Tutorials/Defeating the ender dragon

The ender dragon is one of the two bosses in Minecraft, the other being the wither. It lives in the End, and is usually considered the final boss of the game, despite it being added first. The dragon is a highly anticipated boss to fight as its downfall grants the player access to the End's outer islands, via an end gateway portal. It will also activate the exit portal and allow the player to return to the Overworld.

Many are at first afraid to fight the dragon, not wanting to die or lose their items. Fear not. The dragon is a challenge, but anyone can defeat it through hard work, and determination.

Watch this video to inspire and encourage you if your still not sure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Uclbjoz-U&t=116s

Equipment checklist
Defeating the dragon can require a lot of preparation, and depending on one's own skill level, different preparations may be needed. The following is the most ideal collection of equipment for a beginner:

Sword
The sword (diamond or netherite) is used to damage the dragon on its perch as it is immune to arrows at this time.

A secondary use will be for provoked endermen. Knockback is ineffective against the dragon, but helpful against Endermen. Fire Aspect will make Enderman more difficult to deal with since they teleport upon taking damage for every fire tick. Looting will enhance ender pearl drops.

Bow
The bow will be the player's main weapon; both for destroying the end crystals, and against the dragon while it is flying through the air. More than two to three stacks of arrows, or Infinity, are necessary for a first attempt, though with practice you can get by with far less.

If you get the chance to collect a some snow blocks in your travels, it's a good idea to hang on to them until you either get Infinity or the means to craft or buy a large quantity of arrows. If you reach the end portal with only limited ammunition, you can save your arrows for the dragon, and use snowballs to destroy most if not all the End Crystals. Prior target practice is always a plus, though the rapid rate of snowball throwing can make up for inaccuracy if you brought enough. Thrown eggs, and even ender pearls, can be used the same way against end crystals, but the point is to use something easier to obtain than arrows, not harder. Pearls, though valuable, do teleport you to the top of the obsidian tower after destroying the end crystal, if that is where you want to be, assuming you don't miss and teleport to somewhere you don't want to be.

If you get the chance to collect a supply of glowstone or glowstone dust, you can craft what arrows you have into spectral arrows, which make no difference against the Ender Dragon or End Crystals, but you end up with twice as much ammo.

Crossbow
If the player does not want to use a bow, a crossbow is a great alternative. The advantages of a crossbow are that it has a longer range and can inflict more damage than a regular bow. However, a crossbow cannot be enchanted with Infinity, so it is possible to run out of arrows while using it. On the plus side, with the Piercing enchantment the arrows fired can pass through non-mob entities, so it is possible (although difficult) to destroy multiple end crystals with a single shot. Fireworks are not recommended since they do not destroy the end crystals and don't deal any damage to the ender dragon. Alternatively, Multishot can greatly increase your hit rate while the dragon is circling very high around the tops of the towers, where it is usually a waste of arrows to even try with a bow or ordinary crossbow.

Armor
The ender dragon has an attack strength of with its head on hard difficulty. It is the fourth strongest direct attack of any hostile mob, topped by the vindicator, the Iron Golem and the ravager. $$, it is tied with the wither’s dash attack making it the fifth-strongest. Therefore, the player should, but doesn't have to, wear a full set of diamond or netherite armor enchanted with Protection IV. Wearing armor increases your chances of not dying, but it isn't necessary. Since one of the hardest damage to avoid during the fight is fall damage, Feather Falling IV on the player's boots can be critical. Thorns is also recommended, because it will damage any provoked endermen when they attack the player. The ender dragon can also deal incredible knockback, which the knockback resistance of netherite armor can somewhat mitigate.

Pickaxe
When the player enters the End, they might spawn underground, so some kind of pickaxe<beginner-advanced ></beginner-advanced> is vital to mine through end stone to reach the surface.Diamond, Netherite, and/or Efficiency I-V can be necessary to mine fast enough to finish before being attacked,{{tag|beginner}] but iron is adequate,<intermediate ></intermediate> and even stone or wood can work.</advanced> A diamond pickaxe with Silk Touch is necessary to reclaim an ender chest.

Healing items
Even if the player is well-protected, they will likely die at least once.

Golden apples are the most efficient healing item because they provide Absorption, which will protect the player from most damage while they are healing. Bring 20 or more.

