Follow the Eye, See the Difference

Biome Strongholds replaces the vanilla Stronghold with new variations based on the biome it spawns in. Each Stronghold is designed to be unique, offering different layouts and block palettes to serve as more than just a reskin, both of the vanilla Stronghold and of one another. Additonally, care has been taken to add updated mechanics, both vanilla and custom, to keep up with the direction Minecraft has evolved in since the addition of Strongholds. All of this is in pursuit of making the experience of following your Eyes of Ender new and exciting each and every time.

The Strongholds

Although each Stronghold offers different challenges, enemies, and mechanics, they all share the following features:

• A single Starting Staircase, which Eyes of Ender point to
• Exactly one End Portal Room
• Improved Loot Tables
• Large Rooms/Library Rooms
• Assorted Rooms and Corridors
• Trial Spawners and Trial Vaults
• Support for Ominous Trials
• Learnable navigation

Included Biomes

The vanilla Stronghold no longer spawns at all, instead replaced with eight biome-specific variants, covering all vanilla biomes.

Biome Strongholds

Desert Stronghold

• Generates in Desert, Badlands, Wooded Badlands, and Eroded Badlands biomes
• Made of Sandstone and Red Sandstone blocks
• Composed of many winding hallways and small rooms, which adjoin to more detailed rooms on the way to the Portal Room
• Trial Spawners spawn the following mobs:
  • Husks
  • Silverfish
  • Parched wielding Golden Swords
  • Sandstorm Breezes
    • Drop Golden Nuggets and Sand instead of Breeze Rods
    • Emit sand particles
    • Occasionally emiy extra particles and deal damage in a small radius around them for a few seconds

Ocean Stronghold

• Generates in all Ocean biomes, including Frozen Ocean biomes
• Made of assorted Prismarine blocks and Sea Lanterns
• Features both flooded and unflooded sections
• Contains frequent chests with Potions of Water Breathing
• Trial Spawners spawn the following mobs:
  • Slimes
    • These are larger-sized Slimes that can deal damage, but have been scaled down to fit
    • Only spawn in unflooded sections
  • Drowned
    • Can spawn with Tridents in certain rooms
  • Guardians
  • Praetors
    • Scaled-up Guardians
    • Have increased health
    • Emit particles
    • Drop solid Prismarine and Sea Lantern blocks
  • Elder Guardians
    • Slightly scaled down
    • Have reduced health
    • Give Blindness instead of Mining Fatigue

Jungle Stronghold

• Generates in all Jungle biomes, and Stony Peaks
• Made of Mossy Cobblestone, Cobblestone, and Polished Tuff blocks
• Many rooms feature puzzles or hidden buttons/levers
• Many rooms have variants of different sizes
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Blinding, a weapon enchantment that inflicts Blindness on damaged entities
• Trial Spawners spawn the following mobs:
  • Bogged wielding Wooden Swords
  • Skeletons wielding Bows enchanted with Blinding
  • Smoking Creepers
    • Explode periodically in smaller explosions if an enemy is close
    • Do not die when they explode
  • Vexes
    • Slightly scaled up
    • Emit particles to help find them easier
    • Vexes spawned during Ominous Trials wield Stone Swords enchanted with Blinding II
    • Have a chance to drop Enchanted Books of Blinding

