How to Get Ender Eyes in Minecraft: A Complete Guide

The Eye of Ender is a crucial item in Minecraft, essential for locating the Stronghold and ultimately accessing the End Dimension to face the Ender Dragon. This guide will detail exactly how to obtain this vital item and answer common questions you may have.

How do you get Ender eyes in Minecraft?

You obtain Ender Eyes by crafting them. The recipe requires one unit of Blaze Powder and one unit of Ender Pearl. Blaze Powder is obtained by crafting it from Blaze Rods, which are dropped by Blazes found within the Nether Fortress. Ender Pearls are dropped by Endermen, which can be found in all dimensions but are more common in the End and the Nether. Therefore, to get Ender Eyes, you must venture into the Nether, defeat Blazes and Endermen, and then combine their respective drops.

Gathering the Necessary Ingredients

To craft Ender Eyes, you need two primary ingredients: Blaze Powder and Ender Pearls. Let’s break down how to acquire each of these:

Obtaining Blaze Powder

1. Enter the Nether: Construct a Nether Portal using Obsidian and activate it with Flint and Steel. Be prepared for hostile environments and strong mobs.
2. Locate a Nether Fortress: These structures are randomly generated and can be found by exploring the Nether. Look for brick buildings with bridges and corridors.
3. Defeat Blazes: Blazes are fiery creatures that spawn within Nether Fortresses, typically near spawners. They attack with fireballs, so be prepared with ranged weapons and fire resistance potions.
4. Collect Blaze Rods: Upon defeating a Blaze, it will drop Blaze Rods. The number of rods dropped is typically one, but can be increased with the looting enchantment.
5. Craft Blaze Powder: Place a Blaze Rod in a crafting table to obtain two units of Blaze Powder.

Obtaining Ender Pearls

1. Find Endermen: Endermen are tall, black creatures that teleport frequently and become hostile if looked at directly. They spawn in all dimensions, but are significantly more common in the End. They are also more common in the Nether than the Overworld.
2. Defeat Endermen: Endermen are challenging to defeat due to their teleportation ability. Use ranged attacks or time your melee attacks carefully. Water damages them, so using it tactically can be effective.
3. Collect Ender Pearls: When an Enderman is defeated, it has a chance to drop an Ender Pearl. The chance of dropping an Ender Pearl increases with the looting enchantment.

Crafting the Eye of Ender

Once you have both Blaze Powder and Ender Pearls, the crafting process is straightforward:

1. Open a Crafting Table: This is the 3×3 grid where you combine ingredients.
2. Place the Ingredients: Put one unit of Blaze Powder and one unit of Ender Pearl anywhere in the crafting table. The placement doesn’t matter.
3. Collect your Eye of Ender: The crafted Eye of Ender will appear in the output slot.

Congratulations! You have successfully crafted an Eye of Ender. Now you can use them to locate the Stronghold!

Using the Eye of Ender to Find the Stronghold

Eyes of Ender are not only crafting components but also valuable tools for locating the Stronghold, the gateway to the End Dimension. To use an Eye of Ender for this purpose:

1. Hold the Eye of Ender: Make sure the Eye of Ender is selected in your hotbar.
2. Use the Eye of Ender: Right-click (or the equivalent button on your console/device) to throw the Eye of Ender into the air.
3. Follow the Eye: The Eye of Ender will float in the direction of the nearest Stronghold.
4. Pick up the Eye (if possible): There is a chance that the Eye of Ender will break upon use, but if you are quick, you can recover it.
5. Repeat: Continue throwing and following the Eye of Ender until it floats downwards and hovers over a specific spot on the ground. This indicates that you are directly above the Stronghold.
6. Dig Down: Carefully dig down, and you should eventually find the entrance to the Stronghold.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How many Ender Eyes do I need to find the Stronghold?

There’s no fixed number. It depends on the distance to the Stronghold and the number of Eyes of Ender that break during the process. It’s wise to bring at least 12-16 Eyes of Ender for a higher chance of success. Some players may need significantly more.

2. Can I find Ender Eyes in chests?

While rare, Eyes of Ender can be found in chests within Strongholds. This is not a reliable method of obtaining them, however, as the spawn rate is very low.

3. What is the looting enchantment, and how does it help me get Ender Pearls?

The Looting enchantment can be applied to swords and increases the chance of mobs dropping more items upon death. A sword with Looting will increase the chance of Endermen dropping Ender Pearls.

4. Is it possible for an Eye of Ender to lead me back to where I started?

Yes, this can happen if you are already very close to the Stronghold or if the Eye of Ender is bugged. Try moving a significant distance away and throwing another Eye of Ender.

5. Can I use a silk touch pickaxe to get Blaze Spawners?

No, Blaze Spawners cannot be mined with any type of pickaxe. They will simply break, without dropping the spawner block.

6. Are Endermen harder to find in Peaceful Mode?

Yes, because hostile mobs, including Endermen, do not spawn in Peaceful Mode.

7. Can I breed Endermen?

No, Endermen cannot be bred. They can only be found naturally spawning.

8. What happens if I look at an Enderman with a pumpkin on my head?

Wearing a carved Pumpkin on your head prevents Endermen from becoming hostile when you look directly at them. However, attacking them will still cause them to become hostile.

9. Do Eyes of Ender always lead to a Stronghold?

Yes, Eyes of Ender will always lead to the nearest Stronghold. Each world contains multiple Strongholds.

10. How many Strongholds are there in a Minecraft world?

The number of strongholds depends on the world size. In a fully generated world there are around 128 strongholds.

11. Can I use Ender Eyes in Creative Mode?

Yes, you can use Eyes of Ender in Creative Mode to locate Strongholds just as you would in Survival Mode.

12. What are the coordinates of the Stronghold?

The coordinates can vary greatly depending on your world. Follow the Eyes of Ender to locate it and note the coordinates once you find the entrance. You can use F3 to bring up debug information, including your current coordinates.

13. Do Ender Pearls have any other uses besides crafting Eyes of Ender?

Yes, Ender Pearls can be used for teleportation. Throwing an Ender Pearl will instantly teleport you to where it lands, but you will take a small amount of damage. They are also used in crafting End Crystals and Eye of Ender.

14. How do I fight Endermen effectively?

Use ranged weapons like bows and arrows, or use melee weapons and exploit the environment. Water damages Endermen, so using it strategically can be helpful. Wearing diamond armour is very effective at reducing damage taken from Endermen.

15. Can I enchant an Eye of Ender?

No, Eyes of Ender cannot be enchanted. The ingredients required to make Eyes of Ender, however, can be affected by enchantments.