The Ender Dragon is Minecraft's big bad boss, a huge flying beast chilling in the End dimension. It's the final hurdle in the game's main story and the biggest mob you'll face naturally. Beat it, and you get the end credits plus access to the outer End islands through end gateways. As of Minecraft 1.21.6 in 2025, the dragon's mostly the same, with just a few tweaks like better melee hit detection from a 2024 update.

Spawning and Respawning

The Ender Dragon pops up in the End about a second after you arrive, spawning at (0, 128, 0) facing south, right by the exit portal's bedrock frame. Want to fight it again? Place four end crystals on the exit portal's edges. This rebuilds the obsidian pillars, iron bars, and crystals, and the dragon comes back. You'll get up to 20 end gateway portals from respawns, but rewards drop off. In Java Edition, you get 12,000 XP the first time, then only 500 after. No extra dragon egg either. In Bedrock Edition, you get the egg on the first two kills, but not later.

Physical Characteristics

This dragon's got 200 health (100 hearts) and shrugs off most status effects, suffocation, and stuff like snowballs or eggs. Hitting its body does less damage (¼ normal + 1), so aim for the head. Its hitbox is tricky, with separate parts for body, tail, wings, and head—check it with F3 + B in Java Edition. It smacks for 5 damage with wings, 10 with the head, and can knock you flying. It wrecks most blocks except end stone, obsidian, iron bars, bedrock, command blocks, and barriers. In Java, turn on mobGriefing to stop the destruction.

Behavior and Phases

The Ender Dragon's got a few moves: circling pillars to guard them, picking players to chase based on who's closest, shooting dragon fireballs while strafing, charging at you, or sitting on the exit portal to spew breath attacks. It switches up based on end crystals left and what you do. When it perches (more often in Bedrock), arrows and tridents don’t work in Java. It flies off after a few breath attacks or if you're too far. On Peaceful, it just flies around, doesn’t fight, but you can still hit it. End crystals heal it fast with white beams, so take those out quick.

Attacks

Dragon Breath: When perched, it sprays a 3-second purple cloud that deals magic damage, ignoring armor but weakened by Protection. Grab this with glass bottles for dragon's breath.

Dragon Fireballs: It shoots these while strafing, leaving harmful purple clouds. No direct damage, but they hurt if you touch them. You can’t swat them away.

Charge Attack: It dives at you, hitting hard and knocking you back.

Preparation for the Fight

Equipment and Items

  • Armor: Get full Netherite armor with Protection IV to handle breath and fireball damage. Feather Falling on boots saves you from falls, and Respiration or Thorns can help.
  • Weapons: Grab a bow with Power V, Infinity for endless arrows, and Punch for knockback. A sword with Sharpness V and Fire Aspect II deals with Endermen. A Riptide trident helps you move around.
  • Items: Stock arrows (unless you’ve got Infinity), potions like Healing II, Regeneration, Slow Falling, and Strength, plus golden apples (enchanted ones are better). Ender pearls for quick escapes, end stone or obsidian blocks for cover, beds to blow up crystals, snowballs or eggs for caged crystals, and glass bottles for dragon’s breath.
  • Other: Wear a carved pumpkin to dodge Endermen fights, bring food for hunger, and use an ender chest to stash stuff.

Building and Setup

Make obsidian shelters near the spawn point since the dragon can’t break them. Grab end stone for building too. Don’t bring anything you’d cry over losing.

How to Fight the Ender Dragon

1. Destroy End Crystals: Take out all 10 end crystals on the obsidian pillars first to stop the dragon’s healing. Use arrows, snowballs, or beds (great for tall pillars). Each one you break hurts the dragon by 10 HP and might cause a blast.

2. Attack the Dragon: Once crystals are gone, aim for the head for max damage. Use your bow to shoot from a distance while dodging charges and fireballs. If it perches, get close and smack the head. Keep at it until it’s down.

Tips: Move fast with ender pearls or elytra if you have it. Bottle breath clouds to clear them. In multiplayer, team up to smash crystals faster.

Drops and Rewards

When it dies, the dragon goes out in a flashy light beam, dropping 12,000 XP orbs (levels you from 0 to 68) on the first kill and spawns a dragon egg on the exit portal (or one block up if something’s in the way). You also get an end gateway portal for outer islands. Later kills only give 500 XP and no egg. The egg teleports if you hit it, but you can grab it with pistons or torches. It’s just for show—no hatching without mods.

Interactions and Sounds

The dragon mostly ignores other mobs but can accidentally hit Endermen. It makes cool sounds like growls, wing flaps, and roars. You’ll earn Advancements like “The End?” for entering the End, “The End” for killing it, and “The End... Again...” for respawning it.

Differences Between Java and Bedrock Editions

  • Java: Arrows don’t work when the dragon’s perched, respawns give 500 XP, and hitboxes are tighter.
  • Bedrock: It perches more, you get the egg twice, and it acts a bit different, like with charges.

Tips and Tricks

  • Water buckets can save you from fall damage or push Endermen away.
  • Beds are great for blowing up crystals in Bedrock, less so in Java.
  • Build end stone bridges to avoid the void.
  • For speedruns, use ladders or water to climb pillars fast.
  • A 2024 fix made melee hits land better on the dragon.

Want more Minecraft tips? Check out guides on beating the Wither or looting End cities.