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
Defeating the dragon requires a lot of preparation, but not everyone has the same skills. So depending on how skilled you are, different preparations may be needed. The following is a suggested collection of equipment you might need:


 * enchanted with Sharpness V, Looting III, and Fire Aspect II
 * enchanted with Unbreaking III, Power V, and Infinity (Flame is ineffective)
 * One (or without Infinity, several stacks)
 * Full set of enchanted with Protection IV and Thorns II or III
 * enchanted with Silk Touch and Efficiency IV or V, to break into end crystals’ cages, or to dig up to the surface if you spawn underground
 * At least 10
 * Highly nutritious food, such as or
 * At least three
 * At least three
 * to collect the
 * Several stacks of, to get around quicker
 * At least three stacks of, to build to the tops of towers
 * , to collect the after the battle
 * and, to spawn snowmen, who will deal with the endermen
 * , to wear and avoid endermen until you spawn the snowmen
 * One or two (optional)
 * One or two (optional)

Preparing
Until the ender dragon is defeated, you cannot leave the End without dying. In hardcore, you must defeat the dragon on your first visit, or die trying. Therefore, thorough preparation is essential to surviving the battle.

Sword
Your sword (preferably diamond) to damage the dragon when she’s on her perch, with a secondary use of dealing with any provoked endermen. If your sword is enchanted with Fire Aspect, any endermen hit by it will be more difficult to deal with since they teleport every time they’re damaged.

Bow
The bow will be your secondary weapon; both for destroying the end crystals, and against the dragon while she is flying through the air. It is recommended that the bow be enchanted with Power V, and Infinity, so that you don’t run out of arrows. Once the end crystals are destroyed, it will take twelve fully charged shots to the head to defeat the dragon. The Unbreaking enchantment is very useful on your bow, but not required. One thing to note is that a bow enchanted with Infinity but without Unbreaking will be able to take 385 shots before breaking, which is equivalent to roughly six stacks of arrows. The Punch and Flame enchantments have no effect on the dragon.

Armor
The dragon has an attack strength of 15 with her head on hard difficulty. It is the second strongest direct attack of any hostile mob in Minecraft, only topped by the vindicator. Therefore, it is recommended that you wear a full set of armor (preferably diamond), enchanted with Protection IV. Because of the dragon's knockback, and the potential for cliffs, Feather Falling IV on your boots is almost necessary. If you think that you may accidentally look at endermen, you may consider wearing a carved pumpkin on your head, instead of a helmet; however, it will not protect you from damage and it will partially obstruct your vision. If you want better vision and more protection, wear your helmet and spawn a few snowmen. They will deal with the endermen.

Pickaxe
When you enter the End, you might spawn underground. A pickaxe will be necessary to reach the surface. It is also needed to break the cages protecting some of the end crystals. If you don't bring a pickaxe, it will take a long time to mine both the iron bars and end stone. It is recommended to have a diamond pickaxe enchanted with Efficiency, so that you can dig your way to the surface and break into the cages quickly.

Healing Items
Even if you are very well-protected, you are likely to take a great deal of damage during the fight if you lack combat experience, so healing items are absolutely necessary. Golden apples are the most efficient healing item, because they provide Absorption, which will protect you from most damage while you heal. Potent healing potions and extended regeneration potions are recommended, but not required. Enchanted golden apples can heal you more than regular ones, but they are extremely difficult to find, so save them only for emergencies, and use regular golden apples otherwise.

The totem of undying can also be used, but it can only be accessed when you explore a woodland mansion. However, it can be used in emergencies, and will prevent you from dying. To use it, simply place it in your off-hand, and ignore that it is even there. When you take fatal damage, it will activate and cause an animation of fireworks, "resurrecting" you and providing you with Regeneration and temporary Absorption.

Food
There should never be a time when the player does not have food on them, if they can possibly help it. bread, steak, and cooked porkchops are some of the best foods in the game, so it it highly recommended to bring either of these. Cake is recommended to bring, so that if you need to eat very quickly, you can just instantly place it down, and start eating without any delay. However, cake has a low saturation and hunger-filling value, so unless you have to eat at that exact moment, better foods, like bread or steak, are recommended.

Golden apples and enchanted golden apples can also restore food points, but they are mainly used as a healing item. Only use golden apples or enchanted golden apples when you take more than three hearts of damage at a time, and if you do not have full saturation, eat your regular food.

Potions
Potions are highly recommended when fighting the dragon, to enhance your performance as well as healing yourself. Since the dragon inflicts damage mainly from knockback and body contact, slow falling potions are almost necessary.

An extended regeneration potion will heal a total of x 24 over the course of its two-minute duration. An instant health II splash potion will restore x 4 instantly. Thus, while a single regeneration potion will heal more damage overall, it will take 47.5 seconds to fully recover from, whereas two instant health II splash potions will recover x 8 as quickly as the player can throw them.

