End Cities are the ultimate endgame structures in Minecraft, found on the outer islands of the End dimension. They're the only source of Elytra (the gliding wings), shulker shells (for portable storage), and some of the best enchanted gear in the game. Getting your first pair of Elytra is a defining moment in any Minecraft survival world — it transforms how you travel forever.
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This guide walks you through the entire process: beating the Ender Dragon, reaching the outer End islands, finding End Cities with End Ships, fighting Shulkers safely, and collecting all the valuable loot. We also cover the best seeds where End Cities spawn close to the main island.
Prerequisites — Reaching the End
Before you can find End Cities, you need to:
- Find a Stronghold — Use Eyes of Ender or our Stronghold Finder to locate one
- Activate the End Portal — Place Eyes of Ender in all 12 portal frames (some may already be filled)
- Defeat the Ender Dragon — This is required to unlock the End Gateway that teleports you to the outer islands
For a detailed guide on finding strongholds, see our Complete Stronghold Guide.
Recommended Gear for the End
| Item | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond/Netherite armor (enchanted) | Full set | Protection from Shulker levitation and falls |
| Sword (Sharpness IV+) | 1 | Killing Shulkers and Endermen |
| Bow (Infinity or Power IV+) | 1 | Shooting Shulkers at range — essential |
| Ender pearls | 16-32 | Bridging gaps, emergency teleports |
| Blocks (endstone/cobblestone) | 128+ | Bridging between islands and towers |
| Slow Falling potions | 4-6 | Counter Shulker levitation — prevents lethal falls |
| Food (golden carrots) | 64+ | Extended exploration sustenance |
| Pumpkin head (optional) | 1 | Prevents Endermen from being aggro when you look at them |
How to Reach the Outer End Islands
After defeating the Ender Dragon, End Gateways spawn around the central End island. These small, glowing portals teleport you approximately 1,000 blocks away to the outer End islands where End Cities generate.
Method 1: End Gateway (Recommended)
- After the dragon fight, look for a small bedrock structure with a purple beam — this is an End Gateway
- Throw an ender pearl into the gateway portal (the small gap in the bedrock frame)
- You'll be teleported to the outer End islands, typically near or on a larger island
Method 2: Bridging (Slow But No Ender Pearls Needed)
You can manually build a bridge from the central island outward. End Cities start generating about 1,000 blocks from the center (0, 0). This takes a lot of blocks but guarantees safe arrival.
Method 3: Ender Pearl Bridging
Throw ender pearls toward visible islands in the distance. Each pearl covers about 40-50 blocks of horizontal distance. Combined with short bridges, this is faster than pure bridging.
Finding End Cities
Use MC Seed View (Instant)
Switch to the End dimension on MC Seed View and enable the End City layer. All End City locations are displayed with exact coordinates. Use the End City Finder tool for a focused view.
Use the /locate Command
/locate structure minecraft:end_cityReturns the nearest End City coordinates from your current position in the End.
Manual Exploration
End Cities generate on larger End islands — the medium to large landmasses rather than small floating chunks. Look for:
- Purpur blocks — End Cities are made of purple purpur blocks that stand out against the pale yellow end stone
- Tall towers — End City towers can reach 50+ blocks high, making them visible from a distance
- End rods — Glowing light sources on the exterior of the city
- Chorus plants — While not part of the city, dense chorus plant forests often surround End City islands
End City Structure Layout
End Cities are tower-based structures made of purpur blocks, purpur pillars, end stone bricks, and end rods. They consist of several connected components:
Base Tower
The main entrance tower, usually 3-4 stories tall. Contains the first chests and Shulkers. A good starting point for clearing the city bottom-up.
Wing Towers
Branch towers that extend from the main tower at various heights. Connected by bridges or purpur slabs. Each wing has additional rooms with chests and Shulkers.
Treasure Rooms
Small enclosed rooms within towers containing 1-2 chests with the best loot. Watch for Shulkers guarding the entrances.
Bridge Sections
Narrow purpur slab walkways connecting different towers. Extremely dangerous — Shulker levitation here can float you off the edge into the void. Use Slow Falling potions when crossing.
End Ship (Separate Structure)
Not every End City has an End Ship. When present, the ship floats near the top of the tallest tower, connected by a bridge. The ship contains the Elytra — see the next section.
End Ships & Getting Elytra
The End Ship is a floating boat-shaped structure that spawns attached to some End Cities. It's the only source of Elytra in survival Minecraft.
End Ship Spawn Chance
Approximately 56.25% of End Cities have an End Ship. If the city you found doesn't have one, you'll need to find another city. Use MC Seed View to identify which cities have ships before traveling.
Inside the End Ship
- Bow (Brewing Stand room) — The front of the ship has a brewing stand with two Instant Health II potions
- Treasure room — Two chests with enchanted gear, diamonds, and gold
- Item frame with Elytra — At the stern (back) of the ship, an item frame contains the Elytra. Simply break the item frame to collect it.
- Dragon Head — Mounted on the bow (front) of the ship. Break it to collect this rare decorative block.
- 3 Shulkers — Guard the interior. Clear them before grabbing the Elytra.
Fighting Shulkers — Combat Guide
Shulkers are the unique mob found exclusively in End Cities. They look like purpur blocks when their shell is closed and open to shoot homing projectiles.
Shulker Attacks
- Shulker bullet — A slow-moving homing projectile that follows you around corners. Deals 4 damage (2 hearts) and applies Levitation for 10 seconds.
- Levitation effect — Floats you upward at about 0.9 blocks per second. After 10 seconds, you've risen ~9 blocks. When it wears off, you take fall damage from the height gained.
Combat Strategy
- Use a bow — Shulkers are most vulnerable when their shell is open (they open to shoot). Wait for the shell to open, then shoot. Closed Shulkers have natural armor that deflects arrows.
- Destroy bullets — Shulker bullets can be hit with a sword or shield to destroy them before they reach you. Timing takes practice but prevents levitation entirely.
- Use Slow Falling — With Slow Falling active, levitation is harmless. You float up gently and descend slowly when it wears off. Essential in tower environments.
- Fight indoors — Inside rooms, levitation just pushes you into the ceiling instead of into the sky. Much safer than fighting on bridges or exteriors.
- Kill from below — Shulkers on ceilings can be hit with swords from directly underneath when their shell opens downward.
Shulker Drops
Each Shulker has a 50% chance to drop a Shulker Shell. With Looting III, this increases to 68.75%. You need 2 shells + 1 chest to craft a Shulker Box.
Complete End City Loot Table
| Item | Chance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Elytra | 100% (if ship exists) | One per End Ship, in item frame |
| Dragon Head | 100% (if ship exists) | Decorative block on ship bow |
| Enchanted diamond armor | ~13% per piece | Often Protection III-IV |
| Enchanted diamond sword | ~13% | Often Sharpness III-IV |
| Enchanted diamond tools | ~13% per tool | Pickaxes, shovels with Efficiency |
| Enchanted iron armor/tools | ~10% per piece | Usually with good enchantments |
| Diamond (2-7) | ~8% | Raw diamonds |
| Gold ingot (2-7) | ~10% | Useful for golden apples |
| Emerald (2-6) | ~9% | Trading currency |
| Iron ingot (4-8) | ~10% | Crafting material |
| Beetroot seeds | ~5% | Farming |
| Saddle | ~3% | Horse/Strider riding |
| Spire Armor Trim | ~6.7% | Exclusive to End Cities |
Using and Maintaining Elytra
How to Fly
- Equip Elytra in your chestplate slot
- Jump off a high place (at least 3 blocks)
- Press the jump button again while falling to open the wings
- Use firework rockets while gliding to boost your speed and gain altitude
- Look up to gain height (slowly) or down to dive (fast)
Firework Rockets (Fuel)
Firework Rocket Recipe: 1 Paper + 1 Gunpowder = 3 Firework Rockets (duration 1)
1 Paper + 2 Gunpowder = 3 Firework Rockets (duration 2, longer boost)
1 Paper + 3 Gunpowder = 3 Firework Rockets (duration 3, longest boost)
Durability and Repair
- Durability: 432 points (1 point per second of flight)
- Unbreaking III: Effectively quadruples flight time to ~28 minutes
- Mending: The most important enchantment — repairs Elytra using XP orbs. With Mending, your Elytra lasts forever.
- Anvil repair: Combine two damaged Elytra in an anvil, or use phantom membranes (4 membranes restores 108 durability)
Shulker Boxes — Portable Storage
Shulker Boxes are one of the most useful items in Minecraft — portable storage that keeps its contents when broken.
Crafting
Shulker Box Recipe: 1 Shulker Shell (top) + 1 Chest (middle) + 1 Shulker Shell (bottom)
Each box stores 27 item stacks (same as a chest).
Why Shulker Boxes Are Game-Changing
- Portable storage — Break a shulker box and it keeps all 27 item stacks inside. Place it to access items, break it to carry everything.
- Stackable in Ender Chest — Put shulker boxes inside an ender chest. One ender chest (27 slots × 27 stacks per shulker box) = 729 stacks of portable storage.
- Dyeable — Craft with any dye to color-code your storage (tools = red, blocks = green, valuables = purple, etc.)
- Hopper compatible — Works with hoppers for automated item sorting systems
Best Seeds for End Cities Near Gateway
End City with End Ship within 500 blocks of the default gateway exit. Quick Elytra access. Multiple additional End Cities in the surrounding area for shulker shell farming.
🗺️ View in End →Dense End City cluster with 3 cities (2 with ships) within 1,000 blocks of the gateway. Excellent for collecting multiple Elytra and hundreds of shulker shells in one trip.
🗺️ View in End →🏙️ Find End Cities on Your Seed
Locate all End Cities and Elytra ships. Plan your End exploration route.
Open End Cities Finder →