This is a trick that I'm sure has been thought of before, but hey, it's pretty cool. (This was made for Minecraft version 2.5.0, so if it doesn't work in a future update, it's probably because of some changes in Minecraft.)
To find a Stronghold easily in survival mode, you need to duplicate your world. Well, not an exact duplicate. This clone world will be a Creative mode world. To do this, press "shift+F3" (if on Windows, or "shift+Fn+F3" (if on Mac). This will bring up some confusing-looking text on your Minecraft screen which will include things like coordinates and something called a "Seed". The seed is is located usually on the left side of the screen and will have a long number next to it. Write the seed number down, or copy it, or memorize it, or whatever. Next, press "esc" and go to the title screen and click "Single Player". Then click on "Create new world". Put this new world in Creative mode instead of Survival. Click "More world options" and in the box that says "Seed for world generation" you put (of course) the seed number that you got from your other world. Next you click "Create new world". This world should be exactly like your other world, except without anything that was built or removed in the other world (If not, you might have got the seed wrong and you should double-check.). It is a duplicate of "world 1" but it is in Creative mode which means, yep, unlimited Eyes of Ender! Eyes of Ender, when thrown in the air by right-clicking, float in the direction of the nearest Stronghold.
Once you get to the nearest Stronghold, bring up that confusing jumble of data just like before by pressing "shift+F3" or "shift+Fn+F3" and find your coordinates, which are right above the seed number. They begin with:
"X:
Y:
Z:"
and have long numbers after them. Just concentrate on the first two or three digits of each line and write them down or whatever. That is the location of where you are (the Stronghold, in this case.) Now, exit to title and click single player and then click on "World 1" (The original) and then you just press "shift+F3" tor bring up the data numbers and wander around until the coordinates on your screen match the coordinates you wrote down from your "World 2".
This cheat, obviously, works with other land marks, like villages, mining shafts, nether fortresses, and cool biomes as well as ores and diamonds (because in Creative mode, if you hit a block just once with any item at all, it will break that block, making for fast mining).
I personally don't use this cheat because I think it takes away the natural sense of adventure that comes with playing a world vanilla-style (vanilla meaning no cheats or mods, "no artificial flavoring"), but I think it's a pretty clever loop-hole.
To find a Stronghold easily in survival mode, you need to duplicate your world. Well, not an exact duplicate. This clone world will be a Creative mode world. To do this, press "shift+F3" (if on Windows, or "shift+Fn+F3" (if on Mac). This will bring up some confusing-looking text on your Minecraft screen which will include things like coordinates and something called a "Seed". The seed is is located usually on the left side of the screen and will have a long number next to it. Write the seed number down, or copy it, or memorize it, or whatever. Next, press "esc" and go to the title screen and click "Single Player". Then click on "Create new world". Put this new world in Creative mode instead of Survival. Click "More world options" and in the box that says "Seed for world generation" you put (of course) the seed number that you got from your other world. Next you click "Create new world". This world should be exactly like your other world, except without anything that was built or removed in the other world (If not, you might have got the seed wrong and you should double-check.). It is a duplicate of "world 1" but it is in Creative mode which means, yep, unlimited Eyes of Ender! Eyes of Ender, when thrown in the air by right-clicking, float in the direction of the nearest Stronghold.
Once you get to the nearest Stronghold, bring up that confusing jumble of data just like before by pressing "shift+F3" or "shift+Fn+F3" and find your coordinates, which are right above the seed number. They begin with:
"X:
Y:
Z:"
and have long numbers after them. Just concentrate on the first two or three digits of each line and write them down or whatever. That is the location of where you are (the Stronghold, in this case.) Now, exit to title and click single player and then click on "World 1" (The original) and then you just press "shift+F3" tor bring up the data numbers and wander around until the coordinates on your screen match the coordinates you wrote down from your "World 2".
This cheat, obviously, works with other land marks, like villages, mining shafts, nether fortresses, and cool biomes as well as ores and diamonds (because in Creative mode, if you hit a block just once with any item at all, it will break that block, making for fast mining).
I personally don't use this cheat because I think it takes away the natural sense of adventure that comes with playing a world vanilla-style (vanilla meaning no cheats or mods, "no artificial flavoring"), but I think it's a pretty clever loop-hole.
Enjoy!
Also, I don't think there ever has been a minecraft version 2.5.0...