Getting to the End in Minecraft is no simple feat. Unlike getting to the Nether, you can't build a portal wherever you want and hop to the End on the way back from the grocery store. There's a whole process involved, and a pinch of luck, if you want a chance to face the ender dragon. If you do it, you also get access to a whole new dimension filled with new stuff, and the exclusive opportunity to see what Minecraft's credits look like. Fun. There's a lot of preparation involved when trying to get to the End, and it usually has something to do with the endermen. Finding the End Portal as well as activating it both requires something you can only get from endermen: eyes of ender. These strange pearl-like items need to be crafted and have several uses when trying to navigate to the End. If you're thinking of making the trip, you need to prepare for a long trip. We suggest bringing:
As usual, I also recommend enchanting as much of your equipment as possible.. Legions of endermen and the fearsome ender dragon await you beyond the End Portal, and none of them are very friendly. You'll need to be at your best to stand a chance. It's not a bad idea to bring a bed, either, so you can set up camp when you find the stronghold containing your quarry. An eye of ender is an item that you get through crafting, looting, or trading. Crafting is by far the easiest way to get them, and even that is a good deal of work. You have to explore the fiery dimension known as the Nether to grab one of its ingredients. You also have to slay a ton of endermen in the wild for the second half of the necessary ingredients. Here's how to craft it:
Quick tip: Enchanting your sword with the Looting enchantment will rapidly increase the rate at which you collect your ingredients. For both the blaze and the endermen, you can get up to four blaze rods or four ender pearls with a sword enchanted with Looting III. That's significantly better than flopping around, hoping to get what you need. Finding the End PortalOnce all of your preparations are completed, you're ready actually to find the End Portal. The End Portal is a unique structure that cannot be crafted by the player by regular means but is guaranteed to generate somewhere on the map. It appears hidden inside a complicated labyrinth of stone brick rooms, stairways, and passages known as a stronghold. The key to finding the End Portal is to find the stronghold, and then navigate your way through it to the gateway hidden within. Eyes of ender are your solution to the first problem there. They have an integral connection to the End and are constantly drawn to the gateway leading to it. If you use an eye of ender while holding it, it'll fly off in the direction of the End Portal's stronghold. All you need is enough eyes of ender to lead you all the way there. Here's what you need to know:
Once your eyes of ender lead you to the stronghold, you'll need to dig down until you find it. I recommend setting up camp directly above it so that you have a safe place to fall back to. Because eyes of ender don't lead you directly to the End Portal, you'll have to search through the stronghold to find the End Portal room. Strongholds are randomly generated structures that typically spawn underground, and like to spawn underneath or near villages. They contain a variety of rooms, loot, and more, including the much sought-after End Portal room. These strongholds can generate all over, but the eyes of ender will lead you only to the one that has an End Portal room. Without interference, these structures can be intimidatingly sprawling and chaotic, but they can also intersect with abandoned mineshafts, ravines, and caves. It's best to keep your cool while searching these strongholds and take it room by room. If you're meticulous, you can find an abundance of pretty sweet loot to reward you for your time. I also suggest placing your torches exclusively on one side of the walls, to make it easier to find your way back if need be. Strongholds have storerooms, libraries, and a ton of chests with some pretty valuable loot if you put in the time to search for them. Be aware that mobs will definitely spawn down here, and that some of the stone brick blocks are infested with silverfish. On top of that, the End Portal room will have a silverfish spawner at the top of the stairs that you will need to destroy. The End Portal room always spawns looking the same, so you'll know it when you find it. It'll be a rectangular room with the doorway facing a short set of stairs. At the top of the stairs will sit a silverfish spawner, and beyond the stairs, the End Portal will float above a pool of lava. The End Portal has 12 pieces to its frame, forming a 4x4 square with the corners missing. Once you've found the End Portal, it's time to activate it. Journeying to the EndNow that you're in the End Portal room, you may notice that some of its frames have eyes of ender already in them, and some do not. For an End Portal to become active, all 12 frames need to have an eye of ender set in them. The chance for one to have an eye of ender sits right around 10%, so usually, you'll only get one or two that are full. The others you'll need to set yourself (hence having as many eyes of ender as you can.) To set an eye of ender in the frame, walk up to it and use the eye of ender on the frame. Once all 12 frames are set with eyes of ender, the center of the End Portal will become a dark, purple-ish substance that screams, "Do not enter." Of course, that'll be the gateway you'll need to take a swim in to get to the End. Be warned: using this portal is a one-way trip at first. Unless you slay the mighty ender dragon or die trying, you're not coming back from the End. Take this to heart and make sure you're ready. Departing from the EndAs mentioned before, leaving the End isn't as simple as going back the way you came. The End Portal will drop you off near the outskirts of the main island, and you won't be able to return. The only way back is another gateway in the center of the End, built out of bedrock and surrounded by massive obsidian obelisks. Oh, and the ender dragon is there too. The only problem? That gateway won't activate unless the ender dragon is fought and slain in glorious combat. That means you need to be fully prepared to defeat the big boss whenever you arrive, or risk being stranded in the End for all eternity, unless you die, of course. If you die, you return back to the last place that you rested, like usual. So you do have a way out if you want to take it, but you will most likely lose anything you have on you. Not the best route if you didn't drop off all your loot before heading through the End Portal. Once you've defeated the ender dragon, the gateway in the middle of the End will activate, and you can return home. Also, you'll get treated to the closest Minecraft has to credits, signifying that you've sort of beaten the game, or at least as close as you can in Minecraft. The End...of this guideGetting to the End is a lot of work. Getting out of the End is even more work. At this point, I'm not even sure it's worth all the effort. Then again, vanquishing the ender dragon and nabbing all those bragging rights does seem worth the risk. Whatever you decide, the End represents the culmination of everything Minecraft stands for survival, becoming stronger, exploring, and uncovering the secrets of this varied and beautiful game world. Have you journeyed to the End? How did you do it? Sound off in the comments below! |