How to Make an Enderman Farm in Minecraft

TL;DR

• An Enderman farm is the single best XP farm in Minecraft — nothing else comes close.
• Build it in the End dimension after defeating the Ender Dragon for the highest spawn rates.
• Bridge out 128 blocks from the main End island using leaves or glass to monopolize the mob cap.
• Use a named Endermite in a minecart as a lure — Endermen aggro onto it and walk into the drop shaft.
• The drop shaft must be exactly 43 blocks tall to leave Endermen at half a heart for a one-hit kill.
• Wear a carved pumpkin on your head so Endermen do not aggro you on eye contact.
• Collect Ender Pearls with hoppers into chests below the kill floor.

How to make an Enderman farm in Minecraft is the question every player asks after defeating the Ender Dragon. Enderman farms produce more XP per hour than any other farm in the game, and they drop Ender Pearls by the hundreds. You need Ender Pearls to craft Eyes of Ender, to reach the End, and to get an Elytra from End Cities. This guide walks you through everything — how Endermen work, what they drop, the two farm methods, and the full step-by-step build for the best design.

Why Build an Enderman Farm?

Enderman farms are the highest-value late-game build in Minecraft for two reasons:

• XP: Each Enderman drops 5 XP on death. A well-built farm produces 30 to 100+ levels per hour, making enchanting, combining enchantments on an anvil, and Mending repairs essentially free forever.
• Ender Pearls: Each Enderman drops 0–1 Ender Pearl normally. With a Looting III sword, the drop increases to 0–4 per kill. A fully optimized farm can produce hundreds of pearls per hour.

Ender Pearls are used to craft Eyes of Ender, reach the End, craft Ender Chests, and use as a teleportation tool mid-combat. You can never have too many. The farm also produces XP at a rate that makes it the go-to choice for repairing Netherite armor and keeping your best tools topped up.

enderman farm in minecraft

How Endermen Spawn in Minecraft

Understanding where and how Endermen spawn is the key to building an efficient farm.

• The End dimension — by far the best location. After defeating the Ender Dragon, the main End island and surrounding void become dominated by Endermen. Almost every mob cap slot fills with them, with no competition from other mobs.
• Warped Forest in the Nether — Endermen spawn here at a much higher rate than in the Overworld, making it a decent secondary option if you haven’t reached the End yet.
• The Overworld — Endermen only spawn at light level 0 and are far rarer. Not recommended for a dedicated farm.

For the best results, always build your farm in the End. Spawn rates there are around 10 times higher than anywhere else in the game.

Enderman Drops

• Ender Pearl: 0–1 per kill (base). With Looting III: 0–4 per kill.
• XP: 5 experience points per kill.
• Block: If an Enderman was holding a block when killed, it drops that block too.

Ender Pearls do not stack past 16 per slot, so bring Shulker Boxes if you plan to farm for a long session. You will fill them fast.

Two Types of Enderman Farms

Method 1: Endermite Lure Farm (Best — Recommended)

This is the most efficient Enderman farm design. It uses an Endermite as a permanent lure. Endermen are naturally hostile toward Endermites — they will actively pathfind toward and attack them. By trapping a named Endermite in a minecart at the center of your platform, all Endermen that spawn within 62 blocks walk toward it and fall into your drop shaft. You can AFK at the kill spot and collect XP and pearls with almost no effort.

Method 2: Carved Pumpkin Aggro Farm (Simpler)

This simpler design skips the Endermite entirely. You wear a carved pumpkin on your head, which prevents Endermen from aggroing when you look at them. You stand at the kill spot and stare at Endermen to manually aggro them, causing them to run toward you and fall into the pit. It is easier to build but requires you to be active the entire time — no AFK. Good for players who do not have a Name Tag available yet.

This guide focuses on the Endermite Lure Farm since it is more efficient and lets you AFK.

