End City

The End City is a tower of purpur halls on the outer End islands, guarded by levitating shulkers. It generates in the End, across 2 biome types - End Midlands and End Highlands - which makes the End City moderately uncommon to come across as you explore.

The End City's generation height runs from around Y 50 up to Y 100, a useful filter when you start hunting. End cities generate across the outer End islands - the End Midlands and Highlands - which you can only reach through an End Gateway after defeating the Ender Dragon. They tend to cluster, so finding one usually means more are nearby across the void.

It was introduced in Minecraft 1.9, and the detail that defines it at a glance is simple: tall purpur block towers.

On Java Edition the quickest method is the command /locate structure minecraft:end_city, which prints the coordinates of the nearest End City and the distance to it.

Without commands, head for one of the End City's biomes (End Midlands and End Highlands) and search the Y 50 to 100 band. Because it is moderately uncommon, you will usually pass a few biomes before a End City appears.

Use /locate structure minecraft:end_city. After defeating the Ender Dragon, throw an ender pearl into the end gateway portal. End cities generate on the outer end islands. Bridge across void gaps or use elytra from a previously found end ship.

Once inside, chests sit throughout the towers and rooms, rolling the End-city table of heavily enchanted diamond and iron gear, diamonds, and the Spire armour trim. The signature reward is the shulker itself: its shell, dropped on death, is the only way to craft shulker boxes.

Among the End City's randomised drops, the most common pulls are Beetroot Seeds at about 33%, Iron Ingot at about 23%, Diamond at about 21%, and Gold Ingot at about 15%. At the other end of the odds sit the jackpot items: Spire Armor Trim at roughly 7.0% and Emerald at roughly 9%, so opening multiple End City chests pays off over time.

What makes the End City genuinely worth the trip is a set of exclusive rewards you cannot get reliably anywhere else - Shulker Shell and Spire Armor Trim Smithing Template - so this is the place to come for them.

Expect to face Shulker inside or around the End City.

The specific hazards to plan around: Shulker levitation effect causes fatal falls and falling into the void means permanent death. There is more to watch for too - no natural blocks to hide behind and far from spawn with no easy return - so do not rush.

Vertical purpur towers connect by staircases and bridges, decorated with end rods and banners, with shulkers stationed on walls and ledges. Some cities have an End Ship moored to the tallest tower; ender chests and loot chests are tucked into the rooms along the way up.

Other things you will notice as you explore: Shulker mobs guarding the structure, End rod decorations, and multiple levels connected by stairs.

Shulker shells are the primary reason to explore end cities, as shulker boxes are the most important storage item in the game. Shulkers have a 50% chance to drop a shell on death (100% with Looting III). Not all end cities have an end ship attached.