Hi, this is Yuzukaki.
Be honest… doesn’t fighting the Ender Dragon feel super hard?
I challenged the Ender Dragon over and over again, literally dying, respawning, and launching more attempts 😂
In this guide, I’ll walk you through my own experience in Minecraft (Java Edition): from throwing Eyes of Ender to find a stronghold in the Overworld, opening the End Portal, and finally fighting → defeating the Ender Dragon.
If you’re thinking things like: “I want to defeat the dragon but I have no idea how to start…” “Finding the stronghold sounds complicated…” then this is for you.
We’ll go through how to use Eyes of Ender, how to enter the End, and practical tips for the Ender Dragon fight, all in one place.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand how to find a stronghold and how to handle the dragon fight, so even if it’s your first time entering the End, you’ll be able to picture the full path to “defeating the Ender Dragon”. I also lost all my gear more times than I’d like to admit (lol), but I eventually managed to beat the dragon, so I hope this helps you too.
This guide assumes Minecraft Java 1.21.x and Bedrock 1.21.x.
This article was published as an English translation of a Japanese blog post.
Table of Contents
- First, Let’s Review the Goal and Overall Flow
- Mechanics: Overworld Strongholds and the End Portal
- Preparation: Eyes of Ender, Gear, and Supplies
- Hands-On: How to Use Eyes of Ender to Find a Stronghold
- Activating the End Portal and Entering the End
- The Final Battle: Step-by-Step Ender Dragon Strategy
- Summary – You’re Ready to Clear the End
- What You Can Do After Beating the Dragon
- Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
1. First, Let’s Review the Goal and Overall Flow
If you searched “I want to beat the Ender Dragon!” and landed here, let’s quickly go over the big picture.
- Craft Eyes of Ender from Ender Pearls + Blaze Powder
- Throw Eyes of Ender to locate a stronghold in the Overworld (the structure with an End Portal room)
- Find the End Portal inside the stronghold and activate it
- Enter the End and defeat the Ender Dragon
Those 4 major steps will lead you to the “game clear” end credits. On the way, though, you’ll be dealing with things like Blaze hunting in a Nether fortress and getting lost in the stronghold, so it’s more challenging than it looks at first glance.
In this article, I’ll break things down step by step and share both the common choke points and practical tips for getting through them.
From my own experience I literally started from “Uh… where even is a Nether fortress?” Looking back at my old notes, I was constantly getting surrounded and roasted by Blazes 🔥, then going back again and again to try one more time… Especially when you’re not used to it yet, good preparation and playing carefully make a huge difference.
2. Mechanics: Overworld Strongholds and the End Portal
● What’s a Stronghold in the Overworld?
- A generated dungeon-like structure underground in the Overworld
- Somewhere inside, there’s an End Portal room, which is your gateway to the End
- Eyes of Ender point you toward the nearest stronghold, so you can use them to track it down
In Java Edition, strongholds are distributed in rings around the world origin (0, 0), with 128 strongholds total. If you’re playing near spawn/origin, the nearest one your Eye leads you to is often in the first ring—roughly 1,280–2,816 blocks from (0, 0). 👉 In other words: it’s usually a real trip, but it’s not necessarily “half the world away,” either.👌
From my own experience Sometimes the stronghold ended up being surprisingly close to my base. In my world, I explored really far away, filling out the map… and in the end, the stronghold was actually in the direction I’d turned back from. A bit anticlimactic, honestly (lol)
● How the End Portal Works
- There are 12 End Portal Frame blocks; you insert Eyes of Ender into each one
- Some frames may already contain an Eye of Ender, depending on your luck
- Once all frames are filled, a portal appears in the middle
After the portal activates, all you have to do is step onto it and you’ll be teleported to the End.
3. Preparation: Eyes of Ender, Gear, and Supplies
(1) Ingredients for Eyes of Ender: Ender Pearls + Blaze Powder
To craft an Eye of Ender, you combine:
- Ender Pearls (from villager trading or farming Endermen) +
- Blaze Powder (crafted from Blaze Rods obtained in Nether fortresses)
You put those two together in the crafting grid to create Eyes of Ender.
