Minecraft wiki entry for Speedrun, associated text: Once you find a nether fortress, you may want to search the interior first. The potential loot may help you survive the blazes and later parts of the game. A saddle is especially valuable later when you hunt endermen in the overworld. However, ultimately you want to find a blaze spawner. Ideally, you want a blaze spawner surrounded by netherrack so that you don't have to worry about blazes flying up or ghasts shooting at you. If the blaze spawner is out in the open, you may want build a quick roof and walls to keep the blazes in and protect yourself from other mobs. Building a 2 block high pillar near the spawner can also help to block some blaze's fireball attacks while you kill the others. You usually want to leave with 8 blaze rods, more if you plan on making a brewing stand. If so, don't forget to get nether warts before you leave the fortress. While gathering blaze rods, you may want to keep them in your hotbar so you can see how many you have.