Elytra are found only in end cities in
item frames in the treasure room of the end ship. A shulker guards the elytra and the ship's two loot chests.
Repairing[]
Elytra can be enchanted
with Mending so that they get repaired as the player collects experience orbs while wearing/holding them.
Elytra can also be repaired in the player crafting grid, by combining two damaged pairs of elytra together.
Ingredients
Crafting recipe
Description
Damaged Elytra
The durability of the two pairs is added together, plus an extra 5% durability, but removes any enchantments.
Similarly, two damaged elytra pairs can be combined on a grindstone.
Ingredients
Grinding recipe
Description
2x Damaged Elytra
The durability of the two pairs is added together, plus an extra 5% durability, but removes any enchantments.
Elytra can also be repaired at an anvil using phantom membranes, which has the advantage that it preserves enchantments on elytra. Each phantom membrane restores 108 durability points, exactly 25% of the elytra's total durability.
Name
Ingredients
Anvil usage
Elytra
Elytra + Phantom Membrane
Repair & NameElytra2
Each repair on the anvil, however, also increases the prior work penalty for the Elytra, making every subsequent repair increasingly expensive and eventually reaching an upper limit where repairs are no longer allowed because they are "too expensive" (even if the player has many xp levels to spare). However, the prior work penalty can be reset to 0 for an enchanted
elytra pair when it is disenchanted on a grindstone. Unenchanted elytra cannot be used on the grindstone alone.
Usage[]
Elytra are equipped in the chestplate slot, either by placing the item
directly in the slot, by pressing use item while held in hand, or by firing a point-blank dispenser at a target. They are gray in color by default, but they adopt the design of any
cape the player is wearing. They maintain their in-world texture design even when they're broken or enchanted.
Flying[]
To fly, the player must press the
jump key while falling, and the elytra spread apart like a beetle's elytra. The player can aim their view around to turn or adjust their pitch. Losing altitude increases speed, and gaining altitude decreases speed. Firework rockets can be used to increase speed. Additionally, speed is
quickly lost from sharp changes in direction.
Directly hitting any surface while gliding too fast causes damage to the player and their armor proportional to flight speed (although this may be calculated from another factor). When a player dies in this way, they receive the death message "<player> experienced kinetic energy". The player does not take
fall damage from colliding at a shallow angle or a low enough speed. The critical, damaging angle is about 50° with the collision surface, and the calculation for damage seems to be as if the player had fallen from their maximum potential glide height to the height of the struck surface.
A safe and simple cruise with the highest travel distance can be achieved by aiming directly at the horizon
while at the glide's altitude limit. The player's speed is slow enough to allow them time to do other things during a long flight, like sort out their inventory.
In Creative mode or when the "mayfly" ability has been given, the player can alternatively hold the
jump key to fly up,[Bedrock Edition only] or double press the jump key to move around freely.
Flight can be stopped by pressing the
jump key.[Bedrock Edition only]
Speed and altitude[]
Elytra have a minimum speed of about 7.2 m/s (obtained by gliding at the
altitude cap with a strong upward pitch of 30°). If the diver drops to 0 speed, they quickly get accelerated back up to at least this minimum. The diver can increase speed by choosing to descend faster, but afterward, they do not regain nearly as much altitude. In the real world, drag increases with speed, and drag, in turn, slows the aircraft; Minecraft mimics this. To glide from cliff to cliff, a player's best bet is to aim slightly above the horizon.
Sharp turns are a fast way to lose
speed. Quicker turns cause greater losses, while gentle movements have small effects. Making a hairpin turn can actually be used for making high-speed landings safe as well as for precise landings on small targets like rooftops. The player aims to glide just above the target, then as they're right over it they immediately reverse directions, then they make readjustments as necessary.
The lowest rate of altitude loss is about 1.5 m/sec, obtained by gliding at the altitude cap with a slight
upward pitch (12° or 15°).