- For Ender Pearls, it’s easiest to either farm Endermen in a warped forest or trade with cleric villagers
- For Blaze Powder, go to a Nether fortress, farm Blaze Rods from Blaze spawners or stray Blazes, then craft
★ If You Run Out of Ender Pearls
There’s a chance your Eyes of Ender will break while you’re searching, so I highly recommend bringing at least 12–15 Eyes. (If you misjudge the location and waste a few, or lose some when you die, you’ll be glad you brought extras.)
From my own experience When I first went to the Nether fortress to collect Blaze Rods, I got ambushed by Wither Skeletons and lost everything. Once I properly geared up with diamond armor and a shield, I finally cleared the fortress on my third try 🔥 Watching my hard-earned Ender Pearls drop into lava along the way… yeah, that stung a bit.
(2) Armor and Weapons
- Ideally, bring full diamond armor
- Prioritize protection enchants like Protection IV
- A bow with Power III–V makes destroying End Crystals much easier
- Bring plenty of food (at least 1 stack) and healing items
Since you’ll be going through the Nether fortress, stronghold exploration, and the entire Ender Dragon fight, it’s better to come over-prepared.
From my own experience I had a villager trading setup that let me buy diamond gear, so even if I died and lost everything, I could rebuild my kit pretty quickly. Having a “it’s okay if I die, I can recover” setup really helps you stay relaxed.👌
(3) Blocks and Consumables
It’s going to be a long trip, so let’s make sure you’re well-stocked.
- Several stacks of blocks (for building towers, bridges, and clutching falls)
- Torches (to light up dark corridors in the stronghold)
- Ladders or a water bucket (for climbing up high places or reducing fall damage)
- Beds (for the “bed explosion” strategy against the dragon – more for intermediate/advanced players)
Bring enough blocks and torches to avoid getting lost in the stronghold or falling into random holes while digging down.
From my own experience While searching for the stronghold, I got lost and burned through almost all of my torches. Dark hallways are no joke – run into skeletons or creepers in there and you’ll have a bad time…!
4. Hands-On: How to Use Eyes of Ender to Find a Stronghold
(1) Throw an Eye of Ender on the Surface Near Your Base
First, stand somewhere open on the surface – near your base or a village – and throw one Eye of Ender.
- How to throw: right-click while holding it
- The Eye will float up and fly in the direction of the stronghold → that’s the way you should head
Take a screenshot or note the direction of the first throw. Walk a bit in that direction, then throw another Eye → fine-tune your heading.
Once you’re directly above the stronghold, the Eye will start falling straight down instead of flying forward.
From my own experience The first time I did this, I lost sight of the Eye and panicked like, “Wait, did it just vanish?” Turned out I had just walked past where it landed. When I went back a bit, it was sitting on the ground. So if you lose track of it, take a breath and carefully check the area around you.
(2) When the Eye of Ender Dives Into the Ground
When you’re close to the stronghold, the Eye of Ender will sink toward the ground instead of flying forward.
- That usually means you’re near the stronghold
- Throw it a few more times around the area to narrow down the exact spot
From my own experience I once had the Eye disappear over a frozen ocean. I ended up breaking the ice and swimming around underneath, totally confused. Just because you don’t see it immediately doesn’t always mean it sank into the ground, so don’t rush it – double-check the direction calmly.
(3) Dig Down and Look for Stone Bricks
Strongholds can generate at many different depths, so don’t worry if you’re not seeing it at a specific Y-level. As you dig down (carefully!), keep an eye out for stone bricks, mossy stone bricks, iron bars, and similar blocks. That’s your stronghold!
From my own experience It took me quite a while to find mine, but the moment I finally saw those mossy bricks, my excitement went way up.
5. Activating the End Portal and Entering the End
(1) Exploring the Stronghold
- The stronghold is like a maze, full of twisting corridors → place torches both to light it up and mark where you’ve been
- There are cool spots like libraries and loot rooms, but your main goal is to find the End Portal room
Tip: Sometimes a corridor looks like a dead end, but there’s actually a wall hiding another passage. Try breaking suspicious walls – you might find a new hallway behind them.