Potent healing potions and extended regeneration potions are also recommended.

Enchanted golden apples can heal players more than regular ones, but they are extremely difficult to find, so save them only for emergencies.

The totem of undying can be used after the player explores a woodland mansion or stops a raid. Place in off-hand slot and upon fatal damage, the totem will explode and grant Regeneration with temporary Absorption. While equipped, you can't have a shield, which can be more important when blocking a charged attack.

Food
There should never be a time when a player does not have food with them. Cooked porkchops, steak and pumpkin pie are some of the most nutritious foods possible, so bring at least a stack of either of these. Golden carrots are even better, but more expensive. A player can also bring cake in case they need to eat quickly as cake can be instantly placed down and eaten without delay. However, cake has low saturation and hunger-filling values so one is better off bringing splash healing potions for tight spots.

Potions
Potions are extremely useful in the fight to enhance the player’s performance. Because of the dragon’s knockback ability, fall damage, and the potential for being thrown off cliffs, extended slow falling potions are almost mandatory. Strength potions, leaping potions and swiftness potions can also be used to boost the player's abilities during the fight. Potions of the Turtle Master can also be used to reduce damage from end crystals, angry endermen and the dragon.

Potions can also be used for emergency healing. Golden apples can serve as a healing item, as they will allow them to regenerate while being protected by Absorption. However, they are only effective when the player takes a reasonable amount of damage. In the case of emergencies, such as the health being reduced to, healing potions are recommended because they will heal the player instantly. It is recommended to turn them into splash potions because they can be used faster than normal potions and will heal them as quickly as the player can throw them.

Regeneration potions can help the player regenerate faster than golden apples are able to, but they should only be used if the player takes damage over time as the dragon can inflict damage instantly.

Blocks
Blocks can be useful for climbing up the towers. Harder blocks, such as cobblestone, are better than softer blocks. However, for the dragon fight, you will need dragon-proof blocks such as end stone or obsidian. It is recommended to use blocks to climb the taller towers and just shoot the end crystals on the short ones from the ground. Also, the player might need blocks to build to the top of the towers that have cages around the end crystals. Alternatively, they can throw an ender pearl to get to the top. The player can choose to use blocks or ender pearls to bridge to the central island if they spawned on an obsidian platform outside of the main island.

Ladders
Ladders can be an alternative to blocks to climb the obsidian pillars as the player will not need to break the ladders to get down. Ladders are generally easier to place down unlike blocks in which case the player must jump every time.

Ender chest
An ender chest could potentially be used, because it can store items that the player will not use during the fight. It can only be reclaimed using a Silk Touch pickaxe. All ender chests in the world, including in different dimensions, are interconnected. So even if the player dies in the End, all of the items in the ender chest will be safe. If the player makes a new ender chest, all of the items that were originally in it will still be there.

Ender pearls
Ender pearls are extremely useful to have in the End. The player can use them to get up to the tops of tall towers, or if the spawn platform is away from the island, the player can use them so that they don't have to waste their blocks. Also, if they are high up in the air or get knocked off the edge, and don't have a slow falling potion, the player can use an ender pearl to teleport back to the island, (you can also use a slow falling potion to try to glide back to the edge). Unfortunately, pearls don't fall faster than the player at most velocities, so it's not a reliable method of avoiding fall damage, especially with large launches from the ender dragon. An alternative to slow falling potions is covering the main island with water or try placing the water before you hit the ground. Ender pearls can also be used to summon endermites to distract endermen.

Empty bottles
The player should bring plenty of glass bottles because they can be used to collect the dragon's breath. It can be collected from lingering purple clouds emitted when dragon fireballs slam into the ground or when the dragon breathes while perched. Since the dragon's breath inflicts magic damage, it can penetrate the player's armor, so be very careful around it.

Trident
A trident is highly recommended to have, but is difficult to obtain and not required. To obtain one the player must kill a drowned that is holding one, ideally with a Looting III sword. The trident will be damaged so you should get a second one and combine them on an anvil to fully repair it or use a mending enchantment. However, if the player throws their trident into the void it will despawn and not return to the player, even if the Loyalty enchantment is present on the item.

The trident can be used to boost the player up to the end crystals and easily destroy them. The player should enchant it with Riptide III so that they can boost themselves up to the end crystals. However, the player will need a bucket of water to do this, so the player should bring at least three water buckets.

