Starting this list is a simple moat with a fence wall that can easily keep the smaller mobs at bay. While the build can be done to have a perimeter on all sides, the waterway is what allows this area to be defended while also not wasting materials and time on an otherwise adequate perimeter wall. The spikes also pose as an added layer around the moat knocking any enemy who manages to hop out of the moat both and creating a vertical barrier as well as a damaging horizontal one, perfect for many low to mid-level mobs. Should you not have a large waterside protecting parts of the base, consider doing the full moat if you have the time and resources.

This build is what happens if you utilize the ‘raise ground’ function of a hoe. This method may be heavy on Stone, but that is a fairly easy resource to get if you source it efficiently. Back to the base, the perimeter is set up circularly, with the wall also being a circular shape. If that wasn’t enough, the actual base is also in the moat, making it look like an island of sorts, and for any would-be mob, that means going through two types of walls, which for this game, usually one would be enough. With all the wood saved on the perimeter, it’s only a fence and its support beams are what you need to repair if ever it gets mob or weather damaged, making for a reliable defense area for any form of attack.

For the more traditional build, this four corner castle is as classic as you can get, making for a reliable build for what a castle is.

With the whole thing being a square area with circular towers, the castle we have here is sturdy and straightforward in its design, perfect for those who just want a castle to add to their world and do not want to do a lot of design work. A disclaimer to this build is that this build was done with a free mode command, but seeing how it’s done, it’s still possible to build in normal scenarios, but it will take a lot, and I mean a lot, of stone. Once you work out the logistics of the stone, next would be the rations of Iron, but that’s also what makes this build such a good defense plan in the first place. Again, the scale of this build will be tough to accurately recreate in a normal playthrough, but downsizing it to a more personal level may be more than enough for you to survive a modest to a large wave of strong enemies, and that’s better than pulling the whole earth for a nearly empty castle.

This is one castle that is so high up in the Mountains that virtually a few enemies are even willing to get you as they’ll need to navigate various cliffs and paths to even chase you. While this is an impressive build that is high on defense, it’s largely made on a god-mode command, making the normal building of it very difficult, even impossible.

If you wish to make a 1-1 recreation, then you’ll be enjoying massive walls, high cliffs, and winding paths that can aid you in terms of keeping any Drakes or Wolves at bay, as they are the most common mob you’ll find here. Should that be the case, they’ll be easy to deal with as the aforementioned walls and tall structures allow you to dodge attacks from both land and up above via Wolves and Drakes respectively. With that said, this is a huge task to build, and even bigger on Stone, but at least you’ll be beyond well-protected when the ice mobs hit.

If you want to take the complex castle route, this is one example that has great value in terms of efficiency in design.

While castles can be barren at most in terms of usage of the land or structures they are in, this one maximizes the space allotted by the build to create a multipurpose complex that has the shape of a fort. Inside the perimeter are supposed aesthetic choices such as crops, but as the video mentions, it can be turned into a little farm for personal needs as well as a coal making area for all the ores you’ll collect. Towards the inside parts of the castle, they are sectioned off to different functions, where one can be a treasure room, the other, a room serving as your personal quarters, and one as a blacksmith/workstation area for your metal repairs.

Function-wise, it’s jam packed with stuff like the steps leading to the balconies having smartly integrated portals for easy travel, a room that leads to your Longship for water traveling, and a Lox farm at the side to get meat or tame for riding that adds to the functionality a survival mode build should offer. This build is as efficient as it is clean to look at, with items being relatively easy to get with it mostly being the stone needed to make the stone walls and general shape of the base and that makes this castle build idea something to consider when building a function heavy base for your Viking.

A simple high wall base with a twist, as the wall is so high up, it needs a dedicated rampway to get into the base. This base defense is done using commands and god-mode but given it’s a bigger version of a typical fortress, it’s not entirely impossible to do in a live, vanilla survival world. Back to the base, the ground for the actual complex that the base protects is raised, making a natural wall against even the biggest of enemies, like the Troll. If that isn’t safe for you, the base of the raised wall also has stakewalls, which are generally big, but gets dwarfed when compared to the wall you created by raising/digging the ground.

Speaking of digging, the ground also is dug up a bit, making a tiny moat making the base even higher, and that should more than cover any mob you’ll encounter. The entire base is made from Stone, also adding a durable layer for the small area you house things in. The stairs are the only possible weak point, but they can be repaired and replaced, which can also be said with the angled steak walls flanking the sides of the stairs. This is overkill at its finest, but for anyone paranoid about a raid, overkill is good.

Creating a tiny circular base is easy when you have an equally circular moat protecting you against enemies. Unlike the previous entries where the opening is either a piece of wooden floor or a dedicated bridge, this one encourages you to go to the waterside against a fairly steep banking entrance, making mobs go an unfavorable route that you can use to get away from. Other than that the standard formula is still applied, that being a deep moat for mobs, some high wooden Steakwall encircling the house built. This one has a fair bit more margin to walk from moat to fencing, so you can theoretically put workbenches, plant crops, or anything you’ll need low space for.

This is another example of what a simple setup would look like, with this particular example being a more raised four-corner base. The trench for the moat is far higher than the one at the start of the base, while the entry is a simple, flat wooden floor flanked with two spikes that help narrow the entrance and it can be destroyed at any possible time, making for another possible way to control a wave of mobs. Due to the trench also being on a hill, one side is also near impossible to climb up as it’s about 2-3 times taller than the main entrance side, also helping with a possible Troll raid. Other than that, it’s the usual formula for a good base, which is decent space, usability, and a fair number of materials used. 

If you need to go overkill on the defense, then a solid Stone wall should do the trick. This massive wall is entirely a Stone construction at its perimeter with anything inside being the same formula as a moat plus a tall wooden stakewall. This is a resource and time-consuming process as depending on how large your base is, it may be either a whole morning or a whole day’s work, which is fine if you have the time, or help to do such a build. The gate also is a reassuring filter for mobs as they both have a simple Wooden Door and a more lavish Iron Gate located at the entrance.

The style is also interesting as the wall is formed around the perimeter with the elevation of the biome in mind, making for an aesthetic shape that also gives a mini-view of the space around your massive fortress. If you want to make this one yourself, do consider the size of the area you want as, again, it can be the difference between completing the fortress or wasting time on making a weak wall, but when those random mob events do happen, expect to have a clear way to funnel them into their dooms.

The most interesting castle build is surprisingly possible to build in normal gameplay.

The best defense is something you just can’t hit, and by making the area you reside in ‘float’, you can be outright safe with this build. Sure, the limitation is dependent on what remains of the area you picked, but it should be just enough for a minimalist kind of space. Just make sure you put your portal entrance and exits in well-protected areas as that’s the only way you’ll escape without falling to your death. It’s a clear sign that says no mob is welcomed, and maybe other Vikings for that matter, so prepare to be on your isolated island and shoot down enemies from afar.

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