The End

A view of the End's central island. The ender dragon can be seen flying around the end spikes.

A view of the outer islands of the End. An end city with a ship, as well as an end gateway can be seen.

The End is a dark, space-like dimension consisting of separate islands in the void, made out of end stone. It is inhabited by endermen and shulkers. The ender dragon also spawns when the player first arrives. The End is the final goal of Minecraft. The ender dragon is considered the final boss, and it is necessary to defeat it to "beat" the game and see the end poem.

Accessing

An activated end portal found in a stronghold.

To access the End, the player must go through the process of finding a stronghold using eyes of ender, finding the portal room, and activating the end portal in the end portal room. The room consists of a 5×5 square of end portal frames, with the corners cut out, making a total of 12. The portal hangs over a lava pool, with a staircase leading up to it. A silverfish spawner sits on top of the staircase.

The player can activate the portal by filling the 12 end portal frames each with an eye of ender. Each frame block has a 10% chance of generating with an eye in it. Once all the eyes of ender are placed, the portal activates and emits a loud noise. As soon as it is activated, the portal destroys all blocks in the central 3×3 square, including bedrock or another portal frame, and replaces them with the end portal blocks that can teleport an entity into the End dimension. Upon jumping into the portal, the player immediately arrives in the End (x: 100, z: 0), along with any prior entities that may have teleported.

If cheats are enabled, players can also teleport to the End without using an end portal: the command /execute in the_end allows the player to select their teleportation destination in the End directly.

Environment

The End consists of one large island surrounded at a distance by many smaller islands, all mainly composed of end stone. There is a gap between the central island and the outer islands of about 1000 blocks with nothing but the void.

The starless sky and the void of the End are both composed of a blank, static pattern. The daylight cycle is absent in the End, similar to the Nether, being replaced by a constant dim light.

The weather cycle does not exist in the End, meaning there is no rain, snowfall, or thunderstorms.

Most items and blocks function in the End exactly as they do in the Overworld, with a few notable exceptions:

• Beds and respawn anchors cause an explosion 25% stronger than TNT and cause fires when one attempts to use them, as beds do in the Nether and respawn anchors in the Overworld. (Villagers, if somehow brought in, can still use beds safely);
• Compasses are unable to find the original spawn point, as spawn points cannot be set within the End, but compass used on lodestone still works;
• Clocks are unable to determine the position of the sun and moon, as there is no daylight cycle in the End. Clocks instead spin randomly as they do in the Nether;
• Nether portals cannot be activated by the player in the End (although they can be placed through commands or external programs and editors).
• Fire burns indefinitely on bedrock, but does not naturally spread onto other blocks of bedrock, as with netherrack.

Biomes

There are 5 biomes that make up the End in Java Edition. Beds and respawn anchors still explode if the biome is set in the Overworld. In Bedrock Edition, all End biomes are classified as a single biome, which is the_End. In both versions, if the biome is set to "the End" in the Overworld, the sky appears as a light gray version of the normal Overworld sky.

• The End
• Small End Islands
• End Midlands
• End Highlands
• End Barrens

Generated structures

There are currently 9 generated structures in The End:

Name	Description	Image
Central island	The center of the End is a large, asteroid-like island composed entirely of end stone, floating in the void. At a distance of 1000 blocks away, an expanse of more islands begins, away from the main island. These consist of large islands, about the size of the main island, and smaller ones, which tend to be thin.
Outer islands	The outer End islands are found 1000 blocks away from the central island. They vary in size from large islands to smaller "mini islands." Generated structures such as end cities and end ships spawn here, along with chorus trees. The player can be taken to the End islands through the end gateway.
End spike	End spikes, also known as obsidian pillars, obsidian spikes or obsidian towers, are generated structures at the End that are made of obsidian, with a single bedrock block and an end crystal on top of each pillar. Larger ones have cylindrical forms. The pillars surround the exit portal in a roughly 40 block radius circle, and penetrate through the main island down to y level 0.
End platform	The end platform is a 5 by 5 square of obsidian that is generated once a player or entity enters the End. If the obsidian is destroyed, or if a block is placed on top of the three air blocks above any part of the platform when the player enters the End, the obsidian is restored and any blocks on top of those three air blocks above the platform are replaced with air, and dropped as an item.
Exit portal	The exit portal (also known as the end fountain) is a structure that enables the players to return to their spawn points in the Overworld or the Nether. It activates upon the defeat of the ender dragon.
End gateway	End gateway portals are generated in the End after defeating the ender dragon, and are used to gain quick access to the outer End islands and teleport the player back to the center island.
End city	End cities are skyscraper-like structures found on the outer islands of the End. They are inhabited by shulkers and hold exclusive loot.
End ship	End ships are floating structures that are sometimes generated alongside end cities. They are the only places where elytra and the dragon head can be legitimately obtained.
Chorus tree	Chorus trees are tall, coral-like blocks ubiquitous in the outer islands. They are composed of chorus plants and chorus fruit. Similar to bamboo and sugar cane, breaking one part causes all plants above the tree to break.