Water bucket
A water bucket is extremely useful to have when the player fights the dragon, and even before the fight begins. It can be used to put out lava that is encountered while looking for the end portal. In the End, if the player falls off a tower and doesn't have enough ender pearls or slow falling potions, water can be used to break their fall. Water can also help them deal with provoked endermen. If an enderman is pursuing the player, dump the water at their feet (or yours) and the enderman will take damage and teleport away. The water will also neutralize the enderman and it will ignore the player again. Just make sure to not point the water at the Void because it will flow in that direction, pushing them into the Void.

If the ender dragon launches the player high up, then they can use the water bucket to negate fall damage. If the player has two water buckets and a pickaxe, then they can make an infinite water generator and gradually flood the end, stopping endermen and the fact that the dragon can launch the player at a high level no longer a threat the more flooded the end is, this also removes the use of pumpkins and MLG water buckets.

Beds
Beds can be extremely useful for dealing large amounts of damage to the dragon. Placing them down when the ender dragon is on the portal and blowing them up will take away up to 1/5 of the ender dragon's health. Although this is a good strategy it is extremely dangerous and you have to be careful. The main way to not take damage is going inside the ender portal, placing a bed, putting a block next to that bed and then right-clicking. Doing this will negate the damage to 0 as the explosion will not go down to hit your legs and the block you placed will block your head from being hit.

Alternatively, End Crystals may be used in place of beds. If you place several end crystals on the portal, wait for the dragon to swoop down and perch on the portal, then shoot the crystals with a bow or throw a egg/snowball at it. The dragon will take explosive damage, plus 10 extra points of damage if the crystal was destroyed while the dragon is charging from it. This is significantly safer than using beds, and end crystal explosions don't create fires that beds do. However, end crystals are more expensive than beds, and it will cause significant damage to the terrain.

Finding the portal
All players begin the ender dragon fight with eyes of ender, because they are needed to locate and activate the end portal, which is found in a stronghold. To make one, you will need one ender pearl and one piece of blaze powder. You will need to set aside 12, because you will need up to 12 to activate the portal, and you will also need a few extra eyes to find the stronghold.

Stronghold
To find the stronghold, throw an eye of ender into the air, and it will float upwards in the direction of the nearest stronghold. It will then fall back to the ground and you can pick it up and throw it again. However, the eye has a chance of breaking when you throw it, so bring at least 15 eyes to spare. Follow the ender eyes until they float downwards, which will indicate that the stronghold is underneath you. If the eyes direct you to a village, the stronghold will most likely be under the village's meeting point.

Dig underground to find the stronghold. You might dig into a cave or even a ravine, so it could be difficult to find. Use water to put out any lava that is in the way. Keep exploring the cave or keep digging until you see stone bricks, which will indicate that you have found the stronghold. Once you break in, get out your torches so that you can mark your exit and light up the area.

Triangulation
An alternate method for locating strongholds is to use the angles, in which ender eyes move from two different points to mathematically calculate the coordinates of the stronghold. Given the coordinates of two points in the world, (X1, Z1) and (X2, Z2), and the exact angles at which eyes of ender move, A1 and A2 (all of which can be measured from the F3 debug screen), the stronghold is at the following coordinates:

X = (Z1 - Z2 - X2cot(A2) + X1cot(A1)) / (cot(A1) - cot(A2))

Z = (X2 - X1 - Z1tan(A1) + Z2tan(A2)) / (tan(A2) - tan(A1)),

where tan(x) is the tangent function and cot(x) is the cotangent. By using this method to find the starting point for searching, it is usually possible to find the stronghold using only three or four ender eyes.

Portal room
Keep exploring the stronghold's hallways until you find the end portal room. Collect any chest loot that you find. As soon as you see the portal room, run in as quick as you can, as an active silverfish spawner sits in the broken staircase that leads up to the portal. Kill all the silverfish in the room and destroy the spawner. You can also place a stone brick stair in the empty space to complete the staircase, which will make the walk up to the portal smoother.

To activate the portal, simply insert an eye of ender into each portal frame. Some of the portal frames may already contain an eye. Once all of the portal frames have been filled, the portal will activate and let out a loud, dragon-like roar, "reminding" that you are about to fight the ender dragon.



