End City

End Ship
Biomes	End Midlands‌; End Highlands‌; The End‌;
	Brewing Stand; Chest; Dragon Wall Head; End Rod; End Stone Bricks; Ladder; Magenta Stained Glass; Obsidian; Purpur Block; Purpur Pillar; Purpur Slab; Purpur Stairs; Item Frame; Shulker; Elytra (In Item Frame);

End City
Biomes	End Midlands‌; End Highlands‌; The End‌;
Mobs	Shulker
	Chest; End Rod; End Stone Bricks; Ender Chest; Magenta Wall Banner; Ladder; Magenta Stained Glass; Purpur Block; Purpur Slab; Purpur Stairs; Purpur Pillar;

There is a related tutorial page for this topic!

See Tutorial:Defeating an End city.

End cities are tall structures found on the outer islands of the End. They are inhabited by shulkers and hold valuable loot, including enchanted iron and diamond tools and armor. End ships, found in some End cities, are the only source of elytra.

Generation

End cities naturally generate all over the End's outer islands. They can easily be accessed by entering the End gateway, but it is possible to cross the gap between the islands in other ways. They generate on the large islands, where chorus trees grow. If the End gateway teleports the player to a small island, the player can get to the nearest large island by building, using elytra, or throwing ender pearls.

End cities usually generate in flat areas, in "midlands" or "highlands" biomes^{[note 1]}, which are found on larger islands. One may find several cities clustered together, or travel for thousands of blocks before finding one. Unlike other structures, End cities are generated in a noticeable grid. They are located only in chunks numbered 0-8 ± a multiple of 20. For example one possible "cell" for an End city to be generated in is x_chunks=0-8 and z_chunks=80-88 which is equivalent to the coordinates x=0-128 and z=1280-1408. There can never be an End city at for example z=961-1279 or z=1409-1599 because it is outside any "cell".

^{[note 2]}

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Structure

A treasure room with both a regular chest and an ender chest.

End cities consist of tall skyscraper-like towers constructed out of End stone bricks and purpur blocks. An End city may generate as a single tower by itself, or as a sprawling complex of inter-connected towers and pathways branching from a main tower. End rods and ender chests are the only source of light. Many shulkers spawn around the city, and guard its various treasures. Decorative banners hang at the tops of some towers.

Several types of rooms can be found in an End city, and several different floors, including:

Base floors which are empty floors found at the base of every city; they are three stories tall, with each room wider than the one below it.
Banner rooms that have banners hanging on the outside, and a shulker attached to the ceiling.
Small rooms that have nothing in them at all.
Large rooms that have precarious parkour-like staircases often leading up to another tower or a loot room.
Loot rooms that consist of two chests with valuable loot at the End of a small parkour area; some rooms may have one normal chest next to an ender chest instead.

There are two types of towers:

Small towers that are hollow, consisting of a single purpur slab spiral staircase of sorts.
Skyscrapers that consist of a treacherous double spiral staircase made of purpur slabs and End rods; many shulkers spawn here.

Banners hanging on top of a small tower.

End ship

An End ship is a floating, boat-like structure found alongside End cities. It is relatively small, but holds even more valuable treasure than the city itself.

Generation

Each direction of every tower of the End city has a 50% chance of generating a bridge, and the bridge itself has a 12.5% chance to generate an End ship.

When generated, the stern of the ship always faces toward the city and the bow always faces away. It generates in front of a bridge with a gated arch at the End, from which one can throw an ender pearl to reach the ship, or build a bridge.

Structure

The End ship is made of End stone bricks and purpur blocks, just like the city's main towers. Their design resembles that of European square rig sailing ships, commonly seen during the golden age of exploration. Three shulkers spawn on the ship; one on the main deck, one behind the stern of the ship, and one in the treasure room.

Main deck

The ship's main deck amounts to less than half of the walkable space on the ship. A ladder leads up the mast to an empty crow's nest, about 20 blocks high. There are no sails connected to the mast.

A dragon head sits at the bow of the ship, making this the only way to obtain the dragon head in Survival mode. There are two small staircases on the outside; one that leads up to the empty upper deck, and one that leads to the cabin below.

Aftercastle

The aftercastle contains a brewing stand sitting on a small table, with two potions of Healing. Another staircase leads below deck to the ship's "hotspot"; the treasure room.

Treasure room

The floor of the treasure room is lined with obsidian. There are four small windows on the sides. It contains two loot chests and an item frame holding a pair of elytra; this is the only way to obtain elytra in Survival mode. A shulker guards the elytra and the two loot chests.