Terrain features

Main island

All players begin their exploration of the End with the main island. Unlike nether portals, entering the end portal instantly teleports the player to the End, giving no time to back out. Upon arrival in the End, the player is placed on a 5×5×1 obsidian platform with three layers of air blocks above it. If there are any blocks in a three-block space above the platform, they are destroyed when a player enters an end portal. The platform can generate on the island, within it, or at a short distance from it, close enough to throw an ender pearl to reach the island. It always generates centered on the coordinates (100, 49, 0) with the player facing west.

Once the player enters the End, the only way back is to die or defeat the ender dragon. The dragon spawns naturally and flies around above ten towers of obsidian arranged in a circle around the central exit portal, which activates when the dragon is killed. On top of each tower lies an end crystal. Some of the crystals are protected by cages of iron bars. These crystals heal the dragon but can be destroyed by hitting them (even with projectiles). Destroying the crystal while the dragon is healing damages the dragon.

Once defeated, the dragon goes to the exit portal at (0, 64, 0), rises into the sky, and disintegrates, with bright beams of light flashing from its body. It then explodes, drops 12,000 (first dragon) or 500 (all subsequent dragons) experience orbs, activates the exit portal, and generates one end gateway (first 20 dragons only). This gives the player access to the End's outer islands. Atop the exit portal lie four torches and the dragon egg. After the dragon is killed, it can be respawned an unlimited number of times by placing four end crystals on the sides of the exit portal. Respawning the ender dragon regenerates any obsidian pillar blocks previously mined by the player, as well as the torches on the exit portal. However, the dragon egg does not regenerate when a respawned ender dragon is killed.

The End's outer islands are clustered around the main island.

Once the player enters the exit portal, the "end poem" is displayed, thereby "completing" the game. The player then respawns wherever the spawn point is set in the Overworld or in the Nether and may return to the End through the same portal (or a different portal from another stronghold); the End remains in the same state as the player left it. The obsidian platform is regenerated each time a player enters the End, meaning that any blocks or block entities placed in the 5×5×4 space on or above the platform are destroyed and replaced with obsidian and air blocks.

Outer islands

The End's outer islands are more diverse than the main island. When a player enters one of the end gateways that generate after killing the dragon, they are instantly teleported over the ~1000 block void to the outer islands. These gateway portals are easiest to enter through the use of ender pearls, due to the one block tall gap between the bedrock blocks, but can also be entered by placing water and swimming through, using a trapdoor or piston to force the player to crawl, or with skilled use of a pair of elytra.

The outer islands vary in size. There are occasional "mini islands" in the gaps between the larger ones, generally with nothing on them (occasionally they generate end gateways that return the player to the obsidian platform). The larger islands can also vary in size but are generally a hundred to several hundred blocks wide. The gaps between these islands are generally short enough that players can travel between them via ender pearls.

These outer islands generate up to the world border. Some are topped with a forest of chorus trees that may be harvested for its chorus fruit, and perhaps chorus flowers, to grow it in the Overworld. The player may find end cities (which may generate ships with them) on these islands, which hold exclusive loot. Elytra and the dragon head can only be found on the end ships.

In Java Edition, due to a bug, the outer End islands fail to generate in multiple concentric rings. The first ring ends at ±370,719 on the X and Z axes, cutting off terrain generation in a doughnut shape. It continues empty, but the second ring starts at X/Z=±524,288, then disappears again at X/Z=±642,111 and comes back at X/Z=±741,456. It continues like this all the way until the world border, getting closer and closer. If the world border would be removed, going far enough would lead to world looking slightly like the stripe lands of Bedrock Edition. This is a hard limit caused by an arithmetic overflow when calculating the squared distance from the origin.

Mobs

The End is home to three naturally occurring mobs:

• Endermen spawn naturally throughout the entire dimension.
• The ender dragon spawns naturally on the central island when the player first arrives, but can be respawned by placing 4 end crystals, one on each side's middle block of the exit portal.
• Shulkers appear within end cities on the outer islands. They do not respawn once killed, but can sometimes clone themselves when attacked by another shulker.

