Building an automatic armadillo farm is no longer just about collecting scutes for your wolf’s armor. With the 1.21 update, these adorable mobs have become the secret to the fastest experience points in Minecraft. By using the new Infested potion effect, you can turn a single armadillo into a never-ending source of Silverfish that drop massive amounts of XP.
The trick is making the armadillo roll into a ball so it can survive hundreds of hits while the potion effect does the work. When you splash an armadillo with an Infested potion and deal tiny amounts of damage, it spawns Silverfish without dying. This clever setup can take you from level 0 to level 53 in about five minutes, making it one of the most efficient farms you can build today.
Key Takeaways
- Combine the Infested potion effect with a rolled-up armadillo to create a high-efficiency XP farm capable of reaching level 53 in five minutes.
- Automate scute collection by using redstone clocks to trigger dispensers loaded with brushes, ensuring a steady supply of wolf armor materials without manual labor.
- Utilize hopper minecarts on a rail system beneath solid blocks to automatically collect dropped scutes and prevent them from despawning.
- Control armadillo behavior by using solid enclosure walls to block threats for scute production, or intentionally using undead mobs to force a defensive state for XP farming.
Using Dispensers And Brushes For Scutes
Automating your scute collection is the best way to keep your wolf pack protected without wasting hours clicking on individual armadillos. To get started, you will need to place your armadillos in a small, contained area where they cannot move around too much. Position a dispenser facing into their enclosure and load it with several brushes to ensure the farm runs for a long time. When a dispenser is triggered, it uses the brush just like a player would, causing a scute to pop off the armadillo instantly. You can then place a hopper underneath the floor to collect the fallen items and store them in a nearby chest.
The secret to making this farm truly hands free is building a simple redstone clock to trigger the dispensers. You can create a basic repeating circuit using two observers facing each other or a simple hopper clock to send a signal every few seconds. This constant ticking ensures that the brushes are always working, providing you with a steady stream of scutes while you work on other projects. Just remember that brushes have durability, so you should check your dispensers every so often to see if they need a refill. Using unbreaking or mending on your brushes can also help extend the time between maintenance checks.
Once your redstone clock is pulsing, you will notice scutes piling up in your storage system very quickly. This setup is perfect for players who want to craft multiple sets of wolf armor for their pets or for those who want to trade with friends. By automating the brushing process, you remove the tedious manual labor and turn armadillos into a reliable resource generator. You can even expand the farm by adding more dispensers and armadillos to increase your hourly output. With a fully automated system, you will never have to worry about running out of materials for your canine companions again.
Collecting Scute Drops With Hopper Minecarts
To make your armadillo farm truly automatic, you need a way to pick up the scutes they drop without walking into the pen yourself. Armadillos will naturally shed scutes over time, but these items will eventually despawn if they stay on the ground for more than five minutes. By placing hopper minecarts on a rail system directly beneath the blocks your armadillos stand on, you can catch every single drop the moment it appears. This setup is perfect for players who want to stock up on wolf armor materials while they work on other projects around their base.
Setting up the collection system is simple and only requires a few basic redstone components like powered rails and chests. You should build a flat platform for your armadillos and then dig out a space one block lower to lay down your tracks in a zigzag pattern. A hopper minecart is essential here because it can pull items through a full solid block, unlike a standard hopper. Once the minecart is moving, place a hopper at the end of the line that feeds into a large chest to keep your inventory organized and ready for crafting.
This automated method saves you the hassle of manually brushing your armadillos or constantly checking the floor for loose items. Because the minecart runs continuously, you can leave the area and come back later to find a chest full of scutes waiting for you. This is the most efficient way to gather the items needed for your wolf army without any extra effort. Just remember to keep your rails powered with redstone torches so the minecart never stops its loop.
Keeping Armadillos Safe In Savanna Biomes
Building a productive armadillo farm in the savanna requires you to understand how these creatures react to their surroundings. To keep your armadillos from rolling into a ball, you must ensure they feel completely safe from threats like undead mobs or sprinting players. When an armadillo gets scared and hides in its shell, it stops moving and slows down your scute production. You can prevent this by using solid blocks for your enclosure walls to block their line of sight from nearby zombies or skeletons. Providing a calm environment ensures they stay unrolled and ready for your brushes or automated collection systems to work effectively.
