aiming angles for all cannons of the specified type; and/fire (cannon ID)attempts to adjust the aiming angles for, reload from an available Reload Chest, and fire all cannons of the specified type once. Additionally, after using Cannon Aiming Director signs to select a specific cannon type, typing only/aimattempts to adjust the aiming angles for cannons of the specified type you have selected. To exit Cannon Aiming Director Mode using the command, type/aim all(where you are facing when executing the command does not matter for exiting the Mode).
2) Using a renamed Clock.
- Rename a Clock to any valid cannon ID of the cannons that you want to control. A valid renamed Clock allows you to control cannons of the specified type in its name, by using that Clock. Right clicking while holding the Clock attempts to adjust the aiming angles for all cannons of the type specified in its name. Holding it aims continuously. Left clicking while holding the Clock attempts to adjust the aiming angles for, reload from an available Reload Chest, and fire once, all cannons of the type specified in its name.
¶ Magazine Explosions
When containers (such as chests, barrels, etc.) that store cannon projectiles/ammunition are exploded, they will trigger an additional explosion.
The secondary explosion's strength depends on the amount of projectiles stored in the container.