How to Find, Respawn & Kill Ender Dragon in Minecraft
Last updated: Mar 31, 2025 • 7 min readAn almighty dragon opens its wings in the sky. A powerful beast is ready to end Minecraft players’ lives with its terrifying breath and strong attacks.
But that’s about to change. It’s time to fight the Ender Dragon in Minecraft and defeat it once and for all. If you have tried to challenge this mob in Survival Mode, then you know that killing it is not an easy task.
Have no fear - we will show you everything you need to know to defeat the Ender Dragon. All you need is a well-crafted strategy, and today, we are going to show it to you. After reading this blog post, you’ll comprehend:
- What is the Ender Dragon and how to beat it;
- Best ways to attack and deal damage to the Dragon;
- How to find and spawn the Ender Dragon.
What is Ender Dragon in Minecraft?
The Ender Dragon is considered the main antagonist of Minecraft game. Fighting and defeating this hostile mob is the only way to consider you’ve finished the entire game.
Still, there are many things to see in this world after finally killing the Dragon that, for some people, it’s just another boss. Of course, you need more than just standard preparation to face this beast, and that’s why it’s so feared among players of this game.
A Final Boss Ready to Destroy Minecraft Players
Mojang introduced the Ender Dragon boss back in 2011, in the Java Edition Beta 1.9 Update. The developers thought that, at first, Survival Mode technically didn’t have a final purpose.
Well, even though fighting the Dragon isn’t the games’ end, the truth is that it’s a must-do if you really want to consider yourself an experienced Minecraft player.
How to Find the Ender Dragon
Finding this mob is not an easy task. In fact**, nothing related to this Dragon is easy at all**, but it’s time to prove the value you have in this game.
So, before you jump directly to the fight, you first need to follow a few crucial steps.
Ender Pearl and Blaze Powder
There are two main things you will need to find the Dragon: Ender Pearls and Blaze Powders.
When you kill Endermen in the Overworld, they might or might not give you an Ender Pearl. On the other hand, the only way to find Blaze Powder is by defeating Blazes in the Nether dimension.
Then, all you need to do is put these two ingredients on a Crafting Table to craft Eyes of Ender.
Pro-Tip:
Eyes of Ender are essential crafting ingredients that you will need for other recipes, such as the Ender Chest in Minecraft. That’s why some say that beating the Dragon isn’t the final of this game: there’s so much to discover in the Land of the End that you will never get tired of it!
Find and End Portal
We highly recommend having at least 30 Eyes of Ender before looking for this portal.
The first thing you need to do is throw an Eye of Ender directly into the air and hope for the best. If you have bad luck, the Eye will break. If not, it will point out the direction of the Stronghold that holds the End Portal.
Once you are close enough, the Eye of Ender will fall from the air directly to the ground: that’s where the Stronghold is. Now, all you need to do is activate the portal by putting Eyes of Ender around it.
Watch the following YouTube video to get more precise information about this procedure:
How to Kill the Ender Dragon in Minecraft
It’s time to defeat the Ender Dragon. The only thing standing between you and victory is that portal.
But before you decide to jump into it, first read the pieces of advice we are about to give you.
Prepare Yourself
You need to be ready - don’t risk any chance of losing this critical battle.
That’s why you need to craft the items you need and stick to an effective strategy.
Bring your best armor and melee weapon. Also, make as many arrows as you can - else, you would be walking towards death.
Pro-Tip:
It’s highly recommended to craft Golden Apples to receive regenerative health. You just need to combine apples with gold ingots on a Crafting Table, and there you go: more than ready for combat!
Beware of the Endermen
Once you cross the portal, you will directly spawn into the End Dimension. There’s no time to look around: it’s time to fight.
However, there’s a problem: the Center Island of this location is packed with Endermen. As you know, shooting arrows with a bow won’t do anything to Endermen. Besides, once they sense danger, they will just start to attack you.
So, there are two ways to keep Endermen away:
- Water bucket: Endermen hate water. If you bring a Water Bucket with you and pour some water around, they’ll keep their distance.
- Carved pumpkin: Put a Carved Pumpkin in your head to prevent Endermen from knocking you up. If you don’t look them straight to the eyes, they won’t even know you are there!
Read Also:
The Enderman in Minecraft is one of the more spooky enemies you can find all over the world of this game. Fortunately for you, we have covered everything you need to know about this creature in a blog post!
Destroy all End Crystals and Get Ready to Fight
Once the combat starts, the first thing you need to do is destroy each End Crystal on top of the Obsidian Towers around.
You can do this with a sword by climbing up there, but you risk yourself falling to death.
That’s why a bow and some arrows might be the better alternative here.
Pro-Tip:
Putting a water block right before falling will prevent all fall damage. Besides, you could also get a Potion of Slow Falling, so you have more chances in battle.
Hit it With a Sword and a Bow
Once the End Crystals are destroyed, the Dragon will go straight to the center of the arena and fly around the towers.
At this point, you need to have a diamond sword ready to hit it, and a bow to directly fire arrows to it.
The Dragon will drop valuable experience points when you hit it. You will deal more damage to the Dragon if you aim directly to the head!
Use Beds to Defeat the Ender Dragon
Who said that bringing a bed to a Dragon fight isn’t a good idea!?
When you place a bed in The End, it will explode. So, once the End Dragon comes back to the starting middle point, put a bed there and get close enough for it to be destroyed.
The explosion will deal a lot of damage to the mob, and, eventually, you will kill her. When the Dragon dies, it explodes in a beautiful and memorable sequence.
How to Respawn The Ender Dragon
There you go! The Ender Dragon is history now. Nevertheless, there’s the chance to respawn it if you want to fight against it again.
In order to do this, you need to make End Crystal with the following recipe:
- Four Ghast Tears, that can be found by hunting Ghasts in the Nether;
- Four Eye of Ender, which we already mention how to make them above;
- Twenty-eight Glasses, which you can make by smelting Sand in a Furnace.
Once you have all the ingredients, go to the Crafting Table and arrange the items as shown below:
You will need 4 End Crystals. The last step is to put the Crystals in the middle portal of the end like this:
And that’s about it: prepare yourself again to kill the Dragon. Remember - there’s no mob powerful enough in Minecraft to defeat you. Make them all fear you!
Ender Dragon Minecraft FAQ
Is the Ender Dragon a Girl?
Yes, she is! Once you kill her, she drops a Dragon Egg. In fact, even Notch gave a name to the Dragon: Jean.
Can You Tame the Ender Dragon in Minecraft?
Officially, it’s impossible to do this. There are some Minecraft mods that you could use to achieve this, but it’s not an official feature implemented by Mojang.