TL;DR
- Elytra cannot be crafted. There is only one way to get it in Survival mode.
- You must defeat the Ender Dragon first to unlock the outer End islands.
- After that, find an End City with an End Ship attached to it.
- The Elytra sits in an item frame inside the ship’s treasure room, guarded by a Shulker.
- Enchant it with Mending and Unbreaking III to make it last forever.
- Use plain firework rockets (no firework stars) to boost yourself through the sky.
Elytra is the best item in Minecraft. Full stop. Nothing else comes close for travel speed, exploration range, and just pure fun. But getting it takes some work. You need to defeat the final boss, navigate the most dangerous dimension in the game, and fight your way into a floating ship to claim your wings.
This guide covers everything. What to bring, how to beat the Ender Dragon, how to find an End City with a ship, how to grab the Elytra, and how to set it up properly so it lasts forever.
What Is Elytra?
Elytra is a pair of wings you equip in your chestplate slot. They let you glide through the air by pressing jump while you are falling. Pair them with firework rockets and you can fly indefinitely — no height limit, no time limit, just you crossing thousands of blocks in minutes.
A fresh pair of Elytra has 432 durability, giving you about 7 minutes of glide time before they wear out. With Unbreaking III that stretches to around 28 minutes. With Mending they repair themselves from XP and effectively last forever.
You cannot craft Elytra. No crafting recipe exists. The only way to get them in Survival mode is to find them in the End Ship inside an End City.
Step 1 — Prepare Before You Go
The End is dangerous and you will not want to go back for forgotten items. Pack everything before you leave.
Gear:
- Diamond or Netherite armor — Protection IV if possible
- A bow with Power V and Infinity, plus plenty of arrows
- A sword with Sharpness V
- Boots with Feather Falling IV — you will be near the void
Supplies:
- At least 64 building blocks (cobblestone, dirt, anything)
- 20+ Ender Pearls for the End Gateway portal and island exploration
- Plenty of cooked food — steak or golden carrots
- A water bucket (useful for the dragon fight)
- A bed — do NOT right-click it in the End or Nether, it will explode
- Torches and a crafting table if you want them
Before you go: Set your spawn point near the stronghold in case you die. Make sure your inventory has room. The End Ship has two loot chests plus the Elytra — you want space for all of it.
If you have not built an enchanting setup yet, get that done first. Going in with unenchanted gear makes the dragon fight much harder. Our enchanting table guide covers everything you need.
Step 2 — Find the Stronghold and Enter the End
To reach the End you need to find a Stronghold and activate its End Portal. Here is how:
Find the Stronghold with Eyes of Ender
Craft Eyes of Ender using Blaze Powder and Ender Pearls. Throw one into the air and watch which direction it flies. Follow that direction and throw another. Keep going until the eye floats downward — that means the Stronghold is directly below you.
Dig down until you find the Stronghold. Navigate its corridors until you reach the End Portal room. You will recognise it by the portal frame made of End Portal Frame blocks over a pool of lava.
Activate the End Portal
The portal frame has 12 slots. Some already have Eyes of Ender. Place an eye in every empty slot. Once all 12 are filled, the portal activates. Jump in.
You will spawn on a platform above the main End island, surrounded by Obsidian pillars and the Ender Dragon circling overhead. Do not panic. You have a plan.
Check out our full Ender Dragon guide if you need detailed help with the fight before you jump in.
Step 3 — Defeat the Ender Dragon
You cannot reach the outer End islands — where End Cities and Elytra are — until you defeat the Ender Dragon first. The End Gateway only opens after she is dead.
The Fight in Simple Terms:
Phase 1 — Destroy the End Crystals
The crystals on top of the Obsidian pillars heal the dragon constantly. You must destroy them all first or the fight will take forever.
Some crystals are unprotected — one arrow each. Some sit inside iron cages. Climb those pillars using blocks or water-stream tricks to reach and break the caged crystals. Breaking a crystal causes an explosion, so stand back.
Phase 2 — Attack the Dragon
The dragon flies in circles and periodically swoops down toward the central fountain to rest. That is your window.
When she is perched, run in and hit her with your sword. The head takes the most damage. When she is flying, fire arrows at her underside — she is immune to arrows hitting her body from the side.
Avoid her dragon breath attack. The purple cloud on the ground lingers and deals damage. Do not walk through it.
Death — Watch the Void
The End main island has no walls. Falling off the edge is death. Stay away from the edges, especially when fighting Endermen — they teleport when you look at them and can knock you off. Wearing a pumpkin on your head prevents Endermen from aggro-ing, though it limits your view.
After She Falls
A beam of light shoots up, the dragon collapses, and the End Gateway Portal appears on the edge of the island. This is a small purple and black portal. You also get a huge amount of XP — around 12,000 points, enough to push you past level 68.
The Exit Portal in the centre also opens, but do not take it yet. You are here for Elytra.
Step 4 — Reach the Outer End Islands
The End Gateway Portal is small — only 1 block wide. You cannot walk through it. Throw an Ender Pearl into it to teleport to the outer islands.