Snowy Stronghold

• Generates in all Frozen biomes, all Snowy biomes, Groves, Jagged Peaks, Ice Spikes, and the Deep Dark
• Made of assorted Deepslate, Packed Ice, Nether Quartz, and Polished Andesite floors that are peppered with Packed Ice, Snow Blocks, and Powdered Snow
• Features very large rooms that adjoin to other rooms and hallways on the way to/from the Portal Room, and many secret doors opened by buttons
• The End Portal is in the middle of the Stronghold rather than the end
  • The End Portal Frames are frozen by magical ice. You will need to find Portal Frame Keys throughout the Stronghold to unlock them and fill them with Eyes of Ender
  • Portal Frame Keys can be found in most rooms, but there will only be exactly enough for the number of unfilled End Portal Frames
  • Portal Frame Keys are indestructible and do not despawn if dropped
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Blizzard, a weapon enchantment that causes hit entities to emit snowflake particles around their feet, and lose the ability to jump for 10 seconds
• Trial Spawners spawn the folloing mobs:
  • Ice Zombies
    • Zombies with Ice on their heads
    • Emit snowflake particles
    • Wield Ice Blocks enchanted with Blizzard
    • Ice Zombies spawned during Ominous Trials apply the Blizzard effect to all nearby players
  • Strays
  • Mini Phantoms
    • Slightly scaled down Phantoms
    • Have reduced health and damage
    • Emit particles to help find them easier
  • Giant Spiders
    • Scaled-up Spiders
    • Spawn with 5 seconds of Invisibility
    • Have increased health and damage
    • Have Fire Resistance
    • Spiders spawned during Ominous Trials attack as though enchanted with Blizzard
    • Have a chance to drop Enchanted Books of Blizzard

Swamp Stronghold

• Generates in Swamp, Mangrove Swamp, and Lush Cave biomes
• Made of Mud Bricks and Muddy Mangrove Roots, with floor made of Mud, Moss Blocks, and Water. Short Grass covers the floors, and Cave Vines hang from the ceilings
• Composed of mazes that can be 1-4 floors, which adjoin to rooms or to other mazes on the way to the Portal Room
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Venomous, a weapon enchantment that inflicts Poison to damaged entities
• There are magical Cauldrons spread throughout the Stronghold. These emit particles and will cure any nearby players of Poison while they have water in them, but lose one level of water when doing so. Empty Cauldrons can be refilled with water to regain this effect
• Trial Spawners spawn the following mobs:
  • Bogged
  • Zombies with Azalea on their heads, wielding mushrooms, that attack as though they had Venemous
  • Slimes
    • These are larger-sized Slimes that can deal damage, but have been scaled down to fit
    • Slimes spawned by Ominous Trial Spawners attack as though they had Venemous
  • Witches
    • Have increased Speed and Movement Efficiency
    • When damaged, they will attempt to teleport behind their attacker, if there's room
    • Witches spawned by Ominous Trial Spawners throw Lingering Potions instead of Splash Potions
    • Have a chance to drop Enchanted Books of Venomous

Forest Stronghold

• Generates in all Forest biomes, including regular Taigas, Cherry Groves, and Pale Gardens
• Made of assorted Stone Bricks, Resin Bricks, and Logs and Leaves
  • The Log, Leaf, and Wood type changes depending on the forest biome the Stronghold starts in, to give each Forest-like biome a unique-feeling Stronghold even if they all have the same structure. This technically means there are six different Forest Strongholds, though not every world will have every type of Forest Stronghold
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Disorienting, a Chestplate enchantment that has a chance to cause attacking entities to become turned around
• Features very large rooms that adjoin to other rooms and hallways on the way to/from the Portal Room
• Trial Spawners spawn the folloing mobs:
  • Small Hoglins
    • Hoglins with reduces Scale, Health, Attack Damage, and Attack Knockback
    • Hoglins spawned during Ominous Trials do not have these debuffs, and attack as though enchanted with Blindness
  • Giant Silverfish
  • Forest Breezes
    • Attack as though enchanted with Blindness
    • Emit Leaf particles
    • Do not drop Breeze Rods
  • Creaking
    • Can be attacked and have more Health
    • Treated as though enchanted with Disorienting
    • Have a chance to drop Enchanted Books of Disorienting

