Making a base can be a long and exhaustive task. This guide was made to give a few tips and tricks on how to build the best base while being time efficient.
Basics
The main objective behind a base is to protect both spawner and custom block value for as long as possible in order to place high on /f top.
Faction bases often include "boxes", usually a 1x1, 2x2 or larger, chunk sections of the base that is given to members of the faction. This is usually at the discretion of the faction leader. It is in these boxes where grinders and custom blocks are typically stored.
It is important to have a competent base to make Raiding as hard as possible for enemies. The outer shell (blocks that the base is made of) of your base should be made out of Obsidian, as Obsidian has a durability value of 4, meaning it takes 4 instances of explosions to break an obsidian blocks.
Defense
A defense is a countermeasure a faction puts in place to deter or delay raiders with the goal to buy themselves some time.
Vanilla cobblestone generation is disabled on CosmicPE to preserve server performance, therefore defences on CosmicPE are much simpler than on Java faction servers. "Regen" defences are completely disabled meaning the most effective base defence on CosmicPE is wraps.
"Wraps" simply refer to a layer/wall of blocks that wrap around the entirety of the base with a watered 1 block gap between wraps. At Y:0 slabs are placed in between these gaps to prevent sand stacking.
Faction Shield
/f shield.Every faction is entitled to a daily 8-hour shield window. During this period, base claims (including the core claim) are protected from explosive damage. Custom blocks and spawners cannot be mined or exploded in protected claims 1 hour before until 1 hour after the window. Base claims can neither be unclaimed nor overclaimed during the shield window.
A shield can be configured to begin at any minute of the day. Once configured, the shield automatically commences daily. Timings and status are visible to all members by running /f shield. Timings cannot be reconfigured from 1 hour before until 1 hour after the shield window.
Shield is intended as a basic protection to cover hours of low member availability when live counter defense is not feasible. It does not protected against insiders. Raid claims and premium claims are not protected by shield. Base claims created during an active shield are not protected.
Base Defences & Guidelines
In accordance with Faction Rules, bases can be a maximum of 15x15 chunks in size. This refers to the main shell of the base (typically made with obsidian), it does not include the defences.
The "buffer" can extend up to 20 chunks from the base. A buffer refers to the area outside of the main shell, where defences are normally placed.
In total, the maximum size a base + buffer can be is 35x35 chunks.
Factions are permitted ONE sand wall per chunk in their buffer. Sand walls can be placed next to each other so long as they are both in different chunks.
Base interiors are NOT permitted to have any typical base defences aside from reverse layers (revs). Factions are permitted a maximum of 10 watered reverse layers.
Building Process
The most ideal place to make a base is in one of the four corners of the overworld. This cuts down the amount of basework in half, as two whole sides of the defences do not need to be made.
Once a suitable place has been found to create a base, the first objective is to "trench". Trenching simply refers to clearing out a large area, usually 35x35 chunks, from Y:O to Y:256 in order to build a base. Previously, trenching had to be done by hand, however in October 2024 Chunk Busters were added, speeding up the trenching process. Chunk Busters clear the chunk of any existing land, and can be found on /shop -> "Base Grind".
Once the area has been cleared, it is important to make an outline of the base and it's defences at Y:0. This way, base sizing and compliance with the rules can be ensured, as well as maximum protection. /f map can be used to calculate base sizing, or the "Highlight Sub Chunks" option can be enabled in /settings to count manually.
Once the outline has been made, the base can be created. "Gen Buckets" can be used to alleviate the amount of manual block placement. Gen Buckets generate a specific block in a specific direction at a rate of 8 blocks/second. Block type and direction can be specified when being bought in the "Gen Buckets" section in /shop.