You will arrive on an island in the outer End. This is a completely different environment — vast floating islands in the void separated by emptiness, covered in Chorus Plants and Chorus Flowers.
If you land on a small island with no structures, build a bridge in any direction or throw Ender Pearls across the gap to reach the larger islands. End Cities only generate on large islands.
Step 5 — Find an End City
End Cities are tall structures made of Purpur blocks and End Stone Bricks. They look like tall purple towers with smaller towers branching off them. They can be hard to spot at a distance so look for the distinctive purple colour against the pale End Stone.
Key facts about End City generation:
- They only appear on the large outer islands, not small ones.
- They generate on relatively flat ground in “midlands” and “highlands” areas.
- They follow a grid pattern — found in chunks numbered 0–8 at multiples of 20.
- Some worlds have cities clustered together. Others space them thousands of blocks apart.
- There are 20 End Gateway Portals around the main island. Each one leads to a different area of the outer islands. If you cannot find a city, go back and try a different gateway.
Searching efficiently:
Travel in a straight line from your landing point. Look out across the void and scan the horizon for purple towers. Throw Ender Pearls to cross gaps rather than building bridges — it saves time.
If you have already found Elytra from a previous End City, you can fly between islands much faster. But for your first run you are relying on bridging and pearls.
Using a seed with known End City locations can save a lot of searching. Check our best Minecraft seeds guide for seeds with easily accessible End Cities.
Step 6 — Identify an End City With a Ship
Not every End City has an End Ship. Some cities are just towers with loot chests. The End Ship is what you need — Elytra is only found on the ship.
The End Ship floats in the air beside the city, connected by a bridge with an archway. It looks like a sailing ship made of Purpur blocks. A dragon head sits at the bow. It is unmistakable once you see it.
If an End City has no ship, move on and find another one. Do not waste time exploring a shipless city hoping one appears — they either have a ship or they do not, set at world generation.
Step 7 — Board the End Ship
The ship floats above the bridge. To get on board:
- Throw an Ender Pearl at the deck from the bridge — this is the fastest method.
- Build a bridge up to the ship’s deck level if you are low on pearls.
Watch out for Shulkers immediately. Three Shulkers spawn on the ship — one on the main deck, one near the stern, and one in the treasure room. Shulkers shoot projectiles that cause the Levitation effect. This makes you float upward for several seconds. In the End, floating up is dangerous because you can float off the edge of the ship and into the void. Kill Shulkers from a distance with your bow before moving close.
What the ship contains:
- A Dragon Head at the bow — an extremely rare decorative item
- A brewing stand on the upper deck
- Two loot chests — one on the main deck and one in the treasure room
- The Elytra, in an item frame on the wall of the treasure room, guarded by one last Shulker
Step 8 — Grab the Elytra
Make your way to the stern of the ship. There is a doorway leading into the treasure room. Kill the Shulker inside before reaching for the Elytra.
The Elytra hangs on the wall in an item frame. The floor of this room is obsidian with four small windows. Both loot chests are in here too — open them for enchanted armor, tools, and other valuable loot.
To take the Elytra, right-click the item frame (Java) or tap it (Bedrock). The wings drop into your inventory.
Congratulations. You now have Elytra.
Step 9 — Equip and Use Your Elytra
Open your inventory and place the Elytra in your chestplate slot. Note that this replaces your chest armor — you cannot wear both at the same time.
How to fly:
- Get to a high point — a cliff, a tower, or just jump off the ship.
- While falling, press Jump (Space on PC, A on controller, X on PlayStation).
- The wings spread open and you begin gliding.
- Look up to gain altitude and slow down. Look down to dive and gain speed.
- Watch your speed — hitting a wall while going fast will deal heavy damage.
Using Firework Rockets to Boost
Plain firework rockets give you a speed burst while gliding. Hold the rocket in your hand and use it while flying. You shoot forward and can even gain altitude.
Important: Use rockets with NO firework stars. Rockets with stars explode at the end of their flight and deal damage to you. Craft your elytra rockets with just paper and 1, 2, or 3 gunpowder — no stars. Three pieces of gunpowder gives the longest boost per rocket.
Important on Java: Hold the firework in your hand. On Bedrock: Hold it in your off-hand or your main hand while flying.
How to Repair Your Elytra
Elytra has 432 durability. Each second of gliding uses 1 point. You need to repair it before it reaches 1 durability (they stop working at 1, not 0 — they never fully break).
Method 1 — Phantom Membranes (early game)
Kill Phantoms at night. You must not have slept for 3 in-game days for Phantoms to spawn. Each Phantom drops 0–1 Phantom Membranes. Combine the membrane with your Elytra at an Anvil — each membrane restores 108 durability (25% of total). Enchantments are preserved.
Warning: Every anvil repair increases the “prior work penalty,” making future repairs cost more XP. Eventually repairs become “too expensive.” Use this method sparingly.
Method 2 — Combine Two Pairs of Elytra
If you find a second Elytra, combine both damaged pairs at an Anvil or crafting grid. Their durability adds together. This also increases the prior work penalty.
