The Ender Dragon drops 12,000 XP on its first kill — more than any other source in the entire game. That’s enough to rocket you from level zero to level 68 in one fight. But most first-time players never even make it to the fight itself, or they die in the first thirty seconds because they didn’t know what was coming. This guide fixes that. We’ll cover everything from crafting your first Eye of Ender to looting the End Cities after you win — so you go in prepared, not panicking.
Getting to The End
Before you fight anything, you need to find The End’s front door: the End Portal. It doesn’t generate randomly — it’s always hidden inside a Stronghold, an underground fortress that generates in every world. The way to find it is with Eyes of Ender.
Craft Eyes of Ender by combining blaze powder (from blaze rods, dropped by Blazes in Nether Fortresses) with ender pearls (dropped by Endermen). Each eye has roughly a 1-in-5 chance of breaking when thrown, so craft at least 16 — you’ll need up to 12 to fill the portal and want spares for navigation [1].
Throw an Eye into the air and it floats in the direction of the nearest Stronghold. Follow it. As you get closer, the Eye will start angling downward instead of flying level — that’s your sign to dig. Strongholds generate underground, often at depths of Y=20–50. Once you’re inside, navigate the maze of corridors and libraries until you find the Portal Room: a lava-filled chamber with a staircase and the inactive portal frame at the top.
A word of warning: there’s a silverfish spawner embedded in the broken staircase. Silverfish are annoying but manageable — deal with the spawner before you start fussing with the portal. To activate the End Portal, insert an Eye of Ender into each of the 12 frame blocks. Some frames may already have eyes in them (random per world). Once all 12 are filled, the portal activates with a roar. Step in. There’s no going back until the fight is done — or you die [2].
Gear and Preparation Checklist
This fight is very survivable if you show up prepared. Rushing in with iron armour and a stone sword is how you become dragon food. Here’s what you actually need:
| Item | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Diamond/Netherite armour | The dragon’s wing hits deal 5 HP; a head hit does 10 HP. Full protection enchants reduce this significantly. |
| Feather Falling IV boots | The dragon launches you into the air. Without this enchant, you die on the way down. |
| Diamond/Netherite sword | Arrows do nothing during the perch phase. Your sword is your only weapon when it matters most. |
| Bow with Power IV-V + Infinity | Destroys unprotected End Crystals in one shot. Infinity means you only need one arrow. |
| At least 1 arrow | Required for the Infinity enchant to work. |
| Slow Falling potions (2–3) | Insurance if the dragon launches you. Removes fall damage entirely for the duration. |
| High-saturation food | Steak, pork chops, or golden carrots. Running out of hunger mid-fight stops your health regenerating. |
| Building blocks (64+) | You need to pillar up to caged End Crystals on top of obsidian pillars. Cobblestone or dirt is fine. |
| Ender pearls (4–6) | Emergency teleport if you fall toward the void, or to get out of the dragon’s breath cloud quickly. |
| Beds (Bedrock only) | Beds explode in The End just like in the Nether — a stack of beds is a fast way to nuke the dragon during the perch. Note: The dragon destroys the bed on Bedrock after the first use, so placement timing is trickier than on Java. |
| Carved pumpkin (optional) | Wear it as a helmet and Endermen will never aggro on you, even if you look directly at them. |
Feather Falling IV on your boots is the one enchant you absolutely cannot skip. I’ve seen veteran players die purely because they forgot it. Check our diamond mining guide if you’re still gearing up — getting full diamond before this fight is the baseline [3].
The Fight: Step by Step
The Ender Dragon has 200 HP and it actively regenerates health by linking to End Crystals sitting on top of the obsidian pillars ringing the arena. Your job is to break that healing before you can deal meaningful damage to the dragon itself. The fight has a clear structure if you know what to do.
Phase 1: Destroy All End Crystals
There are 10 End Crystals in total, sitting on obsidian pillars of varying heights. Most of them are unprotected and can be destroyed with a single arrow each — easy. Two of them, however, are surrounded by iron bar cages on top of the tallest pillars. Those require you to get up close [1].
