Learning how to get to the End in Minecraft PC is a major milestone for any player. Reaching the End dimension in Minecraft on PC is a long-term goal that requires locating and activating a stronghold portal. This guide will walk you through the entire process, from gathering your first Ender Pearl to defeating the Ender Dragon.
How To Get To The End In Minecraft Pc
The journey to the End is a multi-stage adventure. It involves finding rare items, exploring dangerous structures, and finally building a portal. You cannot simply walk there; you must unlock it through specific actions. Here is a broad overview of the steps you will need to complete.
- Gather Ender Pearls: You need these to craft Eyes of Ender.
- Locate a Stronghold: Use the Eyes of Ender to find this underground fortress.
- Find the Portal Room: Explore the stronghold until you find the End Portal frame.
- Activate the Portal: Place Eyes of Ender in the empty slots of the frame.
- Enter and Prepare: Jump into the portal and get ready for the final challenge.
Essential Preparation Before You Start
Do not rush into this quest unprepared. The End is a hostile dimension with a powerful boss. Gathering the right gear and resources is critical for your survival and success. You will face many dangers along the way, from the Nether to the depths of the stronghold.
Recommended Gear and Tools
Your inventory should be well-stocked before you begin the search for the stronghold. Here is a checklist of essential items.
- Diamond or Netherite Armor: Full set, preferably enchanted with Protection and Unbreaking.
- Strong Weapons: A diamond or Netherite sword with Sharpness. A bow with Power and Infinity is invaluable.
- Tools: Multiple pickaxes (Efficiency helps), shovels, and axes. Bring a water bucket for safety.
- Blocks: At least two stacks of building blocks like cobblestone or dirt for navigating and bridging.
- Food: Plenty of high-saturation food like cooked steak or golden carrots.
- Potions: Healing, Strength, and Slow Falling potions can make the dragon fight much easier.
- Ender Pearls: Useful for quick movement and escaping danger, even beyond portal activation.
Understanding the Key Items: Eyes of Ender
The Eye of Ender is the single most important item for this journey. It has two functions: it guides you to the stronghold and it activates the End Portal. You cannot reach the End without them.
To craft an Eye of Ender, you need two components:
- Ender Pearl: Dropped by Endermen when defeated. They have a 50% chance to drop one.
- Blaze Powder: Crafted from Blaze Rods, which are dropped by Blazes in Nether fortresses.
Combine one Ender Pearl and one Blaze Powder in a crafting grid to create one Eye of Ender. You will need at minimum 12, but it is wise to craft 15-20 due to the item’s fragility.
Step One: Gathering Ender Pearls
Your first major task is to collect Ender Pearls. Endermen are tall, black, neutral mobs that spawn in the Overworld at night or in specific biomes like the Warped Forest in the Nether. They become hostile if you look at their face.
Strategies for farming Ender Pearls efficiently:
- Build a simple 2-block high roof so you can hit their legs without them attacking you.
- Use a Looting III sword to significantly increase drop rates.
- Hunt in desert or plains biomes at night for clear lines of sight.
- You can also trade with Cleric villagers. At expert level, they will trade one Ender Pearl for 5 emeralds.
Step Two: Acquiring Blaze Powder From The Nether
To get Blaze Powder, you must venture into the Nether. You need to find a Nether Fortress, a large, dark-red castle-like structure. Inside, you will find Blaze spawners. Blazes are floating, fireball-shooting mobs.
Steps to get Blaze Rods:
- Equip a bow to attack them from a distance, or use a sword with a fire resistance potion active.
- Defeat Blazes. Each Blaze has a 50% chance to drop a Blaze Rod.
- Collect at least 12 Blaze Rods. One rod crafts into two Blaze Powder, so 12 rods give you 24 powder.
Remember, you need one Blaze Powder per Eye of Ender. Craft all your Ender Pearls into Eyes of Ender once you have enough powder.
Step Three: Using Eyes Of Ender To Locate The Stronghold
With your Eyes of Ender ready, you can begin the search. Strongholds generate underground, often under villages, and there are usually multiple in a world. The Eyes of Ender will lead you to the nearest one.
How to use them:
- Hold the Eye of Ender in your hand and right-click to throw it into the air.
- The Eye will float 10-20 blocks upward, then move in the horizontal direction of the nearest stronghold.
- Follow the direction it points. After traveling 200-300 blocks, throw another Eye to correct your course.
- When you are directly above the stronghold, the Eye will float down and hover about 2-3 blocks above the ground. It may also shatter, as each use has a 20% chance to break.
Once the Eye goes straight down, mark the spot. This is where you need to start digging. Strongholds are typically found between Y-level -40 and -10, so dig straight down carefully or create a staircase mine.
Step Four: Exploring The Stronghold And Finding The Portal Room
Strongholds are massive, maze-like structures made of stone bricks and mossy stone bricks. They are filled with corridors, libraries, and monster spawners. Your goal is to find the specific room containing the End Portal.
The portal room is a rectangular chamber with a 3×3 square of End Portal frames surrounding a 3×3 pool of lava (in older worlds) or air (in newer generations). Some frames may already contain Eyes of Ender.