What You Need to Build an Enderman Farm

• Leaves or glass blocks — 2 to 4 stacks for the 128-block bridge and platform edges. Endermen cannot spawn on these blocks.
• Solid building blocks — 4 to 6 stacks of cobblestone or stone for the spawning platform and drop shaft walls.
• Ender Pearls — 1 to 2 stacks to throw and summon an Endermite (there is a 5% chance each time you throw a pearl)
• Name Tag — to name the Endermite so it does not despawn. Learn how to craft a name tag in Minecraft.
• Minecart — to trap the Endermite permanently
• Iron Rail — 1 piece, to place the minecart on
• Hoppers — at least 9, for the pearl collection system
• Chests — 4 to 6 for storage
• Carpets — 1 stack, to cover hoppers and prevent XP from getting stuck
• Trapdoors — 16, any wood type, to trick Endermen into walking off the platform edge
• Carved Pumpkin — to wear on your head while AFK at the kill spot
• Sword with Looting III — for maximum Ender Pearl drops per kill

Prerequisites Before Building

You must complete these steps before building the farm:

1. Find a stronghold and activate the End Portal. See our guide on finding underground structures for tips on exploring deep underground.
2. Defeat the Ender Dragon. The farm works without this, but spawn rates on the main island are much lower while the dragon is alive. Killing it significantly boosts Enderman spawns. Check our guide on how to defeat the Ender Dragon first.
3. Enchant your sword with Looting III before farming for maximum pearl output.

How to Build an Enderman Farm Step by Step

Step 1: Get to the End and Find the Island Edge

Enter the End through the End Portal in your stronghold. After defeating the dragon, navigate to the edge of the main End island. This is your starting point. You will be building outward from here into the void.

Be careful — the void kills instantly and there is no recovery. Bring plenty of blocks and move slowly when bridging. Bring a Totem of Undying just in case.

Step 2: Build the Bridge Out 128 Blocks

From the island edge, build a bridge straight out into the void for exactly 128 blocks. Use only leaves or glass blocks for this bridge — Endermen cannot spawn on these materials, so the bridge itself will never host mobs. This is critical for keeping the bridge safe to travel.

Building 128 blocks away from the main island means Endermen can only spawn on your farm platform, not on the island. This gives your farm full control of the mob cap and maximises spawn rates dramatically.

Step 3: Build the Collection Platform at the Base

At the end of the bridge, at void level (or the lowest safe height you can reach), build a small 3×3 collection platform using leaves or glass. In the center:

1. Place a double chest in the center.
2. Surround the chest with hoppers pointing into the chest.
3. Cover all hoppers with carpet. This lets XP orbs pass through to you but prevents Endermen from teleporting onto the hoppers.
4. Build solid block walls around this 3×3 area to form the bottom of the kill chamber. Leave a 1-block gap at eye level in one wall so you can hit Endermen from outside.

Step 4: Build the 43-Block Drop Shaft

From the kill chamber floor, build the drop shaft straight up exactly 43 blocks. This number is critical:

• 43 blocks leaves Endermen at exactly half a heart (1 HP) — a single unarmed punch or sword hit kills them and grants full XP.
• 44 blocks or more kills them on impact — no XP is earned and the Endermite lure loses effectiveness since there is no one-hit interaction.
• Less than 43 blocks — Endermen survive with more than 1 HP and need multiple hits.

Build the shaft walls out of solid blocks. Make sure no water is anywhere in the shaft — Endermen teleport away from water instantly, which will completely break the farm.

Step 5: Build the Spawning Platform

At the top of the 43-block shaft, build a large flat spawning platform out of solid blocks. A minimum of 13×13 blocks is recommended, but bigger is always better. More surface area means more Endermen spawning per minute.

Around the edges of the platform, place trapdoors opened outward. Endermen’s AI reads an open trapdoor as a solid surface they can walk on. This tricks them into stepping off the platform edge and falling into the drop shaft without any water or redstone needed.

Make sure the platform top surface is at light level 0. Endermen need darkness to spawn. Do not place any torches on the spawning platform.

Step 6: Set Up the Endermite Lure

This is the most important part of the entire build. Without the lure, Endermen will wander randomly on the platform and rarely fall into the shaft on their own.

1. Stand at the center of the spawning platform and throw Ender Pearls one at a time. Each throw has a 5% chance of spawning an Endermite. Keep throwing until one appears.
2. Immediately use a Name Tag to name the Endermite. Any name works. This prevents it from despawning — an unnamed Endermite will despawn on its own within 2 minutes and your lure will silently stop working.
3. Place a piece of iron rail at the center of the platform, one block above the drop shaft opening.
4. Place a minecart on the rail. Quickly get the Endermite to enter the minecart by pushing it in before other Endermen attack it.
5. Place a single block or slab just above the minecart as a roof. This protects the Endermite from being attacked by Endermen while still allowing them to see it and pathfind toward it.

