How to Find the End Portal in Minecraft

Enter the Nether., Kill blazes to collect blaze rods., Kill endermen to collect ender pearls., Craft eyes of ender., Use an eye of ender., Collect the eye of ender., Walk in the direction of the eye., Keep throwing eyes until one travels downward...

22 Steps 7 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Enter the Nether.

    Finding and activating an End Portal requires ingredients you can only find in the Nether, Minecraft's underworld.

    Make a Nether portal and travel through it to get started.

    To make a Nether Portal, place obsidian blocks in a rectangle four blocks wide and five blocks high, skipping the corners and interior of the rectangle.

    Activate the lower obsidian blocks with a flint and steel.

    The Nether is a dangerous area.

    Prepare yourself with high quality food and equipment.
  2. Step 2: Kill blazes to collect blaze rods.

    Blazes are yellow, floating monsters surrounded by smoke.

    They are only found in Nether fortresses — structures supported by pillars over a lava ocean.

    Defeat blazes and collect the blaze rods they drop.

    You'll usually need at least five blaze rods to find and activate the end portal, and it often takes seven or more.

    It's much easier to find Nether fortresses if you travel along the x-axis (east or west).Killing blazes is difficult, and the rods only drop if you kill them directly or with a tamed wolf.

    It helps to have an enchanted bow, or plenty of snowballs (it takes seven to kill one blaze)., Endermen are the black, tentacled mobs that only attack when you look at them.

    If you don't have plenty of ender pearls yet, kill Endermen until you do.

    You'll need two ender pearls for each blaze rod.

    Endermen are more common in the Overworld (the regular Minecraft map) than in the Nether. , Eyes of ender have the ability to locate end portals, and to activate them.

    You'll usually need at least nine eyes of ender for this, often more.

    Craft them using these recipes:
    Place a blaze rod in the crafting area to turn it into two blaze powders.

    Place a blaze powder and an ender pearl anywhere in the crafting area to make an eye of ender. , Equip the eye of ender and use it.

    It will float up into the air, then travel a short distance horizontally in the direction of the nearest stronghold. (All end portals are found inside strongholds.) In the Computer version of Minecraft, the closest strongholds are at least 1408 blocks away from the world's origin point.Get to at least this distance before using any eyes of ender. , Each eye of ender has a 20% chance of breaking each time you use it.

    The other 80% of the time, you can pick it up from where it fell., Strongholds are very far apart in the Computer and Pocket editions, and there is only one in the entire world in Console edition.

    To avoid wasting eyes of ender, walk at least five hundred blocks before using an eye again.

    Try to walk in the straightest line possible.

    If you keep your cursor on the eye as it floats, the direction you're pointed in should be perfect.

    Check your coordinates and keep the Facing as steady as you can. , If the eye travels down to the ground, you are close to an underground stronghold.

    If the eye floats back the way you came, you passed the stronghold already. , Dig a staircase down until you find a room in the stronghold.

    The eye of ender just points to the stronghold, not the end portal.You might not see what you're looking for yet, but you're close. , Every stronghold has one portal room, with a staircase leading to a platform over a pool of lava.

    The end portal is on top of the platform, with a border of green squares.

    Be prepared to fight silverfish on the stairway.

    Strongholds can have many rooms, and they are not necessarily all connected.If you only find dead ends, dig around the surrounding area to find more rooms.

    It can take a long time to find the portal room.

    There's a small chance that another structure (such as a mineshaft) breaks into the portal room.

    If it interrupts the portal, that portal is not usable.

    On a PC, you can find another stronghold.

    On a Console, there is only one stronghold per world, so you can't reach the End without cheats. , Unless you're very lucky, the portal won't be active when you first find it.

    To activate it, put an eye of ender into each of the twelve green squares (ender portal frames) around the portal.

    The portal usually spawns with a couple eyes of ender already attached, so you usually don't need to make all twelve yourself. , When you place the last eye of ender in the portal, a starry black portal will appear.

    Jump into this when you're ready to enter the End and fight the Ender Dragon. , Press F3 on the computer, or equip and use a map on the console.

    Locate the x, z, and Facing values on the number overlay.

    On some Mac computers, you'll need to press Fn+F3, or ⌥ Option+Fn+F3. , Move your cursor to the point where the eye hovers.

    Write down the x, z, and Facing values on your screen.

    The x- and z-coordinates describe your position on the map, and Facing tells you the direction you are looking.

    You only need the first number listed after Facing, not the second. , Travel two or three hundred blocks away from your last position.

    Do not walk in the direction the eye traveled, or directly opposite it.

    Use an eye of ender again, move your cursor over the point where it hovers, and write down a new set of x, z, and Facing values. , The information you wrote down describes two lines on your Minecraft map, each pointing to the stronghold.

    Finding the intersection of the lines takes some trigonometry, but there are several online tools that will do the math for you.

    Try this one, or search online for "minecraft stronghold locator." The tool should give you the x and z coordinates of the nearest stronghold.

    Since the Computer edition has many strongholds, there's a small chance that the two eyes were pointing to different ones.

