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Topic 2 of 3

Minecraft: Eyes of ender and the stronghold

Ender pearls plus blaze powder make eyes of ender, which point the way to a stronghold and open its End portal.

  • 3 parts · 9 steps

Steps from 9 text guides, 1 video to watch · checked Oct 19, 2026

0 of 3 done
Video: Loopy Longplays on YouTube. Loads from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press play.

What each player can do here

P1 · Player 1
  • Pearl hunter: endermen drop the ender pearls; they hit hard, so armor and a sword matter.
P2 · Players 2–4
  • Navigator: throws the eyes, follows them and picks them back up when they drop.

If your skill levels differ: Our suggestionOne player throws while the other watches where the eye lands, so fewer eyes get lost. How to split the roles

Ender pearls

Part 1 of 3. Collect a stack of pearls from endermen.

  1. BothEndermen drop an ender pearl about half the time; pearls also turn up in stronghold chests and from piglin bartering.
  2. BothLooking an enderman in the face makes it attack, so only meet its eyes when you are ready to fight.
  3. BothEndermen teleport away from arrows, so fight them with a sword.
  4. BothAn enderman cannot fit under a two-block-high ceiling, so attacking from under a low roof keeps you safer.

Crafting the eyes

Part 2 of 3. Turn pearls and blaze powder into eyes of ender.

  1. BothCombine one ender pearl with one blaze powder to craft an eye of ender.
  2. BothThe End portal has twelve frame blocks to fill and a few may already hold an eye; bring extra, because thrown eyes can break.

Finding the stronghold

Part 3 of 3. Follow the eyes to the portal room.

  1. Players 2–4Throw an eye with the use button: it flies off toward the nearest stronghold. Walk that way, then throw again.
  2. Players 2–4Each throw has a one-in-five chance to shatter the eye; otherwise it drops and can be picked up again.
  3. BothIn the stronghold, find the portal room and put an eye in every frame block to open the End portal.
Sources (10)

Steps compiled from 9 text guides, checked Oct 19, 2026, and written in our own words. The videos are there to watch each part; they are not counted as sources for the steps. We did not play the game for this guide. A step marked “single source” rests on one guide so far.