An End ship.
The bridge that leads to the End ship.
The dragon head, with the End city in the background.
The sterncastle of the ship. The doorway in the back leads to the treasure room. a brewing stand can be seen.
The treasure room, where a shulker guards the elytra.
The treasure room, only without the shulker.

Structure details

One may access the individual structures of an End city by utilizing structure blocks to manually load city structures from the data/minecraft/structures/end_city folder in minecraft.jar. To do so, set a structure block to Load mode, enter end_city/StructureName and press LOAD. The names of these structures and a small description is provided below:

Structure name	Description	Consists of
`end_city/base_floor`	A small room with 2 shulkers guarding the entrance. Forms the entrance of End cities as well as the "empty rooms" found higher up in the city. 2 Shulkers always generate here.	68 Purpur Block 54 End Stone Bricks 12 Magenta Stained Glass 12 Purpur Pillar 2 Purpur Stairs 2 Shulker
`end_city/base_roof`	The roof generated on top of base rooms.	100 Purpur Block 44 Purpur Stairs 4 End Rod
`end_city/bridge_end`	The small arch that forms the End and start of bridges, pointing toward End ships, or connecting to other rooms.	21 Purpur Block 4 Purpur Slab 3 Purpur Stairs 2 End Rod 1 Purpur Pillar
`end_city/bridge_gentle_stairs`	Stairs on a bridge built at a small incline.	42 Purpur Block 22 Purpur Stairs 12 Purpur Slab 2 Purpur Pillar
`end_city/bridge_piece`	A straight piece of bridge.	20 Purpur Block 10 Purpur Stairs 4 Purpur Pillar
`end_city/bridge_steep_stairs`	Stairs on a bridge built at a steep incline.	24 Purpur Stairs 15 Purpur Block 2 Purpur Pillar
`end_city/fat_tower_base`	The entrance to the large towers. Preceded by an opening with a single purpur slab.	84 Purpur Pillar 80 Purpur Block 4 End Rod 4 Purpur Stairs 3 Purpur Slab
`end_city/fat_tower_middle`	The center of the large tower, lined with the purpur slab and End rod spiral staircase. 4 Shulkers always generate here.	164 Purpur Pillar 62 Purpur Block 8 End Rod 8 Purpur Slab 8 Purpur Stairs 4 Shulker
`end_city/fat_tower_top`	The "loot room" of the large tower, generated with 2 chests in the corner and a staircase to the roof.	352 Purpur Block 131 Purpur Stairs 106 End Stone Bricks 26 Magenta Stained Glass 18 Purpur Pillar 9 Purpur Slab 4 End Rod 2 Chest
`end_city/second_floor_1`	The second floor of the base tower, preceded by a purpur slab staircase. The room is otherwise empty.	95 Purpur Block 84 End Stone Bricks 44 Purpur Stairs 16 Magenta Stained Glass 12 Purpur Pillar 7 Purpur Slab 4 End Rod
`end_city/second_floor_2`	Begins with a small spiral staircase in the center, with a small "statue" made of stairs in the upper corner. A Shulker always generates here.	82 End Stone Bricks 70 Purpur Block 54 Purpur Stairs 14 Magenta Stained Glass 12 Purpur Pillar 9 Purpur Slab 4 End Rod 1 Shulker
`end_city/second_roof`	Similar in structure to base_roof, but slightly larger.	144 Purpur Block 52 Purpur Stairs 4 End Rod
`end_city/ship`	The End ship. 3 Shulkers always generate here.	557 Purpur Block 175 Purpur Stairs 97 Purpur Pillar 36 End Stone Bricks 26 Obsidian 14 Ladder 7 Magenta Stained Glass 7 Purpur Slab 6 End Rod 2 Chest 1 Brewing Stand with two potions of Healing 1 Dragon Head 1 Item Frame with Elytra 3 Shulker
`end_city/third_floor_1`	A purpur pillar structure sits in the center, surrounded by purpur stairs. Preceded by a purpur slab staircase.	140 Purpur Block 90 End Stone Bricks 64 Purpur Stairs 32 Magenta Stained Glass 18 Purpur Pillar 7 Purpur Slab 4 End Rod
`end_city/third_floor_2`	The second loot room, with a regular chest and an ender chest. 2 Shulkers always generate here.	132 Purpur Block 98 End Stone Bricks 56 Purpur Stairs 24 Magenta Stained Glass 12 Purpur Pillar 6 End Rod 1 Chest 1 Ender Chest 2 Shulker
`end_city/third_roof`	Similar in structure to base_roof and second_roof, but is even larger.	196 Purpur Block 60 Purpur Stairs 4 End Rod
`end_city/tower_base`	Entrance to the small tower with a ladder preceding it.	40 Purpur Block 39 Purpur Pillar 4 Purpur Slab 4 Purpur Stairs 3 Ladder
`end_city/tower_floor`	Similar in structure to tower_base, but the ladder entrance is replaced with a solid floor.	36 Purpur Pillar 28 Purpur Stairs 21 Purpur Block 3 Purpur Slab
`end_city/tower_piece`	The middle of the small tower, with a purpur slab spiral staircase.	36 Purpur Pillar 12 Purpur Block 4 Purpur Slab 4 Purpur Stairs
`end_city/tower_top`	The roof of the small tower, with banners hanging from the sides. A Shulker always generates here.	66 Purpur Block 56 Purpur Stairs 26 End Stone Bricks 12 Purpur Pillar 8 Magenta Banner with Black Chevrons 6 Magenta Stained Glass 4 End Rod 2 Purpur Slab 1 Shulker

