How to Locate a Minecraft Stronghold (Creative & Survival Modes)

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Plus, how to find the End Portal once you're inside
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The Stronghold is a location in the Bedrock and Java editions of Minecraft that contains an untold amount of rooms, loot, and monsters. It also holds something even more sought after: the End Portal, which you can pass through to find the Ender Dragon and beat the game! This guide will show you how to easily find a Stronghold in Minecraft , whether you're in Creative or Survival mode and regardless of what computer or console you're using.

Where is the Minecraft Stronghold?

In Creative and Survival Mode, open chat, type /locate structure stronghold , and press Enter . Teleport to the coordinates on the screen and dig. If you don't want to use commands in Survival mode, craft Eyes of Ender and throw one into the air. Follow it to the nearest Stronghold and dig underneath where it hovers.

Section 1 of 5:

How to Find a Stronghold Using Commands

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  1. This command will locate the nearest Stronghold and give you the coordinates for them in green text. [1] In Creative Mode, commands are automatically available from the start. In Survival Mode, however, commands are blocked, so you'll need to enable them if you want to use this method to find a Stronghold. [2]
    • In Bedrock Edition singleplayer, go to your Settings menu and access the Game tab. Next, activate the toggle button next to "Allow Cheats."
      • Take caution: once you do this, you'll no longer be able to unlock any achievements in the world you're playing in. For this reason, you may consider opting for the Eyes of Ender method of finding a Stronghold.
    • While playing Java Edition singleplayer, you can opt to allow cheats whenever you set up your world. If you already created the world without enabling commands, open your Settings menu, go to the Game tab, select "Open to LAN," and select "Allow Cheats."
      • Be aware that if you switch to "Allow Cheats," you'll no longer be able to pause your game. Plus, if you're on a network, other people will be able to find and join your game if they want. The good news is you can restore everything to normal simply by exiting the world and then hopping back in.
  2. 2
    Travel to the Stronghold coordinates generated in the chat window. There are 3 ways to get there. The first is by clicking on the green text of the coordinates. The second is to type "/tp" followed by the coordinates as the appear in the chat window. Finally, press F3 on your computer keyboard to bring up live coordinates. Then, manually guide your character to the correct location, matching up the live coordinates to the Stronghold coordinates until you find the right spot. [3]
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  3. 3
    Dig into the ground at the spot indicated by the coordinates. Eventually, when you make your way deep enough beneath the world's surface, you'll find the Stronghold. [4]
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Section 2 of 5:

How to Find a Stronghold with the Eyes of Ender

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  1. 1
    Craft 20-30 Eyes of Ender out of ender pearls and blaze powder. Obtain ender pearls by fighting and defeating Endermen. These dark, lanky foes typically spawn at night, in caves, or in a warped forest biome in the Nether. [5] While you're in the Nether, find a Nether Fortress and fight blazes to get them to drop blaze rods. Pick up the blaze rods and craft 2 blaze powders out out of each one. [6]
    • Once you've collected 20-30 ender pearls and blaze powders, combine them to craft at least 20-30 Eyes of Ender (the more, the better). [7]
  2. 2
    Throw Eyes of Ender and follow them until they stop moving. Throw them one at a time and travel one or two hundred blocks between each throw. If any of them fall to the ground intact, pick it up and reuse it because these items tend to break easily. You'll need at least 12 Eyes of Ender to access the End Portal in the Stronghold, so preserving your stock is key. [8]
    • If you throw an Eye of Ender and it moves in the opposite direction (toward you), that's a sign you've gone too far in one direction. At this point, you may need to increase the frequency with which you throw Eyes of Ender to home in on the exact location where they're leading you.
    • When you throw an Eye of Ender and it doesn't float far away, it's close to a Stronghold.
  3. 3
    Dig at the location the Eye of Ender goes to every time you throw it. You can find the location easier by building a tall column of grass blocks, standing on top of it, and then throwing Eyes of Ender so you can see exactly which part of the ground they're hovering above. Then dig straight down, and you'll find the Stronghold. [9]
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Section 3 of 5:

What You'll Find in the Stronghold

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  1. The End Portal is technically the end of the Minecraft game (although you can continue to play Minecraft after you complete this final task). It's a starry black field deep in the Stronghold that takes you to the End dimension where you can fight the Ender Dragon. The End Portal is activated by setting an Eye of Ender into each of the 12 blocks surrounding it. That's why crafting plenty of Eyes of Ender to play this part of the game is crucial! [10]
  2. 2
    The Library. The Library (some Strongholds have 2 Libraries) is the largest room in the Stronghold and contains wall-to-wall bookcases with an occasional chest stashed in between. In these chests, you'll often find Enchanted books which will teach you advanced enchantments. You'll also be able to collect books from the shelves in case you want to set up a library at your fortress, or you can trade 4 of them to a Librarian and get 1 emerald in return. [11]
    • The Library also has a lot of cobwebs, which you can destroy with shears to find more hard-to-find items.
  3. 3
    Hidden Rooms. As you navigate through the Stronghold, you'll come across a crossing with 5 other exits (6 if you count the door you entered). Some of these crossings hold hidden rooms where you can find extra loot. To find the hidden room (if there is one), follow these steps. [12]
    • As a rule, if you're facing north or west when you enter a 5-way crossing, it most likely contains a hidden room. If you're facing south or east, don't bother looking. You can check which direction you're facing by pressing F3 on your keyboard to pull up your live coordinates.
    • If you're in a north or west-facing crossing, look at the walls to either side of you for a 3x3 block indentation. If you find one, look further down the wall for blocks that don't blend in with the rest of the stone or brick. Dig there, and you'll likely uncover a door to a hidden room.
  4. 4
    Storeroom and Altar Corridor. The Storeroom is a small 2-story room with a chest in it, which could contain a food item, an enchanted book, a tool, or raw materials. The Altar Corridor is another great place to find a chest, and it's easy to spot: when you walk into one, you'll notice an altar in the middle of it with a chest on top. There's only 1 Storeroom per Stronghold, but you may find up to 4 Altar Corridors (or none; it depends on the Stronghold). [13]
  5. 5
    Altar Chests. In each Altar Corridor you find in the Stronghold, you'll also discover an altar chest. Open up one of these chests and you could find valuable loot like ender pearls, gold, and the extremely rare golden apple. You can either sell them to make coin or you can keep them to use for quests or crafts later. [14]
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Section 4 of 5:

How to Find & Activate the End Portal

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  1. 1
    Find the End Portal by exploring every room in the Stronghold. The Stronghold is a maze of corridors, libraries, and storerooms. Finding the End Portal among all the confusing twists and turns can be a challenging. To make it easier, follow these tips.
    • In every room you enter, place a block in the material of your choice somewhere inside to indicate to yourself later on that you've already explored it. [15]
    • Turn on the subtitles and look for silverfish noises. If you're within hearing distance of silverfish, that means you're close to the End Portal. The End Portal contains a silverfish spawner which you'll need to deactivate it as soon as you find it to prevent these little guys from attacking you. [16]
  2. 2
    Activate the portal by dropping Eyes of Ender into the blocks. The End Portal is surrounded by 12 blocks. Some of them may contain Eyes of Ender already, but you should come prepared to fill each one yourself. Once you've placed your Eyes of Ender, the space between the blocks will change to a black field with stars in it. Jump in to go to the End dimension and kill the Ender dragon . [17]
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Section 5 of 5:

How to Build an End Portal Without a Stronghold

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  1. In Creative mode, you don't have to find a Stronghold to reach the End Portal. Instead, you can make it yourself anywhere you want in the world with the items in your inventory. To do that, follow these steps.
    • Open your inventory and type "end" into the search bar to pull up the end portal frame and the Eyes of Ender. Place these items in your hotbar at the bottom of the screen and close the inventory window. [18]
    • Place three end portal frame blocks in front of you, side by side. Then, turn your character 90 degrees to the right or left and place three more blocks. Continue this pattern until you're in the center of a square of a dozen blocks. [19]
    • Jump outside of the portal frame and drop 1 Eye of Ender in each block. Once the last Eye is in place, the End Portal should turn black. [20]

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      References

      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/j8GVDnwOr5I?si=vYALFbIG0ffmGrG4&t=25
      2. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-commands
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/j8GVDnwOr5I?si=_LZF44zL7Tkimbzk&t=45
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/j8GVDnwOr5I?si=KtqkZcJ1asvEr9HW&t=207
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/BEPxhlv_XvI?si=6ltn34ESzTWaCqg9&t=27
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/BEPxhlv_XvI?si=RBa9JCblfo_1Z41y&t=15
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/j8GVDnwOr5I?si=bj-vHL8U-AzISeHO&t=125
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/j8GVDnwOr5I?si=s7CLqvNBNn5riPjn&t=112
      9. ↑ https://youtu.be/j8GVDnwOr5I?si=niY6I-T7TRw-FDA7&t=180
      1. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/stronghold
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/k3OC3Lrr_Zw?si=NBTB3rs64CY6mFhz&t=303
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/vztJNmUdyBY?si=JqRUruYQ3DF1f7Rr&t=54
      4. ↑ https://www.ign.com/wikis/minecraft/Stronghold
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/k3OC3Lrr_Zw?si=g9vuRoWVZWZacUUW&t=288
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/k3OC3Lrr_Zw?si=bT_umjbylJ33ab3W&t=270
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/hEZfeUWA3hM?si=0V0GAn_v72H_XxyB&t=315
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/sVvsuJr3Ff0?si=lYU5t2pB1lHgHQhf&t=318
      9. ↑ https://youtu.be/xd4cUEgrE4Y?si=pORuCZczS6Ny5iMm&t=38
      10. ↑ https://youtu.be/xd4cUEgrE4Y?si=7yhUD012M-y16gXo&t=71
      11. ↑ https://youtu.be/xd4cUEgrE4Y?si=nw3-4fQe7SIJkCC9&t=123

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