Digging a moat

[Mr. Self Destruct]

I found a farm that I decided to make my base. It's near the large group of homes for when I need supplies, near a water source, and has a large amount of corn right next to it so I have plenty of food. I've been fortifying it, and with the exception of a few large hordes that came through, which I killed with my rifle and axe, there are only a few stragglers now and then that I can easily kill. I've built my home inside the attic, and have placed extra fortified doors that the zombies will have to break through before they can get to me, so I feel pretty safe at the moment.

So what I'm doing now is digging a moat around the farmhouse, and I've built a large supply of wood spikes to place in the bottom to kill anything that falls in.

My question is, how deep does the hole need to be so that the zombies can't just easily climb back out? I've got half the moat built right now 4 blocks deep. I'm not sure if that's deep enough, or if I need to keep going.

Another question, is there something better than the wood spikes I could use that would cause extra damage? They seem to break after about 10 seconds.

[Gearz]

Try using log spikes, and 4 blocks should be deep enough
Your welcome if this helped.

[EvilKlown]

^Log spikes + upgrade them twice (you will need some planks and metal strips I believe, as well as a repair tool, or a stone axe which can repair items).

[Mr. Self Destruct]

Thanks for the answers and tips.

[EvilKlown]

No problem. I also built a moat and a spike pit. So I figured the only right thing to do would be share what I found lol.

[Kalex]

Currently most zombies can only jump 1 block up with the exception of spider zombies who can climb quite high unless there is a full block overhang.

[Mr. Self Destruct]

So I got bum rushed by the biggest horde I've ever seen. 8 dogs, 12 bees, and about 30 zombies, including 3 cop zombies. I died once, but my moat slowed enough of them down that I could take them all out eventually.

Big problem now. The zombies dug a little in my moat, I went and refilled those holes, but they keep reappearing now. making my moat pretty useless, cause they can just walk right out now. Is this a bug, or does the ground erode in this game?

[krzosu18]

well you might try to fill holes with for eg wooden blocks

[Kalex]

Bug. The player placed dirt has a habit of collapsing as soon as grass starts to grow on it. It has been reported.

[Mr. Self Destruct]

That's what I ended up doing, placing wood blocks where the dirt kept breaking. Glad it's a bug rather than a game design, it can be fixed then. Thanks

[zoikwild]

Replace those dirt walls now instead of waiting for zombies to tunnel deep under your base. Empty holes under houses weakens it's foundation and will likely make it collapse.

[Smilodon]

It's a realistic feature. My dog digs holes in our yard. I fill them in. 10 minutes later, the dirt is out of the hole in a little pile next to it. See? Realism.