Eyes of Ender
Bring extras for breakage, route corrections, and empty portal frames.
Late-game field manual / Java + Bedrock notes
Minecraft The End Guide
Plan the complete route: Eyes of Ender, the stronghold, a controlled dragon fight, the return portal, gateways, End Cities, shulkers, and an Elytra you can bring home.
200 HP
Dragon health
10
End Crystals
12,000 XP
First victory
~1,000
Blocks to outer islands
Before the portal
Build a return plan before a damage plan
Armor + slow falling
Use reliable armor, food, water, blocks, a bow, arrows, and Slow Falling support.
Set the Overworld anchor
Place a bed and spare gear outside the activated portal room, never inside The End.
Access phase
Stronghold to exit portal
The portal room is only the midpoint. Preserve coordinates, control the stronghold, and stage the loadout outside the one-way jump.
- 01
Craft Eyes of Ender from Ender Pearls and Blaze Powder, then follow throws toward a stronghold.
- 02
Each thrown Eye has a 20% chance to break. The portal has 12 frames and each frame has a 10% chance to generate prefilled.
- 03
Java generates 128 strongholds in rings. Bedrock does not use the same finite 128-stronghold layout, so distance claims are edition-specific.
Boss phase
Fight the dragon in four controlled loops
Crystal control, safe descent, breath avoidance, and patient perch damage matter more than a theoretical maximum-DPS loadout.
- 01
Stabilize the arrival
The obsidian platform can be detached from the main island. Look before moving, bridge with cover, and avoid staring at Endermen.
- 02
Remove every crystal
Use the bow for open crystals. Pillar or pearl carefully for the two caged crystals, then get off the tower before the next dragon pass.
- 03
Damage during safe windows
Shoot the airborne dragon and use melee attacks at the exit fountain only when the head is reachable. Do not stand inside the breath cloud.
- 04
Secure the exit before looting
Confirm the exit portal and new gateway, collect XP safely, and only then handle the dragon egg or begin a long outer-island run.
The Ender Dragon has 200 health points. Destroy or cage-check all ten obsidian-pillar End Crystals before committing to damage windows.
Two crystals are protected by iron cages. Bring blocks, water, a bow, food, slow-falling support, and a safe way down from pillars.
The first victory awards 12,000 XP; later victories award 500 XP. The first 20 victories each create another End Gateway.
Exploration phase
Outer islands and Elytra
The gateway makes distance manageable, but the loot route still needs coordinates, bridging blocks, storage, fall protection, and a guaranteed way back.
Outer islands begin roughly 1,000 blocks from the central island. An End Gateway is the intended route after the dragon fight.
End Cities generate on large outer islands. Elytra is found only in an End Ship item frame, and not every city includes a ship.
Secure shulker shells, mark gateway coordinates, and carry rockets only after you have a safe landing and return plan.
Edition boundaries
Do not carry Java map assumptions into Bedrock
- Strongholds: Java uses 128 strongholds in rings; Bedrock does not share that finite layout.
- Dragon egg: Java places it after the first victory. Bedrock can currently produce it after the first and second victories.
- Biomes: Java separates five End biome IDs; Bedrock identifies the dimension as The End rather than exposing the same biome taxonomy.
End questions
Answers for the one-way jump and the route home
The End combines navigation, combat, edition-specific generation, and long-range inventory risk.
How many Eyes of Ender should I bring to a stronghold?
An End portal has 12 frames, but some can generate prefilled. Bring more than the empty-frame count because thrown Eyes have a 20% chance to break and the route may require several throws.
How much XP does the Ender Dragon drop?
The first dragon defeat drops 12,000 experience points. Respawned dragons drop 500 experience points.
Does every End City have an Elytra?
No. Elytra appears in an item frame inside an End Ship, and not every End City generates a ship. A city has at most one ship.
How do I respawn the Ender Dragon?
Place four End Crystals around the sides of the exit portal fountain. The ritual rebuilds the crystals and respawns the dragon; keep clear of the explosions and beam sequence.