Loot

In Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, each end city chest contains items drawn from 2 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]		Weight ^[B]		Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Item	2–6×	1×	2–6×	1×	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Nothing^[F]	—	1	—	¹⁴⁄₁₅	93.3%	0.933	1.1
Gold Ingot	2–7	—	¹⁵⁄₈₅	—	52.3%	3.176	1.9
Iron Ingot	4–8	—	¹⁰⁄₈₅	—	38.4%	2.824	2.6
Beetroot Seeds	1–10	—	⁵⁄₈₅	—	21.2%	1.294	4.7
Diamond	2–7	—	⁵⁄₈₅	—	21.2%	1.059	4.7
Saddle	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Pickaxe^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Shovel^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Sword^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Helmet^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Chestplate^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Leggings^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Iron Boots^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Shovel^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Sword^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Helmet^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Chestplate^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Leggings^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Enchanted Diamond Boots^[G]	1	—	³⁄₈₅	—	13.3%	0.141	7.5
Emerald	2–6	—	²⁄₈₅	—	9.0%	0.376	11.1
Spire Armor Trim Smithing Template	—	1	—	¹⁄₁₅	6.7%	0.067	15.0
Iron Horse Armor	1	—	¹⁄₈₅	—	4.6%	0.047	21.7
Golden Horse Armor	1	—	¹⁄₈₅	—	4.6%	0.047	21.7
Diamond Horse Armor	1	—	¹⁄₈₅	—	4.6%	0.047	21.7

↑ The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
↑ The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
↑ The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
↑ The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
↑ The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
↑ 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-20 to level-39 enchantment would be on an enchantment table that had no cap at level 30, and that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Structure type	Identifier
End City	`end_city`

Structure	Identifier
End City	`end_city`

Bedrock Edition:

Structure	Identifier	Alias ID	Translation key
End City	`end_city`	`endcity`	`feature.end_city`

Config

Java Edition:

[NBT Compound / JSON Object] Structure configuration
- [String] type: minecraft:end_city
- Fields common to all structures see Template:Nbt inherit/structure/template

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	The City at the End of the Game	Go on in, what could happen?	Enter an end city.

History

Java Edition
June 22, 2015							Jens Bergensten reveals the mysterious End city structure on Instagram, with the words "MINECON 2015 HYPE!"
July 5, 2015							Structure blocks were used to manually generate End cities during MINECON 2015.
1.9			15w31a				Added End cities.
			15w31a				As a leftover testing feature, a beacon with the Speed status effect can be found on End ships.^[1]
			15w32c				Beacons in End ships have been replaced by pumpkins.
			15w32c				End ships now generate with a dragon head at the bow.
			15w33c				Pumpkins in End ships have been replaced by a hopper that contains a book, written by Searge, titled "Work in Progress". It reads: "We will have something else here soon...".
			15w41a				The iron blocks, book, and hopper have been removed, so that the floor consists of obsidian and purpur blocks.
			15w41a				A pair of elytra now hangs in an item frame above the shulker guarding the two treasure chests.
1.11			16w39a				Cursed enchantments can now appear on items in End city chests.
1.11			16w39a				End cities can now be located using the `/locate` command.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w04a				Spire armor trims are now found in End city chests.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w05a				Increased the chance of spire armor trims from from 4.7% to 6.7%.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0			alpha 0.17.0.1				Added End cities. They spawn without banners. Due to the disclusion of stained glass, End cities use regular glass instead of magenta stained glass for windows.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				End cities now normally spawn with banners and magenta stained glass.
1.19.80 Experiment Next Major Update			Preview 1.19.80.21				Spire armor trims are now found in End city chests.
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15	1.0.1	Added End cities.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Cursed enchantments can now appear on items in End city chests.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.7.10							Added End cities.