    This is unlikely as long as the two points were less than a few hundred blocks away from each other. , If you can't find an online tool, you can calculate the coordinates using these formulas:
    Label one group of coordinates X0, Z0, and F0 and the other group X1, Z1, and F1.

    If F0 >
    -90, add 90 to get DEG0.

    If F0 <
    -90, add 450 instead.

    Repeat with F1 to get DEG1.

    This sets the f-values to between 0 and 360 degrees.

    Use a calculator to find S0=tan⁡(DEG0){\displaystyle S_{0}=\tan(DEG_{0})} and S1=tan⁡(DEG1){\displaystyle S_{1}=\tan(DEG_{1})}.

    Set the calculator to degrees, not radians.

    The x-coordinate of the stronghold XS{\displaystyle X_{S}} is Z1−Z0+S0X0−S1X1S0−S1{\displaystyle {\frac {Z_{1}-Z_{0}+S_{0}X_{0}-S_{1}X_{1}}{S_{0}-S_{1}}}}.

    The z-coordinate of the stronghold is S0XS+Z0−S0X0{\displaystyle S_{0}X_{S}+Z_{0}-S_{0}X_{0}}. , Each Minecraft world has a string of letters and numbers called a "seed." This determines the whole terrain layout, including the stronghold locations.

    Locate and copy (or write down) this string:
    Computer edition:
    Type /seed.

    If commands are not enabled, turn them on first using Esc → Open to LAN → Allow Cheats → Start LAN World.

    Console edition:
    Go to the select world menu and look for the seed next to your world. (If it isn't listed there, you may need to download a seed finding tool.) Pocket Edition:
    Go to the main menu.

    Hit Play, then Edit.

    The seed appears underneath each world name., Create a new world set to Creative mode.

    On the world creation screen, enter the seed exactly as it appears. (Click More World Options first in the Computer edition.) Select the same world type as your main world. , Since you're in Creative mode, you can put unlimited eyes of ender in your inventory.

    Use them and fly in the direction they're moving until you reach a stronghold. , Since you used the same world seed, your Survival world should have a stronghold in exactly the same coordinates.On the computer, press F3 to view your coordinates.

    On some Mac computers, press Fn+F3, or ⌥ Option+Fn+F3 instead.

    On a console, use a map item to find your coordinates.

    On Pocket Edition, the easiest method is to use a third-party program.
  3. Step 3: Kill endermen to collect ender pearls.

  4. Step 4: Craft eyes of ender.

  5. Step 5: Use an eye of ender.

  6. Step 6: Collect the eye of ender.

  7. Step 7: Walk in the direction of the eye.

  8. Step 8: Keep throwing eyes until one travels downward.

  9. Step 9: Dig out the stronghold.

  10. Step 10: Find the portal room.

  11. Step 11: Activate the end portal.

  12. Step 12: Jump into the portal.

  13. Step 13: Open your coordinates.

  14. Step 14: Throw an eye of ender.

  15. Step 15: Repeat this at another location.

  16. Step 16: Enter these values into an online tool.

  17. Step 17: Calculate it yourself.

  18. Step 18: Get your world seed.

  19. Step 19: Create a Creative world with the same seed.

  20. Step 20: Locate a stronghold.

  21. Step 21: Write down the x-

  22. Step 22: and z- coordinates of the stronghold.

Detailed Guide

Finding and activating an End Portal requires ingredients you can only find in the Nether, Minecraft's underworld.

Make a Nether portal and travel through it to get started.

To make a Nether Portal, place obsidian blocks in a rectangle four blocks wide and five blocks high, skipping the corners and interior of the rectangle.

Activate the lower obsidian blocks with a flint and steel.

The Nether is a dangerous area.

Prepare yourself with high quality food and equipment.

Blazes are yellow, floating monsters surrounded by smoke.

They are only found in Nether fortresses — structures supported by pillars over a lava ocean.

Defeat blazes and collect the blaze rods they drop.

You'll usually need at least five blaze rods to find and activate the end portal, and it often takes seven or more.

It's much easier to find Nether fortresses if you travel along the x-axis (east or west).Killing blazes is difficult, and the rods only drop if you kill them directly or with a tamed wolf.

It helps to have an enchanted bow, or plenty of snowballs (it takes seven to kill one blaze)., Endermen are the black, tentacled mobs that only attack when you look at them.

If you don't have plenty of ender pearls yet, kill Endermen until you do.

You'll need two ender pearls for each blaze rod.

Endermen are more common in the Overworld (the regular Minecraft map) than in the Nether. , Eyes of ender have the ability to locate end portals, and to activate them.

You'll usually need at least nine eyes of ender for this, often more.

Craft them using these recipes:
Place a blaze rod in the crafting area to turn it into two blaze powders.

Place a blaze powder and an ender pearl anywhere in the crafting area to make an eye of ender. , Equip the eye of ender and use it.

It will float up into the air, then travel a short distance horizontally in the direction of the nearest stronghold. (All end portals are found inside strongholds.) In the Computer version of Minecraft, the closest strongholds are at least 1408 blocks away from the world's origin point.Get to at least this distance before using any eyes of ender. , Each eye of ender has a 20% chance of breaking each time you use it.