For unprotected crystals: stand on the central fountain structure and shoot them from the ground. One arrow each, done.
For caged crystals: pillar up alongside the pillar using your building blocks. Don’t pillar directly on top of the obsidian — the crystal will explode in your face when you break the iron bars. Instead, pillar up on the side of the pillar to get level with the cage, lean in just enough to smash through the bars with your pickaxe, then quickly back away before hitting the crystal. The explosion radius is significant — take cover behind the pillar itself if you can [1].
One critical rule: if you destroy a crystal while the dragon is actively healing from it (you’ll see a white beam connecting them), the dragon takes bonus damage. Use that when you can.
Phase 2: Attack During the Perch
Once all crystals are gone, the dragon will eventually fly down and perch on the exit portal fountain at the centre of the arena. This is your main damage window. The dragon is completely immune to arrows while perched — they literally catch fire and bounce off — so switch to your sword [2].
Approach the fountain and hit the dragon’s head for maximum damage. Be aware: after about 1.25 seconds of perching, if you’re within 20 blocks of the portal, the dragon roars and launches its breath attack — a lingering purple cloud that deals 6 HP of damage per second and sticks around for several seconds. The moment you see it start to roar, back away from the cloud. Don’t stand in it. Wait for the cloud to dissipate, then close in and hit it again [2].
Phase 3: Dodge, Repeat
Between perch phases, the dragon cycles through circling the pillars, charging at you, and firing dragon fireballs — slow-moving projectiles that create lingering acid pools on impact. The fireballs are easy to dodge since they move slowly; the charge is the dangerous one. When the dragon charges, it can wing-slam you and send you flying. This is when Feather Falling IV and Slow Falling potions earn their keep.
Stay near the fountain, keep your health up, and wait for each perch. Rinse and repeat: perch appears, attack head with sword, dodge breath, resume waiting. With full diamond gear it typically takes 3–6 perch phases to bring the dragon down.
Java vs Bedrock note: On Java, the dragon descends predictably to Y=0 for the perch when no block is at the centre coordinates. On Bedrock, the behaviour is slightly different — the dragon can freeze mid-perch and the bed explosion strategy is messier because the dragon destroys the bed after one use. Stick to the sword strategy on Bedrock and you won’t go wrong [4].
Dragon Egg and XP
The moment the dragon dies, two things happen: a massive explosion of 12,000 XP orbs fills the arena (run around and collect them all — that’s level 0 to 68 in one go), and the dragon egg appears on top of the exit portal fountain [3].
Don’t try to mine the egg directly — it teleports away to a random nearby location. To actually collect it, use the torch trick: let the egg teleport once to a nearby block, then place a torch directly below the egg’s new position and break the block under it. The egg falls onto the torch and pops as an item you can pick up. Alternatively, place a piston next to the egg and activate it — the piston push causes the egg to drop as an item [5].
The dragon egg is purely a trophy in Java Edition. It has no crafting use — it’s just proof you won.
If you want to respawn the dragon, place four End Crystals on the four sides of the exit portal fountain (one per side, on the obsidian rim). The dragon respawns, the pillars and their crystals regenerate, and you can fight again. Note: respawned dragons only drop 500 XP on Java (not 12,000), and they don’t spawn another egg in Java Edition. Bedrock Edition does drop a second egg on the first respawn [4].
The End: What to Do Next
Defeating the Ender Dragon is really the beginning, not the end. After the dragon dies, End Gateway portals start appearing around the edge of the main island — small floating obsidian frames with a beam of light shooting from them. Throw an ender pearl into one to teleport to the outer End islands, thousands of blocks from the main island [6].
The outer islands are where the real loot lives. Explore them to find:
- End Cities — tall purple structures made of purpur blocks and end stone bricks. They generate on the larger flat islands where chorus trees grow. Shulkers guard them — these shell mobs fire homing bullets that apply levitation, launching you into the air. They’re manageable; the levitation lasts 10 seconds and you float down safely, but don’t let too many hit you at once.
