End City structure in Minecraft

How to get to an End City

End Cities only generate in the End Highlands and the End Midlands, the biomes of the large outer islands. The central island, where you fight the Ender Dragon, never has one. Once the dragon is dead, an End Gateway appears near the edge of the central island: a small portal block wrapped in bedrock. Throw an Ender Pearl into it and you are teleported to the outer islands, where a second gateway takes you back. Each new dragon fight opens one more gateway.

Out there, the game places at most one city in each region of 20 × 20 chunks, never closer than 11 chunks to the next, and only on islands high and solid enough to hold it. Use the /locate command or the seed map above, then cross the void with blocks, Ender Pearls or chorus fruit. Their purple spires are visible from far away against the black sky.

What's inside an End City

A city is built from Purpur Blocks, purpur pillars and stairs, End Stone Bricks, End Rods and magenta stained glass. It starts with a house of several floors, then grows upward with thin towers, bridges and, often, a wide tower crowned by a large room. The size and the number of chests vary a lot from one city to another, so it pays to explore several.

Chests stand in the top rooms of the wide towers and in some house floors, one of which also holds an Ender Chest. They give enchanted diamond and iron armor, weapons and tools, along with diamonds, emeralds, gold and iron, saddles and horse armor. Each chest also has a 1 in 15 chance of the Spire Armor Trim Smithing Template.

The End Ship and its Elytra

Some cities have an End Ship floating beside them, apart from the buildings: bring blocks or pearls to reach it. Not every city has one, so you may have to visit several before you find a ship. Three Shulkers guard it. On board you will find two chests, a brewing stand holding two Potions of Healing II, a Dragon Head and the real prize: Elytra in an item frame.

There is only one pair of Elytra per ship, so in multiplayer each player needs their own ship. Elytra let you glide, and firework rockets push you forward in flight. They wear out as you fly: repair them with phantom membranes at an anvil, or use Mending.

How to deal with Shulkers

Shulkers cling to walls, floors and ceilings and look like purpur blocks until they open. They fire homing bullets that inflict Levitation and lift you into the air. A few seconds of it over the void or above a tall tower can be fatal when it wears off. Closed in their shell, they take far less damage, so strike when they open to shoot.

• Drink a Potion of Slow Falling before climbing, or keep a bucket of milk to clear Levitation at once.
• Break the line of sight. Bullets follow you, but a block placed in their path stops them.
• Fight indoors when you can. A ceiling stops your rise, and you only fall a short distance.
• Collect the shells. A Shulker drops a Shulker Shell half of the time, more with Looting. Two shells and a chest make a Shulker Box that keeps its contents when you break it.

Shulkers never spawn again on their own. A Shulker hit by another Shulker's bullet can multiply, though, which is the base of every shell farm.

Tips for a successful End City raid

• Prepare like for the dragon. Bring Feather Falling boots, blocks, food, Ender Pearls and a Potion of Healing or two.
• Climb from the inside. The stairs and ladders inside the towers keep you out of the Shulkers' line of fire.
• Mind the Endermen. They roam the islands; do not look at them while you fight Shulkers.
• Bring a second set of armor. The enchanted gear from the chests often beats what you came with.
• Fly home. Once you have the Elytra, take firework rockets: they turn the long walk between islands into a short flight.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026