If you want to officially beat Minecraft, sooner or later you’ll need to track down a Stronghold. This is a structure often buried deep underground that hides a secret End Portal. But that’s not the only reason to visit one. A Stronghold holds far more treasure than you might expect. And because there are only a limited number of these fortresses in your world, it’s worth visiting some of these ancient ruins even if you’re not planning a trip to the End. Today we’ll show you how to find every Stronghold in your world, how they’re built, and what loot you can walk away with.
Find Minecraft Strongholds: Craft and use Eyes of Ender correctly
The Stronghold is one of Minecraft’s many naturally generated structures you can discover. It was added with the full release 1.0 in 2011, alongside the ability to beat the game. Strongholds do have a few quirks that make them special, setting them apart from other structures.
To find a Stronghold, first farm Ender Pearls and Blaze Powder and combine them into an Eye of Ender. We recommend crafting about 20 to 30 of them, as you’ll need several for your expedition. On a server, for example, you can hunt Endermen together or build a Blaze farm in the Nether. If you don’t have a server yet: Rent a Minecraft server and find Strongholds together.
Once you have enough Eyes of Ender, you can start the search. Throw an eye into the air and it will point you in the right direction. Follow the cardinal direction it travels. The farther it floats, the farther you’ll need to go. If it floats more vertically above you, you’re getting close. Be careful though, as the eye can shatter. That’s why you should bring several. As soon as the eye hovers directly above you or even turns back, you’re near a fortress.
A Stronghold is almost always underground. Sometimes it lies under an ocean, sometimes it connects directly to cave systems. You’ll need to dig down and find an entrance. Strongholds are built from stone bricks, making them easy to recognize. You’ll also see cracked and mossy variants mixed in. Some fortresses are small and straightforward, others can be large and complex.
Of course, the Stronghold exists to let you find the End Portal and then defeat the Ender Dragon. But that’s not our focus today; we’re exploring the structure itself. You can learn more about the End in our separate guide (Explore the Minecraft End: Elytra, Shulker Boxes, and More!) .
Stronghold mechanics: Count, rings, and editions explained
As mentioned, Strongholds spawn in limited numbers in your world. Despite Minecraft’s huge map, there are only 128 of them. They can all be found within roughly 25,000 blocks of the world center, making them reasonably accessible relative to the world’s size.
Their generation follows a ring system that expands the farther out you go. In the first ring, between 1,200 and 2,800 blocks, you’ll find 3 Strongholds. The next ring, between 4,300 and 5,900 blocks, already has 6 Strongholds. Their spacing is also roughly even. This applies only to Java Edition. In Bedrock, Strongholds can generate without a fixed upper limit.
Stronghold layout in Minecraft: Rooms, corridors, and orientation
Strongholds can vary in size, but many components repeat. Learning these sections helps you navigate. Consider a system to mark corridors you’ve already explored. There are also hidden chests you won’t want to miss.
- Spiral staircase: The actual entrance to the Stronghold is always a spiral staircase leading downward. It can be short or stretch up to five floors. The Eye of Ender generally points to this staircase.
- Entrance hall: At the bottom of the stairs, you’ll arrive in a room with five branches. It’s best to check them one by one and mark dead ends.
- Portal room: Always generates, no matter how small the Stronghold is. Contains the often incomplete End Portal and a Silverfish spawner. Lit by lava.
- Prison cells: Each Stronghold can have up to five cell sections, with iron bars and iron doors.
- Library: Arguably the best rooms in a Stronghold. They contain many bookshelves and, depending on size, up to two chests with valuable loot. Each Stronghold can have at most two libraries.
- Corridors and junctions: In between, the Stronghold is filled with various corridors and intersections. Some of these can also contain chests if you look closely.
Minecraft Stronghold loot: The best items from chests
Beyond the End Portal, it’s the loot that makes a Stronghold run so worthwhile. It’s absolutely worth visiting more than one fortress. Even if you never plan to enter the End and defeat the dragon, a Stronghold pays off in other ways.
Top items in Strongholds:
- Music disc: Some chests can contain the “otherside” disc, otherwise found only in dungeons or ancient cities.
- Enchanted books: Especially in libraries, you can find some of the best enchantments. This alone makes a Stronghold trip worthwhile.
- Golden apple: Golden apples can also be found in chests.
- Horse armor: Strongholds are a solid source of horse armor in iron, gold, or diamond.
- “Eye” armor trim: The Stronghold-exclusive armor trim, found only here.
- Diamonds: Diamonds also appear in some chests.
- Empty maps: Found in libraries, perfect for your own mapping projects.
- Compass: So you can find your way home.
- Ender Pearls: One of the few places where Ender Pearls appear as loot.
Conclusion: Strongholds as a source of End Portals and valuable loot
Strongholds are often seen merely as a means to an end: they contain the End Portal needed to beat the game. But beyond that, these structures offer much more, especially valuable loot you shouldn’t miss. The enchanted books in the library, in particular, are perfect for upgrading your gear without much effort. You can find virtually all high-tier enchantments if you take the time to search.
