A Minecraft enderman farm works by making endermen spawn on one small, dark surface you control, then funnelling them to a spot where you kill each one with a single hit. The Minecraft Wiki's farming tutorial says to build it in the End, at least 128 blocks from any other area where endermen can spawn, and calls its named-endermite lure trap one of the cheapest and most efficient designs. This guide is current as of Java 26.3.
The payoff is 5 XP per kill and ender pearls. The wiki says level 30 is possible "in minutes" once enough spawning pads are built. It gives no per-hour numbers, and neither do we. If you mostly want the XP to repair gear, see our guide to getting Mending fast.
How to build an enderman farm: quick steps
- Go to the End and build at least 128 blocks from the main island or any other area where endermen can spawn.
- Reach the site by a bridge of non-spawnable blocks, such as leaves.
- Build spawning pads high above a collection platform, with rings built upward so endermen land only on the platform.
- Lure them with a name-tagged endermite in a minecart.
- Drop them 43 blocks so they land on half a heart.
- Finish each with one hit, so the kill counts as yours and drops XP.
Why endermen, and where they spawn
Endermen are the only mobs that spawn naturally in all three dimensions in Java. They need a solid surface with at least three empty blocks above it, at light level 0 in the Overworld and End, or 7 or less in the Nether. In the End they spawn commonly in groups of four, anywhere in the dimension, including the main island. That is why the End is the best place to farm them. The wiki's tutorial calls traps "best suited to the End or warped forests".
Spawning also depends on distance from you. Mobs spawn only within a 128-block sphere of the player and never within 24 blocks of the player. Your standing spot must therefore be within range of the pads, but not right on top of them. Our light level and mob spawning guide covers the general rules.
Choose a design
| Design | Where | How it kills | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under-the-platform | Overworld first, End later | You hit them from beneath a platform | The wiki's beginner option. A water moat and a one-block bridge funnel angry endermen, where Java-only sweeping edge and entity cramming work. |
| Piston trap | Level land | Pistons close the enderman into a 2-block-high space | Small, beginner-grade. |
| Endermite lure trap | End | Drop, then one hit | The wiki calls it "one of the cheapest and most efficient". |
| Panda's enderman trap | End, 128+ blocks out | 43-block drop onto half a heart | Level 30 "in minutes" with enough spawning pads, per the wiki. |
| DashPum4's farm | Y=0 | Entity cramming plus sweeping attacks | Java 1.19+ only. No endermites needed. |
The wiki also links video designs from docm77 and gnembon. We credit them rather than reproduce them, because those builds are shown on video and the wiki gives no written steps for them.
Materials
The wiki gives exact sizes only for the beginner designs. For the End designs it gives no block counts or platform sizes, so we list what you need without quantities rather than invent them.
Beginner designs (sizes from the wiki)
- Under-the-platform: a 2-high pillar of dirt or another easily mined block, topped with a 2x2 or 3x3 platform of cobblestone (or obsidian for blast protection). For the upgrade, add a water moat just outside the roofed area and a one-block-wide bridge, plus a sword with sweeping edge.
- Piston trap: a 3x3x3 pit, a tower at least 4 blocks high in the centre, 4 pistons (one on each side of the tower), a lever, and redstone in a ring around the pistons.
Lure-and-drop farm in the End (no quantities in the wiki)
- Non-spawnable blocks, such as leaves, for the bridge to the site.
- Blocks for the pads, the walls and the collection platform.
- Ender pearls, to produce an endermite.
- A name tag and a minecart for the endermite.
- Vines, for the 43rd block of the drop.
- For Panda's design: pistons (sticky or normal), with pressure plates or tripwire to trigger them.
- A sword, ideally with Looting.
Step by step: the lure-and-drop farm
1. Pick a spawn-proof site
Build at least 128 blocks from the main island or any other spawnable block, so endermen spawn only on your pads. Reach the site by a bridge of non-spawnable blocks such as leaves. The wiki's documented way to reach the outer islands is an End gateway, which appears after the dragon dies (see the FAQ below). If you want to keep the main island quiet instead, the wiki says you can light it above light level 7 or cover it with slabs or water.
2. Build the pads and keep them dark
Endermen need a solid top surface at block light 0 in the End. Glass, trapdoors, leaves, scaffolding and ice don't allow spawns on them, so use them for walls and bridges. Top slabs and upside-down stairs do count as solid.
