Can Ender Chests Be Blown Up? A Minecraft Expert’s Guide
The short answer is: yes, Ender Chests can be blown up in Minecraft, but it’s extremely difficult. Unlike regular chests, they possess a high blast resistance, making them significantly more resilient to explosions. This resistance means that a standard TNT explosion will likely not destroy an Ender Chest, but persistent and powerful explosions can eventually break them.
Ender Chest Blast Resistance: Understanding the Mechanics
Ender Chests have a blast resistance value of 30. To put this into perspective, obsidian, one of the most blast-resistant blocks in the game, has a value of 1200. That means that obsidian is 40 times harder to break by explosion! Ordinary chests, in contrast, have a blast resistance of 2.5. This difference in blast resistance is why it’s very difficult to blow up an Ender Chest.
Here’s what you need to know about explosions and Ender Chests:
- TNT: A single TNT block has a blast resistance score of 4. If the explosion is too far away, it has no effect on the Ender Chest. Even point-blank, you might need several TNT blocks to destroy the chest with a blast power of 4.
- Creeper: Creepers have a blast resistance ranging from 3 to 6, depending on whether they are charged. A charged creeper is slightly more effective, but still a very difficult way to destroy an Ender Chest.
- Bed Explosion (in the Nether/End): Beds are the most destructive. Beds explode in the Nether and the End dimensions. A bed in the Nether explodes with a blast strength of 5. This makes it one of the easier ways to damage or destroy the chest, though still requires some deliberate placement and repeat detonations. This is one of the easier methods to try and blow up your own Ender Chest.
- Withers: Wither explosions are even more powerful, and they are also more difficult to use because they are so costly to create.
Strategic Considerations
Because of the relative difficulty of destroying an Ender Chest with explosions, players rarely try to destroy them this way. It’s far more common to break the chest using a pickaxe. Keep in mind that if you want to pick up the chest, you’ll need a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch. Without Silk Touch, the chest will drop only 8 obsidian blocks.
Practical Applications & Caveats
Given the challenge of destroying an Ender Chest with explosions, players shouldn’t rely on this method for griefing. You should also know that if your goal is to simply remove the chest from the environment, a pickaxe is far more efficient and less wasteful of resources. The primary takeaway is that while possible, destroying an Ender Chest with explosions is an impractical endeavor in most scenarios.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Ender Chests
1. Do Ender Chests share the same inventory space?
Yes, they do! Each player has their own unique Ender Chest inventory. Any item you place in one Ender Chest will be accessible in any other Ender Chest you open, as long as it’s your Ender Chest. This makes them incredibly useful for storing valuable items that you want to access from anywhere in the Minecraft world, or from any dimension.
2. What happens when you break an Ender Chest without Silk Touch?
If you break an Ender Chest with a regular pickaxe (without the Silk Touch enchantment), it will drop 8 obsidian blocks and no Eye of Ender. You won’t get the chest itself. To obtain the Ender Chest intact, you need a pickaxe with the Silk Touch enchantment.
3. Is an Ender Chest unbreakable?
No, Ender Chests are not unbreakable. You can break an ender chest with a pickaxe. However, if you break an ender chest with an unenchanted diamond pickaxe, it’ll be destroyed and you’ll lose some of the materials you used to craft it.
4. What happens if you put an Ender Chest inside another Ender Chest?
This isn’t possible in standard Minecraft gameplay. You cannot place an Ender Chest inside another Ender Chest. The game mechanics prevent recursive storage like this to avoid potential exploits.
5. Can someone steal from my Ender Chest?
No. Items in your Ender Chests are completely private to you. Other players cannot access or steal items from your Ender Chest. When another player interacts with an Ender Chest, they only see their own personal Ender Chest inventory.
6. Can I move an Ender Chest after placing it?
Yes, but only if you use a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch. If you mine it without Silk Touch, it will only drop obsidian blocks. Silk Touch allows you to pick up the entire Ender Chest block and move it to a new location.
7. How do I craft an Eye of Ender?
To craft an Eye of Ender, combine 1 Ender Pearl and 1 Blaze Powder in a crafting table. Place the Ender Pearl and Blaze Powder in any slot of the crafting grid; the arrangement doesn’t matter.
8. What should I keep in my Ender Chest?
Ender Chests are ideal for storing valuable items like:
- Diamond tools and armor
- Enchanted books
- Rare resources
- Backup gear
- Emergency supplies
Basically, anything you’d hate to lose upon death.
9. How can I access another player’s Ender Chest in Bedrock?
In standard Bedrock Edition gameplay, you cannot directly access another player’s Ender Chest. There are commands to do this as an admin, but the normal players cannot. There may be server plugins or mods that allow this functionality, but these are not part of the base game.
10. Is an Ender Chest better than a Shulker Box?
Both serve different purposes. An Ender Chest provides access to a shared personal inventory across any dimension. A Shulker Box, obtainable from the End, is like a portable chest that you can carry in your inventory. Shulker Boxes are great for moving large quantities of items, while Ender Chests are for accessing important items at any base location.
11. Can a Silk Touch axe break an Ender Chest?
No, Ender Chests can only be mined using a pickaxe. Even if the axe has Silk Touch, it won’t work. Use a Silk Touch enchanted pickaxe.
12. Can hoppers pull items from Ender Chests?
With the appropriate mod, such as Ender Hopper, you can use hoppers to pull items from or insert items into a player’s Ender Chest automatically. This is not a feature of the vanilla game, however.
13. Can you craft Ender Chests?
Yes, to craft an Ender Chest, place 1 Eye of Ender in the center slot of a crafting table and surround it with 8 Obsidian blocks.
14. Do Ender Chests despawn in the End dimension?
Ender Chests do not despawn naturally. However, if you place an Ender Chest directly on the obsidian platform in the End, it will be cleared when the platform regenerates.
15. Can I put a full Shulker Box in an Ender Chest?
Yes! You can place filled Shulker Boxes inside your Ender Chest, effectively increasing your storage capacity. This is a very popular strategy for players who need to transport large quantities of items across long distances or between dimensions.
Ultimately, mastering the use of Ender Chests requires a blend of practical knowledge and a deep understanding of Minecraft’s mechanics. These unique blocks provide unparalleled utility for storage and transport, making them an essential tool for any serious Minecraft player. You can learn more about the social and learning dynamics within gaming communities, visit the Games Learning Society website at GamesLearningSociety.org.