To get the best possible glide ratio (and thus the furthest distance out of their altitude), the diver pilot should aim directly at the horizon. This ratio is about 9.47 to 1.
Slow Falling potions greatly decrease the player's vertical (fall) speed, which also greatly decreases their horizontal speed (clearly, it depends on the vertical fall rate, as
one might expect from flight modeling). The net result is that the player flies extremely slowly - but their Elytra still takes durability damage at the usual rate (1 durability per second without Unbreaking, etc.). Due to this combination, Elytra plus Slow Falling is largely a novelty that most players won't use. The Feather Falling enchantment does not affect Elytra speed and does not reduce
fall damage from hitting things with elytra.
It is possible to calculate the glide range by dividing the altitude by tan of the glide angle (altitude/tan(glide angle)). For example, if the player glides from an altitude of 64 blocks above ground with a glide angle of 15 degrees, they can glide for 237 blocks (assume that they are on superflat), since floor(64 / tan(15)) is 237.
Stalling[]
Trying for too high
a pitch reduces the player's lift. At a pitch of 30° above the horizon, the player has the lowest possible airspeed of 7.2 m/sec. Above that, the player might be considered to be in a stall. Increasing the pitch gets closer to a free-fall, and stalled flight at 60° is enough to cause fall damage. Stalling at 90° is a true free-fall.
Recovering from a stall is done by readjusting to any safe pitch as quickly as the player likes. This can be just changing to look at the horizon.
Powered flight[]
Firework rockets are used for speed boosts while gliding.
Firework rockets can be used for propulsion during flight by placing it in either hand and using. Using a firework rocket while gliding
quickly maximizes the player's speed for a time similar to the rocket's flight duration.
If the rocket is equipped with firework stars, it explodes at the end of its flight, inflicting damage based on the number of stars.
It is possible to gain altitude during powered flight. This makes it possible to glide for extreme distances and had been used extensively by
far lands/World Border challenges.
Durability and Repair[]
Durability decreases by one point each second when gliding. A
pair of elytra has 432 durability, allowing 7 minutes and 12 seconds of gliding time without enchantments, providing more than 10,000 blocks of transport distance. It is possible to apply the Unbreaking enchantment using an anvil and an
enchanted book, which affects the elytra, in the same way it does to tools. Unbreaking III increases elytra's flight time to about four seconds per durability point, a total of 28 minutes and 44 seconds.
When the durability reaches 1, elytra stop working until they are repaired, adopting a tattered texture
in the inventory. The damage ends at durability 1, so they can never fully break. A pair may be repaired by either using the Mending enchantment, combining two pairs in a grindstone, or combining it in an anvil with
phantom membranes. In an anvil, each piece of membrane repairs elytra by 108 durability points, requiring 4 pieces to fully repair them.
Each repair on the anvil will also increase the prior work penalty for the Elytra, making every subsequent repair increasingly expensive, with an
upper limit where repairs are no longer allowed because they are "too expensive". However, the prior work penalty can be reset to 0 for an enchanted elytra pair when it is disenchanted on a grindstone (by adding nothing to it). Unenchanted elytra cannot be used on the grindstone alone.
