User:Augurnz/The End

Purpose
This subpage of my userspace profile is here to document my first attempt at entering The End and slaying the Ender Dragon. The talk page can also be used for discussion about my progress towards this goal, and it serves as a place for experienced gamers to offer me tips and advice along the way.

Background
I am playing Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition and have decided to use my existing TU12 world (which I created with the Kazingy seed) to pursue my first Ender Dragon. My game settings, which have not been changed since I created this world, are as follows...


 * Seed: 736233627
 * Game Mode: Survival
 * Difficulty: Easy

I had been playing this world a lot before TU13 came out, and have established an equilibrium in the Overworld, with non-automated agriculture, horticulture, and arboriculture all contained within a walled, well-lit, secure city. My sole Nether Portal in this world leads straight into a Nether Fortress, where I have easy access to two Blaze spawners, which I have farmed extensively for Blaze Rods. Because of all this progress, I have decided to stick with my TU12 world, rather than start afresh with the TU13 version of Kazingy.

Progress Report

 * 18:14, 19 October 2013 (UTC): I now have 9 Ender Pearls, and I have established a regular route to the Stronghold, using a couple of Nether Portal hops. I have cleaned out the library in the Stronghold and turned it into a beachhead, or forward position, and I've blazed a path to the End Portal room. I just need to collect 3 more Ender Pearls and I'll be ready to launch my assault on The End.
 * 18:40, 17 October 2013 (UTC): At present I have 6 Ender Pearls, and I have visited the Stronghold in the Overworld, so I know roughly where it is. I can get back there with some difficulty. I am creating a collection of items to bring with me on my first assault of The End, and I have been practicing the speedy construction of a safehouse, which I'll build out of Obsidian when I eventually get to The End.

Loadout
These are the items that I intend to take with me on my first excursion to The End. I'm still adding to my loadout, so there shouldn't be any wasted space.

Enchantments
Many of the items I will be taking with me to The End are enchanted. I only enchant using Level 30 spells, and I try to get the best mixture of effects, sometimes making several attempts before accepting an enchantment. This is what I have already enchanted...
 * Diamond Sword: Looting III, Bane of Arthropods IV
 * Diamond Sword: Knockback II, Smite IV, Fire Aspect II
 * Diamond Sword: Sharpness IV
 * Bow: Power IV, Flame I, Infinity I
 * Diamond Helmet: Fire Protection IV, Aqua Affinity I, Respiration III
 * Diamond Chestplate: Protection IV
 * Diamond Leggings: Protection IV
 * Diamond Boots: Feather Falling IV, Blast Protection IV

Strategy
I have made a copy of my Kazingy TU12 savegame data. By opening the copy in Creative Mode, it allows me to have a sneak preview of what I can expect when I enter The End in my Survival Mode game. What I know from this is that the obsidian landing platform is, in fact, floating in mid-air off to the side of the main landmass of The End. I can build a short obsidian bridge across the Void, and with a short climb I'll be at the surface where the obsidian towers are.

Safehouse
As soon as I arrive on the surface I intend to construct a 5x3 obsidian wall shielding me from view of the Ender Dragon. This will become the back wall of my safehouse. Eventually the floorplan of the safehouse will look like this...

The safehouse will be constructed entirely of obsidian, which is impervious to Ender Dragon attacks. It will be two blocks in height throughout, with a solid obsidian roof at the third layer. This construction should prevent Endermen from entering it. The side opposite the main chamber entrance will feature a flat obsidian platform facing the Ender Dragon and the obsidian towers. This will be a safe place from which to launch my attacks.

Destroying the Ender Crystals
As soon as the safehouse is completed, I'll unload the remainder of my supplies into the chest, including the armor, then save. Unarmored, I'll take one stack of dirt, one mundane bow, one shovel, and 20 arrows. This will be my standard configuration for attacking the obsidian towers. I'll use the dirt to climb up to the Ender Crystal and shoot it with arrows from about 3 blocks away (to avoid the explosion). After each obsidian tower is defeated I'll save. If I die, I'll respawn, losing only the dirt, bow, shovel, and remaining arrows. The rest of my supplies will be secured within my safehouse. Rinse and repeat until all Ender Crystals are destroyed.

The Ender Dragon
This is where I will make full use of my enchanted weapons and armor, and potions. By the time I face off against the Ender Dragon, I expect to have died and respawned several times. Each time I'll bring more supplies with me to my safehouse in The End, including more arrows, more potions, and more chests to store them all in.

Results
Overall, this assault on The End was successful. I have learned a few things along the way that may be helpful for next time I do this. Maybe next time I'll increase the difficulty level too.

Safehouse
I found that crafting with a dark material like obsidian in a dark environment like The End is not as easy as it would seem. Several times I placed a block in the wrong place, and had to use my diamond pickaxe to remove it. Not only does mining obsidian take longer to achieve, but a couple of times those misplaced blocks trapped me outside my safehouse, so I had to mine them as quickly as I could while being exposed and vulnerable.

Once the safehouse was constructed properly, I saved then ventured outside, only to attract the attention of the Ender Dragon. However, rushing back inside my obsidian safehouse didn't offer much protection. What I forgot is that, while obsidian will protect me from the dragon's ranged attack, it won't stop the dragon's melee attack, and it can traverse right through any type of block, including obsidian, to attack up close. I died several times in the presumed safety of my safehouse before I even realized what was going on.

Destroying the Ender Crystals
Building up great stacks of dirt to ascend to the tops of the obsidian towers in order to destroy the Ender Crystals with a bow was fun, and I did die several times when the Ender Dragon knocked me off my perch. Also, I lost count of how many towers I had done, so I ended up having to scale yet another dirt tower to find any other crystals I may have missed.

After I had destroyed a few crystals, the Ender Dragon started protecting some of the remainder with iron bars. However, the ones I came across that were protected were not completely surrounded by bars, and I was still able to shoot the crystals through the openings in the defenses.

The Ender Dragon
Slaying the Ender Dragon itself was not too much of a problem. I was wearing entirely Diamond armor, and shooting it with an enchanted bow, which had the Power IV, Flame I, and Infinity I enchantments. This just became a case of shooting at the dragon from beyond the reach of its ranged attack while it was hovering over the central pedestal, then waiting while it circled overhead for a bit, then shooting some more when it hovered, rinse and repeat. The final battle was a bit of an anti-climax, really.

The Dragon Egg
Having defeated the Ender Dragon, I then went on to retrieve the egg which appears at the top of the central pedestal. I began by covering the portal with dirt, so that the egg didn't fall through and into the Overworld. Then I went back to my safehouse and stripped off my armor and put all my supplies away in the storage minecart. I then went and offered myself as a sacrifice to the nearest Enderman and respawned in the Overworld, where I built a piston and switch (next time I'll remember to bring these with me on my assault). Then I went back to The End and collected the Dragon Egg using the piston technique, collected my diamond armor and weapons, removed the dirt from the portal in the central pedestal, and fell through, triumphant.

Useful links

 * Tutorials/Finish adventure
 * Tutorial/Enderdragon Slaying