Your enclosure design should focus on a small, controlled space that limits movement without causing the mobs to feel cramped. Using a simple 1×1 or 2×2 area with a hopper underneath is a great way to catch scutes if you are using a dispenser and brush setup. You should also consider placing a piece of carpet or a slab over the hopper to keep the armadillos standing at the right height. This layout makes it easy to automate the scute gathering process while keeping the armadillos in a permanent state of relaxation. By maintaining this peaceful setup, you can craft all the wolf armor you need without ever having to manually click a single mob.
If you are looking to maximize efficiency for an XP farm, you can use the armadillo’s defensive state to your advantage instead. By placing an undead mob behind a glass pane, you can force the armadillo to stay rolled up and protected while you apply the Infested status effect. This allows the armadillo to survive many small hits, which triggers the spawning of silverfish for massive amounts of experience. Whether you want scutes for your pets or levels for your enchantments, the key is controlling exactly when and why your armadillos decide to tuck away. Proper lighting and secure walls are your best tools for keeping your farm running smoothly throughout the day and night.
Start Your Easy Armadillo Scute Farm
Building an automatic armadillo farm is one of the best ways to upgrade your experience without the constant grind of manual harvesting. By using redstone clocks and dispensers with brushes, or even the newer Infested potion method for XP, you can sit back and watch the resources roll in. These designs ensure you have a steady stream of scutes coming into your storage chests while you focus on building or exploring. You will no longer have to wait around for armadillos to drop their items naturally or click on them repeatedly. It is a true set and forget project that adds massive value to your survival base.
Once your collection system is running, you can finally craft enough wolf armor to protect every single pet in your kennel. This armor is a massive improvement because it lets your wolves survive tough battles against skeletons and creepers that used to be deadly. You can confidently take your furry friends into trial chambers or dark forests knowing they have the best protection possible. Having an endless supply of scutes means you can even dye the armor different colors to give your pets a unique look. Your adventures will feel much safer and more fun with a protected pack by your side.
Whether you built this farm for the armor or the incredible experience gains from the silverfish mechanic, you have mastered an essential part of the 1.21 update. These machines show how simple redstone and mob behaviors can be combined to make your life in the game much easier. You can now spend your time exploring distant biomes or learning how to build an automatic raid farm instead of worrying about resource management. Keep an eye on your hoppers to make sure they do not overflow with all the new loot you are generating. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a fully automated scute supply and a safe team of wolves.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I get experience points from an armadillo farm?
You can get tons of XP by splashing an armadillo with an Infested potion and dealing small amounts of damage. This causes Silverfish to spawn constantly while the armadillo stays safe in its shell. You can reach level 53 in just five minutes using this method.
2. How do I make the armadillo stay in its ball shape?
Armadillos roll into a ball when they feel threatened, such as when you hit them or if there are undead mobs nearby. Once they are rolled up, they can survive hundreds of hits from your sword or tools. This protective state is what allows the Infested potion trick to work without killing the mob.
3. What do I need to automate scute collection?
You need to place your armadillos in a small pen with a dispenser facing them. Fill that dispenser with brushes and connect it to a redstone clock so it clicks automatically. A hopper placed under the floor will pick up every scute that drops and put it into a chest for you.
4. How do I keep the farm running without touching it?
The best way to make the farm hands-free is by building a redstone clock using two observers facing each other. This creates a fast, repeating signal that tells the dispenser to keep brushing the armadillos. Just make sure to check your dispensers occasionally to replace any broken brushes.
5. Will the brushes in my dispensers eventually break?
Yes, brushes have durability just like pickaxes and will break after several uses. You can make them last much longer by enchanting them with Unbreaking III before putting them in the dispenser. If you want a truly permanent setup, you will need to manually refill the dispenser with new brushes every few hours of playtime.
6. Why should I use a hopper under the armadillos?
Using a hopper is the easiest way to gather your loot without having to walk into the pen yourself. It sits directly beneath the block the armadillo stands on and pulls the scutes through the floor. The hopper then moves those items into a large chest so you can collect them whenever you need to craft wolf armor. If you want to expand your resource production even further, you should also learn how to build an easy iron farm to supply your hoppers and rails. You can even use these materials to build a cool automatic armor swapper to change your gear instantly.