Enchantments[]
Elytra can receive the following
enchantments by combining in an anvil:
Enchantment
Max Level
Method
Unbreaking
III
Mending
I
Curse of Vanishing
I
Curse of Binding
I
Sounds[]
Java Edition:
Sound
Subtitles
Source
Description
Resource location
Translation
key
Volume
Pitch
Attenuation distance
Elytra rustles
Players
When a pair of elytra is equipped
item.armor.equip_elytra
subtitles.item.armor.equip_elytra
1.0
1.0
16
None[sound 1]
Players
While flying with a pair of elytra
item.elytra.flying
None[sound 1]
Depends [check the code]
1.0
16
Item breaks
Entity-Dependent
When a pair of elytra's durability is exhausted
entity.item.break
subtitles.entity.item.break
0.8
0.8-1.2
16
↑ a bMC-177084
Bedrock Edition:
Sound
Source
Description
Resource location
Volume
Pitch
Players
When a pair of elytra is equipped
armor.equip_leather
1.0
1.0
Players
While flying with a pair of elytra
elytra.loop
Depends [check the code]
1.0
Players
When a pair of elytra's durability is exhausted
random.break
1.0
0.9
Data values[]
ID[]
Java Edition:
Name
Identifier
Form
Translation key
Elytra
elytra
Item
item.minecraft.elytra
Bedrock Edition:
Name
Identifier
Numeric ID
Form
Translation key
Elytra
elytra
564
Item
item.elytra.name
Achievements[]
Icon
Achievement
In-game description
Actual requirements (if different)
Gamerscore earned
Trophy type (PS4)
PS4
Other
Super Sonic
Use Elytra to fly through a 1 by 1 gap while moving faster than 40 m/s
—
30G
Gold
Advancements[]
Icon
Advancement
In-game description
Parent
Actual requirements (if different)
Resource location
Sky's the Limit
Find elytra
The City at the End of the Game
Have a pair of elytra in your inventory.
end/elytra
History[]
Java Edition
1.9
October 5,
2015
Tommaso Checchi tweets that Jeb is working on a secret feature for Minecraft Java Edition, saying "it's like Mario 64."
October 6, 2015
Jeb tweets a animated GIF revealing a player gliding around an
end city. Elytra have a dragon-wing texture.
October 6, 2015
Jeb tweets an image of folded wings, which replace the cape the player is wearing.
October 6, 2015
Jeb tweets another animated GIF of his character with Mojang-themed elytra, gliding along a river through a
taiga forest.
15w41a
Added elytra.
Elytra are currently repaired with leather when using anvil.
15w42a
Elytra now spread slightly when the player crouches.
The player can now take damage from gliding into walls, and crashing into a wall now has its own death message.
When flying with elytra, players are only 0.6 blocks tall. They, therefore, can now fit through 1-block gaps while gliding.
The player can no longer go higher than the starting point of the glide.
15w43a
The player's point of view now shifts while gliding.
16w06a
Elytra now recognize the player's cape and adopt a different elytron design for every official cape (see
Gallery). In addition, Jeb is working on a feature to allow players to change the elytron design like regular player skins.
16w07a
Elytra are now activated by jumping mid-air. The player no longer glides automatically when falling.
The cape option in the options menu now also disables custom elytra textures.
Added the game rule disableElytraMovementCheck.
1.9.1
pre1
Sounds while gliding with elytra have been added.
1.11
16w32a
Elytra can now be placed on armor stands, just like any other
chestplate.
16w38a
Elytra are now visible on zombies, skeletons, and armor stands.
16w41a
Elytra now have their own sound when equipped.
1.11.1
16w50a
Elytra can now be propelled through the air by using
firework rockets.
1.13
17w47a
Prior to The Flattening, this
item's numeral ID was 443.
18w14a
Elytra now require phantom membrane to be repaired, instead of leather.
1.14
18w43a
The textures of the elytra have been changed.
1.15
19w39a
The deployment animation of elytra causes player blinks when the deployment events has overlapped.
19w42a
The deployment and folding animations of elytra have been improved and become smoother.
Elytra can now start to glide immediately after a jump, not only during falls.
1.18
experimental snapshot 7
Elytra no longer use up durability when gliding regularly. Durability is now only consumed when a
firework rocket is used.
Speed boosts from firework rockets are slightly weaker.
Now break when the item reaches 0 durability.
21w37a
The elytra changes in experimental snapshot 7 have been reverted.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0
alpha 0.17.0.1
Added elytra. In-game, they are known as elytra wings.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0
beta 1.2.0.2
Elytra can now be propelled through the air by using firework rockets.
1.2.3
beta 1.2.3.3
Elytra Wings have been renamed to Elytra.
1.6.0
beta 1.6.0.5
Elytra can now be repaired in an anvil using
phantom membrane, instead of leather.