Since the trip to the End is one-way, don't even think about jumping into the portal until you rearrange your inventory so that your hotbar contains the following:
 * Sword
 * Bow or crossbow
 * Pickaxe
 * Golden apples
 * A slow falling potion
 * Ender pearls
 * Food (a full stack)
 * Blocks (a full stack)
 * Empty bottles

Put all of the items that you will not use in the fight, such as the loot found in the stronghold, into your ender chest. Pick up the ender chest using your Silk Touch pickaxe. Make sure you are wearing all of the armor, but instead of your helmet, wear the carved pumpkin. It is also recommended that you place a chest with things like: a chestplate (any type), leggings (any type), a shield, and a sword. You can use these items if you die, however if you have the gamerule "keep inventory" on, you will not need these. Holding the ender pearls, enter the portal when ready.

Entering the End
When you jump into the portal, you will instantly get teleported to the End, giving no time to escape. When you arrive in the End, you will spawn on a 5&times;5 obsidian platform. The platform usually generates on the surface of the island, so you can just walk off. If it generates underground, dig up to the surface using a pickaxe. If it is away from the island, throw an ender pearl to the island to save your extra blocks.

Get to the center of the island as quickly as possible, and if you see the dragon diving at you, quickly jump out of its way. Drink a slow falling potion in case you get knocked off. Before fighting, you will need to do a few things.

Terrain
Because falling into the void will kill you and destroy your gear, you should stay as close to the center of the island as possible, or at least inside the circle of towers. If you get knocked off, you should immediately throw an ender pearl back up. If you are quick enough, and have aimed your shot correctly, it is possible to teleport out of the void and back onto the surface.

Backups
It is recommended to bring backups with you, because they will deal with the endermen while you are taking on the dragon. They may also clear the area in the middle of the island so that you will have more space to move around. Snow golems or iron golems make the best backup because they have stronger and more effective attacks than tamed wolves. The only difference between the two is that iron golems will actually attack the endermen, while snow golems will only chase them away. Bring enough materials to spawn at least five golems.

Until you have spawned your golems, you should wear a carved pumpkin to avoid the endermen. The best time to spawn them is when the dragon is resting on its perch, as it will not attack you or your golems. You should also spawn them to the sides, in case it releases the dragon's breath.

After the reinforcements are spawned, reorganize your inventory so that your hotbar contains the following:


 * Sword
 * Bow or crossbow
 * Pickaxe
 * Golden apples
 * A slow falling potion
 * Ender pearls
 * Blocks (a full stack)
 * Food (a full stack)
 * Empty bottles

As soon as your inventory is organized properly, quickly take off the pumpkin mask and put on your helmet. Now the showdown with the dragon will begin.

Destroying the end crystals
Destroying the end crystals is a key part of the battle, because they heal the dragon. With all of the crystals active, the dragon will recover faster than you could ever hope to damage it under normal conditions. It is possible to defeat the dragon while some crystals remain, provided the dragon spends enough time away from them, but it is best to destroy all of them. One end crystal sits atop each obsidian pillar. There are usually eight to ten towers of different heights arranged in a circle around the empty exit portal. The crystals on the tallest towers may be difficult to see, but the healing beam they emit when the dragon is nearby will give away their location. Try to destroy a crystal while it is healing the dragon because the dragon will take damage if you do this.



Shooting
The easiest way to destroy the crystals is to shoot them with your bow or crossbow. You should move so that you can see it at least partially, aim your shot just above the crystal from your view, and adjust your aim if needed. When destroyed the crystal will generate a massive explosion. If you have not seen the explosion, you will know that it has been destroyed by hearing for the explosion sound. You should always shoot the crystals on the shortest towers because they are the easiest to shoot, and if you are using a crossbow you should check how many arrows they have after every shot.

Climbing
Attempting to climb to the tops of the towers is extremely dangerous. Even if you build up using a dragon-proof material, such as end stone, the dragon can easily knock you off while you are climbing. Because of this, do not start to climb the towers until you have drank another slow falling potion. However, it is necessary to get up to the top of the caged towers somehow, because shooting them from the ground is ineffective. If you choose to use the method of pillaring up with blocks, place water below so that in the event of you getting knocked off the platform, you can land safely in the water. Additionally, if you use water, and you have brought a Riptide trident, launch yourself into the air and land on the tops of the towers. However, this technique may be unreliable.

