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In gaming, there are two types of people… Those who cheat, and those who don’t. More power to you whichever camp you fall into, but if you’re in the latter, unfortunately, this guide isn’t for you. In this article, we’re going to take a look at how to locate specific structures in Minecraft Java Edition… and, yes, it kind of involves cheating.
What are Minecraft structures?
Simply put, the term “structure” in Minecraft encompasses anything that’s a pre-generated building or, well, structure. Think Nether Fossils, Ruined Portals, Villages and more. These are basically places in Minecraft that provide some sort of loot or aid to surviving in the wild. For example, Shipwrecks and Desert Pyramids contain some very useful Chests, Igloos and Villages offer a bed to sleep through the night, and Nether Fortresses are the only place to gather Blaze Rods. If you’re playing survival Minecraft, you’ll have to locate certain structures if you ever want to fight the Ender Dragon.
Full list of Minecraft “structures” as of The Wild Update
How to locate structures in Minecraft?
So this is where we get down to business; how to locate Minecraft structures using cheats commands. If you get so frustrated when you find yourself stuck in a video game that you’d rather quit than keep trying, then this option could be right up your street. You’ll sacrifice getting achievements, but you’ll save yourself some valuable time.
Firstly, make sure you’re playing in a Minecraft world with cheats turned on.
- For a new world, you’ll do this in the Options before creating the world.
- For an existing world, open the game menu, select Open to LAN, change Allow Cheats to ‘ON’ and click Start LAN World.
From there, you’ll be able to enter commands in your Minecraft world. In order to locate a structure, simply type:
| /locate structure structure_name |
In 1.18, the command is slightly different, and you’ll simply need to type: /locate structure_name
If you’re unsure of the structure name, you’ll see a list you can simply scroll through. Hit enter once you’ve typed in your desired command, and you’ll see some coordinates in the chat (Open the chat by pressing T). These coordinates are the location of the nearest structure of your chosen type to your current location. At this point, all you need to do is click the coords, and hit Enter. Do note that this will teleport you to the coords, but at the same Y-level you were at when you teleported. If you want to change this, you’ll need to type your desired Y-level in the command. The format for a tp command is as follows:
| /tp @s [X level] [Y level] [Z level] | Example: /tp @s 1234 50 -4321 |
How to locate a Minecraft POI in 1.19?
With the change to locate commands in Minecraft 1.19, The Wild Update, there is also a new command, locate POI (or point of interest). This is a really clever mechanic which will allow you to find a location based on something there, for example, a Villager type or a Nether Portal. While POIs have been in Minecraft data files since 1.14, this is the first time you’ll be able to locate them using commands.
To do so, again use the /locate command, this time followed by poi and then the POI you wish to locate. As with other commands, you’ll be able to choose from a list. So, as an example, it might look like:
| /locate poi nether_portal |
This will only work within around 200 blocks, but should be enough if you just can’t remember where you left that Nether Portal, but it’s definitely around here somewhere, or you want to know if there’s a Librarian in that village over there.
How to locate structures in Minecraft without cheats
Well, this is a bit of a moot subheading, as finding structures without cheats on simply involves good old-fashioned time and effort. And knowing where to look. And some are, of course, easier to come by than others. Shipwrecks, for example, spawn pretty frequently throughout the oceans. Hop in a boat and sail around for a while and you’re sure to spot a shipwreck on the ocean floor (if your lighting settings are bright enough!).
There are a few harder-to-find structures that you can locate using in-game mechanics. If you’re looking for a Woodland Mansion, for example, you can purchase a Woodland Explorer Map from a Journeyman-level Cartographer. The same goes for Ocean Monuments and the Ocean Explorer Map.
More Minecraft structures
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