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Powder and range

Powder decides the shell's speed, and therefore its range. In Create Big Cannons, each Powder Charge gives the shell 2 blocks per tick, that is 40 blocks per second. The Big Cartridge packs up to four charges into a single block. Here are the real ranges, computed the way the game does it.

Create 6.0.10 · Create Big Cannons 5.11.7 · Minecraft 1.21.1 · updated on October 28, 2026

Three identical cannons fire level with 1, 2 and 3 charges: the same falling time, impacts at 19, 38 and 58 blocks (4× slow motion during the flight).

Quick facts

Powder Charge: +2 blocks/tick of speed; +1 stress, +2 spread
Big Cartridge: 1 to 4 powder levels: +2 blocks/tick and +0.5 stress per level
Combining: A single Big Cartridge at the back, then Powder Charges in front of it (5.11)
Damp powder: Half as strong; does not ignite if it is the first one in the cannon
Powder explosion: A charge that catches fire explodes (power 6)
Max range (shell): 58 / 183 / 337 / 507 blocks with 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 charges
Version: Create Big Cannons 5.11.7 · Create 6.0.10 · Minecraft 1.21.1

Powder Charge (shapeless)

Packed GunpowderEmpty Powder Charge

→ 1 Powder Charge

More powder, more speed

Three identical cannons fire level with 1, 2 and 3 charges: the same falling time, impacts at 19, 38 and 58 blocks (4× slow motion during the flight).

Each charge adds 2 blocks per tick to the muzzle speed: 40 blocks/s with one charge, 80 with two, 120 with three. In the video, three cannons fire level from the same height: every shell takes 0.51 s to hit the ground, and the distance follows the speed, 19, 38 then 58 blocks. The flight is slowed down four times.

The range table

The three impacts, further and further away

Charges	Speed (blocks/s)	Fired at 0°	Fired at 10°	Max range (elevation)	Flight (s)
1	40	19.3	35.4	58.4 (42°)	2.65
2	80	38.6	103.8	182.6 (37°)	4.32
3	120	57.9	202.6	336.6 (35°)	5.85
4	160	77.1	325.7	507.4 (33°)	7.13
6	240	115.7	626.4	874.9 (29°)	9.06
8	320	154.2	976.3	1259.2 (26°)	10.56

HE shell, flat ground, cannon 3 blocks above the ground. Drag cuts the range of powerful shots a lot: the best elevation drops from 42° to 26°.

How many charges?

What each material can take: minimum speed per barrel, strength, and the loads that make a cannon burst.

The number of charges is limited by the material and the breech: 2 in cast iron, 4 in bronze, 8 in steel with a Screw Breech. Each charge counts as 1 stress. Beyond that, the cannon may burst. You also need enough powder for the length: in cast iron, one charge per barrel, otherwise the shell gets stuck.

The Big Cartridge

A brass case filled level by level, up to 4, by a Deployer or by hand. Each level counts as one charge for speed but only half a charge of stress. Being a single block, it loads fast, especially in a Quick-Firing Breech: the empty case comes out on the next shot.

Water and fire

Munitions drowned in water no longer catch fire, but the powder turns damp; in the Nether it dries at once.

Powder and shells placed as blocks can explode in a fire or a nearby explosion. Drowning them in water protects them, but the powder becomes damp: half as strong, and it does not ignite if it is the first one in the cannon. It dries over time, not in a furnace; in the Nether it dries at once.

A loading example

A steel cannon with a Screw Breech, four chambers and four barrels: load four Powder Charges, one per chamber, then the shell. It leaves at 160 blocks per second and can hit beyond 500 blocks. With a full Big Cartridge at the back and two charges in front of it, you get six levels of speed for only four of stress, which leaves a comfortable margin under steel's limit of eight.

Setting up a shot

For a close target, little powder and a moderate elevation: the path is more curved and the shell dives onto the target. For a distant wall, more charges and a low elevation. Keep a margin under your cannon's limit and store powder safely: a charge that catches fire explodes with a power of 6.

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Sources for the numbers (Create 6.0.10 · Create Big Cannons 5.11.7 code)

Powder: munition_properties/block_propellant/powder_charge.json and big_cartridge.json (strength 2, added_stress, maximum_power_levels 4, damp_ammo_strength_debuff 0.5, explosion_power)
Speed: MountedBigCannonContraption.fireShot, PropellantContext (chargesUsed)
Combining: big_cannon_propellant_compatibility (maximum_amount_ahead)
Ranges: the mod's tick-by-tick simulation (AbstractCannonProjectile), HE shell, flat ground, 5.11.7 data
Dampness: CBCCfgMunitions (dampPropellantWeakensPropellant, dampPropellantBlocksStartingIgnition)
Recipe: recipe/powder_charge.json
Code and data: Create Big Cannons 5.11.7 (github.com/Cannoneers-of-Create/CreateBigCannons, tag v5.11.7+mc.1.21.1, MIT licence), identical to the Create France modpack jar
Shots: scenes written for this wiki; trajectory computed tick by tick with the mod's formulas (AbstractCannonProjectile.tick: drag 0.01, gravity -0.05 block/tick², speed = charges used, MountedBigCannonContraption.fireShot), explosions from Explosion.explode plus CBC's block transforms
Videos: Create Big Cannons Ponder scenes (CannonMountScenes, CannonLoadingScenes, CannonKineticsScenes, CannonCraftingScenes) replayed by our engine; CBC models and textures (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, Cannoneers of Create)

Original texts and animations by Create France, rendered from the mod's Ponder scenes. Create is a mod by the Create Team, not affiliated with Create France.