Ender Dragon in Minecraft: How to Beat the Final Boss

The Ender Dragon is the boss waiting in the End, and killing it is the game’s official ending. It has 200 health, heals from end crystals on top of the obsidian pillars, and takes reduced damage everywhere except its head. Destroy the crystals first, then hit it when it lands on the exit portal.

Stat	Value
Health	200 (100 hearts)
Head/body hit	6 / 10 / 15 (Easy / Normal / Hard)
Wing hit	3.5 / 5 / 7.5, with knockback
Dragon’s breath	3 damage per second in the cloud
Spawns	When a player first enters the End; resummoned with four end crystals
Drops	12,000 XP (first kill), dragon egg, exit portal and an End gateway

Before you go

You reach the End through a stronghold’s portal, and you arrive on an obsidian platform or the main island with no way back except dying or winning. Pack for that:

• Bow or crossbow and plenty of arrows for the crystals.
• Blocks to pillar up, and a pickaxe.
• A water bucket for falls and to keep endermen off you (they won’t step into water).
• Food, armor and a sword, enchanted if you can manage it.
• Slow Falling (potion of slow falling) if you have phantom membranes. The dragon’s wing hits throw you a long way.
• A carved pumpkin on your head if you want to stop provoking endermen by looking at them. It narrows your view, so many players just don’t look down.

Step 1: Take out the end crystals

Each obsidian pillar has an end crystal on top that heals the dragon 1 health every half second while its beam is connected. Two of the crystals sit inside iron bar cages.

Shoot the open crystals from the ground. For the caged ones, pillar up beside the tower, break a bar, and hit the crystal from a safe distance, ideally with an arrow, since it explodes when destroyed. Breaking a crystal that’s actively healing the dragon also deals 10 damage to it.

Step 2: Wait for the perch

The dragon circles the island and occasionally dives in to land on the exit portal in the middle. While perched it breathes a purple cloud of dragon’s breath. Don’t stand in it. Wait for the breath to finish, then run in and hit its head with your sword.

While perched, the dragon is immune to arrows and thrown tridents, so this is melee time. If it takes more than 50 damage while perched, it takes off again. Expect several rounds.

While it flies, you can shoot it with arrows, though hits outside the head only do about a quarter of their damage.

The bed trick

Beds explode when used in the End. Place one next to the perched dragon’s head, stand behind a block, and use it: the explosion deals heavy damage. It’s the fastest kill method and the easiest way to blow yourself up, so practice the timing and wear Blast Protection if you can.

What you get

The first kill drops 12,000 XP, enough to take you from level 0 to around 68. The exit portal opens, a dragon egg appears on top, and an End gateway forms nearby. Throw an ender pearl into the gateway to reach the outer islands, where End cities hold elytra and shulker shells.

Bottle some dragon’s breath with glass bottles while you’re there. It’s the only way to make lingering potions.

Respawning the dragon

Place four end crystals on the exit portal’s edges, one per side. The pillars rebuild, and a fresh dragon appears. Each new kill gives 500 XP and another End gateway (up to 20). In Java the egg only appears after the first kill; Bedrock gives a second egg on the second kill.