How to Get Elytra in Minecraft: End Cities & Flight

The elytra is the single biggest upgrade in Minecraft survival. Once you have it, you can glide across mountains, cross oceans in seconds, and explore your world from the sky. This guide explains how to get elytra in minecraft from start to finish, including how to reach the End, find an End city, and start flying without dying on your first trip.

What Is the Elytra and Why It Changes the Game

The elytra is a pair of wings you wear in the chestplate slot. Jump from a height and press jump again in mid-air to start gliding. You fall slowly, steer with your mouse or joystick, and gain speed by diving and pulling up again. On its own, gliding only carries you downward over distance. Add firework rockets and you can fly upward too, which turns the elytra into true flight.

There is a trade-off. While you wear the elytra, you cannot wear a chestplate, so you lose that armor protection. Most players accept the trade because the mobility is worth it, and they keep a chestplate in their inventory for hard fights. That is why learning how to get elytra in minecraft is a top goal for survival players. The elytra also has durability. It loses one durability point per second of flight, and it breaks (becomes unusable until repaired) at zero, so plan repairs before long journeys.

How to Get Elytra in Minecraft: Step by Step

The short version of how to get elytra in minecraft is simple: beat the Ender Dragon, use the End gateway portal, explore the outer End islands until you find an End city with a ship, and loot the elytra from the ship's treasure room. Each step needs some preparation, so here is the full route.

1. Beat the Ender Dragon

You cannot reach the elytra before the dragon fight, because the gateway to the outer End only appears after the dragon dies. Prepare like any boss fight: a full set of diamond or netherite armor, a strong bow with plenty of arrows, a sword, golden apples or cooked food, beds or blocks for cover, and an Ender chest if you have one. Enter the End through a stronghold portal, destroy the End crystals on the obsidian towers, then damage the dragon when it perches on the exit portal. Take your time and keep your health up. The fight is much easier with Feather Falling boots and slow falling potions.

2. Find the End Gateway Portal

After the dragon dies, a small gateway portal made of bedrock appears somewhere on the main End island, usually near the edge. It looks like a tiny floating frame, too small to walk through. Throw an Ender pearl into it to teleport to the outer End islands. Do not jump into the void looking for it. Walk around the edge of the main island until you spot the bedrock frame, then pearl through. If you are playing with friends, each player needs their own pearl trip, so bring spares.

3. Explore End Cities and Ships

The outer End is a spread of floating islands separated by void, with chorus plants growing on the end stone. End cities are tall towers made of yellow purpur blocks and white end stone bricks, and they spawn on these islands. Not every city has what you want. The elytra only appears in End cities that have a floating End ship docked beside them, in the ship's treasure room. When you spot a city, check for the ship first before fighting your way up the tower.

End cities are guarded by shulkers, box-shaped mobs that hide as blocks and fire homing projectiles. A shulker hit gives you Levitation, which floats you upward for several seconds. Levitation is dangerous near the void, because floating up and then falling can send you off an island. Bring blocks to build bridges between islands, keep your Ender pearls ready as an escape, and never bridge across the void without a safe landing plan. Loot as you climb: End cities contain good gear, enchanted diamond items, and shulker shells, which you need for shulker boxes.

4. Loot the Elytra and Put It On

In the End ship, find the treasure room at the front of the ship. The elytra hangs in an item frame on the wall. Every guide to how to get elytra in minecraft ends at this treasure room, so take a screenshot when you find it. Take it, and also grab the dragon head mounted on the ship's bow if you want it. Equip the elytra in your chestplate slot from your inventory. You now own the wings, but you still need a safe way home. Use an Ender pearl to escape danger, build a safe path back to your gateway, or keep exploring until you have the gear you came for. Remember that dying in the void loses everything you carry, so store spare gear in an Ender chest when you can.

How to Fly With Elytra

Gliding is easy, but flying well takes a little practice. Jump from a high place and press jump again to open the wings. Dive slightly to build speed, then pull up to convert that speed into height. For true powered flight, hold a firework rocket in your hand and use it while gliding. Each rocket gives a burst of speed. Simple rockets made with paper and gunpowder are best for flying, because rockets with firework stars explode and damage you.

Practice in a safe area first. Try gliding off a tall tower in your base before you fly over lava or the void. Learn how hard you can dive before pulling up, and keep an eye on your elytra durability. A good habit is to carry rockets in bulk, plus a spare elytra or Mending setup for long trips. If you run out of rockets mid-flight over the ocean, glide down to the nearest land instead of panicking.

Repairs, Enchantments and Tips

Once you know how to get elytra in minecraft, the next skill is keeping it in the air. Repair the elytra in an anvil with phantom membranes, which drop from phantoms that spawn when you skip sleep for several nights. The best enchantments for an elytra are Unbreaking III, which slows durability loss, and Mending, which repairs it using experience orbs you collect. With Mending and Unbreaking III, an elytra can last almost forever if you collect experience regularly.

A few extra tips make the whole trip safer. Players who master how to get elytra in minecraft usually keep a spare set of rockets and a Mending setup ready before any long flight. Bring a pumpkin or carved pumpkin if Endermen bother you on the main island, since wearing one stops them from turning hostile when you look at them. Carry slow falling potions for the dragon fight and for shulker-heavy towers. Build a small safe room at your End gateway so you always have a place to regroup. And if you play on a server, ask other players where the nearest looted and unlooted End cities are, because popular servers can have their closest cities already cleared.

FAQ

Can you get the elytra without beating the Ender Dragon?

No, not in normal survival. The gateway to the outer End islands only spawns after the dragon dies, and End cities only generate on those outer islands. Creative mode and commands can give you an elytra directly, but in survival the dragon fight is the required first step.

Does every End city have an elytra?

No. Only End cities with a docked End ship contain an elytra, in the ship's treasure room. Cities without ships still have good loot, including enchanted gear and shulker shells, but no wings. If you clear a city and find no ship, keep exploring to the next island.

How do you repair a broken elytra?

Use phantom membranes in an anvil, or use Mending while collecting experience orbs. A fully broken elytra (zero durability) cannot be worn for flying, but it can still be repaired in an anvil, so do not throw it away.

Is the elytra available on both Java and Bedrock?

Yes. The elytra works on Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, with the same basic steps: dragon fight, gateway, End city ship, and rockets for powered flight. Controls differ slightly between platforms, but the route is the same.

Start Flying on BD ZONE

Now that you know how to get elytra in minecraft, put the plan into action on your own world. Gear up, beat the dragon, and go claim your wings. If you play on BD ZONE, team up with friends for the dragon fight and the End trip, and share your first flight stories on our Discord at https://discord.gg/QzhjgYZNGs. Join the server at PLAY.BDZONEMC.COM and see you in the sky.