How to get an Elytra in Minecraft?

Few moments in Minecraft feel as instantly game changing as your first flight. One minute you are jogging across hills and boating through rivers, and the next you are gliding over oceans, threading mountain ranges, and landing on your base roof like you own the place. That’s the Elytra experience: not just a cool item, but a new way to play.

If you have been wondering how to get an Elytra in Minecraft, the path is straightforward on paper but full of survival game twists: you will need to reach the End, defeat the Ender Dragon (or at least access End Cities), locate an End Ship, and bring the Elytra home alive. This guide walks you through the exact steps, the most reliable strategies, and the small details that prevent big mistakes, with practical tips you can use immediately in Survival.

What is an Elytra (and why it’s worth the hassle)?

The Elytra is a wearable wing item that goes in your chest armor slot. Once equipped, you can jump and then start gliding, converting height into distance and speed. Pair it with rockets and you get sustained flight that turns travel, building, and exploration into something entirely different.

Here’s what makes Elytra such a high value target:

  • Fast travel across thousands of blocks without roads or portals.
  • Safer exploration since you can glide away from cliffs, mobs, and bad terrain.
  • Better building workflow for large structures and vertical projects.
  • Loot runs become easier because End Cities, Bastions, and ocean monuments are faster to reach.

There are a couple of important constraints to know upfront:

  • Elytra has durability and will break if you never repair it.
  • You cannot wear a chestplate at the same time, so you trade protection for mobility unless you plan around it.
  • The “easy part” is finding it. The hard part is getting it back.

Step 1: Prepare properly before you go to the End

If your goal is to get an Elytra, preparation is the difference between a clean run and a frustrating death loop on the central End island. You can brute force your way there, but you will pay for it in time and gear.

Gear checklist for an Elytra run

Bring strong basics and a few End specific tools. This loadout aims for reliability, not speedrunning minimalism.

  • Armor and weapons
    • Diamond or Netherite armor (Protection recommended)
    • A solid sword (Sharpness) or axe if you prefer
    • A bow or crossbow (Power) for End crystals and Shulkers
  • Tools and utilities
    • Pickaxe (Efficiency helps)
    • Water bucket (for clutching in the overworld, not useful in the End, but still good for travel)
    • Ender pearls (16+ is a comfortable number)
    • Blocks (2 to 4 stacks) for bridging and pillar building
    • A carved pumpkin (optional but useful if Endermen are ruining your day)
  • Survival essentials
    • Food (golden carrots or cooked porkchops are great)
    • Torches (for marking paths if you like)
    • A few spare tools and spare food

If you are comfortable enchanting, the following enchantments make the End dramatically easier:

  • Feather Falling IV on boots for unexpected drops.
  • Infinity or plenty of arrows if you rely on a bow.
  • Protection IV on armor if you want maximum safety.

Quick checklist: what you need before you even enter the End

To reach the End in Survival, you will need:

  • Blaze Powder (from Blaze Rods in the Nether)
  • Ender Pearls (from Endermen or trading with Clerics)
  • Eye of Ender (crafted from the two above)
  • A Stronghold (found by throwing Eyes of Ender)
  • An End Portal with 12 frames, usually with some eyes missing

Crafting Eyes of Ender is simple:

Eye of Ender = Ender Pearl + Blaze Powder

Practical tip: bring a backup plan for death

The End can be unforgiving, especially if you fall into the void. If you are nervous, consider:

  • Storing a second set of gear at home.
  • Making a bed and respawn point near your stronghold entrance (not in the End).
  • Carrying only what you need for the first pass, then returning with better gear for End City looting.

Step 2: Defeat the Ender Dragon (and set yourself up for End City access)

Technically, you can reach End Cities after the dragon is defeated because the game spawns an End Gateway portal on the outer islands. That gateway is one of the most consistent ways to start your Elytra hunt.