The other 80% of the time, you can pick it up from where it fell., Strongholds are very far apart in the Computer and Pocket editions, and there is only one in the entire world in Console edition.

To avoid wasting eyes of ender, walk at least five hundred blocks before using an eye again.

Try to walk in the straightest line possible.

If you keep your cursor on the eye as it floats, the direction you're pointed in should be perfect.

Check your coordinates and keep the Facing as steady as you can. , If the eye travels down to the ground, you are close to an underground stronghold.

If the eye floats back the way you came, you passed the stronghold already. , Dig a staircase down until you find a room in the stronghold.

The eye of ender just points to the stronghold, not the end portal.You might not see what you're looking for yet, but you're close. , Every stronghold has one portal room, with a staircase leading to a platform over a pool of lava.

The end portal is on top of the platform, with a border of green squares.

Be prepared to fight silverfish on the stairway.

Strongholds can have many rooms, and they are not necessarily all connected.If you only find dead ends, dig around the surrounding area to find more rooms.

It can take a long time to find the portal room.

There's a small chance that another structure (such as a mineshaft) breaks into the portal room.

If it interrupts the portal, that portal is not usable.

On a PC, you can find another stronghold.

On a Console, there is only one stronghold per world, so you can't reach the End without cheats. , Unless you're very lucky, the portal won't be active when you first find it.

To activate it, put an eye of ender into each of the twelve green squares (ender portal frames) around the portal.

The portal usually spawns with a couple eyes of ender already attached, so you usually don't need to make all twelve yourself. , When you place the last eye of ender in the portal, a starry black portal will appear.

Jump into this when you're ready to enter the End and fight the Ender Dragon. , Press F3 on the computer, or equip and use a map on the console.

Locate the x, z, and Facing values on the number overlay.

On some Mac computers, you'll need to press Fn+F3, or ⌥ Option+Fn+F3. , Move your cursor to the point where the eye hovers.

Write down the x, z, and Facing values on your screen.

The x- and z-coordinates describe your position on the map, and Facing tells you the direction you are looking.

You only need the first number listed after Facing, not the second. , Travel two or three hundred blocks away from your last position.

Do not walk in the direction the eye traveled, or directly opposite it.

Use an eye of ender again, move your cursor over the point where it hovers, and write down a new set of x, z, and Facing values. , The information you wrote down describes two lines on your Minecraft map, each pointing to the stronghold.

Finding the intersection of the lines takes some trigonometry, but there are several online tools that will do the math for you.

Try this one, or search online for "minecraft stronghold locator." The tool should give you the x and z coordinates of the nearest stronghold.

Since the Computer edition has many strongholds, there's a small chance that the two eyes were pointing to different ones.

This is unlikely as long as the two points were less than a few hundred blocks away from each other. , If you can't find an online tool, you can calculate the coordinates using these formulas:
Label one group of coordinates X0, Z0, and F0 and the other group X1, Z1, and F1.

If F0 >
-90, add 90 to get DEG0.

If F0 <
-90, add 450 instead.

Repeat with F1 to get DEG1.

This sets the f-values to between 0 and 360 degrees.

Use a calculator to find S0=tan⁡(DEG0){\displaystyle S_{0}=\tan(DEG_{0})} and S1=tan⁡(DEG1){\displaystyle S_{1}=\tan(DEG_{1})}.

Set the calculator to degrees, not radians.

The x-coordinate of the stronghold XS{\displaystyle X_{S}} is Z1−Z0+S0X0−S1X1S0−S1{\displaystyle {\frac {Z_{1}-Z_{0}+S_{0}X_{0}-S_{1}X_{1}}{S_{0}-S_{1}}}}.

The z-coordinate of the stronghold is S0XS+Z0−S0X0{\displaystyle S_{0}X_{S}+Z_{0}-S_{0}X_{0}}. , Each Minecraft world has a string of letters and numbers called a "seed." This determines the whole terrain layout, including the stronghold locations.

Locate and copy (or write down) this string:
Computer edition:
Type /seed.

If commands are not enabled, turn them on first using Esc → Open to LAN → Allow Cheats → Start LAN World.

Console edition:
Go to the select world menu and look for the seed next to your world. (If it isn't listed there, you may need to download a seed finding tool.) Pocket Edition:
Go to the main menu.

Hit Play, then Edit.

The seed appears underneath each world name., Create a new world set to Creative mode.

On the world creation screen, enter the seed exactly as it appears. (Click More World Options first in the Computer edition.) Select the same world type as your main world. , Since you're in Creative mode, you can put unlimited eyes of ender in your inventory.

Use them and fly in the direction they're moving until you reach a stronghold. , Since you used the same world seed, your Survival world should have a stronghold in exactly the same coordinates.On the computer, press F3 to view your coordinates.

On some Mac computers, press Fn+F3, or ⌥ Option+Fn+F3 instead.

On a console, use a map item to find your coordinates.

On Pocket Edition, the easiest method is to use a third-party program.

About the Author

L

Lisa Turner

Creates helpful guides on lifestyle to inspire and educate readers.

70 articles
View all articles

Rate This Guide

--
Loading...
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0

How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: