How to Locate a Minecraft Stronghold in 3 Steps

Before fighting the Ender Dragon, Minecraft players need to find a stronghold. That search can feel like a boss fight of its own, especially when the nearest one is several snacks away. Here is the process in three steps.

Step 1: Craft Eyes of Ender

Stronghold hunting starts with Eyes of Ender. When thrown, an Eye of Ender floats toward the nearest stronghold, giving players a direction to follow. These same eyes are also required to activate the End portal.

Bring more than the bare minimum. A good target is 16 Eyes of Ender before leaving base. Some may break after being thrown, and others may be lost if they drift out of sight.

To craft one Eye of Ender, combine one ender pearl with one blaze powder.

Step 2: Follow the Eyes and Dig Down

With Eyes of Ender ready, travel in the direction they float. Strongholds can generate far from spawn, so bring food, a pickaxe, torches, blocks, and basic survival gear.

Keep throwing Eyes of Ender occasionally while moving. Once they begin dropping toward the ground instead of flying forward, the stronghold should be below that area.

Start digging carefully. Strongholds usually appear at positive Y levels, but after the Caves and Cliffs Update, some players have reported rare cases where they generate deeper.

Step 3: Search the Nearby Area

Sometimes the tunnel lands directly inside the stronghold. Other times, the structure is nearby but hidden behind stone. If nothing appears immediately, mine around the place where the Eye of Ender sank.

A few checks can help:

• If the Y value is around -10, the dig may have gone too low.
• Throw another Eye of Ender and confirm it drops at the same spot.
• In Bedrock Edition, strongholds generate beneath villages, and a village well may lead toward one.

After Finding It

Once the stronghold is located, search its halls for the portal room. Expect silverfish, confusing corridors, dead ends, and the occasional library.

Eyes of Ender are reliable unless the chunks were generated in an older version before 1.18. In that case, a chunk reset may be needed. If commands are allowed, `/locate structure stronghold` can also point directly to one.