Once the Endermite is in the minecart and named, it acts as a permanent lure. All Endermen that spawn within 62 blocks and have line of sight to it will pathfind directly toward it, walk off the trapdoor edge, and fall 43 blocks into your kill chamber.

Step 7: Equip the Carved Pumpkin

Before going to the kill spot, put a carved pumpkin in your helmet slot. Wearing it completely disables the eye contact trigger for Endermen — they will not aggro you no matter where you look. Without this, every time you glance at an Enderman it will attack you, teleport behind you, and make the farm unmanageable.

The carved pumpkin does give you reduced visibility with a vine pattern overlay, but this is a minor inconvenience compared to having a fully functioning AFK kill spot.

Step 8: AFK at the Kill Spot and Collect

Go to the kill chamber at the bottom of the shaft and position yourself at the 1-block gap in the wall. Endermen will fall and land in the chamber with half a heart. Hit them once with any weapon or even bare fists to kill them and collect XP. Pearl drops go into the hoppers and automatically collect into your chests.

For maximum efficiency on Java Edition, use a Sweeping Edge sword. One sweep attack can kill dozens of Endermen simultaneously, massively increasing XP per second. On Bedrock, a standard sword works fine. Use your Looting III sword for every kill to maximize pearl drops.

How to Maximize Spawn Rates

• Build at least 128 blocks from the main island — this is non-negotiable. Closer than 128 blocks and Endermen can spawn on the island, splitting your mob cap and slashing farm rates.
• Spawn-proof the main island — if you do not want to bridge far, you can cover the main End island in slabs or flood it with water instead. This forces all spawns onto your platform.
• Make the spawning platform as large as possible — more block surface means more spawning opportunities per game tick.
• Stay within 128 blocks of the farm while farming — if you move further away, Endermen despawn and the farm stops producing.
• Increase simulation distance on servers or single player to load more chunks around the farm and allow more mobs to spawn at once.

What to Do With All Your Ender Pearls

Once the farm is running you will accumulate Ender Pearls fast. Here is what to spend them on:

• Craft Eyes of Ender using Ender Pearls and Blaze Powder. Learn how to get blaze rods to make blaze powder.
• Craft Ender Chests for secure, universal storage.
• Use pearls as a teleportation tool — throw one to teleport to its landing spot instantly. Essential in the End and during PvP.
• Trade with Cleric villagers — they buy Ender Pearls for emeralds, turning your overflow into trading currency.
• Use excess XP to max out all your enchantments, repair gear with Mending, and top up your Beacon buffs.

Enderman Farm vs Other XP Farms

An Enderman farm is the top-tier XP option in the game. An XP mob farm using a dungeon spawner is easier to build early-game but produces far less XP per hour. A raid farm gives comparable XP alongside emeralds and totems, but requires active involvement for each raid. The Enderman farm wins on raw XP and pearl output when fully AFK. If you want totems and emeralds too, run both — they complement each other perfectly for late-game play.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not naming the Endermite — the single most common reason farms stop working. An unnamed Endermite despawns within 2 minutes. Always use a Name Tag immediately after it spawns.
• Building too close to the main island — any closer than 128 blocks and Endermen spawn there too, destroying your mob cap monopoly.
• Using water to push Endermen — Endermen teleport away from water instantly. Never use water currents in an Enderman farm. Use trapdoors and the Endermite lure instead.
• Getting the drop height wrong — 43 blocks is exact. 44 blocks kills them on impact with no XP. Measure carefully before building the shaft.
• Not wearing the carved pumpkin — without it, every Enderman you look at aggros and teleports to you. This makes the kill spot unmanageable and dangerous.
• Torches on the spawn platform — light above level 7 prevents Endermen from spawning. Keep the top platform dark.
• Not covering hoppers with carpet — XP orbs can get caught in uncovered hoppers. Always place carpet over them.

Gear Checklist Before You Start

• ✅ Ender Dragon defeated
• ✅ Sword with Looting III (and Sweeping Edge on Java)
• ✅ Full enchanted armor — Feather Falling on boots in case you fall
• ✅ Carved pumpkin for your helmet slot
• ✅ Name Tag ready to use on the Endermite
• ✅ 1–2 stacks of Ender Pearls for summoning the Endermite
• ✅ Totem of Undying in offhand for the void bridging phase
• ✅ Plenty of leaves or glass for the 128-block bridge
• ✅ Shulker Boxes for storing pearls — they fill up fast

Frequently Asked Questions

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