Unwritten rules of fighting ender dragon in Minecraft

Minecraft's ender dragon final boss is one of the hardest fights in the entire game. In fact, outside of the warden and the wither, the ender dragon is the single strongest mob in the game, capable of quickly dispatching entire groups of players who enter the fight unprepared. However, there are plenty of things that one can do to make the fight easier.

Detailed below are a few different unwritten rules for taking on the ender dragon that make the fight easier to survive or significantly shorter.

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What are the unwritten rules for successfully fighting Minecraft's ender dragon?

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bucket)

One of my few successful MLG water bucket attempts byu/iiEco-Ryan3166 inMinecraft

One of the deadliest attacks that Minecraft's ender dragon employs isn't its breath weapon. It's the wing attack it can do while perched, which flings players up into the air. The fall is typically high enough to outright kill players without some form of feather-falling enchantment on their boots.

Thankfully, there's a way to totally avoid any damage from this lethal attack. If a player can use a water bucket to place a source block right before they hit the ground, the water will cancel all fall damage. This makes a water bucket a truly invaluable tool for taking on the ender dragon and seeing Minecraft's credit poem.

This trick also works no matter what dimension the player is in, making water buckets a truly invaluable item to have in the hotbar at all times.

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Beds are a lethal weapon

Beds are an incredibly useful item. They allow players to skip through dangerous nights and stop phantoms, one of the most annoying Minecraft mobs, from spawning.

However, more than that, beds are lethal weapons when utilized correctly. For those unaware, trying to sleep in a bed in any dimension other than the overworld will cause it to explode, dealing huge damage.

However, careful block placement can allow players to take next to no damage while also subjecting the dragon to the full brunt of the explosion. This means that skillful players can take out the dragon with just a handful of beds, dramatically shortening the length of the fight. That's why this is also a common tactic in speedruns.

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Pumpkins confuse endermen

Pumpkins are amazing tools for avoiding endermen anger (Image via Mojang)

This little-known tip is incredibly handy for dealing with the hundreds of endermen that will spawn on the main end island during the fight. Normally, making eye contact with an enderman will cause it to become angry, as it is one of the few Minecraft mobs with anger mode.

However, wearing a pumpkin will allow players to stare at endermen without consequence, as their eyes are obstructed. This makes a pumpkin helmet a potentially great choice for players worried about being taken down by regular mobs while focused on the ender dragon.

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Snowballs can destroy end crystals

A snowball about to break an end crystal (Image via Mojang)

The ender dragon is going to spend a lot of time in the air in between its perches. This means that getting in any damage for most of the fight will require plenty of arrows or the Infinity enchantment. However, since Infinity can be very hard to get, arrows are more than likely limited.

Thankfully, there's a way to destroy the end crystals found around the fight without using arrows. Snowballs, while entirely useless for dealing damage to any Minecraft mobs with health, are capable of blowing up end crystals.

Players should keep their arrows for attacking the ender dragon and use the otherwise not-very-useful snowballs to destroy end crystals.