Blind Travel
Medium1.0+Also known as: Educated Travel, Blind Coords, Nether Travel
Navigate to specific coordinates in the Nether so that when you exit, you appear near a stronghold in the Overworld. This skips long overworld travel by exploiting the 1:8 coordinate ratio between dimensions.
How It Works
Strongholds generate in rings around the world origin. The first ring spawns between 1,408 and 2,688 blocks from (0, 0) in the Overworld. Since Nether coordinates map to Overworld coordinates at a 1:8 ratio, traveling 176 to 336 blocks from the origin in the Nether places you inside this ring when you exit.
By building a portal at roughly 200 to 280 blocks from the Nether origin, you exit the Nether within a few hundred blocks of a stronghold. From there, one or two eye of ender throws are enough to pinpoint the exact location.
The key insight is that you do not need to know where the stronghold is before entering the Nether. You simply travel a calculated distance and direction, build a portal, and exit near the stronghold ring.
Step-by-Step Execution
Note your nether portal entry coordinates in the Nether using the F3 screen.
Choose a direction (positive X or Z is most common) and start traveling.
Travel until you are roughly 200 to 280 blocks from the Nether origin (0, 0) in the direction you chose.
Build a nether portal at this location. The Y level does not matter for coordinate conversion.
Light the portal and step through to the Overworld.
Throw an eye of ender to determine which direction the stronghold is from your new position.
If needed, walk 200 to 300 blocks and throw a second eye to triangulate the exact stronghold location.
Dig down to the stronghold, typically found between Y=0 and Y=40.
Tips
- +Aim for roughly 240 nether blocks from origin, which maps to about 1,920 overworld blocks, right in the center of the first stronghold ring
- +Pair this with Ninjabrain Bot for precise calculations during the run
- +If you enter the nether far from origin, account for your entry portal coordinates when calculating travel distance
- +Practice converting coordinates quickly in your head: divide overworld by 8 for nether, multiply nether by 8 for overworld
Common Mistakes
- -Traveling too far or not far enough in the Nether, placing you outside the first stronghold ring
- -Forgetting to account for your nether entry portal offset from origin
- -Building the exit portal in a dangerous location (over lava, in a soul sand valley)
- -Not bringing enough obsidian or materials to build the exit portal