How to find a Nether Fortress in Minecraft

Aakrit Sharma
Wither Skeletons and Blaze mobs in Minecraft

Minecraft is full of mysterious locations and items, including the Nether Fortress, which is not only hard to find but contains plenty of endgame materials. If you’re struggling to get the best Nether loot, here’s how to find a Nether Fortress in Minecraft.

Minecraft has remained relevant for over a decade and one of the biggest reasons behind this is the endless exploration it offers. From the standard Overworld to the Nether to the End, there are several dimensions further divided into biomes and you can get a wide range of loot from them.

The Nether is easily one of the most dangerous areas in Minecraft and to make the most of it, you must find a Nether Fortress that contains the best items to progress in the endgame.

So, here’s how to find a Nether Fortress in Minecraft through commands, seeds, and exploration.

Floating Nether Fortress in MinecraftThe Nether in Minecraft tests your survival abilities to the fullest.

What is a Nether Fortress in Minecraft?

Nether Fortresses are large structures made of Nether Bricks that are exclusively found in the biomes of the Nether dimension in Minecraft. A fortress typically has two areas comprising bridges on the outside and corridors on the inside.

Other elements of the Nether Fortress include blaze spawners, lava well rooms, and chest corridors but you might not see them all at once.

You can come across zombified piglins, skeletons, and magma cubes mobs in a Nether Fortress. On top of that, it is the only place where blazes and wither skeletons spawn.

Nether Fortresses are so popular because of their loot which includes Gold Ingots, Diamonds, saddles, and Obsidian.

How to find a Nether Fortress in Minecraft

There are three ways to find a Nether Fortress in Minecraft:

  • In-game commands
  • Seeds
  • Exploration
Nether Fortress in Minecraft surrounded by lavaDo not sleep in the Nether as beds explode in this dimension.

How to use commands to find a Nether Fortress

Follow these steps to activate the locate command in Minecraft and find the nearest Nether Fortress:

  1. Go to your in-game Settings and toggle the Activate Cheats setting to turn them on. In the Java edition, you’ll have to go deeper into the LAN settings.
  2. Make a Nether Portal with Obsidian and head to the Nether.
  3. Open your chat.
  4. Type /locate structure fortress if you’re playing Minecraft 1.19 or higher and type /locate fortress for previous versions.
  5. Upon execution, the command will show you the coordinates of the nearest Nether Fortress.

You can either turn on the coordinates and visit the location manually or use another command to teleport directly. For more information on commands, you can check out our guide on command blocks in Minecraft.

How to find a Nether Fortress using seeds

Follow these steps to find a Nether Fortress in Minecraft by analyzing your seed:

  1. Visit Chunkbase’s seed map.
  2. Use the /seed command to know your world’s seed.
  3. Enter your seed on the website. Choose the correct version and set the Dimension as The Nether.
  4. A map of your world’s Nether will appear.

On the map, all the structures marked with a blaze face are Nether Fortresses. You can simply note down the coordinates and then visit the fortress.

To start your journey comfortably, you can check out our list of the best seeds in Minecraft.

If you think using commands in Minecraft is as close to cheating and want your gameplay to be ‘fair,’ exploring is your only option but we have some tips to help you with that as well.

A Nether Fortress in MinecraftNetherite, the strongest material in Minecraft, belongs to the Nether.

How to find a Nether Fortress without commands in Minecraft

Although stumbling upon a Nether Fortress in Minecraft without commands is a matter of luck, remembering these tips can help boost the odds:

  1. Nether Fortresses generally spawn near lava oceans. If you find an ocean, the fortress shouldn’t be too far away.
  2. A Nether region cannot have a Nether Fortress as well as a Bastion Remnant. If you find a Bastion Remnant, head to another region to continue the search. A region in the Bedrock edition is 480 x 480 blocks and 432 x 432 blocks in the Java edition.
  3. You can pick a direction (including diagonal ones such as northwest and southeast) upon entering the Nether. Walking straight in one direction for long enough should help in reaching a Nether Fortress.
  4. If you have a strong GPU, you can increase your game’s render distance. By sacrificing some performance, you’ll be able to see a lot more area and spot a Nether Fortress from far away.
  5. Look for Nether Fortress-exclusive mobs like Blazes and Wither Skeletons. They can easily lead you to the closest fortress.

On top of all this, we recommend carrying your best tools and armor because the Nether is simply merciless.

Moreover, do not lose hope if you’re unable to find a Nether Fortress as quickly as expected. Mojang’s sandbox title has several elements like potions, enchantments, and servers that you can explore while taking a break from searching a Nether Fortress.

Is the Nether Fortress rare?

Yes and no. Since Minecraft worlds are randomly generated, the spawning and generation of Nether Fortresses can be different in every world. You may spawn on top of a Nether Fortress in one world while needing hours of exploration to find one in another world.

Can you get Diamonds in a Nether Fortress?

Yes, you can get Diamonds in a Nether Fortress. You can find these inside chests that spawn in the corridors of the structure. There’s a 19% chance for one to three Diamonds to spawn inside a Nether Fortress chest.

That’s everything about finding a Nether Fortress in Minecraft. For similar content, you can check out our guides below:

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