Issues

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

Trivia

Some End city rooms are structured similarly to traditional Asian pagodas. Jeb had visited the Summer Palace before the release of 15w31a.^[2]^[3]
The banners atop the towers have a magenta and black pattern that resembles the missing texture:
End cities can be over 100 blocks tall.
On the End ship, there is a hole in the crow's nest atop of the mast, which is directly above a piece of magenta stained glass on the ship's deck. This is a relic feature from the early days of the ship's development, when the main loot inside the ship was a beacon that shoots its beam through the magenta glass and the hole in the crow's nest, creating a magenta beam. Although the beacon was replaced with the elytra, the magenta glass and the hole remained unchanged.
The reason on why End cities have beetroot seeds in their chests is because on Legacy Console Editions of the game, the worlds were limited sizes, so they had to add a way to obtain beetroot in Survival worlds. They were then added to Java Edition for parity reasons.

Gallery

Screenshots

An End city and an End ship as seen from afar (before 15w32c).
The entrance to the city, which is guarded by two shulkers.
A room with a complex staircase, which often has two treasure chests at the top.
A treasure room.
A hanging bridge with stairs, connecting one tower to another.
Another bridge, but this one is much steeper.
Two cities generated within a relatively short distance.
An End ship drifts lazily into the void.
A single tower that generated by itself.
A large End city.
A view of an End city from one of the bridges.
A chorus tree generated inside of a room.
5 End cities generated nearby. Note that there is also four End ships generated near each End city too.
Elytra and loot chests being guarded by a shulker.
Smallest possible End city.
2 End cities next to each other.
A magenta stained glass window in an End city.
End cities are not centered.
An End ship.

In other media

An image released on Jens Bergensten's Instagram reveals a mysterious structure now known as an End city.
An End city appears in the background of the official Java Edition 1.9 poster.

Notes

↑ End midlands and highlands are only considered different biomes on Java Edition.

↑ Relevant code:

int i = chunkX;
int j = chunkZ;
if (chunkX < 0) chunkX -= 19;
if (chunkZ < 0) chunkZ -= 19;
int k = chunkX / 20;
int l = chunkZ / 20;
Random random = this.worldObj.setRandomSeed(k, l, 10387313);
k = k * 20;
l = l * 20;
k = k + (random.nextInt(9) + random.nextInt(9)) / 2;
l = l + (random.nextInt(9) + random.nextInt(9)) / 2;
return i == k && j == l && this.endProvider.isIslandChunk(i, j);

References

↑ "Beacon in End city ships are planned for removal." – @SeargeDP (Michael Stoyke) on X (formerly Twitter), July 30, 2015
↑ https://instagram.com/p/3D07UJpMOr/
↑ "In Shangai, having dinner with some of the Chinese Minecraft community members :) https://instagram.com/p/3JIaQxJMLq/" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), May 26, 2015

External links

Building Blocks: End City — Minecraft.net on July 18, 2025

Navigation

[stacksize-3] The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.

[weight-4] The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.

[chance-5] The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.

[items-6] The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.

[chests-7] The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.

[nothing-8] 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.

[enchant-with-levels-20-39-9] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-20 to level-39 enchantment would be on an enchantment table that had no cap at level 30, and that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

[1] End midlands and highlands are only considered different biomes on Java Edition.

[2] Relevant code:
int i = chunkX; int j = chunkZ; if (chunkX < 0) chunkX -= 19; if (chunkZ < 0) chunkZ -= 19; int k = chunkX / 20; int l = chunkZ / 20; Random random = this.worldObj.setRandomSeed(k, l, 10387313); k = k * 20; l = l * 20; k = k + (random.nextInt(9) + random.nextInt(9)) / 2; l = l + (random.nextInt(9) + random.nextInt(9)) / 2; return i == k && j == l && this.endProvider.isIslandChunk(i, j);

[10] "Beacon in End city ships are planned for removal." – @SeargeDP (Michael Stoyke) on X (formerly Twitter), July 30, 2015

[11] ttps://instagram.com/p/3D07UJpMOr/

[12] "In Shangai, having dinner with some of the Chinese Minecraft community members :) https://instagram.com/p/3JIaQxJMLq/" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), May 26, 2015

[note 1]

[note 2]

[A]

[B]

[C]

[D]

[E]

[F]

[G]

[1]

[2]

[3]