Exploration tips:
- Bring torches to light your path and prevent mob spawns.
- Check every doorway and corridor. The layout can be confusing.
- Listen for the sound of lava or look for silverfish stone bricks, which indicate you are close.
- Libraries contain valuable bookcases for enchanting, but be cautious of cave spider spawners in some.
If you get hopelessly lost, you can use spectator mode if you have cheats enabled, but in survival, methodical mapping with blocks or torches is key.
Step Five: Activating The End Portal
Once you find the portal room, you will see the End Portal frame. It has 12 blocks in a square with the center empty. Some slots—usually up to 2—may already have Eyes of Ender placed.
To activate the portal:
- Count the empty slots in the frame. You will need one Eye of Ender for each.
- Stand close to an empty frame block and right-click with an Eye of Ender in your hand to place it.
- Repeat until all 12 frames are filled. Once the final Eye is placed, the center will fill with a starry, black void—this is the active portal.
The portal is now open. It is a one-way trip until you defeat the Ender Dragon, so make sure you are absolutely ready. Double-check your inventory, armor durability, and food supply before entering.
Step Six: Entering The End And The Final Confrontation
Jumping into the active portal will transport you to the End. You will arrive on a small obsidian platform floating in a void. The main End island, with the Ender Dragon and obsidian pillars, will be nearby. You will need to bridge across if you are not close enough.
Defeating The Ender Dragon
The Ender Dragon is a formidable boss. She flies around the island, guarded by End Crystals on top of the obsidian pillars. These crystals heal her, so you must destroy them first.
A proven strategy for the fight:
- Destroy the Crystals: Use your bow to shoot the crystals on the pillars. Some are in iron bar cages; you may need to pillar up or use ender pearls to reach them. Be careful of the explosion when they break.
- Attack the Dragon: When she perches on the bedrock fountain in the center, attack her with your sword. This is the safest time to deal melee damage.
- Avoid Attacks: Watch for her dragon’s breath (purple cloud) and charge attacks. Use the pillars for cover.
- Deal the Final Blows: Repeat the process until her health is depleted. She will fly up, explode, and drop a massive amount of experience and a dragon egg.
After the dragon is defeated, a return portal will appear at the central fountain. Jump in to return to the Overworld and witness the end credits. An End Gateway will also open, allowing you to explore the outer End islands for end cities and shulkers.
Common Problems And Troubleshooting
Sometimes, things do not go as planned. Here are solutions to frequent issues players face.
What If Eyes of Ender Lead To Nowhere?
If the Eye seems to point to a location but then you cannot find the stronghold, it may be buried under an ocean or deep in a cave. Ensure you dig down far enough. In very rare cases, the stronghold might have generated incorrectly. You can try using another Eye from a different location to triangulate the position.
What If The Stronghold Has No Portal Room?
This is an extremely rare world generation bug. If you have thoroughly explored every passage and are certain the portal room is missing, your options are to find another stronghold (there are 128 per world) or use creative mode to place the portal if you are willing to use commands.
Managing Resources and Avoiding Death
Do not waste your Eyes of Ender. If you are low, return to farming. Always set your spawn point with a bed near the stronghold entrance. Keep your most valuable items in an ender chest if you have one. Preparation cannot be overstated; going in under-geared is the most common cause of failure.
Advanced Tips And Post-Dragon Goals
Once you have conquered the dragon, the End opens up for further exploration. The outer islands contain valuable loot.
- End Cities: These tall structures hold chests with diamond gear, and the elusive elytra—wings that allow you to fly.
- Shulkers: These mobs drop shulker shells, which can be crafted into shulker boxes—portable chests that keep their items when broken.
- Chorus Fruit: A food source found on chorus plants. Eating it teleports you randomly, which can be useful or dangerous.
To reach these islands, you must throw an Ender Pearl through the End Gateway that appears after the dragon’s defeat. Be prepared for more combat and parkour challenges.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Eyes of Ender Do You Need?
You need 12 Eyes of Ender to fill a completely empty portal frame. However, some frames spawn with eyes already inserted. Always bring at least 12 to be safe, plus extras for the locating process, as they can break.
Can You Reset The End Dragon Fight?
Yes. Place four End Crystals on the edges of the exit portal in the End (the bedrock fountain). This will respawn the Ender Dragon, allowing you to fight her again and collect more experience.
What Is The Easiest Way To Find a Stronghold?
The most straightforward method is using Eyes of Ender as described. There is no easier vanilla method. Some players use seed mapping tools outside the game, but that removes the survival challenge.
Do You Need To Go To The Nether To Get To The End?
Yes, absolutely. You must visit the Nether to obtain Blaze Rods to craft Blaze Powder, which is a required ingredient for Eyes of Ender. There is no alternative in survival mode.
What Happens If You Die In The End?
If you die in the End, you will respawn at your world spawn or last used bed. All your items will drop in the End. You can return through the stronghold portal to retrieve them, but it is dangerous if you died during the dragon fight. Using an ender chest for crucial items is a smart precaution.