From my own experience On my first stronghold, there were three libraries generated, which really surprised me. It felt like something straight out of an RPG dungeon – endless old books everywhere. But because of that, there were also way more corridors, and it was very easy to get lost…
(2) Finding the End Portal Room
- Watch out for the lava pool in the middle of the room → you can build blocks over it for safety
- There’s a Silverfish spawner there → either break it quickly or place torches around it to help prevent spawns
- You’ll see 12 End Portal Frame blocks → put an Eye of Ender into each empty frame
From my own experience I’d almost fully explored the stronghold and seriously wondered, “Did the portal room just… not generate?” Right then, I found a dark corridor near the entrance that I’d missed. The portal room was hiding there the whole time – seeing it for the first time was honestly kind of emotional.
Bedrock Edition note:
in rare cases a stronghold may generate without an End Portal room—if you can’t find it after thorough searching, try locating another stronghold.
(3) Activating the End Portal
Stand inside the ring of 12 frames and insert Eyes of Ender all the way around. When you place the last one…
The End Portal will activate! If you step onto it or fall into it, you’ll be teleported straight to the End.
From my own experience I didn’t have enough Blaze Rods the first time, so I couldn’t fill all the frames on my first visit. I went back to my base, hunted more Blazes, traded for more Ender Pearls, and when I finally put in the last Eye, the sense of achievement was huge.
6. The Final Battle: Step-by-Step Ender Dragon Strategy
(1) Arriving in the End
When you go through the portal, you’ll be teleported to the End, a dark, otherworldly dimension.
- You spawn on a small obsidian platform
- Sometimes that platform is separated from the main End island
- The terrain can be dangerous → carefully build a safe path and avoid falling into the void
From my own experience The first time I went in, the world loaded slowly and I felt like I was just floating in space. For a second I thought, “Am I about to lose everything instantly?” I landed safely, but my hands were sweating while I built a bridge to the main island.
(2) Destroying the End Crystals
The Ender Dragon is constantly healed by End Crystals on top of obsidian pillars. So your first job is to destroy all the crystals and cut off its healing.
- For crystals surrounded by iron bars, climb up using ladders or blocks, then hit them from the side or diagonally to blow them up
- Their explosion is stronger than TNT → armor is a must, and don’t stand too close
- When coming down from the towers, use a water bucket or ladders to avoid fall damage
From my own experience I got hit by dragon’s breath while climbing down, and my HP just melted away. If you panic and fall off the pillar on top of that, you’ll probably die instantly. So it’s better to take your time, come down carefully, and play it safe.
(3) Attacking the Ender Dragon Itself
Once all the crystals are gone, the dragon can’t heal anymore, so it’s time to go all-in.
- While it’s flying around, shoot it with your bow
- When it perches on the exit portal in the center, you can deal damage with melee attacks or bed explosions
★ The Bed Explosion Strategy
One powerful way to beat the dragon is the bed explosion strategy. Beds in the End? Sounds weird, but it works insanely well 👇
- If you try to sleep in a bed in the End (or Nether), it explodes
- You can use that explosion to deal huge damage to the dragon
- But you can also easily kill yourself if you misplay → lots of people die practicing this
- If you’re not confident yet, you can absolutely beat the dragon with just bow + melee
How to Use Bed Explosions (Safer Setup)
- Bring several beds, plus a solid block you can place quickly (obsidian is ideal).
- Wait for the dragon to perch in the center.
- Place your solid block as a blast shield between you and where the bed will go.
- Place the bed so it’s right up against that shield block, as close to the dragon’s head as you can manage.
- Stand behind the shield block, aim at the exposed part of the bed, and right-click it → boom!
Bring obsidian (or another high blast-resistance block) for the blast shield. Using fragile blocks can break the shield and get you killed.
From my own experience I died and ran back over and over trying to get the bed timing down. It’s super demoralizing sometimes, but if you’ve made it this far, you really are close to winning.
(4) Defeating the Dragon and Spawning the Exit Portal
When you reduce the dragon’s HP bar to zero, it will glow and explode mid-air.
- It drops a huge amount of experience orbs
- The exit portal activates in the center, and a dragon egg spawns on top of it
If you jump into that portal, the End credits roll, and you’ve “cleared” Minecraft, at least in terms of the main story.
From my own experience I managed to defeat the dragon around episode 100 of my survival series, and watching the credits for the first time felt really, really satisfying. Plus, all that XP raining down at once is just fun.