Other mobs except for the wither may be sent into the End through an end portal. (The wither can still be built in the End as usual.)

Ender dragon	Enderman	Shulker

Blocks

Naturally generated

Naturally generated includes blocks that are created through the world seed and always generate no matter what.

• Air
• Bedrock
• Chorus Flower
• Chorus Plant
• End Stone
• Obsidian
• Iron Bars

Naturally created

These blocks are created through a combination of events that lead these blocks to be placed by natural causes such as summoning the ender dragon, not by the player.

• Air
• Bedrock
• Dragon Egg
• End Gateway
• End Portal
• End Stone
• Fire
• Iron Bars
• Obsidian
• Wall Torch

Structures

These blocks and entities are only generated as part of end cities, when the "generated structures"‌ option is on.

• Brewing Stand
• Chest
• Dragon Wall Head
• End Rod
• End Stone Bricks
• Ender Chest
• Item Frame
• Magenta Wall Banner
• Ladder
• Magenta Stained Glass
• Purpur Block
• Purpur Slab
• Purpur Stairs
• Purpur Pillar

Technical information

ID

Name	Identifier	[hide]Numeric ID
The End	the_end	1

Folder

In Java Edition, the End is saved in the same way normal worlds are, in the DIM1 subdirectory of the world save. Deleting the DIM1 directory resets the End, including all player-made changes.

Achievements

[hide]
Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Great View From Up Here	Levitate up 50 blocks from the attacks of a Shulker	—	20	Bronze
		The End	Kill the Enderdragon [sic]	Enter the end exit portal.	40	Bronze
		The End... Again...	Respawn the Enderdragon [sic]	—	30	Silver
		The End?	Enter an End Portal	Enter a stronghold End Portal activated with all twelve eyes of ender.	20	Gold
		You Need a Mint	Collect dragons [sic] breath in a glass bottle	Have a dragon's breath bottle in your inventory.	30	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Free the End	Good luck	Kill the ender dragon. If multiple players are involved in the dragon fight, only the player that deals the final blow to the dragon receives the advancement.
	Great View From Up Here	Levitate up 50 blocks from the attacks of a Shulker	Move a distance of 50 blocks vertically with the Levitation effect applied, regardless of direction or whether it is caused by the effect.
	Remote Getaway	Escape the island	Enter an end gateway
	Sky's the Limit	Find Elytra	Have a pair of elytra in the inventory.
	The City at the End of the Game	Go on in, what could happen?	Enter an end city.
	The End	Or the beginning?	Enter the End dimension.
	The End?	Enter the End Portal	Enter the End dimension.
	The End... Again...	Respawn the Ender Dragon	Be within a 192 block radius from the coordinates (0.0, 128, 0.0) when an ender dragon is summoned using end crystals.
	The Next Generation	Hold the Dragon Egg	Have a dragon egg in the inventory.
	You Need a Mint	Collect Dragon's Breath in a Glass Bottle	Have a bottle of dragon's breath in the inventory.