Because there is no benefit to drinking multiple regeneration potions at the same time, the number that you bring should be limited by how long the fight lasts. It should not last more than twenty minutes, so ten potions of Regeneration will allow the player to regenerate health for the full duration of the fight. After all other equipment is considered, any remaining spaces should be filled with splash potions of Healing II.

Blocks
Blocks can be useful for climbing up the towers if you are not good at archery. Harder blocks, such as cobblestone, are better than softer blocks. It is recommended to use blocks on the taller ones, but just shoot the short ones. Also, you will need blocks to get up on top of the two obsidian pillars that have cages around the end crystals. If you forget blocks, you will have to shoot over the iron bars in order to get the end crystals, which can be very difficult for the taller towers. Alternatively, you can throw an ender pearl to get to the top.

Ender Pearls
Ender pearls are not required to go the End, but they are strongly recommended. You can use them to get up to high obsidian pillars, or if you spawned on a platform away from the main island, you can use them so that you don't waste blocks. Also, if you are high up in the air, get knocked down, and don't have a water bucket right off hand to soften your fall, you can use ender pearls to teleport, and take less damage this way. Be prepared to fight endermen if you want to use a lot of ender pearls, so that you have inventory space for other items.

Empty Bottles
It is recommended that you bring plenty of empty bottles, because they can be used to collect the dragon's breath. The dragon's breath can be collected when ender charges slam into the ground and puff out into lingering clouds, or when the dragon does the breath attack while hovering over the portal.

Finding the Portal
All players begin the ender dragon fight with eyes of ender, because they are needed to find and activate the end portal, within a stronghold. To make one, you will need one ender pearl and one sample of blaze powder. It is recommended to bring at least 25 eyes of ender, because 12 are needed to activate the portal, and you will need a few extra eyes to find the stronghold.

Throw your eyes of ender into the air and follow them until they float downwards, indicating that you have found the stronghold. Dig underground until you see stone bricks, and once you break in, get out your torches.

Keep exploring the stronghold’s hallways until you find the end portal room. Collect any chest loot you find. As soon as you see it, 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. If you want to, you can place a stone brick stair block 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 block. Some of the portal frames may already contain an eye. Once all the eyes have been placed, the portal will activate and let out a loud, dragon-like roar, "reminding" you 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 your hotbar contains the following:
 * Your sword
 * Your bow
 * Your pickaxe
 * Your golden apples
 * A slow falling potion
 * A full stack of ender pearls
 * A full stack of cobblestone
 * Your snow blocks
 * Your pumpkins

Make sure you are wearing all your armor, and instead of your helmet, wear the carved pumpkin. With your ender pearls selected, enter the portal.

Entering the End
Once you enter the portal, you will instantly get teleported to the End, giving no time to back out. When you arrive in the End, you will spawn on a 5x5 obsidian platform. The platform usually generates on the surface of the island, so you can just walk off. If it generates underground, use your pickaxe and dig up to the surface, and if it is off the island, throw an ender pearl to the island to save your extra blocks.

Run to the center of the island, 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.

Terrain
Because falling into the void will kill you and destroy your gear, it is recommended to stick to the center of the island, unless you have to destroy end crystals. You should also be aware of any holes in the island, and avoid them. Due to the dragon's knockback ability, you should stay at least 20 blocks away from any edge. If you get knocked off, you should immediately throw an ender pearl back up. If you are quick enough, it is possible for you to teleport out of the void and back onto the island. Chances are better if your ender pearls are held in a slot of your hotbar that you can instantly access, or if you have drank a slow falling potion.

Spawning Reinforcements
It is recommended to have backups, because they will deal with the endermen while you take on the dragon. It is recommended that you bring snowmen or iron golems instead of tamed wolves, because they have stronger and more effective attacks.

Wear the pumpkin mask when you spawn your allies, to avoid the endermen until your allies are spawned. It is recommended to spawn them when the dragon is resting on her perch, as she will not attack. Bring enough pumpkins and materials to spawn at least five snowmen or iron golems.

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. It is possible to defeat the dragon while some crystals remain, provided the dragon spends enough time away from them, but it is usually recommended to destroy all of them. 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 10 damage if you do this.



Shooting
The best method for destroying the end crystals is simply shooting them with a bow. You should position yourself so that the crystal is at least partially visible. You should aim above the crystal, pay attention to where the arrow hits the tower, and adjust your 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 your bow does not have the Infinity enchantment.

Climbing
Attempting to climb the towers is quite difficult. Even if you build platforms from a dragon-proof material, the dragon can easily knock you off while you are climbing. It is recommended to get up to the caged towers, because you can easily shoot the taller ones from there. It is quicker and safer to use ender pearls than your extra blocks. One trick for ender pearls is to 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, hitting the side of the cage. Hold out your pickaxe and break in. If you are protected enough and have already eaten a golden apple, hit the caged crystal with your sword. Otherwise, build a few blocks away from the crystal and shoot it with your bow.

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. If the dragon knocks you off, try to throw an ender pearl to reach the tops of the towers. 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.

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: