End City in Minecraft: How to Reach One and Get Elytra
End cities are purpur towers on the outer End islands, reached through an End gateway. How to get there, shulker defenses, loot, and the end ship's elytra.
End cities are tall purpur towers on the outer islands of the End. You reach them after killing the Ender Dragon, through the End gateway that appears near the main island. Some cities have an end ship floating beside them, and that ship holds the only elytra in the game.
Getting there
- Defeat the dragon. A small gateway portal appears on the edge of the main island, about 96 blocks from the center.
- Throw an ender pearl into the gateway (or fly in with blocks to stand on). You’ll come out on an outer island at least 1,000 blocks from the center.
- Explore. The outer End is a scatter of islands with chorus trees. Bridge between them with blocks or chorus fruit teleports.
Each dragon kill opens a new gateway (up to 20), each pointing to a different part of the outer End. Respawning the dragon is a common way to get more of them.
Shulkers
Shulkers hide in purpur boxes on the walls, floors and ceilings. They shoot slow homing bullets that give you Levitation, which floats you upward. When it ends, you fall. In a tall city, that fall kills.
Ways to handle them:
- A shield blocks the bullets.
- A Potion of Slow Falling turns levitation drops into gentle landings.
- Milk clears levitation, but also clears your other effects.
- You can actually use levitation to climb the tower if you time it.
Kill shulkers for shulker shells. Two shells and a chest make a shulker box, which is the best storage upgrade in the game.
Loot
City chests hold diamonds, iron, gold, emeralds, saddles, horse armor, enchanted diamond and iron gear, beetroot seeds and the Spire armor trim template. The enchanted diamond gear here is some of the best random gear in the game.
The end ship
If a city has an end ship, it’s the big prize. Inside:
- An elytra in an item frame. Break the frame (from the side, not by walking into it) and grab it.
- A dragon head on the ship’s bow.
- Two loot chests and a brewing stand with two potions of instant health.
- A shulker guarding the area.
Our elytra guide covers the full trip and how to repair your elytra with Mending later.
End city vs ancient city
Despite the name, an end city has nothing in common with an ancient city. One is a quiet stealth run in the deep dark; this one is a loud vertical climb past turrets. Find every structure’s profile on the structures hub.
Common questions
How do you get to an end city?
Kill the Ender Dragon, go to the small End gateway portal that appears at the island's edge, and throw an ender pearl into it. You'll land on the outer islands, where end cities generate.
Does every end city have an elytra?
No. Only cities with an end ship floating next to them have an elytra, mounted in an item frame inside the ship.
How do you deal with shulker levitation?
Use a shield to block their bullets, drink Slow Falling so a levitation drop doesn't kill you, or drink milk to clear the effect.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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