Beating the dragon: the practical approach

You do not need a complex strategy, but you do need a plan:

  1. Destroy the End crystals on the obsidian pillars to stop the dragon from healing.
  2. Avoid Endermen by not looking directly at them, or wear a carved pumpkin if you prefer safety over visibility.
  3. Damage the dragon when it perches, using a sword or axe, and use ranged attacks when it is flying.

Bring a bow for the crystals. If you are struggling with the caged crystals, you can pillar up using blocks and break them, or shoot through gaps if your angle is good.

Claim the gateway to the outer End islands

After you defeat the Ender Dragon, an End Gateway portal appears on the central island. It looks like a small bedrock structure with a starry portal inside.

To use it safely:

  • Throw an Ender Pearl into the gateway opening.
  • You will teleport to the outer islands, where End Cities can spawn.

If you have not beaten the dragon yet and still want to reach the outer islands, you can bridge thousands of blocks, but that is time consuming and risky. For most players, beating the dragon is the cleanest route to getting an Elytra.

Step 3: Find an End City (and the End Ship that actually contains the Elytra)

This is the part people gloss over, but it matters: not every End City has an Elytra. The Elytra is found in an End Ship, which is a separate structure that may or may not spawn next to the city.

How End Cities generate and what you are looking for

End Cities are tall, purpur block structures that spawn on the outer End islands. Many cities have towers and bridges, and some have a ship floating nearby.

Your Elytra goal is:

  • Locate an End City
  • Check whether it includes an End Ship
  • Board the ship and loot the Elytra from the item frame

Reliable methods to locate End Cities faster

You can wander until you find one, but you can cut your search time dramatically with a few tactics:

  • Travel in one direction instead of zigzagging. The islands are large, and consistent direction reduces backtracking.
  • Use high ground by climbing chorus plants or city towers to scan the horizon.
  • Mark your path with blocks or torches so you can find your way back, especially if you plan to return through the gateway.

If you are playing with commands enabled (Creative testing, or a server that allows it), you can locate an End City using:

/locate structure minecraft:end_city

In pure Survival with no commands, patience and a systematic search pattern are your best tools.

What’s inside the End Ship (and why it’s dangerous)

The End Ship typically contains:

  • Elytra in an item frame
  • A Dragon Head on the front of the ship
  • Loot chests with high tier gear
  • Shulkers nearby or inside, which shoot homing projectiles that give you Levitation

Levitation is both a threat and an opportunity. It can fling you into the void if you are careless, but it can also help you reach awkward platforms.

Step 4: Loot the Elytra safely (Shulker survival tips that actually work)

Shulkers are the main reason people lose Elytras before they ever equip them. Their bullets are slow but persistent, and the levitation effect can make your movement feel out of control.

A safe, repeatable way to board the End Ship

Use this approach to reduce risk:

  1. Clear nearby Shulkers first from a distance with a bow.
  2. Bridge to the ship using blocks rather than relying on risky jumps.
  3. Bring Ender Pearls for emergency repositioning if levitated.
  4. Stay aware of the void because the ship is suspended over nothing.

If you are levitated and drifting into danger, an Ender Pearl can save you by snapping you to a safe block.

How to handle Shulkers without panic

Practical tips that make Shulkers easier:

  • Use a shield to block Shulker bullets and give yourself time to reposition.
  • Fight from cover by peeking around corners. Shulkers have predictable lines of fire.
  • Break line of sight if you are getting overwhelmed. They stop shooting when they cannot see you.
  • Bring slow falling if you have access to potions. It is one of the best safety nets in the End.

A simple “safe loot” inventory add on for cautious players:

  • 1 to 2 potions of Slow Falling
  • A few golden apples
  • A stack of blocks purely for emergency walls and bridges

Getting the Elytra itself

Inside the End Ship, you will find the Elytra displayed in an item frame. Break the item frame and pick it up.

  • Make sure your inventory has space.
  • Consider placing the Elytra into a safe slot immediately, not loose in a crowded inventory.
  • If you are worried about dying, consider retreating as soon as you secure it rather than greedily looting everything.

