Fighting Blazes Efficiently

Why Blazes Matter

Blaze rods are a non-negotiable requirement for reaching The End. You need a minimum of 6 blaze rods to craft 12 eyes of ender (each rod makes 2 blaze powder, each eye needs 1 blaze powder plus 1 ender pearl). Most runners collect 7 or more rods as insurance against eye of ender breakage during throws.

Blazes have 20 health and attack with fireballs that deal fire damage. They spawn from spawners found on small platforms attached to fortress bridges. The blaze fight is one of the most dangerous parts of a speedrun, so mastering efficient and safe blaze killing is essential.

Finding the Spawner

Blaze spawners generate on small platforms (roughly 3x3) that branch off from the main fortress bridges. The spawner block sits in the center of the platform, usually with a few stairs and fire surrounding it.

When you enter a fortress, follow the outdoor bridges. Spawner platforms are always attached to bridges, never inside the interior corridors. Look for the distinctive small platform sticking out from the bridge with fire particles.

If you reach a dead end or an interior section, turn back and try another bridge direction. Do not waste time exploring the fortress interior when looking for spawners.

Method 1: Bed Bombing

Bed explosions are the fastest method for killing blazes. Place a bed near a group of blazes and detonate it. The explosion deals up to 40 damage at close range, which is enough to one-shot a blaze.

The technique:

1. Block yourself in near the spawner using cobblestone or netherrack. Create a small enclosure that keeps blazes close while giving you cover.
2. Wait for 2 to 3 blazes to spawn and cluster near the spawner.
3. Place a bed near the group of blazes.
4. Place a block between you and the bed for explosion protection.
5. Right-click the bed to detonate. Blazes within the blast radius die instantly.
6. Collect the dropped blaze rods and repeat until you have 7 or more.

Bed bombing is fast but uses your bed supply. Since you also need beds for the dragon fight, bring at least 14 beds total: 7 for blazes and 7 for the dragon.

Method 2: Melee Combat

Sword combat is slower than bed bombing but conserves beds. It is also safer when you have fire resistance from a bartering potion.

Blazes are vulnerable between their fireball volleys. After shooting 3 fireballs, a blaze pauses briefly. Sprint at it during the pause and hit it 3 to 4 times with a stone or iron sword. Critical hits (from jumping and hitting on the way down) deal extra damage and can kill a blaze in 2 to 3 hits.

Tips for melee combat:

• Attack blazes one at a time. Aggro management is important since multiple blazes shooting at you simultaneously is extremely dangerous.
• Use a shield to block fireballs if you have one. The shield negates all fireball damage.
• Corner blazes against walls or blocks so they cannot fly away while you attack.
• Eat food constantly to regenerate health between fights.

Method 3: Hybrid Approach

Most runners use a combination of beds and melee. Use beds when multiple blazes cluster near the spawner, and use sword attacks for isolated blazes or when you want to conserve beds.

The hybrid approach adapts to the situation: if spawner luck gives you 3 blazes at once, bed bomb them. If only one blaze spawns, kill it with a sword. This flexibility maximizes efficiency while preserving bed resources.

Spawner Management

Blaze spawners have specific activation rules:

• The spawner activates when a player is within 16 blocks.
• It spawns 1 to 4 blazes every 10 to 40 seconds (randomized).
• The spawner can have a maximum of 6 blazes alive in its vicinity before it stops spawning more.

To maximize spawn rate, kill blazes quickly so the spawner can produce new ones. Standing right next to the spawner keeps it active. Moving too far away (beyond 16 blocks) deactivates it.

If blazes fly away from the spawner and survive, they count toward the cap and slow down subsequent spawns. This is why blocking yourself in near the spawner is so effective: it keeps blazes close so you can kill them before they drift away.

Fire Resistance

If you obtained a Fire Resistance potion from piglin bartering, drink it before the blaze fight. Fire resistance makes you immune to blaze fireballs and fire damage, turning the fight from dangerous to trivial. You can stand in the middle of multiple blazes and melee them without taking any damage.

The potion lasts 3 minutes, which is more than enough time to kill 7 to 10 blazes. With fire resistance active, you can safely ignore explosion self-damage from beds too (though the knockback still applies).

Blaze Rod Math

Blazes drop 0 or 1 blaze rod on death (50% chance each). With Looting III, the drop rate increases to 0 to 4 rods per kill. However, Looting III swords are rarely available in speedruns.

Without Looting, you statistically need to kill 14 blazes to get 7 rods (7 / 0.5 = 14 expected kills). Killing 10 to 12 usually yields the minimum 7 rods. If you are unlucky and need to kill 20+, the time investment becomes significant and may warrant a reset in competitive runs.