3. Get a lure
Throw ender pearls until an endermite spawns, as they can spawn randomly when a pearl is used. Name-tag it and trap it in a minecart, because an unnamed endermite despawns even in a minecart. Skip the boat, which the wiki says is inefficient because it can block endermen from getting in. Endermen that spawn within 62 blocks and in sight of the endermite pathfind to it.
4. Route and drop them
Lead the endermen to a collection point. In Panda's design the pads sit at least 43 blocks above the platform, with rings built upward so endermen land only on the platform. Vines on the 43rd block break the fall, so each enderman takes 19.5 hearts of damage and lands on half a heart.
5. Kill with one hit
Make a two-high ceiling and hit them from under it. One hit from you registers the death as a player kill, even if the drop or a piston left the enderman nearly dead. A kill only drops XP if you or a tamed wolf gets the credit.
Enderman farm height: the 43-block drop
The wiki-supported figure is 43 blocks. An enderman has 40 HP, and a 43-block drop leaves it on half a heart. We don't know of a sourced reason that a platform's height pulls in more spawns, so we make no such claim. Keep the spawnable surface small, dark and isolated. If you don't want a tall build, the beginner, piston and DashPum4 designs need no drop.
Enderman farm without the End: Overworld and warped forest
An Overworld enderman farm works, but the wiki says endermen spawn far less often there. They spawn in all Overworld biomes except mushroom fields and the deep dark, and only at light level 0. A warped forest enderman farm is the best non-End option, since endermen are the only mob in that biome's spawn table. Nether spawn-cost limits can still block spawns long before the mob cap, which is why the wiki's spawn page supports it being slower than the End. We won't put a number on that.
Looting, pearls and XP
On Java, an enderman drops 0 to 1 ender pearls, averaging 0.5. Looting I averages 1.00, Looting II 1.50 and Looting III 2.00 (up to 4). Bedrock drops are lower, so a Looting sword matters more on Java. Each kill gives 5 XP. If your XP target is enchanting, our enchanting table setup guide shows what to spend it on.
Two cautions. Endermen have a 7-damage hit on Normal, and since 1.20.2 they can reach you vertically across their full hitbox, so stay 3 blocks above the ground. Water damages them and makes them teleport away.
What changed in 26.3
Per the wiki's Enderman history, the 26.3 snapshots stopped endermen teleporting onto bedrock or onto waterlogged blocks with a solid block above them. They also made endermen riding something, such as a minecart, hit by projectiles. This matters for water-based and minecart-based designs. For 26.4, the snapshot notes list no enderman behaviour change.
Bedrock caveat
This guide is for Java. Sweeping edge and the DashPum4 farm are Java-only, and Bedrock's Looting drops are lower.
Enderman farm FAQ
What is the easiest way to farm endermen?
The wiki's beginner build is a 2-high pillar with a small platform on top. Stare at an enderman until it is angry, then stand under the platform and hit it. The wiki says to start in the Overworld and later switch to the End.
Which enderman farm is best?
The wiki calls the endermite lure trap among the cheapest and most efficient. Panda's design with many pads is the one it ties to reaching level 30 in minutes. DashPum4's is the choice if you want Java 1.19+ without endermites.
Can you build an enderman farm without killing the dragon?
The wiki doesn't answer this directly. Here is what it does document. The dragon spawns when you first arrive, and there is no portal back until it is defeated. The documented route to the outer islands is the End gateway that generates when a dragon is defeated (for the first 20 dragons), across roughly 1,000 blocks of void. Endermen spawn throughout the End, including the main island, so a farm there needs no gateway. But it won't get the 128-block isolation the wiki recommends, so other spawns will compete with your pads (our inference from the wiki's two statements).
Players report bridging or pearling across the void without killing the dragon, but the wiki doesn't document it, so treat that as community-reported. If you want to avoid the End altogether, the Overworld and warped forest builds above work, more slowly.
How tall should an enderman farm be?
For the drop design, the wiki gives 43 blocks. Pads must also sit at least 24 blocks from you and within 128 blocks.
Worth knowing
This is all vanilla behaviour. A server's own rules and plugins can work differently, so check before you build a farm on one. MCRPG (coming soon) is a different kind of Minecraft server, built around a player-driven economy. For general farm design, start with our mob farm guide.