Savanna Stronghold

• Generates in all Savanna-like biomes, except Wooded Badlands due to their proximity to regular Badlands for the Desert Stronghold
• Heavily Steampunk-themed made of primarily Copper Blocks, and with lots of pipes and other machinery
• Features many new traps embedded in the walls and floors
• Many rooms feature puzzles or hidden buttons/levers
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Steaming, a projectile weapon enchantment that gives hit entities Levitation, and at higher levels, sets them on fire
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Pickpocket, a weapon enchantment that attempts to cause hit players to drop an item from their hotbar, if there's an item in the selected slot to drop
• Trial Spawners spawn the following mobs:
  • Skeletons wielding Copper Swords enchanted with Pickpocket
  • Spiders with reduced Scale and Health
    • During Ominous Trials, these are Cave Spiders with reduced Scale
  • Steaming Ghasts
    • Scaled-down Ghasts that shoot non-explosive Fireballs
    • Attack as though enchanted with Steaming, or Steaming II during Ominous Trials
  • Copper Golems
    • Hostile to players, with increased Health
    • Emit particles to help indicate their aggression
    • Attack as though enchanted with Pickpocket
    • Have a chance to drop Enchanted Books of Pickpocket

Plains Stronghold

• Generates in all Plains biomes, Beach Biomes, regular Rivers, and Windswept Hill biomes
• Designed like Trail Ruins, featuring lots of Terraoccta, Mud Bricks, Stone Bricks, and regular Bricks
• There is lots of Gravel and Suspicious Gravel throughout the Stronghold
• Some rooms feature puzzles or hidden passages
• Some rooms have variants of different sizes
• Most End Portal Frames are hidden in Suspicious Gravel in the End Portal Room. Breaking the Suspicious Gravel will reveal the frame but trigger a trap. Brushing the Suspicious Gravel will reveal the frame safely
• Trial Spawners and Vaults have a chance to eject Enchanted Books of Zombifying, a weapon enchantment that deals extra damage to living entities (like reverse Smite), and gives hit entities some negative effects
• Trial Spawners spawn the following mobs:
  • Zombified Villagers wielding Spears, that cannot be cured
  • Skeletons wielding Spears
  • Spiders
    • Ominous Trial Spawners spawn Spider Jockeys, with the Skeleton riders wielding Spears
  • Ravagers
    • Reduced Scale, Health, and Attack Damage
    • Attack as though enchanted with Zombifying
    • Have a chance to drop Enchanted Books of Zombifying

The End Portal

End Portals in Biome Strongholds are not arranged in the typical configuration. Instead, the typical End Portal is made of Bedrock, and the End Portal Frames are spread throughout the Portal Room. They may be hidden, but are always within the bounds of the Portal Room, which are designed to clearly guide the player towards them. Like vanilla Strongholds, each End Portal Frame has a 10% chance of already being filled.

Additionally, filled End Portal Frames will project particles towards the Bedrock End Portal. Once all 12 are filled, the End Portal will spawn in the Bedrock frame as normal, some extra particles will display, and the trails of particles from the End Portal Frames will cease.

Traps

All Strongholds are filled with Decorated Pots, but some of these Pots have traps hidden inside them. Breaking them will trigger the trap, dealing a small amount of damage to nearby players and applying a biome-specific effect.

Some Strongholds also feature traps hidden in the walls, floors, and ceilings, some of which can be collected and used by the player. Pay close attention as you explore the Biome Strongholds.