It is quicker and safer to use ender pearls than building up. One trick to measure your ender pearl shot is to fully charge your bow or crossbow and shoot an arrow just over the top edge of the cage. If you throw an ender pearl at the exact same angle it will strike one block below the arrow's trajectory, teleporting you to the side of the cage. Break into the cage with your pickaxe, and wait for the dragon to fly away, since it cannot break the iron bars. If you have strong enough armor and are affected by Absorption, hit the caged crystal with your sword. Otherwise, build a few blocks away from the crystal and shoot it with your bow or crossbow.

Once the caged crystal has been destroyed, don't go back down, because some towers are taller than the caged ones. Build a few blocks above the caged tower and shoot the taller ones with your bow or crossbow. If the dragon knocks you off, and you are not affected by Slow Falling, you should use an ender pearl to break your fall if you didn't start with water. Throw a pearl back to the top of the caged tower and try to shoot the taller ones again. You could also throw a pearl to the tops of the tall towers and destroy the crystals with your sword. If you are on the tallest tower, you can check how many crystals have been destroyed and how many remain. It is also a good spot to snipe the dragon.

Killing the dragon
If you are not sure that you have destroyed all of the crystals, let the dragon fly away. If you see a healing beam, you will know that there is a crystal left. Once the last crystals have been destroyed you can start to attack the dragon. You can also swap out your extra blocks with your water bucket, because you will not need the blocks anymore. There are many ways to attack the dragon, but there are many things to watch out for, too.

Healing
The dragon has three types of attacks: body attacks, the breath attack, and dragon fireballs. The more crystals you have destroyed, the more often the dragon will attack you. It will inflict damage if it hits you with its head, but its wings will only inflict  damage (without armor). The dragon's breath will inflict damage per second. The dragon has an extremely high knockback ability and can throw the player into the air to fatal heights, so they should keep drinking their slow falling potions when they run out. They will make the player immune to all fall damage.

Keep track of health at all times. If you take at least damage at a time, hide behind a tower and eat a golden apple. You should use your healing potions if they are on the brink of death to recover instantly. If the totem of undying in your hand goes off, and you have another totem, quickly throw it in your left hand and resume fighting immediately.

Dragon's breath


It is extremely useful to collect the dragon's breath during the fight because it can be used to make lingering potions, which can help if you want to fight the dragon again, or if you want to fight the wither (if you chose to fight the dragon first).

To collect the dragon's breath, wait for the dragon to perch and do its breath attack or shoot a dragon fireball, either of which will puff out into lingering purple clouds. The only difference is that the dragon's breath comes instantly from the breath attack, whereas you must wait for the fireball to slam into the ground. To collect it, simply hold out an empty bottle and scoop up the clouds in the same way you would fill a bottle with water. However, you should avoid making contact with the clouds, because the clouds will hurt you. Armor cannot protect you from damage from the dragon's breath, because it counts as magic damage. The dragon's breath is stackable, so you should collect as much as possible. Additionally, the leftover bottles from your used potions can increase your collection.

Attacking
While the dragon is flying you can shoot it with your bow or crossbow. However, the dragon is difficult to shoot because it can fly fast, and shots will miss if they don't line up properly. It is recommended to shoot at a spot in the dragon's flight trajectory, which is the area in front of it, and it will fly far enough to get hit by the arrow. Try to mainly shoot it in the head because the dragon takes the most damage on its head.

The more crystals you have destroyed, the more often the dragon will dive at the portal. When it's hovering over the portal, it is immune to arrow damage, and you will be forced to use your sword. Here, get as many critical hits as possible, which will deal more damage, and it is possible to get more critical hits when you have Slow Falling. It is also suggested to drink a strength potion because you will inflict more damage using the strength the potion provides.

You will begin to notice a pattern in the dragon's behavior after a few minutes. It will dive at the portal once for every circle, so you should make sure that you always have the strength from the potions when the dragon perches. Remember the pattern of the dragon’s attacks, so that your attacks will be efficient for the rest of the battle.

Once damage has been inflicted, the dragon will die and drop four rare rewards.

The rewards
When killed, the dragon will float upwards and disintegrate, with bright purple beams of light erupting from its body. It will then explode and cause a sound effect to play that gradually fades away into the infinite darkness of the End, leaving almost no trace that it was ever there. Four rewards will then appear.

Experience
After the dragon disappears, experience orbs will rain from the sky. These orbs can take the player from level 0 to level 68, which is worth 12,000 experience points. Some of the orbs may fall into the portal, so run a few laps around the portal and then sneak on the rim of the portal to grab some more. Since it takes progressively more experience to gain a level at higher levels, they will have enough to make over ten level 30 enchantments. The player doesn't have to get enchantments that they will use; they can simply enchant extra equipment to use as a backup set. The best time for the player to enchant extra equipment is as soon as they go back home, in case they die and lose all of the precious levels they have earned (unless you have a lot of experience farms to get more levels than that).

Dragon egg
The second reward is the dragon egg. It sits on top of the portal when it first appears. However, it cannot be broken directly, as the egg will teleport if the player attempts to do so.

Instead, touch the egg once and let it teleport to a block of end stone. If the player can't find it, follow the purple teleportation particles. To pick up the egg, place a torch two blocks underneath it, and break the end stone block it is sitting on. Since the egg obeys the law of gravity, it will fall onto the torch and break as a collectible item. If you forget to bring a torch with you, take one from the exit portal frame.

Alternatively, if the player has a piston and a source of redstone (such as a lever), place the piston facing the egg and power it with the redstone source. The egg will still break as a collectible item. To prevent the egg from falling into the portal, cover the portal with blocks.

If the player uses either of these strategies, they will get the dragon egg successfully. It currently has no use other than as a trophy to show that the player has defeated the ender dragon, but it can serve as a beautiful decoration or an addition to a trophy room at the player’s base.

End gateway portal
Perhaps the biggest reward of defeating the ender dragon is the end gateway portal, which generates after the dragon dies. The player cannot walk through it normally because it is too narrow to walk through. The easiest way to enter it is to throw an ender pearl through it, but it is also possible to sprint-swim through it in if the player has a water bucket or fly through it with an elytra if the player already has one. In Village and Pillage, the player can also use trapdoors to crawl through the portal. This portal is sometimes considered the only reason to need to fight the dragon, because it gives the player easy access to the End's outer islands, which is the only place where the player can find end cities, shulkers, chorus trees, the elytra and the dragon head. Without the end gateway, they are about 1,000 blocks away from the main fighting area against the dragon (in any direction). Note that you can live in the outer islands and just wander around, and you can find a lot of treasure. If you go too far and you want to get back, you can jump into the void as long as you have "keep inventory" on.

Exit portal
Since the fight takes place in the End, the most important reward is the exit portal, which is the only way back home. It appears all the time, but only activates when the dragon is killed. The portal looks like a fountain made of bedrock, with torches on the sides, and the "water" of the fountain is made of the portal blocks that will take the player back home.

When the player jumps into the portal, they will be treated to the end poem, which will tell them that they have basically "completed" the game. Even though it can be skipped, it is still highly recommended to read it. They will then respawn in the Overworld at their respawn point, which can be the world spawn point, a respawn anchor, or the last bed the player had slept in. The player can then safely return to their base.

The rematch
To have a rematch with the ender dragon, the player must respawn it using end crystals. To make one, the player will need seven pieces of glass, an eye of ender and a ghast tear. The player will need to go to the Nether to get some of these materials.

To respawn the dragon, place four end crystals one on each side of the exit portal. The crystals that are placed will instantly deactivate the portal, shoot beams at the tops of the towers, and reset the crystals and cages on the towers. Afterward, all of the crystals will shoot beams into the sky in harmony. The player will hear an extremely loud roar and see a massive explosion, which will resurrect the dragon and begin the fight again.

To respawn the dragon, place the end crystals in the configuration shown in the image below.



Subsequent dragons will drop less experience and will not drop another dragon egg, but it is still useful because it is the only way to obtain more dragon's breath. Also, it will create another end gateway, which can be used to find more end cities more easily, but the player will need to prepare the same equipment all over again. However, if the player does want to fight again, the player can use new equipment that cannot be used in the first battle.

Poradniki/Walka ze Smokiem Endu 教程/打败末影龙