Welcome to the Minecraft Stronghold Finder!
Since this is your first visit, Tutorial Mode has been activated. Once you're familiar with the Stronghold Finder Tool you can switch over to Simple Mode.What is This?
The Stronghold Finder is a tool for PC Minecraft that is designed to help you find
the strongholds and end portals in your Minecraft world in a few easy steps.
Before You Begin
The first thing you need to be familiar with is the debugging
screen you access by pressing F3 in Minecraft. All the numbers
required for this tool come from that screen.
Check out the video to the right for a quick overview of the debugging screen in various versions of Minecraft. If you're using a Mac and F3 does not bring up the debugging screen try using Fn + F3 or one of these.
There are a few conditions when this tool might not work well. These are listed in the Support section.
Check out the video to the right for a quick overview of the debugging screen in various versions of Minecraft. If you're using a Mac and F3 does not bring up the debugging screen try using Fn + F3 or one of these.
There are a few conditions when this tool might not work well. These are listed in the Support section.
What you Need
You will need a couple Eyes of Ender (wiki). These are created by
combining a Blaze Powder and an Enderpearl
in a crafting grid. They do break on occasion when used so it is
always good to have extras.
First Throw
The location of your first throw is not terribly important. It is good
to use an open area so you can easily see where your Eye of Ender floats to
without moving.
When you have chosen a location for the first throw, press F3 to get to the debugging screen and input the x and z coordinates below:
When you have chosen a location for the first throw, press F3 to get to the debugging screen and input the x and z coordinates below:
x
z
Next, right click while holding an Eye of Ender and watch where it floats.
As the eye hovers in the air put your crosshair directly in the middle of it and note the f number. See the video to the right to see an example of this step.
It will be a number between -180 and 180.
Record it below.
It is extremely important that you do not move from the above x and z coordinates during this step.
It is extremely important that you do not move from the above x and z coordinates during this step.
f
Warning: The entered values indicate the Eye of Ender is pointing away from where all the strongholds should be. Please double check the numbers before proceeding to the second throw.
Suggested Location for Second Throw
x:--z:--
Second Throw
After completing the first throw, the Stronghold Finder will recommend a location for a second throw.
Repeat the same process above near the suggested point and enter the values just like you did before.
x
z
f
Estimated Stronghold Location
x:--z:--
Error: The vectors formed by the two throws are parallel. That's not right.
Try using the suggested location for the second throw or moving the second throw info up to the first throw and try another throw at the new suggested point.
Try using the suggested location for the second throw or moving the second throw info up to the first throw and try another throw at the new suggested point.
If you are using Minecraft 1.8.9 or earlier: The estimated stronghold location is outside the region where strongholds should spawn. If you don't find it at the estimated location, try another set of throws in that general area for a more precise triangulation.
Error: The two vectors formed by your throws don't appear to intersect. You may need to try again and be mindful of negative signs on the numbers.
If you're sure the numbers for your 2nd throw are correct try moving them up to the first throw and doing another throw at the new suggested point.
If you're sure the numbers for your 2nd throw are correct try moving them up to the first throw and doing another throw at the new suggested point.
Don't Dig Down Just Yet
Now go to the estimated End Portal Location. Depending on several factors this
estimation might still be off by up to 100 blocks or so. Before you dig down, try
climbing on top of a tree or building up about 20 blocks above the ground and throwing
another Eye of Ender. If it flies towards the ground and hovers you're in the right
spot and can start digging down and looking for the stronghold.
If it flies up and away from you then it generally means the first, or both of your angles are slightly off due to input error or the way Minecraft estimates the stronghold location prior to it actually being generated. There are a few solutions: (click here to expand them)
If it flies up and away from you then it generally means the first, or both of your angles are slightly off due to input error or the way Minecraft estimates the stronghold location prior to it actually being generated. There are a few solutions: (click here to expand them)
Now Dig!
Now it's time to dig down and find your Stronghold. Much of the time you will find yourself directly on top of the End Portal Room
of the Stronghold but not always. As you're digging down keep an eye out for stone bricks and listen for things
like Zombies banging on doors, monsters in general and the hissing of silverfish.