7. Summary – You’re Ready to Clear the End
We’ve gone through everything from finding the stronghold, to activating the End Portal, to defeating the Ender Dragon. In Java Edition, gathering Ender Pearls and Blaze Powder and going through all the steps can feel like a grind, but once you beat the dragon, Minecraft opens up in a whole new way.
Quick recap:
- Gather Ender Pearls and Blaze Powder → craft lots of Eyes of Ender
- Throw Eyes of Ender on the surface and follow them to the stronghold, then dig down until you find stone bricks
- In the End Portal room, insert Eyes of Ender into all frames → enter the End
- Destroy all End Crystals so the dragon can’t heal, then finish it off with your bow and/or bed explosions
- After the fight, you can explore End Cities, get an elytra, and enjoy the post-dragon content
I lost everything many times along the way, but that made finally beating the Ender Dragon and watching the credits roll even more emotional. I’d love for you to experience that same sense of accomplishment too.
8. What You Can Do After Beating the Dragon
● Exploring End Cities and Getting an Elytra
After you beat the dragon, an End Gateway Portal generates on the main island. If you throw an Ender Pearl into it, you’ll be teleported to the outer End islands, where you can find End Cities and sometimes End Ships.
- Every End Ship contains an elytra
- By killing Shulkers and collecting their drops, you can craft Shulker Boxes for extra storage
● Respawning the Ender Dragon
You can actually summon the Ender Dragon again.
- Place four End Crystals on the four sides of the bedrock exit portal
- The dragon respawns, and beating it again can generate additional End Gateway Portals (up to a limit)
● The Dragon Egg
The dragon egg appears on top of the exit portal the first time you defeat the dragon.
- If you touch it, it teleports away → place a torch underneath and use a piston or gravity to drop it and turn it into an item
- It doesn’t have any special abilities, but it’s a great trophy or decoration
In Java, the dragon egg appears only on the first kill. In Bedrock, it can appear on the first and second kill.
9. Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Here are some of the spots where I struggled, plus issues I often hear from other players.
“I can’t find the stronghold at all…”
- You throw too many Eyes of Ender and run out
- There’s a hidden hallway behind a wall and you walk right past the portal room
- Fix: Bring extra Ender Pearls / break walls to search for hidden passages
Losing everything in the Nether fortress
- Blaze spawner rooms are brutal → a shield and Fire Resistance potions make a huge difference
- Watch out for Wither Skeletons sneaking up on you
- Being on fire drains HP quickly, so always have a retreat path ready
Falling into the void right after entering the End
- Sometimes you spawn on a small platform away from the main one → build a safe bridge and move slowly
- If you fall, you lose everything, so it’s not a bad idea to stash valuables in an Ender Chest first
Getting launched by the dragon and dying from fall damage
- The dragon’s charge attack can launch you high up → use Feather Falling boots or a water bucket
- Angering multiple Endermen at once is also dangerous → wear a carved pumpkin or fight under a 2-block-high roof
10. FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I follow the Eyes of Ender but still can’t find the stronghold… A. If you’ve dug down where the Eye pointed and still don’t see stone bricks, you might have overshot it. Try going back a bit in the direction you came from and throw another Eye. Also, dig around in different directions and break walls to check for hidden corridors.
Q. Any tips for using bed explosions? A. Wait until the dragon perches on the central portal, place the bed so it’s near the dragon’s head, and then trigger it for maximum damage. Use a solid block as a blast shield, and make sure your HP is full and your armor is solid first—because if you mess up, you can die instantly.
Q. After I defeat the dragon once, can I still go back to the End? A. Yes. Even after using the exit portal to return to the Overworld, you can go back into the End via the same End Portal room. Unlike the Nether, you can’t build a new End portal wherever you want in Survival, so it’s handy to turn the original portal room into a mini-base.
Q. Does the dragon egg do anything? A. No special powers – it’s basically a trophy decoration. Most people just display it somewhere special in their base.
That wraps up this “complete roadmap” to the Ender Dragon fight. It’s a lot of work at first, but finally finding the stronghold with Eyes of Ender and defeating the dragon feels amazing. I really hope you give it a try.
And if you’ve got your own tips—or a favorite way to fight the dragon—drop it in the comments. I’d genuinely love to hear it.
Thanks so much for reading!
Update History
- 2026/02/08 First published
