5 tips to efficiently explore Minecraft stronghold

Stronghold is one of the most important structures in Minecraft. It is the only structure in the entire game that has an immovable portal that lets players jump dimensions. Strongholds generate an end portal that will take players directly to the main end island, where they have to fight the Ender Dragon. Moreover, the structure is filled with hostile mobs and lots of valuable loot.

Here are a few tips to explore Minecraft strongholds more efficiently.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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5 best tips for exploring stronghold in Minecraft

1) Block off explored sections

Always block off areas that have already been explored (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

Once you find the stronghold in the Minecraft Overworld, you'll notice the structure has loads of corridors, rooms, and other areas. The layout can be quite confusing while exploring and dodging hostile mobs.

Hence, a good practice is to pick an area to explore, enter all the rooms and corridors that it opens, and then come back to the starting point. Once you return to the starting point, simply close off the entrance to that area.

Block off the area with blocks that contrast the gray color of stone bricks and other underground blocks. This way, you will quickly know which sections have been cleared at a glance.

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2) Mine walls at crossings to find hidden areas

Mine all the walls in the intersection to find any hidden sections (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

Although strongholds can generate at any level, they generally generate under the ground. Hence, many areas of the structure can be completely sealed off behind a naturally generated stone wall. So, when exploring the structure, mine walls in the crossing sections of the stronghold. The crossings often have certain closed-off sections behind a plain-looking wall.

Of course, most of the time, you might simply hit a dead end and see naturally generating blocks behind a wall. However, you can sometimes find a major passage that contains good loot and even the end portal room.

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3) Place torches on one side in all areas

Darker areas in the stronghold will spawn a lot of hostile mobs (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

The stronghold is a regular Minecraft structure that doesn't have any special hostile mob spawning in it. However, since the structure has many dark sections, they will spawn loads of enemies that will hinder exploration. Hence, it is best to bring loads of torches down to the stronghold and keep placing them around the structure.

Always place torches on one side of the wall to know which way to return if you get lost in the stronghold.

Torches will help navigate and prevent hostile creatures from spawning.

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4) Bring obsidian to create a nether portal near the end portal

Create a nether portal near the end portal room for quick access (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

Once the end portal room is found, most veteran players create a nether portal in the room itself. This is a good and convenient practice, especially if a player's base is far from the stronghold they just found.

There is a unique inter-dimensional mechanic between the Nether and Overworld in terms of distance traveled by a player. If you travel one block in the Nether, you will essentially travel eight blocks in the Overworld. Hence, you can travel much farther in the Overworld if you hop from one nether portal to another in the hellish realm.

When you find the end portal, always have obsidian to quickly create a nether portal right beside the end portal. Then, hop into the Nether and find the already existing portal that will take them back to their base. To make this work, first create a portal near their Overworld base and enter the Nether through it.

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5) Explore the entire stronghold before closing off the end portal room

After finding the end portal room, explore the rest of the stronghold and close off the end portal room entrance (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

If the stronghold is far away from you base and you plan to create a nether portal near the end portal, first finish exploring all the other rooms and corridors. This is to ensure you don't miss anything in the stronghold. After doing so, close off the end portal room, create a nether portal room, and head back to the portal that will take them to their base.

The purpose of closing off the end portal room is to secure the area and ensure no hostile mob randomly walks into the room and attacks you later.

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