If you're extremely unlucky and don't manage to find the stronghold with a little bit of searching. Check the support section for more info.
If you're extremely unlucky and don't manage to find the stronghold with a little bit of searching. Check the support section for more info.
Don't want to read the tutorial? I don't blame you.
The video has all the same info anyway.
The video has all the same info anyway.
Hi! I'm jsit! I hope you like this thing I made.
I don't make youtube or minecraft stuff anymore but I hope this works for a long time.
I don't make youtube or minecraft stuff anymore but I hope this works for a long time.
Support
When the Stronghold Finder might not work
There are several conditions that could cause a world to either not have a Stronghold or have Eyes of Ender that point in the wrong direction.
- If the seed has changed. Seed changes sometimes happen when multiplayer worlds switch servers or an admin makes changes without paying attention and will make finding strongholds with Eyes of Ender a lost cause. Keeping a world through terrain generation updates can also cause similar hopelessness.
- Sometimes when a world is created in one version of Minecraft and upgraded at some point to a later version the Eyes of Ender act wierd. It's possible that end portals get lost depending on how the world is explored and the sometimes the point the Eyes direct you to gets shifted. It usually still points to the same general area but it's pretty easy for a stronghold to be lost even if that point only gets shifted 50 to 100 blocks.
When the Stronghold Finder works best
The Stronghold Finder works best on a world young enough that it hasn't gone through updates but old enough that it's been explored a little bit. If a world is too young and hasn't been explored enough that strongholds have been generated, the Eye of Ender directions appear to be close approximation. They'll get you in the right area but the Eyes aren't precise enough to put you right over the stronghold. Once you get in the general area you can use the Stronghold Finder again and get a really precise estimate but an older, more explored world should dump you over the stronghold the very first time.
Basically, it's a good idea to start searching for a stronghold at about the time you're established enough to have a home, gone to the Nether and found a few Ender pearls. Don't put it off, go kill that Dragon.
Basically, it's a good idea to start searching for a stronghold at about the time you're established enough to have a home, gone to the Nether and found a few Ender pearls. Don't put it off, go kill that Dragon.
There is no Stronghold! What should I do?
There are a couple things you can try.
In versions prior to Minecraft 1.9:
There should be three strongholds in each world, all within 1200 blocks of the origin (x: 0, z:: 0). If you've explored the area where the Stronghold Finder tool has suggested to no avail you can try finding one of the others.
For example, if a Stronghold was supposed to be around x: 700, z:: 500 but you couldn't find it, try exploring the area around x: -1000, z:: -1000 and try again with your First throw being in that area. Hopefully the Eyes will start pointing towards one of the other Strongholds and you will find that one.
In Minecraft 1.9 and later:
There are a lot of strongholds in any given world now so try traveling a long way away from the suggested stronghold location and trying again. Hopefully it will point to another stronghold.
Another option:
You can always try using another program like Amidst or MC Edit to help you find the Stronghold in your single player worlds. There should be plenty of guides on them out there to get you started.
In versions prior to Minecraft 1.9:
There should be three strongholds in each world, all within 1200 blocks of the origin (x: 0, z:: 0). If you've explored the area where the Stronghold Finder tool has suggested to no avail you can try finding one of the others.
For example, if a Stronghold was supposed to be around x: 700, z:: 500 but you couldn't find it, try exploring the area around x: -1000, z:: -1000 and try again with your First throw being in that area. Hopefully the Eyes will start pointing towards one of the other Strongholds and you will find that one.
In Minecraft 1.9 and later:
There are a lot of strongholds in any given world now so try traveling a long way away from the suggested stronghold location and trying again. Hopefully it will point to another stronghold.
Another option:
You can always try using another program like Amidst or MC Edit to help you find the Stronghold in your single player worlds. There should be plenty of guides on them out there to get you started.
Any other Questions
If you run into any other problems that aren't covered already, goto the youtube video shown on this page and leave a comment.