• Lava Pitfall: Generates in Desert Strongholds. Stepping on the blocks here will turn them into Lava beneath your feet
• Spike Ceiling: Generates in Desert Strongholds. Stepping under these blocks will cause a Pointed Dripstone Spike to fall from the ceiling, dealing damage to entities it hits
• Noxious Gas Emitter: Generates in Desert, Jungle, and Swamp Strongholds, and can be collected and placed by the player. These are Chiseled Tuff blocks in the ground. When an entity is nearby, they will start to project green gas particles upwards. If an entity steps directly on one of these blocks, they will be given the Poison effect.
• Flame Emitter: Generates in Jungle Strongholds, and can be collected and placed by the player. These are Dispensers that, when powered, emit a trail of Flame particles in the direction they are facing that deal damage to entities in range (but do not set them on fire).
• Steam Emitter: Generates in Savanna Strongholds, and can be collected and placed by the player. These are Copper Bulbs in the ground. When an entity is nearby, they will start to project steam particles upwards. If an entity steps directly on one of these blocks, they will take some fire damage and get brief levitation.
• Blade Trap: Generates in Savanna Strongholds, and can be collected and placed by the player. These appear as Jukeboxes in the ground or wall. When an entity is nearby, slashes a Copper Sword in the direction the Trap is facing, dealing high damage.
• Spinning Blades: Generates in Savanna Strongholds, and can be collected and placed by the player. These are Chiseled Copper Blocks with a Lightning Rod on top, and two Copper Swords spinning around it. Entities near the Copper Swords take damage. Only the Chiseled Copper Block can be mined, and is what drops the Trap item.

Puzzles

Some Strongholds feature puzzles, either as features within specific rooms or as obstacles for exploring the Stronghold. Not all of these are strictly "puzzles" but more like "secrets", but they are included here for ease. Below are descriptions of the puzzles as well as how to solve them.

Puzzles

Secret Button

• Generates in Jungle and Snowy Strongholds
• Buttons hidden in walls, often but not always at dead ends
• Clicking the button removes the wall, revealing more to explore

Secret Lever

• Generates in Jungle, Forest, and Savanna Strongholds
• One or two Levers hidden on walls or in alcoves in the wall
• Finding one or both Levers (depending on the room type) will open a secret passage to the other half of the room
• Can be opened from both sides, and closed again

Jukebox Passageway

• Generates in Plains Strongholds
• Jukeboxes that, when a Music Disc is placed inside, disappear to reveal a secret passage
• Drops the Music Disc when removed

Color Puzzle

• Generates in Jungle, Forest Strongholds, and Plains Strongholds
• A button in the middle-ish of the Room, with 4 Chiseled Tuff Brick pedestals spread throughout the room, and 4 different-colored Glazed Terracotta blocks in the wall of the room
• Pressing the button starts the puzzle
• Each pedestal will periodically project particles (both colored and elemental) to indicate which color of Glazed Terracotta should be placed on that pedestal
• When all four pedestals have the correct block placed on top of them, a Treasure Chest will appear in the room

Chest Puzzle

• Generates in Jungle and Savanna Strongholds
• A two-story room filled with empty Chests, and a button in the middle of the room
• Pressing the button starts the puzzle, removing all but 4 of the Chests
• When you open a Chest, a number between 1-4 will display above it for a few seconds, and an appropriate sound effect will play
• After all 4 Chests are opened in ascending order, a Treasure Chest will appear in the middle of the room

Library Puzzle

• Generates in Jungle and Plains Strongholds
• A large two-story Library
• There are 4 Chiseled Bookshelves spread throughout the room that periodically play sound effects and emit particles, and 4 Ancient Tome books in item frames
• Entering the room in Survival Mode for the first time starts the puzzle
• Each Chiseled Bookshelf must have exactly one Book in it (does not have to be an Ancient Tome) in the correct position. If the Chiseled Bookshelf does not have the correct book placed, it will emit red skull particles, or green particles if the book is in the correct position
• When all 4 Chiseled Bookshelves have the correct books placed in them, a Treasure Chest will appear on the second floor of the room

Fairy Sapling Puzzle

• Generates in Forest Strongholds
• When you enter a room with this puzzle, a Sapling will appear emitting sparkling particles
• When the Sapling is right clicked, it will move to another part of the room
• Once found four times, the Sapling will despawn and a Treasure loot Chest will spawn somewhere in the room

Puzzle Chest

• Generates in Savanna and Plains Strongholds
• Starts locked
• When you get near, an item will appear above the Chest, representing the key needed to open it
• Does not contain loot until opened with the key item. If broken, the puzzle and its loot are lost