1.10.0
beta 1.10.0.3
The textures of the elytra have been changed.
Legacy Console Edition
TU46
CU36
1.38
Patch 15
1.0.1
Added elytra.
TU53
CU43
1.49
Patch 23
1.0.3
Elytra can now be propelled through the air by using firework rockets.
TU69
1.76
Patch 38
Elytra are now
repaired on the anvil using phantom membrane instead of leather.
1.90
The textures of elytra have been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.7.10
Added elytra.
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Elytra" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues
there.
Trivia[]
The singular form of elytra is an
elytron.
In reality, elytra are not used for flight. They are the tough forewings of beetles and earwigs that cover the wings they actually use for flight. However, like Minecraft elytra, in beetles they can be used for gliding.
A flying player has a shorter hitbox than usual: A 0.6 block cube centered on the player's feet.
It is possible to glide while on a
ladder, by pressing ⇧ Shift followed by space, causing the player to fall with a speed determined by the player's visual angle. This means that the player can descend fast on a ladder, but if the speed is too fast when hitting the ground, they can take fatal fall damage. Using a firework
rocket can also speed up the player's descent.
In Java Edition if the player glides into deep water with elytra equipped, the animation does not stop, giving it the appearance of a swimming
animation.[2] The animation stops once the player touches the ground. Additionally, firework rockets can be used with elytra underwater with a short boost duration.
Elytra do not deactivate when the player flies into
lava.[2]
Elytra can be equipped onto some mobs using commands. This has no effect unless the mob has the
FallFlying tag set to 1b. Mobs glide forward, unable to control the movement before landing, at which time they regain their AI.
Exceptions to this are squids as the squid's AI causes it to attempt swimming in midair, making it fall straight down because it conflicts with the elytra mechanics.
Because
chickens fall slowly, they can move more distance.
Endermen, tamed wolves and tamed cats that are not sitting cannot teleport until they hit the
ground.
Because mobs do not regain control until they hit the ground, vexes fall until they die or despawn as they cannot touch the ground.
Mobs capable of flying, such as parrots or vexes can steer in air, though they cannot travel up or down. Dolphins also have this ability.
4J Studios created an elytron-centered tutorial map for console edition when elytra were first introduced to this platform, this map is themed as "ruins of an ancient civilization of Minecraft worshipers" and showcases the new amplified terrain generation. This map can be seen behind the
scenes.[3] On 28 March 2017, 4J Studios added an elytron-themed Mini Games for console edition called "Glide;" it consists of Time Attack and Score Attack
mode.[4][5]
A player who jumps with both elytra and the Slow Falling effect travels slightly upward, which is a cheap but time-consuming alternative to
fireworks and Riptide-enchanted tridents.
On May 5, 2019, Mojang tweeted
'The End never yields enough adequate resources, sadly,' along with a sad emoji.[6] The first letter of each word spells 'T E n y e a r s' (Ten Years). Attached was a picture of Steve and Alex wearing both a
chestplate and elytra. The next day, they tweeted, "Have you noticed something suspic10us here lately?"[7]
Mojang has considered the suggestion of combining elytra with a chestplate, but eventually decided against it, stating that elytra taking up armor is an intentional decision
of game balancing.[8]
Gallery[]
The first image of elytra, tweeted by
Jeb. Click to play.
Folded elytra, which resembles the
cape the user is wearing.
A player using elytra.
Elytra designs fitting to the official capes, posted by Jeb on Reddit.
A player gliding while blocking with a shield.
An image of players using elytra.
Steve gliding with elytra.
Alex gliding with elytra.
A pair of enchanted elytra.
Console exclusive[]
Screenshot of Glide mini-games.
Another screenshot of Glide mini-games.
Glide launch poster.
Official elytra themed
tutorial map.
(These maps can be found for a price on the Microsoft Store)
Designs when wearing capes[]
Designs that are not listed here have default elytron texture or don't have any.