Overview
The End is a set of islands floating in an endless void, lit by a dim permanent glow with no sun, no moon, no weather and no water — a bucket poured here places nothing. You arrive on the central island through a stronghold portal, and the ender dragon is waiting: it is healed by end crystals mounted on the obsidian pillars around the island, so the fight is really a demolition job followed by a boss fight. Killing it drops a large block of experience, spawns the dragon egg, opens the exit portal home, and creates the first end gateway. That gateway is the real reward, because it teleports you roughly 1,000 blocks outward to the outer islands, where end cities generate. An end city is purpur towers patrolled by shulkers, and roughly 1 in 3 have an end ship moored alongside holding the only elytra in the game in an item frame. Endermen spawn everywhere in the End at a much higher rate than in the Overworld, so a carved pumpkin on the head is standard kit. Beds explode here exactly as in the Nether, and a fall into the void is unrecoverable, inventory included.
Elytra from end ships, shulker shells for shulker boxes, ender pearls in quantity, chorus fruit and purpur, the dragon egg, and heavily enchanted diamond gear from end city chests.
What it is
The End is a set of islands floating in an endless void, lit by a permanent dim glow with no sun, moon or weather. The central island holds the Ender Dragon and the obsidian pillars that regenerate its health.
Beyond a thousand blocks of empty void from the centre lie the outer islands, where end cities and end ships generate.
The Ender Dragon
Defeating the dragon is the closest thing Minecraft has to an ending. It requires destroying the end crystals on the obsidian pillars first — the higher ones are caged and need to be reached or shot through the gaps.
Killing it drops a large amount of experience and opens the exit portal and the first end gateway.
What you go back for
Elytra, found in end ships, is the single most transformative item in the game. End cities also hold shulker boxes, enchanted diamond gear and the dragon head.
Properties
The End runs Y 0 to Y 255, islands around Y 40–70 and holds 5 biomes and 4 generated structures. Distances here are 1:1.
- Weather
- No
- Day-night cycle
- No
Biomes in The End
5 biomes generate in The End. Which one you are standing in decides the mobs, the structures and, in the Overworld, the weather.
Structures in The End
End City, End Ship, End Gateway, and Obsidian Pillars generate here.
- End City — A tower complex of purpur blocks and end stone bricks on the outer End islands, reachable only through an end gateway after killing the dragon.
- End Ship — A flying purpur galleon that generates alongside roughly one in four end cities, hovering in the air with no bridge to it, so reaching it means building out or using an ender pearl.
- End Gateway — A small bedrock frame around a magenta beacon of light, created above the central island each time the ender dragon is killed, up to twenty of them.
- Obsidian Pillars — Ten obsidian towers of varying heights arranged in a ring around the central End island, each topped with an end crystal that heals the ender dragon whenever it flies within range.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do I get to The End?
Find a stronghold with eyes of ender, fill the twelve end portal frames with eyes, and step in. There is no way back except dying or the exit portal.
How big is The End?
It runs Y 0 to Y 255, islands around Y 40–70, and distances are 1:1.
How to get it
Throw eyes of ender to locate a stronghold, then fill the 12-block end portal frame. Each eye has a 20 percent chance of breaking when thrown, so carry at least 15 for the search and the frame.
Tips
- Destroy every end crystal before you fight the dragon; the 2 caged ones need an arrow through the bars or a climb.
- Wear a carved pumpkin — it removes the enderman look-aggro mechanic entirely at the cost of some screen edges.
- Keep 16 firework rockets and a spare elytra in an ender chest at the gateway before flying to the outer islands.
- Beds explode in the End too, but a bed detonated against the perched dragon is still the highest-damage attack available.