How to find and defeat Ender Dragon in Minecraft

Ender Dragon is the final boss mob in Minecraft that you need to slay to complete the game's underlying storyline. However, you must travel to a whole new dimension to find and fight this beast. It's called The End. Evidently, Mojang very cleverly named the last realm that you will need to visit to finish the game.

Finding and entering The End dimension is not the easiest job, especially for new players. Moreover, once you enter the realm, the fight with Ender Dragon starts immediately, giving you no time to get used to the new environment. Here's how to find and slay the final boss mob in the game.

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Ways to find and defeat Ender Dragon in Minecraft

How to find the Ender Dragon

Find the stronghold by throwing Eyes of Ender in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Ender Dragon only spawns naturally in The End realm; hence, you need to find a way to enter the area first. The only way to do that is by locating a stronghold structure that generates a portal that takes you there.

Strongholds are rare Overworld structures that generate deep underground. There is an extremely small chance that you will find one just by roaming around in caves or mines. Thankfully, the game has a specific method for finding these structures.

Find The End portal room in the stronghold to enter The End realm in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

With Ender Pearls and Blaze Rods obtained from Blaze mobs, you must craft Eyes of Ender. When these special magical items are thrown in the air, they gradually float in a particular direction. By following them, you will be able to find a stronghold in the Overworld.

Once you find The End portal room in the structure, you must place the remaining Eyes of Ender into the portal to activate it. Make sure to craft enough eyes to find the stronghold and also complete the portal. Subsequently, you can enter The End realm and find the Ender Dragon flying around the main End island with obsidian towers.

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How to fight the Ender Dragon

Start by destroying End Crystals on obsidian towers in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Since the game will immediately throw you into a fight with the boss mob, you must prepare for combat before entering the realm. First, you must place a bed and some extra resources right beside The End portal. This is to ensure that you respawn closer to the portal and have spare resources to get back into the fight.

Once this is done, you can enter The End realm and quickly start destroying the End Crystals on top of each obsidian tower while avoiding all attacks from the dragon. The beast will then swoop down to the bedrock fountain occasionally, which will allow you to attack it using melee weapons.

Use beds to create explosions that will kill Ender Dragon in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Remember to have all the defensive potions handy to keep yourself alive. Also, if you want to defeat the beast quickly, you can use the bed explosion technique to create massive explosions whenever the mob boss is in the bedrock fountain.