An End City is a large structure that can be found in the End, the world of the Ender Dragon. It is a place where you can find all the end-game items and some of the most valuable Loot in the game.
The biggest problem, however, is finding an End City. Usually it can not be seen from the field where you fight the Ender Dragon, and finding it can certainly be a hard task given the size of the End.
So what’s the easiest way to find an End City in Minecraft?
Reaching The End
The End is where the final boss of Minecraft can be found, the Ender Dragon. It is a dimension just like the Nether and it may only be accessed through the End Portal.
Unlike a Nether Portal, which can be built anywhere and linked with other Nether Portals, there is only one End Portal.
This Portal is located within a hidden Stronghold. In order to find it you have to rely on Eyes of Ender to lead you to it. Once inside the Stronghold you have to find the Portal Room where you will find the unfinished Portal.
Placing the Eyes of Ender in the Portal allows you to activate it. Jumping through it you will reach the End.
However, as soon as you enter the End you will spawn on the Central Island, which is where the End Dragon resides.
You will have to defeat the Ender Dragon in order to continue exploring the End. To fight the Ender Dragon it is best to gear up with the best Weapons and Armor that you can find, preferably with Enchantments.
If you are on your own this will be a long fight.
Strongholds
Strongholds are large hidden structures within the Overworld. Like we have said, you first have to find a Stronghold in order to reach the End, because they are the only structure that contain the End Portal.
To find a Stronghold you will need an Eye of Ender, which can be made using an Ender Pearl and Blaze Powder.
To use the Eye of Ender you have to hold it and right-click. It will start an animation where the Eye flies into the air in the general direction of the Stronghold, before dropping down. Be ready for quite a long trip.
Usually the Eye of Ender stops near the Stronghold. You will know you have reached it when the Eye starts floating on the same block, rather than moving ahead. Usually you will have to dig to reach the structure.
Strongholds are rather large and maze-like. They will be full of Mobs, random Doors, and hallways, but also full of Loot to prepare you a bit for your trip to the End.
Usually the Eye will lead you to a ‘starting staircase’, which is a spiral staircase that leads into the Stronghold. The End Portal room is usually within 5 rooms from this staircase. There is no need to go far and wide searching for it, or you might get lost.
Every End Portal room is entered through a gate made out of Iron Bars, rather than an Oak or Iron Door.
Finding The End City
The End is believed to be all a single biome, but it is composed of several different ‘structures’ or areas.
The first one we’ve already mentioned, the Central Island. This is the area you spawn in after jumping through the Portal and where you fight the Ender Dragon.
At first it will seem like there is nothing else. However, there is a whole cluster of islands about a 1000 blocks across the Void from the Central Island.
These are called the Outer Islands.
To reach them, you luckily do not have to fly and build a 1000 block long bridge.
Once the Ender Dragon is defeated, you will certainly see the End Portal activate. However, somewhere along the edge of the Central Island another Portal will activate.
This is an End Gateway which will take you directly toward the Outer Islands, without the hassle of flying or building required.
You will have to use an Ender Pearl or make yourself crawl to enter the Gateway.
The Outer Islands are composed of multiple larger islands, similar to the Central Island, with multiple smaller islands surrounding them. Some Islands are connected, other you will have to fly or build to reach.
Now, the generation of an End City is almost entirely random, with only a single general rule: that they spawn on flatter areas of the larger islands.
You can be lucky and have the portal spawn you really close to one, or travel for hours without seeing neither an End City or an End Ship.
End City Loot and Mobs
The End City as well as the End Ship are the two types of large structures that naturally generate in the Outer Islands.
Both of these structures are constructed of the same material; Purpur Blocks, End Stone Bricks, and are lit up with End Rods. The End Ship is generally seen as a stand alone structure that floats on its own above an island or between islands.
The End City can spawn as a single tower-like structure or multiple towers connected to one another. Their generation is random in terms of placement, but can only be found on the largest of the Outer Islands.
Sometimes an End City can be standing alone or really close to other End City structures.
These larger islands where End Cities are located are also where Chorus Trees grow and can be harvested.
Endermen and Shulkers are the only Mobs that inhabit these areas. Endermen are Mobs you are certainly used to by the time you reach the end, but Shulkers are a bit different.
They are stationary hostile Mobs that protect the Loot rooms of End Cities. They hide inside a protective ‘shell’. When a player is close enough they open the shell up to shoot a projectile toward you.
Occasionally they can be seen peaking out of their boxes to look around if there is no Player within their attack range.
To kill them it is best to wait until they open up their box to shoot, as this reduces their overall Armor. Upon death Shulkers drop Shulker Shells and Experience. However, the real reward is the Loot room that they guard.
There are other, smaller rooms throughout the End City which contain Chests with Loot, but the Loot room is the one that provides 2 Chests and has higher chance of giving better grade Items.
Some rooms can also have Ender Chests where you can safely store away your Loot.
The Items you can generally find within the End City are:
- Gold Ingots
- Iron Ingots
- Betroot Seeds
- Diamonds
- Saddles
- Enchanted Iron Tools
- Enchanted Iron Armor
- Enchanted Diamond Tools
- Enchanted Diamond Armor
- Emeralds
- Iron Horse Armor
- Golden Horse Armor
- Diamond Horse Armor
End Ships in Minecraft
An End Ship can be found spawned rather close to an End City that holds very valuable Loot. It is a floating structure that is a bit hard to reach.
When spawning near an End City there is a high chance that the City spawns a ‘bridge’ that is pointed toward the Ship. This bridge ends in an archway that faces to the Ship’s sternum, while the Ship faces away from the City.
It is protected by several Shulkers both inside and outside. Inside the hull of the Ship is where you can find Loot similarly like you can in the End City, except the chances for better Loot is higher here.
In the first Ship I had found in my playthrough I immediately found an Item Frame with an Elytra, while the Cities in turn gave me mostly Diamonds and Enchanted Tools and Armor.