Method 3 — Mending (best long-term option)
Mending is a book enchantment that repairs any item using XP orbs collected while wearing or holding it. With Mending on your Elytra, every XP orb you pick up goes toward repairing your wings.
Mending makes your Elytra last forever — no more membranes, no more anvil costs. Getting a Mending book from a Librarian in your villager trading hall is the most reliable way to get it. Pair it with an XP mob farm for truly infinite durability.
Best Elytra Enchantments
Elytra cannot be enchanted at an enchanting table. You must use an Anvil and enchanted books.
Mending (Essential)
Repairs the Elytra using XP. With this enchantment and a decent XP source, your wings effectively never wear out. This is the single most important enchantment for Elytra.
Unbreaking III (Essential)
Reduces the chance of durability loss each second. Unbreaking III increases your effective flight time from 7 minutes to about 28 minutes per full durability. Stack this with Mending and you will almost never need to repair.
Curse of Binding (Avoid)
This enchantment prevents you from removing the Elytra from your chestplate slot until you die. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, do not apply this.
Curse of Vanishing (Avoid)
Makes the Elytra disappear on death. Never put this on your wings.
To get Mending and Unbreaking III books reliably, set up a Librarian in your trading hall and reroll their trades using the lectern trick. Our full villager trading tiers guide explains exactly which trades to hunt for and how to reroll.
Getting More Elytra
Each End Ship only has one pair of Elytra. But you can get multiple pairs.
After defeating the Ender Dragon once, you can re-summon her using four End Crystals placed around the Exit Portal. Defeating her again opens another End Gateway Portal leading to a new area of the outer islands with fresh End Cities.
Every End City with a ship contains exactly one Elytra. So each dragon fight you complete can potentially yield another pair. Find two cities with ships and you have enough to combine for a full durability repair early on.
End City Loot — What Else to Take
While you are on the ship and in the city towers, grab everything from the chests. End City loot is among the best in the game.
Common End City loot:
- Enchanted iron and diamond armor
- Enchanted iron and diamond tools
- Saddles and horse armor
- Beetroot seeds (legacy item, still spawns for parity)
- Emeralds and iron/gold ingots
From the End Ship specifically:
- The Dragon Head (bow of the ship — punch it to collect)
- Elytra (treasure room)
- Two loot chests with enchanted gear
The Dragon Head is purely decorative — it animates and opens its mouth when worn or powered by redstone. It is one of the rarest display items in the game.
Shulker Shells
Every Shulker you kill has a chance to drop a Shulker Shell. Two shells craft into a Shulker Box — a portable storage container that keeps its contents even when broken. Shulker Boxes are extremely valuable for any long exploration trip. Kill every Shulker you find while you are here.
Tips for Surviving the End
Endermen are everywhere. Do not look them in the eyes. Wear a carved pumpkin on your head to prevent them from aggroing — your vision is slightly blocked but Endermen will completely ignore you. It is worth it on your first trip.
The void is lethal. Falling off any island means instant death and you lose everything. Build carefully. Do not run near edges.
Shulkers are the real danger. The Levitation effect they cause is more dangerous than their direct damage. Always kill them from range. A bow with Power V makes this easy.
Build bridges carefully. You are working above the void with only Purpur blocks beneath you. One misstep means falling. Take it slow.
Pick up everything. Enchanted diamond armor from End City chests can be better than what you are wearing. Check each piece before you toss it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get Elytra without defeating the Ender Dragon?
No. The End Gateway Portal that leads to the outer islands only opens after the dragon is defeated. There is no other way to reach End Cities in Survival mode.
What if the End City has no ship?
Move on. No ship means no Elytra at that location. Keep exploring other islands until you find a city with a ship attached.
Can I find multiple Elytra?
Yes. Each End Ship has one pair. Find more End Cities with ships to collect more. You can also re-summon the Ender Dragon to open new gateways to new areas.
Why does my Elytra stop working mid-flight?
The durability hit 1. Elytra stop functioning at 1 durability but never break completely. Repair them with Phantom Membranes or Mending before flying again.
Do fireworks damage me while flying?
Only if you use rockets with Firework Stars added. Always craft plain rockets with just paper and gunpowder for safe elytra boosting.
Does Elytra work in the Nether?
Yes. Elytra works in any dimension. The Nether is actually great for fast travel using Elytra since 1 block in the Nether equals 8 blocks in the Overworld. Use your Nether portal as a fast travel hub and fly between points inside.
Can I use Elytra to find structures?
Absolutely. Once you have Elytra, finding structures like Woodland Mansions and Ancient Cities becomes much easier. You cover ground in minutes rather than hours.
Elytra transforms how you play Minecraft. Distances that took hours to walk take minutes to fly. Exploration opens up entirely. And the Mending + Unbreaking III combo means you get to enjoy it forever without worrying about it breaking. Set up your automatic sugar cane or bamboo farm to keep yourself supplied with paper for rockets, and you will have unlimited fuel for your flights.
The journey to get Elytra is the hardest thing most players will do in a Minecraft world. That makes getting your hands on those wings feel earned. Go get them.
