Nether Fortress in Minecraft: Finding One, Blazes and Loot
Nether fortresses are the only place with blaze spawners and wither skeletons. How to find a Nether fortress, its nether wart, chest loot and dangers.
A Nether fortress is a huge network of nether brick bridges, corridors and towers in the Nether. It’s the only place you’ll find blaze spawners and the only place wither skeletons spawn, which makes it a required stop for brewing, the End and summoning the Wither.
Finding a Nether fortress
Fortresses are big and sprawl a long way, so wandering in circles is the slow approach. Pick a direction from your Nether portal and travel in a straight line, tunneling or bridging as you go. Look for long, dark red bridges on pillars.
With cheats, /locate structure minecraft:fortress.
Blazes
Blazes spawn from spawners on raised platforms, usually two per fortress, and also naturally inside the fortress. They shoot fireballs and float out of reach. Blaze rods are the reason you came: they craft blaze powder for brewing fuel, Strength potions and eyes of ender.
Drink Fire Resistance and the blazes can barely hurt you. If you’ll need lots of rods, turn a spawner into a blaze farm.
Don’t break the spawner. It’s by far the best source of blaze rods, and you’ll want more later for brewing fuel and eyes of ender. Wall off the platform’s edges with nether brick or cobblestone so blazes can’t drift away, then fight from a spot where only one or two can see you at a time. If you need a break, a few torches on the platform stop it spawning, since blazes need a light level of 11 or lower.
Wither skeletons
Wither skeletons spawn anywhere in the fortress, not from spawners. They’re tall, carry stone swords and inflict Wither. They also drop wither skeleton skulls, rarely: you need three to summon the Wither. Looting III improves the drop chance.
Fight them in two-block-high tunnels: they’re taller than two blocks and can’t follow you in.
Nether wart
Stairwell rooms have small gardens of nether wart growing on soul sand. Take all of it and plant it at home on soul sand. Every potion except Weakness needs it, so this is a must-grab.
Chest loot
Fortress chests (often in corridors) can contain diamonds, iron, gold, golden armor and swords, saddles, horse armor, obsidian, flint and steel, nether wart and the Rib armor trim template.
Dangers
- Blazes, wither skeletons and ghasts over open lava.
- Magma cubes spawning around the fortress.
- Long drops off bridges into lava.
Bring a shield, Fire Resistance, a bow and lots of blocks for building safe paths. Enclosing the edges of bridges with nether brick or cobblestone stops ghasts knocking you off.
Fortresses and bastion remnants compete for the same space in the Nether, so if you find one, the other isn’t usually far. More structures are on the structures hub.
Common questions
How do you find a Nether fortress?
Pick a direction from your portal and travel in a straight line, bridging over lava. Fortresses are huge, so a long straight route crosses one sooner or later. Look for dark red nether brick bridges and pillars.
Where do wither skeletons spawn?
Only in Nether fortresses, on and around the nether brick structure. They don't need a spawner.
Is nether wart only found in fortresses?
Naturally, it grows in fortress stairwell gardens and appears in bastion and fortress chests. Once you have some, plant it on soul sand anywhere.
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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