Step 5: Get the Elytra home and learn to use it well

Finding the Elytra is only half the job. The next half is escaping the End with it and learning how to fly without smashing into the ground.

How to leave the End with your Elytra

Your simplest exit routes are:

  • Go back to the End Gateway you used to enter the outer islands.
  • Use an Ender Pearl to reach it if the terrain is awkward.
  • Once back on the central island, jump into the exit portal that appears after the dragon is defeated.

If you are deep into the outer islands and cannot find the gateway, you can also:

  • Die intentionally and respawn, but this risks losing the Elytra unless you stored it safely or have keep inventory enabled.
  • Keep exploring until you spot another gateway structure, but this can take time.

A practical safety move is to bring an Ender Chest and place it near where you are looting. You can store the Elytra inside and reduce the chance of losing it permanently if you die. Just remember you need a pickaxe that can pick it back up, or be okay leaving it there until later.

How to fly with an Elytra (basic controls and technique)

To start gliding:

  • Equip the Elytra in your chest slot.
  • Jump from a height and press the jump key again to open the wings and glide.

Early flight tips:

  • Start from a safe height like a hill or tower, not from a tree.
  • Aim slightly downward to gain speed, then level out to extend distance.
  • Avoid sharp turns at high speed until you are comfortable.

Rocket powered flight (the real reason Elytra becomes essential)

Firework rockets let you gain altitude and speed midair. This is what turns gliding into true controlled flight.

To craft firework rockets:

  • Paper + Gunpowder = Rocket
  • More gunpowder increases flight duration (up to 3)
Rocket (Duration 1) = 1 Paper + 1 Gunpowder
Rocket (Duration 2) = 1 Paper + 2 Gunpowder
Rocket (Duration 3) = 1 Paper + 3 Gunpowder

Actionable advice for a first flight kit:

  • Carry at least 32 rockets for local travel.
  • Carry 2 to 3 stacks for long distance exploration.
  • Use Duration 1 rockets for precise movement and landing control.
  • Use Duration 3 rockets for distance travel and climbing quickly.

Repairing and enchanting your Elytra

Your Elytra will wear down. You have three main options:

  • Mending enchantment: The best long term solution, repair with XP.
  • Unbreaking III: Makes it last much longer between repairs.
  • Anvil repair with Phantom Membranes: A viable early option, but it gets expensive over time.

To repair using Phantom Membranes:

  • Kill Phantoms at night or during insomnia conditions.
  • Combine Elytra + Phantom Membrane in an anvil.

A common long term setup is:

  • Elytra with Mending and Unbreaking III
  • XP source like a mob farm, trading hall, or Enderman farm

Common mistakes when getting an Elytra (and how to avoid them)

Most Elytra losses are preventable. Here are the mistakes that show up again and again, along with fixes you can apply immediately.

  • Assuming every End City has an End Ship
    • Fix: Keep searching, scan for ships, and do not commit to dangerous looting if the city has no ship.
  • Going in with too few blocks
    • Fix: Bring 2 to 4 stacks. Bridging is the safest way to move in the outer End.
  • Fighting Shulkers in the open
    • Fix: Use corners, walls, and shields. Control line of sight.
  • Loot greed before extraction
    • Fix: Once you have the Elytra, prioritize getting home. You can return for extra loot later.
  • First flight attempts over lava or forests
    • Fix: Practice over flat land or a beach, with rockets on your hotbar and water nearby.

Conclusion: Your first Elytra changes everything

Getting an Elytra in Minecraft is a mini adventure with a clear arc: prep well, beat the Ender Dragon, hunt down an End City with an End Ship, outplay the Shulkers, and extract with your prize. It is one of the most satisfying progression jumps in the game because it does not just give you power, it gives you freedom.

If you want a simple next step, do this: gather the materials for 20 Eyes of Ender, enchant a bow, pack 3 stacks of blocks, and commit to the End run. Once you are soaring over your world with rockets in hand, you will wonder how you ever lived without wings.