Quick Links
- Which Biomes Can Have A Nether Fortress?
- How To Prepare For A Nether Fortress
- Nether Fortress Structure
- Mobs Inside A Nether Fortress
- Loot Inside a Nether Fortress
The Nether in Minecraft can be a scary place. With mobs and lava everywhere, it's easy to see why you may not be too inclined to go exploring. One of the structures you will come across is a Nether Fortress. These fortresses are large structures filled with a variety of loot and mobs.
Related: How To Get Netherite Tools In Minecraft's Nether Update
In this guide, we are going to go over how to conquer this fortress. Before finding one, you will need to go into the Nether. If you haven't done this yet, a Nether Portal can be constructed with obsidian, forming a 2 by 3 entryway. Once constructed, just use flint and steel to light it and proceed into the Nether!
Which Biomes Can Have A Nether Fortress?
Nether Fortresses can be found in every Nether biome. Additionally, these fortresses can spawn at any Y location. This means that you may find one nicely perched on a cliff, while another one may be buried in netherrack.
If you do happen to find a partially buried Nether Fortress, don't worry! The inside areas will not be filled with netherrack, and you can still explore to your heart's content.
How To Prepare For A Nether Fortress
Prior to entering a Nether Fortress, you will need to do some preparation. Below, you can find a list of all recommended items to bring into the fortress.
-
Armor
- Iron, Diamond, or Netherite
- At least one piece of Gold Armor (prevents Piglins from attacking)
- Sword
- Pickaxe
- Tons of Food
- Blocks (to get across any gaps)
- Torches
- Bow and Arrows
- Respawn Anchor (optional)
A respawn anchor isn't necessary, but it will help if you do not have the strongest gear or enchantments yet. This item allows you to set a respawn point in the Nether. This is helpful because beds do not work in the Nether. If you try to sleep in a bed while in the Nether, you will explode and die.
Nether Fortress Structure
The structure of a Nether Fortress is fairly simple. The main part of these fortresses consists of long corridors extending outwards. These corridors can be exposed to the outside or covered.
Connected to the outside corridors, you will find Blaze Spawners. Although it may seem tempting, don't break the spawner. It will be permanently destroyed and you cannot create more. They will come in handy if you ever want to make a Blaze farm.
The inside corridors will conjoin into rooms called corridor turns. These small rooms have about a 33 percent chance of containing a chest full of loot, which we will go over later.
At the end of corridors, you may also find a room with a staircase, leading to the second level. These stairways may be small, or they may be a bit larger with nether wart growing nearby.
Overall, the Nether Fortress is essentially shaped like a giant grid. The structure contains several types of blocks, so let's take a quick look at those. Here's every type block that is generated with the Nether Fortress.
- Nether Bricks
- Nether Brick Fence
- Nether Brick Stairs
- Blaze Spawners
- Soul Sand
- Nether Wart
- Chests
Mobs Inside A Nether Fortress
A Nether Fortress can be a dangerous place filled with tons of mobs. If you are not careful, you could die pretty easily. Let's look at all potential mobs inside the fortress, as well as their drops and group size.
| Mob | Group Size | Drops |
|---|---|---|
| Blaze | 2 to 3 |
|
| Wither Skeleton | up to 4 |
|
| Magma Cube | up to 4 |
|
| Skeleton | up to 5 |
|
| Zombified Piglin | up to 4 |
|
Some of these mobs will be quite difficult to fight. Blazes will hover around the area with the spawner and shoot fire toward you. This is why it is important to bring a bow and arrow. Rather than approaching the Blaze, shoot it from a safe distance.
Fighting a Wither Skeleton is pretty straightforward, but they have a chance to place the wither effect on you. This effect inflicts damage over time, and turns your health black, making it hard to see how much you have left.
To fight a Wither Skeleton, you can either use melee attacks while avoiding any damage or just shoot arrows from a safe distance.
Loot Inside a Nether Fortress
Throughout the Nether Fortress, you will find several chests. These chests will usually generate in the indoor areas where the different corridors meet. Below, you can find all possible loot from these chests.
| Loot | Chance To Find It |
|---|---|
| Gold Ingot | 49% |
| Saddle | 35% |
| Gold Horse Armor | 29% |
| Nether Wart | 19% |
| Iron Ingot | 19% |
| Diamond | 19% |
| Flint and Steel | 19% |
| Iron Horse Armor | 19% |
| Golden Sword | 19% |
| Golden Chestplate | 19% |
| Diamond Horse Armor | 11-12% |
| Obsidian | 8% |
That's all there is to know about Nether Fortresses! These structures make excellent places to farm Blazes and Wither Skeletons.