- End Ships — floating ships that sometimes generate attached to End Cities. Inside you’ll find two loot chests and, in an item frame at the bow, a pair of elytra wings. This is the only way to get elytra in Survival mode, and elytra are arguably the most game-changing item in Minecraft — they let you glide and fly with firework rockets [6].
- Shulker shells — dropped by shulkers. Two shells craft a shulker box, which is an inventory that retains its contents even when broken. Shulker boxes from The End pair perfectly with your Ancient City guide loot runs — you can carry far more back from any expedition.
- Chorus fruit — grows throughout the outer islands. Eating it teleports you randomly, which sounds annoying but can save your life near the void. The popped chorus fruit is also a crafting ingredient for end rods and purpur blocks.
Getting elytra fundamentally changes how you play Minecraft from that point on. The End fight isn’t just a boss kill — it’s the gate to a whole new phase of the game.
Common Deaths and How to Avoid Them
Here’s where most first-timers actually die — and it’s rarely the dragon itself:
- Falling into the void. The main island has edges. If the dragon charges you and you’re not paying attention to where you are, you step off. Bring Slow Falling potions and a stack of building blocks to bridge back. Ender pearls can teleport you back onto the island as a last resort — but you take fall damage from the pearl throw, so pair it with a Slow Falling potion if possible.
- Standing in the breath cloud during the perch. The breath attack is the dragon’s most damaging move. It lingers on the ground for several seconds. The fix is simple: as soon as you see the dragon start its roar animation, move away from the portal structure. Don’t chase DPS into a cloud that’s killing you.
- Standing too close to caged End Crystals. The explosion radius is large. Players who pillar straight up to the crystal and break it in place take a full blast to the face. Always approach from the side, break the iron bars first from a distance, and keep the pillar between you and the crystal when you finish it off.
- Forgetting to eat. It sounds basic, but in the chaos of managing Endermen, crystals, and the dragon at once, your hunger drains. No hunger = no health regen. Keep eating throughout the fight, not just at the start.
- Endermen aggro. The main island is full of Endermen. Don’t look at them. If you want to ignore them entirely, wear a carved pumpkin as a helmet — Endermen won’t attack regardless of eye contact. The trade-off is limited vision, but it removes an entire threat category from the fight.
Conclusion
The Ender Dragon is beatable by any player who prepares properly. The formula isn’t complicated: get the gear (Feather Falling IV is non-negotiable), destroy all 10 End Crystals before trying to fight the dragon, and stick to melee during the perch phase. The 12,000 XP reward alone is worth it, but the real prize is the door it opens — elytra, shulker boxes, and a completely different way to play the game. If you’re still working on your gear foundation, start with our survival guide to get set up right before making the trip to The End.
Potions are a key part of preparing for The End. Our Minecraft brewing guide covers the exact recipes for Fire Resistance, Slow Falling, and Strength — the three that matter most for the dragon fight.
For a full overview of everything the End dimension contains beyond the dragon fight, see our End dimension guide.
Sources
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Tutorial: Defeating the Ender Dragon. Minecraft Wiki.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Ender Dragon. Minecraft Wiki.
- Bisect Hosting. How to Beat the Ender Dragon. BisectHosting Blog.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Ender Dragon (Bedrock Edition differences). Minecraft Wiki Fandom.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Dragon Egg. Minecraft Wiki.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. End City. Minecraft Wiki.
References
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Tutorial: Defeating the Ender Dragon. Minecraft Wiki.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Ender Dragon. Minecraft Wiki.
- Bisect Hosting. How to Beat the Ender Dragon. BisectHosting Blog.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Ender Dragon (Bedrock Edition differences). Minecraft Wiki Fandom.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. Dragon Egg. Minecraft Wiki.
- Minecraft Wiki Contributors. End City. Minecraft Wiki.