So, you’re finally ready to face the dragon. It’s the moment every Minecraft player builds toward, yet the game is surprisingly vague about how you actually get there. Most players start by asking: how do I make a Ender Portal in Minecraft? But there’s a massive catch that almost every beginner hits like a brick wall.
In Survival mode, you don't actually "make" one. Not in the way you make a crafting table or a furnace. You have to find it. If you’re playing in Creative, sure, you can build one from scratch, but even then, there’s a specific directional trick with the blocks that will break the portal if you ignore it. Let’s get into the weeds of how this actually works.
The Hunt: Why you can't craft the frame
The Ender Portal frame is one of the few blocks in Minecraft that lacks a crafting recipe. You can’t mine it with a Silk Touch pickaxe. You can’t push it with a piston. It’s an immovable object tied to the world generation itself.
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To find one, you need Eyes of Ender. You get these by combining Ender Pearls—dropped by those tall, creepy Endermen—with Blaze Powder from the Nether. Honestly, the grind for Blaze Rods is usually the part where people get stuck. You’ll need a bunch. Don't just bring 12; bring 15 or 20. Eyes have a nasty habit of shattering into nothingness when you throw them.
Once you have your Eyes, throw one into the air. It’ll float toward the nearest Stronghold. Follow it. Dig down once the eye starts diving into the dirt. Inside that mess of stone bricks and mossy hallways, you’ll eventually find the portal room, usually guarded by a silverfish spawner that you should probably break immediately unless you enjoy being nibbled to death.
Building it in Creative (The 12-Block Secret)
If you’re in Creative mode and just want to get to the End fast, you can grab Ender Portal Frames from your inventory. But here is the part that drives people crazy: you can place the blocks in a 3x3 square (minus the corners), pop the eyes in, and... nothing happens.
Why? Orientation.
Minecraft tracks which way the frame block is facing. Each frame piece has a "front" and a "back." To ensure the portal activates, you must stand in the middle of where the portal will be and place the frames around you. This ensures the "tabs" on the frame textures are pointing toward the center. If even one block is facing the wrong way, the portal stays dark. It’s a finicky mechanic that feels like a bug, but it's totally intentional.
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- Stand in a 3x3 center spot.
- Place three frames in front of you.
- Turn 90 degrees, place three more.
- Repeat until you have a ring of 12.
- Pop the Eyes of Ender into each slot.
The Eye of Ender Logic
Each frame has a 10% chance of spawning with an Eye of Ender already inside it. This means in very rare, "one-in-a-trillion" seeds, you might find a portal that is already fully lit. For the rest of us, we’re doing the manual labor.
When you place the eyes, the direction doesn't matter as much as the frame itself, but the portal won't ignite until the final eye is placed. If you're wondering how do I make a Ender Portal in Minecraft work when it's being stubborn, check the underside of the frame blocks. They have a distinct pattern that must be consistent.
Troubleshooting the "Dead" Portal
Sometimes you find a Stronghold, you find the room, you put the eyes in, and—silence. No starry void. Usually, this happens in older worlds or heavily modded versions where the world generation got "chunk-erased." If a ravine or a different structure spawned through the portal room, it might have deleted one of the frame blocks.
If a single frame block is missing, that portal is useless. You can’t replace it in Survival. You’ll have to travel thousands of blocks away to find a different Stronghold. Every Minecraft world generates multiple Strongholds—usually in rings around the world spawn point (0,0)—so don't give up hope if the first one you find is a dud.
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Preparation: Don't jump in yet
Before you hop into that purple-black abyss, understand that it's a one-way trip until the Dragon is dead or you are.
- Beds: You can't sleep in the End. They explode. Expert players actually use this as a weapon to kill the dragon faster, but for a first-timer, it’s a quick way to blow yourself up.
- Water Buckets: Essential. If the Dragon knocks you into the air, you need to "MLG water bucket" to survive the fall. Plus, Endermen hate water.
- Carved Pumpkins: If you wear one on your head, Endermen won't attack you when you look at them. It messes up your vision, but it's better than being swarmed.
Actionable Steps for Your Dragon Run
To successfully navigate the portal and the fight beyond, follow this specific order of operations:
- Stockpile Ender Pearls first. You'll need them for the Eyes of Ender, but keep extra for teleporting during the fight.
- Find the "Infinite" Stronghold. If you're on Bedrock Edition, Strongholds often generate under villages. Look for a well; sometimes digging straight down there leads you right to the bricks.
- Check the Frame Direction. In Creative, always build from the inside out. In Survival, ensure no blocks (like torches or stone) are occupying the 3x3 space inside the frame ring.
- Bring a Bow with Infinity. You have to shoot the End Crystals atop the obsidian pillars to stop the dragon from healing. Without a bow, you’re basically bringing a knife to a nuke fight.
Once that 12th eye clicks into place and the "End" dimension texture appears, jump in. Just make sure you aren't carrying anything you aren't prepared to lose. The void is unforgiving.