History

June 14, 2009							Notch believed that Survival mode should have some sort of goal, which he had not yet formulated: "While it could be fun to just see how long you can survive in survival mode, I believe there might be a need for some kind of goal. Make the most money in a month? Kill a big evil mob in the shortest time? I don't know yet."
[hide]Java Edition Beta
May 19, 2011							Notch tweeted several pictures of the third playable dimension, then known as the Sky dimension. It had Overworld blocks and mobs, as well as a sky similar to that of the Overworld, but generated floating terrain like the later End.
July 30, 2011							Notch first mentioned the End with his comment regarding the theoretical name-change of the endermen, a mob to be added in Beta 1.8 - some players petitioned Mojang to have the mob renamed "Far Landers," a reference to the Far Lands. He joked that instead of renaming the mobs Far Landers, he was more likely to change the name of the Far Lands to "the End."
October 6, 2011							Reddit user "cptqwashi" posted the idea that the new dimension would be called "the Ender," and would be home to the endermen and ender dragons. Notch soon gave more information and said that cptqwashi was "100% correct." However, it was later revealed that it was just called "the End" and that there would be only one ender dragon there.
October 7, 2011							Notch tweeted the first image of the End and the ender dragon flying overhead.
October 10, 2011							Notch released a video showing a small clip of the End that also shows the ender dragon fly into the top of the frame. "(A brightened version)"
October 12, 2011							The original concept of the Sky Dimension was officially rebranded as "The End."
							Several years later, Jeb explained the reason behind the shift from the Sky Dimension to The End: "[The Sky Dimension] didn't work so well because of how light is calculated [...] The Sky Dimension originally had this top down light that the Overworld has, so you get like shadows in caves and such. But performance wise, it didn't work - it was extremely slow. So we removed the sun – now everything is evenly lit unless you've got a torch."
[hide]Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4				Added the End. The end portal now functions to access it.
							An ender dragon spawned near a portal that it would destroy, but end portal blocks would continue to function even if the frame was destroyed. The ability to create end portal frame blocks in Creative Singleplayer mode was also removed.
1.3.1			12w23a				Added end portal frames to the creative inventory.
			12w25a				The End's sky is now a dark shade of purple static instead of the multicolor noise it originally was.
2013 Music Update							Ambient music track added for the End.
1.9			15w31a				A set amount of differently-sized pillars are arranged in a circular fashion. The tallest pillars have iron bars around the end crystals.
							The exit portal is pre-generated, but without the dragon egg and portal blocks.
							Added infinitely generating outer islands, separated from the central island by a gulf of about 1000 blocks.
							Added end cities and end ships that generate in the outer islands.
			15w32c				The beacons in end ships have been replaced with pumpkins.
			15w33c				Replaced pumpkin in end ships with a hopper containing a book written by Searge in it.
			15w41a				Replaced the hopper and book with a pair of elytra in an item frame.
			16w07b				Removed the cages that were protecting the crystals during the dragon fight.
			pre1				Re-added cages, which now protect the crystals of some of the shorter end spikes.
1.11			16w39a				Maps now work in the End.
							Added return portals, which can be found randomly throughout the islands.
1.13			18w07a				Phantoms now spawn in the End.
			18w09a				Phantoms no longer spawn in the End.
1.14			18w46a				A secondary void now appears between X/Z=370,400 and X/Z=524,280.
1.16			20w19a				Hoglins and piglins now become zoglins and zombified piglins respectively when in the End.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.0.0			alpha 0.17.0.1				Added the End.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU9	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added the End.
							World sizes of the End match that of the Nether world size scaling.
							In the End, end spikes are generated in a spiral circling.
							The bedrock shell of the exit portal generates when the player enters the End, and is activated when the ender dragon is killed.
TU14		1.04					The End's sky is now a dark shade of purple static instead of the multicolor noise it originally was.
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Outer islands have been added to the End, which are separated from the central island by an invisible wall. This resulted in the world size of the central End island being downscaled from the Nether world size to a 192x192 world size.
							Due to the downscaling of the central end island, the coordinates of the end platform were changed to X=60, Y=49, Z=60.
							End cities and end ships that generate in the outer islands have been added to the End.
							An option to reset the end has been added.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		The chat message saying that a player entered or left the end is now shown for the player, who enters or leaves it too, instead of only for other players.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.7.10							Added the End.
							Outer End islands start generating 175 blocks away from the 0,0 world origin point, regardless of world size. Unlike the Legacy Console Edition, outer End islands generate in the same area, and not in separate areas.

Issues

Issues relating to "The End" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 

  The edge of the End island.

• 

  A narrow white stone island with a lone enderman.

• 

  A screenshot from above a group of hostile endermen.

• 

  A rare place to spawn in the End, on land instead of floating.

• 

  A spawn platform in the ground.

• 

  What happens when the player attempts to use a bed or respawn anchor in the End.

• 

  An end crystal.

• 

  A caged end crystal.

• 

  The exit portal.

• 

  Chorus trees and endermen on an outer End island.

• 

  An outer island, with fields of chorus trees, the only plant life in the End, stretching into the distance.

• 

  Often crossing between outer islands requires the use of bridges, ender pearls, or elytra.

• 

  An end ship.

• 

  An end city and an end ship.

• 

  A map in the End.

• 

  A close-up of an island in the End. Notice the extreme thickness.

• 

  The edge of an island, with a chorus tree growing on it.

• 

  2×2 map of the End using maps.

• 

  A group of endermen near the boundaries of the main End island.

Mojang screenshots

• 

  The End dimension.

Development images

• 

  The first released screenshot of the End, with an ender dragon visible.

• 

  Brightened version of the first screenshot of the End.

• 

  A still photo of the End from a video uploaded by Notch, clearly showing the end stone.

• 

  Brighter version of the screenshot with an ender dragon.

• 

  First image of the revamped central island.