How To Get Blaze Rods Without A Nether Fortress

Blazes are flying hostile mobs found in the Nether that are quite dangerous enemies. However, they are the only creatures in Minecraft that will drop Blaze Rods. These Blade Rod items are useful for brewing potions and for making Blaze Powder, another useful item. You might even be searching for blaze powder to craft Eyes of Ender and to ultimately find the End Portal.

No, Blaze Rods cannot be purchased or traded from any NPC, so they are all the more valuable. While this is time-consuming to obtain, this guide will help you speed up the process by showing you how to find blazes to obtain these Blaze Rods, along with how to craft Blaze Powder.

Where to find Blazes

Blazes are located in the Nether, specifically inside of nether fortresses. These fortresses are generated randomly within the Nether, so you might have to do some exploring before stumbling upon a fortress.

To reach the Nether, you must construct a Nether portal in the Overworld. You will need 10 Obsidian Blocks to construct a 4 x 5 portal, as seen in the picture above. Once you have built the frame, you will need to equip a Flint and steel. Approaching the Portal frame, strike your flint and steel within the portal to activate it.

When ready, enter the Nether Portal. Make sure you are equipped with health, food, armor, and weapons, as you might be in the Nether for a while. You will definitely be fighting mobs, so be prepared with powerful items.

Once in the Nether, you have some exploring to do. Because nether fortresses are randomly generated, they could be anywhere in here. Nether fortresses appear as large towers, bridges, and corridors.

The nether fortress is host to many mobs:

Blaze
Zombified Piglin
Wither Skeleton
Skeleton
Magma Cube

In other words: be prepared to fight. As you explore the nether fortress, search for as many blazes as you come across. Specifically, however, you should be searching for a Blaze Mob Spawner. They are generated throughout the nether fortress and will help you farm Blaze Rods.

Once found, go to town on the Blazes until you feel you've gathered enough Blaze Rods to take home.

How to craft Blaze Powder

Crafting Blaze Powder is simple. Open your Crafting Table and place your Blaze Rods into the table. That's all you have to do - gather as much Blaze Powder as you need.

Note: If you are here specifically to later make Blaze Powder for the Eye of Ender Recipe, 1x Blaze Rod = 2x Blaze Powder.