Ironclad Thunder Tank

Quickstart

1. Craft the Ironclad Thunder Tank:

1. Place it in a clear area. Placing the tank item automatically builds its full display structure.
2. Right-click any part of the displayed tank. The structure converts into a rideable tank and mounts you automatically.
3. Craft ammunition, then right-click the tank while holding a shell to load it.
4. Look toward your target and press right-click with an empty hand to fire.

The Ironclad Thunder Tank Mk2 is available in the Combat section of the Creative inventory. Place and activate it the same way.

While riding:

• WASD drives the tank.
• W moves forward, S reverses, and A/D strafe.
• Look around to aim the turret and turn the tank.
• Press J to switch ammunition while the cannon is empty.
• Press right-click to fire a loaded shell.
• Press your sprint key, Left Ctrl by default, to dismount.

Overview

Ironclad Thunder Tank adds two large, rideable armored vehicles. Each tank begins as a placed display model made from many connected parts. Right-clicking the display transforms it into a controllable tank entity.

The tank HUD shows:

• Current ammunition and whether the cannon is loaded
• Speed
• Armor health
• Driving and firing instructions in first-person view

Mounting automatically switches you to rear third-person view. Your previous camera perspective returns when you dismount.

What It Adds

Only one player can ride a tank at a time.

How To Use

Place and activate a tank

Place either tank item where you have enough room for its complete model. The item places the tank's connected display parts automatically and orients the model based on your facing direction.

Right-click any part of the completed display to:

• Remove the display structure
• Spawn the matching rideable tank
• Mount the player who activated it

Leave the area above and around the placement clear so terrain does not prevent parts of the model from appearing.

Drive

The tank follows your view direction. Use the movement keys to travel across the ground:

• W: forward
• S: reverse
• A/D: sideways movement

The hull banks and pitches slightly as you look and drive, while the turret tracks your aim independently.

Load and fire

Hold one of the tank shell items and right-click the tank. One shell is consumed from the stack outside Creative mode, and the selected round is loaded.

With a shell loaded, switch to an empty hand and right-click while riding to fire. A fired round leaves the cannon in the direction of the turret and is consumed from the tank's loaded chamber.

The cannon cannot fire while empty, during its brief firing cooldown, or while another shell is being held for loading.

Change ammunition

The cannon starts with Armor-Piercing selected but unloaded. While riding, press J to cycle through:

Armor-Piercing → High-Explosive → HEAT → Armor-Piercing

You can only cycle ammunition while the cannon is empty. Loading a shell directly selects that shell type and loads it immediately.

Crafting And Obtaining

The tank recipe uses iron blocks, a blast furnace, dispensers, and a chest:

The Mk2 chassis can be obtained from the Combat tab in Creative mode.

Armor-Piercing Tank Shell

Crafts four rounds. AP shells deal their damage directly to the entity they hit and do not create a blast.

High-Explosive Tank Shell

Crafts two rounds. HE shells deal direct damage and create a large explosion on impact, making them useful against groups and structures.

HEAT Tank Shell

Crafts two rounds. HEAT shells have the highest direct damage of the three rounds and also produce a smaller impact blast.

All three shell types stack up to 16.

Abilities And Mechanics

Tank armor

The standard tank has 100 armor, while the Mk2 has 125 armor. The current value is shown on the riding HUD.

Tanks cannot be pushed by other entities and accept only one player as a passenger. When a tank's armor reaches zero, it is destroyed and its passenger is removed.

Shell effects

Shells travel without gravity and disappear if they do not hit a block or entity after a short flight. HE and HEAT explosions can damage nearby surroundings, so use them carefully near valuable builds.

Firing cooldown

Armor-Piercing and HEAT shells have a shorter firing cooldown. High-Explosive shells have a longer cooldown because of their stronger blast.

Progression And Strategy

• Craft several shell types before entering combat so you can adapt to different targets.
• Use AP for reliable direct hits without an explosion.
• Use HE against clustered enemies or when area damage is more important than precision.
• Use HEAT against heavily armored or high-health targets.
• Keep the cannon empty when repositioning if you want to cycle ammunition with J.
• Build or place the tank away from fragile structures before firing explosive rounds.
• Choose the Mk2 when extra armor is more valuable than quick access to the standard chassis.