How to Defeat the Ender Dragon and Beat Minecraft

The Ender Dragon was Minecraft's first boss and still serves as the closest thing the game has to a final battle. Defeating it means reaching The End, breaking its healing crystals, and surviving long enough to finish the fight.

How to Reach the Ender Dragon

The Ender Dragon lives in The End, which players reach through an End Portal inside a Stronghold. Finding the portal is a major part of the challenge, because strongholds are underground and can take time to navigate safely.

To find a Stronghold, craft and throw Eyes of Ender. Each one briefly travels toward the nearest Stronghold before dropping or breaking. Eyes of Ender have a 20% chance to break when used, so bring several rather than trusting one dramatic throw to solve everything.

Once inside the Stronghold, search until you find the portal room. Strongholds can contain hostile mobs, dead ends, and confusing hallways, so bring enough supplies to explore before activating the portal. Fill any empty End Portal Frame slots with Eyes of Ender, then jump through when you are fully prepared. There is no polite lobby on the other side.

Gear to Bring

The Ender Dragon fight punishes underprepared players. Good armor, food, a bow, a melee weapon, a pickaxe, blocks or ladders, and recovery items are the basics.

Diamond armor with useful enchantments is strongly recommended. Blast Protection helps reduce explosion damage, while standard Protection is also valuable. The dragon can deal heavy damage, and some of it is difficult to avoid completely, so armor is not optional unless you are deliberately attempting a challenge run.

A diamond sword gives you strong melee damage when the dragon lands at the center portal. Bring a pickaxe for clearing blocks or breaking iron bars around protected crystals, and bring ladders or blocks for climbing the obsidian pillars when arrows cannot reach the target.

A bow is needed for the flying phase and for destroying End Crystals from range. Ender Pearls are excellent emergency tools because falling is one of the easiest ways to die in this fight. Potions can also help, especially Slow Falling, Healing, and Swiftness.

If you are fighting with friends, stable server performance and low latency matter. The dragon is hard enough without rubber-banding off a pillar. A nearby HolyHosting server can help keep multiplayer fights responsive if the group is running its own world.

Destroy the End Crystals

The Ender Dragon heals from End Crystals placed on top of obsidian pillars around the island. Destroying these crystals should be the first major goal.

Most crystals can be shot with a bow. Some are protected by iron bars, which means you need to climb up, break the bars with a pickaxe, and destroy the crystal manually. Use ladders or blocks to climb, and keep an Ender Pearl ready in case the dragon knocks you off. The pillars are tall enough that one bad hit can end the attempt if you have no recovery plan.

End Crystals explode when destroyed and deal heavy area damage. Back away before breaking them at close range. If a crystal is actively healing the dragon when it explodes, the dragon can take damage too, but stopping the healing is the main reason to remove them.

Technically, it is possible to beat the dragon without destroying every crystal if you can outdamage the healing. For most players, that is a much harder version of the same fight. Clear the crystals first and make the rest of the battle cleaner.

Survive the Dragon's Attacks

The Ender Dragon attacks in several ways. Its charge deals major collision damage, and its fire breath and fireballs create dangerous areas depending on difficulty.

Keep moving, watch the dragon's path, and avoid standing in lingering breath. Use Ender Pearls or Slow Falling to recover from knockback. Endermen are also a threat if accidentally looked at, so avoid staring at them during the fight unless you want the boss arena to become a group project.

The central island has limited cover, so awareness matters. Do not tunnel vision on the dragon while standing in breath or while a charge is coming. Heal early instead of waiting until one more hit would finish the run.

Damage the Ender Dragon

After the crystals are gone, shoot the dragon while it circles the island. It moves quickly, so leading shots with a bow is important.

At intervals, the dragon lands at the central bedrock portal. When it does, arrows bounce off, so switch to melee. Hit the dragon with a strong sword, aiming for the head when possible for better damage. This is the best time to deal heavy damage quickly, but do not stand carelessly in front of it if your health is low.

When it takes off again, move away and return to bow attacks. Repeat this cycle of ranged damage and melee during landings until the dragon dies.

What Happens After the Fight?

Defeating the Ender Dragon drops a large amount of experience and opens the exit portal. The dragon egg also appears, but it cannot be mined normally. Use a piston if you want to collect it.

The fight can be repeated by placing four End Crystals around the center exit portal, one on each side. Resummoning the dragon is optional, but useful if you want another fight or more access to End gateways.

Ender Dragon Facts

• Minecraft had sold over 200 million copies as of May 2020.
• Killing the Ender Dragon drops 12,000 experience points, enough to take one player from level 0 to level 68.
• The Ender Dragon is 16 blocks wide and 16 blocks long.
• Poison and other status effects do not affect the Ender Dragon.
• Ender Dragons cannot stand on the ground and are always flying when not perched.