Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, community sites named in the text and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Cannon Accuracy, Compression and Efficiency
Accurate cannons line every TNT up exactly before firing, usually by pushing it against a block to cancel its random prime motion. Efficient cannons get the most push per TNT by keeping boosters close to the projectiles and the path between them clear. Outside exploits, each propellant adds at most about 1 block per tick.
What are compression and separation?
Compression moves TNT into its launch position, using gravity, pistons and flowing water. To stop the random drift TNT gets when lit, it is pushed into a wall so its motion is cancelled. Separation keeps different groups apart, for example propellants and projectiles, or one shot and the next. Tools include pressure plates that close a trapdoor once a TNT arrives, and flaps that open for a moment to let one batch through.
How is TNT moved inside a cannon?
Either as a block or as an entity. TNT blocks cannot pass redstone signals, and often have to move while the player is still loading. Pushers may use zero-tick pulses to keep loading smooth, and moving the TNT furthest from the player first lets the player reload sooner. TNT entities are best moved in compressed batches.
How precise can alignment get?
- Pixel precision: pushing TNT into blocks of different widths or dropping it onto blocks of different heights aligns it to 1/16 of a block, or 1/32 with chains and lily pads.
- Subpixel precision: TNT is 0.98 blocks wide, so the side you push it from gives differences of 0.02 blocks, and unpushed TNT sits mid-pixel for 0.01 differences. Floating-point quirks can go far finer.
- Boats: pushing TNT into boats aligned by minecarts gives extreme precision anywhere, but boats must sit 8 or more blocks from propellants in reusable cannons.
- Motion alignment: water streams, bubble columns and TNT falling through powder snow move TNT consistently, so changing the exposure time shifts its position predictably.
Shooting straight or bouncing the TNT makes aiming easier; changing direction in mid-air usually costs accuracy. More modes mean more setup, so builders aim for just enough.
How do you make a cannon more efficient?
- Add propellants and keep their explosion centres close to the projectiles.
- Avoid bounces, propellants cancelling each other, blocked exposure rays and propellants sliding on the ground.
- Remove projectiles that do nothing; more projectiles often make a worse cannon. Scatters are known to be inefficient.
Higher efficiency makes cannons smaller, less laggy and, if loaded by hand, faster. Physics: explosion mechanics and how TNT works.
Where should beginners start?
Get a basic cannon working first on TNT cannons explained, then add one alignment trick at a time. The vocabulary is on cannon terminology.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a TNT cannon accurate?
Push each TNT against a block before firing so its random prime motion is cancelled, and shoot as straight as possible.
How much can one TNT push another?
About one block per tick at most, according to minecraft.wiki's efficiency guide.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.