My recent Epic Fail is one you all no doubt have had similar issues with. Mining Lasers. Mind you, my issue was different.
I was in the nether, preparing to do a demo version of my "Stereotypical Evil Base power room" and I have a weird issue. I'm willing to give myself tools and armor to get started, and some machines/energy storage for occasional spawn terraforming(usually a Quantum Tank and a crap ton of cans to gather oil when it's right by my spawn, and obviously longfall boots and a jetpack for getting around, but sometimes a energy cube and a pump, a couple liquducts, and said quantum tank), but I never give myself machines I plan on using for real, nor materials to build said machines. So I had some tools, and went to gather my basic nether stuff I needed for this build. After about a half a hour getting the trees I needed, and a hour trying to gather the needed stuff from them, I got pissed and gave myself the basic things I needed. That's when it started to go down hill. I had my weapon to gather soul energy and a big container for it. So at that point I had to turn the difficulty up to get things to show up(so I could kill them). After a few minutes of killing pigmen and wither skeletons I encountered a ghast. I didn't see him at first. But he was wrecking my small area where I had built my junk, so naturally I wanted to kill him. I briefly considered getting a bow with which to shoot him, but decided that a Mining Laser on Explosive mode would be better. After I failed horribly to kill him with it I just punched a fireball back into his face. But the damage was done, I had a mining laser. So I decided that the trees I had grown and that had failed to produce my needed weepings needing to go, so I shot them in explosive mode to get rid of them. Then I decided I wanted to try the super heat mode on all the cool ores I had found, and did so. So far no problem. Then I decided that I wanted to clear some space so I could set up my power room. I ended up setting the laser on scatter mode. I aimed straight down(mostly so I wouldn't wreck any of my important things) and instantly got hit with a donkey ass punch of world eating lag. I tried to change the mode on the laser to explosive again so I could blow up the drops, and to do that you have to hold down the mode switch key and right click. But that's the thing, you have to right click, and it didn't accept that I was holding down the mode switch key because of all the lag. So I fired again. But I had right clicked a couple times. Cue about five more scatter shots of lasers, and even more lag.
I ended up just quitting(oddly enough no issues there, despite the many issues I've had in the past trying to quit when I'm lagging) and deleted the map.
Long story short, the Mining Laser isn't a good weapon, nor is it a good mining tool for me.[DOUBLEPOST=1367617301][/DOUBLEPOST]
something that could be considered fail:
1.) reading here about fails with wrath igniters.
2.) idea: let's test that
3.) go 200 blocks away from the base, cheat one in, and set a beach on fire (large biomes, even the beaches are large)
4.) wow, that beach covered in glass looks great.
5.) try it in the twilight forrest
6.) stand on a tall oak tree (these really big ones), and set it on fire.
7.) watch it burning down
8.) go to the fridge, grab a beer
9.) watch the death screen... (the branch where I stood caught fire aswell... and the fire killed me)...
Try using the wrath igniter on grass. Or even "better", on smooth stone in a cave system.