Many of you might not know this, but you can beat Minecraft! Everything you do in the game leads you to an epic final showdown with an Ender Dragon, that awaits you in the End dimension. But you can’t just walk into the End whenever you feel like it. There are certain steps you need to follow before you even figure out where the portal to the End dimension is.
But before you decide to make such a trip you need to be well-prepared to survive the fight and even collect some unique items to access the End dimension. Today we will discuss everything you need to know before you go search for the End dimension and what you can expect to find when you get there!
What Even is the Ender Dragon?
The Ender Dragon is the largest naturally spawning mob in all of Minecraft. It can be encountered the first time you enter the End dimension in your world. The dragon is a large flying hostile boss mob, whose attacks include charging at the player and spitting acid.
The dragon only takes damage from explosions and player-dealt damage, meaning it’s immune to status effect damage. The damage it takes is reduced if the player does not hit it on the head. It can also destroy all player-placed blocks so you can’t block its movement or attacks, although it can’t destroy End Stone blocks.
When the Ender Dragon is finally defeated, 2 portals open. One leads to the end islands which you can explore, and one rolls credits just before taking you back home.
Recommended Equipment
Fighting the Elder Dragon can be a long and very dangerous fight, so you need to be fully equipped before challenging the dragon. I recommend you upgrade your armor and weapons to the netherite tier if possible, if not the diamond tier should work just as fine. Also, make sure your armor and weapons are properly enchanted to take advantage of maximum protection.
A bucket of water is always nice to have on your person. Some of the Ender Dragon attacks may knock you up very high and the fall is certain to kill you. Make sure you are prepared with your water bucket to survive the fall.
Food is incredibly important as well. You will most likely take a lot of damage while fighting, which you will need to heal back up. Bringing a stack of food that replenishes a lot of your hunger bar is essential.
Eyes of Ender
Before you can even think about looking for the portal to the End, you need to collect the Eyes of Ender. They are used to both locate the portal and to activate it too. Finding the required components to create them can take some time and effort though. It can only be obtained by crafting, where you combine blaze powder with an Ender Pearl.
To obtain blaze powder, you will have to create a Nether Portal and locate the Nether Fortress. Blaze, the mob that drops Blaze rods, can only be found there. Make sure to grab some extra rods, along with the 12 you need for the portal activation.
Collecting the required Ender Pearls can take a bit more time. The fastest way to obtain them is to trade for them with the Cleric villager. But the conventional way takes a bit more time. Every time you kill an Enderman, there is a chance that he drops the Pearl. Your best bet is to find the Warped Forest biome in the Nether, as Endermen naturally spawn there in abundance.
Locating the Stronghold
Now that your Eyes of Ender are prepared and you are fully equipped, it’s time to find the portal to the End. The portal is located in a Stronghold, a structure that randomly generates anywhere underground in the Overworld.
Locating it is pretty straightforward. Hold one of your Eyes of Ender in your hand and throw it. It will naturally fly in the direction where the nearest Stronghold is. Then just pick it back up and head in that direction. There is a chance the Eye breaks when used, that is why it’s always good to have some backup Eyes of Ender with you. When the Eye floats in place after being used it means it’s time to dig down!
Entering the End
Once you reach the portal room of the Stronghold, you will most likely see that some of the Eye of Ender slots are already filled. Each slot has a 10% chance for an Eye of Ender to already spawn in there, but don’t count on it too much while collecting your materials. Activate the portal by setting your Eyes of Ender in the slots and jump through!
You will spawn on a platform made of obsidian, and in front of you, there should be an island with massive pillars and an Ender Dragon flying around. It’s time you get ready for a fight!
Fighting the Ender Dragon
When you get on the island, you will see a small Bedrock structure in the middle, and several large obsidian pillars surrounding it. On top of those pillars are End Crystals that heal the Ender Dragon as it flies by. To make your fight easier, I recommend you take those crystals out first. I usually do it by shooting arrows at them.
Now it’s time to fight the Ender Dragon. You can shoot arrows at it when it flies, or you can wait until it lands in the middle of the island and hit it with your melee weapons. You can also use explosives to kill the Ender dragon faster, but make sure you don’t get hit by the explosions.
When the Ender Dragon is defeated, you will receive a ton of experience points, and the portals leading back home and to the End Islands will appear. You will also be awarded one Dragon egg. It is a decorative block and is the rarest block in the game, as it only spawns once.
How to Respawn the Ender Dragon?
If that one fight wasn’t enough for you, you can try and respawn the Ender dragon again, and doing so is pretty simple! All you have to do is place 4 End Crystals around the exit portals. All the End Crystals that heal the Ender Dragon will respawn, all the player-placed blocks around them will be destroyed, and the Ender Dragon will respawn.
Final Thoughts
Fighting the Ender Dragon is one of the most challenging tasks in all of Minecraft. It is meant as the final stage of the survival mode, as the credits role after you defeat it. But is also the point of the game that allows you to find an item that changes the whole game: the Elytra!
Did you manage to defeat the Ender Dragon the first time you fought it? Have you decided to re-summon it and fight it for the second time? Do you feel like any other mob is harder to defeat than the Ender Dragon? Let us know in the comments below!
