Tutorials/Defeating the ender dragon

The ender dragon is one of the two boss mobs in Minecraft, the other being the wither. It is found in the End, which can only be accessed by entering an activated end portal. It is usually considered the final boss of the game, although the achievements related to the wither are unlocked after defeating the dragon.

The dragon is highly anticipated to fight because its defeat will give you access to the End’s outer islands, as it generates an end gateway portal when defeated. It will also activate the exit portal and allow you to return home.

Ender Dragon Bossfight Checklist

 * Diamond sword enchanted with Sharpness V (Looting and Fire Aspect also recommended, to take out endermen and collect extra ender pearls
 * Bow enchanted with Power V and Unbreaking III (Infinity also recommended, Flame is ineffective)
 * Diamond pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch and Efficiency (to break end crystals’ cages)
 * At least 10 golden apples
 * At least three slow falling potions, to eliminate all fall damage
 * At least three strength potions, to deal extra damage to the dragon

The fight
After arriving in the End, the player will be on a 5x5 platform of obsidian. If the platform is away from the main island, an ender pearl should be used to teleport there, or the player can carefully build a bridge, sneaking the whole way, to avoid falling into the void. If the platform is underground, the player should mine towards the surface.

Healing
The player should have a reasonable idea of how well their armor and enchantments will protect them from the dragon. With the suggested armor, on the hard difficulty, the player can expect to take an average of each time they are hit by the dragon. If the dragon manages to close, they can expect to be hit one to two times, and may take additional damage from falling after being knocked back.

If a player heals needlessly out of fear, they may burn through their healing supplies more quickly than they need to, and be left without a means of healing themselves later on. On the other hand, being too conservative with their healing can get them killed. Thus, a player should let regeneration take care of any minor wounds, and save their splash potions of Healing for when they are at risk of being killed outright. Try to heal when you are down half of your health, or 5 hearts.

Terrain
Because falling into the void will kill the player and destroy the items they are carrying, it is recommended to stick to the center of the island, unless you have to destroy end crystals. They should also be aware of any holes in the End, and avoid them. Due to the dragon's knockback ability, the player should stay at least ten blocks away from any edge. If the player falls off an edge, they should immediately throw an ender pearl up onto the ledge. If they are quick enough, and very lucky, it is possible for a player to teleport out of the void and back onto the island. Chances are better if the player's ender pearls are held in a hotbar slot that can be easily accessed via hotkey such as 1-3 (or assigning them an unused hotkey of their own).

Managing the endermen
If the player is wearing a pumpkin, they cannot provoke the endermen by looking at them, and they become harmless. Because the player will spend most of their time looking up, first from shooting at the crystals, and then at the dragon itself, it is possible to go the entire fight without provoking a single enderman, even without a pumpkin, or making an active effort to avoid doing so. Using water as a deterrent or a boat as a trap to provoked endermen is a good idea. Or, if you find yourself fighting an enderman, just attack its legs. This will cause it to not teleport, and there is virtually no risk of provoking other endermen.

Managing the dragon's attacks
The dragon is able to pass through any block, and will destroy any block that isn't end stone, obsidian, bedrock, or end crystals on contact. As such, there is no point in constructing shelters.

The player should be listening and looking for the dragon at all times. When the dragon's health bar is visible, it means that the dragon is nearby. If the dragon charges the player, it can be repelled by shooting it. Shields also work against both the damage and knockback of the melee attack of the dragon—but they don't work against the breath, as it is considered magic damage, and they take inordinate amounts of damage if the dragon continues flying into the player for any length of time. If the player hears that the dragon is close, but doesn't see it, they should sprint, then make a 90° turn and repeat until they can see the dragon.

The dragon has the potential to launch players high into the air. A high level of Feather Falling will allow the player to survive most launches if their HP is not low. Placing a bucket of water just before landing, though difficult, can negate the fall damage. When high in the air, throwing an ender pearl toward the ground will negate most of the fall damage. If the player is launched off the side of the End island, throwing an ender pearl toward the island may be their only chance at survival.

When the dragon shoots a fireball or perches atop the exit portal, it will create a pool of deadly dragon breath. This lingers for some time and deals repeated damage, so the player should move away as quickly as possible.

Destroying the end crystals
The end crystals heal the ender dragon. With all of the crystals active, the dragon will recover faster than a player could ever hope to damage it. It is possible to defeat the ender dragon while some end crystals remain, provided the dragon spends enough time away from them, but it is usually recommended to destroy as many crystals as possible. Crystals on very large pillars may be difficult to see, but the healing beam they emit when the dragon is nearby will give away their location.

Climbing
Attempting to climb the obsidian pillars is a very risky idea. Even if the player builds platforms from a dragon-proof material, the dragon can easily knock them off while they are climbing, and they will need some kind of delay, such as TNT to avoid being damaged by the crystals' explosions. (Note: Ender pearls combined with Protection IV diamond armor can negate most of the above damage.) If the player absolutely must climb the towers, hollowing out the inside with an Efficiency-enchanted diamond pickaxe and using end stone to pillar jump is the safest method. This, however, is an unimaginably slow process, and there is nothing preventing the dragon from damaging the player inside the pillar.

The player may be forced to climb the pillars to destroy those crystals protected by iron bars in the event that the remaining crystals are healing enough to out-heal the player's damage. In such an event, they should either use ender pearls to climb a lower tower and work from there, or stick to a corner of the tower and pillar jump as fast as they can (provided they have Feather Falling boots).

If none of those are an option, trapping a couple endermen in boats and collecting their ender pearls, and then throwing the pearls against the iron cages will work. Keep in mind that a great deal of skill is needed to successfully pull this off.

Shooting
The best method for destroying the end crystals is simply shooting them with a bow. The player should position themselves so that the crystal is at least partially visible. They should aim above the crystal, pay attention to where the arrow hits the pillar, and adjust their aim accordingly. The Flame enchantment helps to make the arrows more visible. Be aware that the crystal may have been destroyed, even if an explosion was not seen. Alternatively, snowballs could be used instead to save on arrows, if the bow does not have the Infinity enchantment.

Defeating the dragon
Once the majority of the crystals have been destroyed, the player can attempt to defeat the dragon. At a distance, the dragon is nearly impossible to hit, and the majority of shots will miss. Thus, it is best to conserve ammunition by only firing when the dragon is at point-blank range or sniping them from one of the obsidian pillars.

While shots to anywhere other than the head only deal one-quarter of the normal damage, hits to the body will add up over time. While the dragon is flying, the player should keep it in sight. When it charges, the player should charge up their bow, line up their shot, and then shoot it in the head. When the dragon recoils, they should attempt a quick second shot. When it flies away, the player should follow. When it flies low while fleeing, it will most likely charge. It is important that the player be patient, and not lose track of their health.

When the dragon is perched on the exit portal, it is immune to arrow shots. It will attempt to keep players from getting close by using its breath attack. However, it is possible to stand in the exit portal directly beneath the dragon without being caught in its breath; this will allow the player a number of easy hits with a sword or axe.

Summoning the wither is another tactic of defeating the ender dragon. The wither will fight the dragon and may take heavy damage in the process, becoming easier for the player to finish off. However, as the wither is itself very dangerous, this tactic requires even more preparation than normal. There is also a chance for the wither to destroy the one-of-a-kind dragon egg after the dragon dies, preventing the player from ever obtaining it.

Once the player has inflicted damage, the dragon will explode, dropping experience orbs and causing the exit portal to activate.

Experience
Once defeated, the ender dragon will drop enough experience orbs to reach level 78 (approximately 12,000 xp.) Since it takes progressively more experience to gain a level at higher levels, it's optimal to make it to level 30, and begin enchanting there; only picking up enough experience at a time to put the player over 30 before making their next enchant. However, since the magnetism range for experience orbs is much higher than items, this can be impractical.

Dragon egg
To collect the dragon egg, the player should simply position a single piston behind the egg, and a redstone signal next to the piston. This will cause the egg to be knocked down where the player can grab it as an item drop. To prevent the egg falling into the portal, the player may place some blocks around the egg before the push it with the piston.

There is another way to obtain the egg without a piston. Attempt to mine the egg, causing it to teleport someplace else. Find it, then mine the block two blocks underneath it. Place a non-solid block there, such as a torch, sign, or ladder. Then, mine the block directly underneath the egg, so that it falls on the non-solid block, dropping as an item. Note that this can be risky, as the player may not find the egg after it teleports.

Respawning the dragon
Main Article: Tutorials/Respawning the ender dragon with fewer crystals

The ender dragon can be respawned by placing end crystals on the exit portal: