Okay, I'm back, and I've established a much safer route that anyone can easily take to the Starlight Stronghold whenever they want. If you reference the points on the
online map, this map will take you right to it, almost entirely on rails or on lit pathways. Eventually I hope to make a dedicated railway that will bypass the big U-shaped gap and go straight to the Stronghold.
From the
Spawn Swamp, locate the
Sod House and ride the rail to
Creeperton. From Creeperton, take the next rail to
Snowy Station, and then take another rail towards
Keble. Take the rail on the adjacent railway a little further into
Spawnerton.
Once you reach Spawnerton (which I still think is the
cutest little town on the server), navigate your way to those big floating lines of dirt and stone; you'll see them almost immediately. Find the stairway up to them and start moving towards your left-hand side on the rails. Eventually you'll reach a 3-way junction with a path towards the
Starlight Stronghold.
It's a long hike that I haven't paved with rails yet, but a large part of the way is suspended in the air by cobble slabs. When they finally touch down, follow the torches until you find a big cross-shaped sign post. Follow the boat sign to reach the
Land's End safe house.
There'll be a place to plonk a boat (there's trees nearby if you haven't got any wood to make one) - sail straight out. There's an island nearby; you can have a look around, or sail around or underneath it. Keep going past a tiny ocean mining platform, and you'll see the massive
Starlight Bridge. As impressive as it is, the Stronghold isn't located at either end. Find the island connected to the bridge and you'll see a brick house with a more modest bridge leading straight ahead. Follow it, and you'll be at the
Starlight Stronghold in no time!
That place has been around for months, and some people
really didn't enjoy going there, so why should
you bother exploring it? There's three big reasons - first, every hostile mob spawner has either been disabled or destroyed, so it's less a dungeon and more of a tourist attraction now. Second, torches have been put up all over the place, making the big structure almost entirely mob-proof, which will make it much nicer to explore thoroughly.
Third, and most importantly, is the
treasure. I've been to and from this place several times, but there's always been some kind of hidden treasure to pick up that I missed previously. There's just too much, I could never carry it all. Music discs, rare building materials, and possibly even diamonds, to name a few. If there really are no more treasures to your liking, you can help yourself to the
animal spawners on the floating ring of islands surrounding the stronghold. Stock up all you like on feathers, leather, wool, and food of all kinds! It will never run out! I think there are even some
squid eggs in the underwater part of the stronghold; if you can get to them, you can start your own aquarium!
But after such a long hike, it will surely be a drag to walk all the way back, right? Wrong! The Stronghold features an
End Portal near the top of its tallest tower! Just shimmy up to the top however you can, break the ice barrier if it's still there, and dive into the little water pool to get teleported! From the End, you can find the exit portal and end up (if I'm not mistaken) back at the Spawn Swamp.
(And in case that doesn't work, some kind soul has erected a safe house and a Nether Portal beneath it at the far end of the Starlight Bridge.)
