End Dimension Guide

Overview

The End is the final dimension in Minecraft, home to the Ender Dragon and the gateway to the game's most valuable loot. Unlike the Nether, the End is a void dimension with floating islands of end stone. Defeating the Ender Dragon opens access to outer islands containing End Cities, where end-game gear awaits.

This guide covers everything you need to know about the End dimension: how to prepare, how to defeat the Ender Dragon, how to navigate the outer islands, and how to collect the best loot including elytra and shulker shells.

Preparing for the End

Before entering the End, ensure you have at least the following: a bow with infinity or 30+ arrows for shooting end crystals, a diamond or netherite sword with high damage, feather falling boots for void damage reduction, slow falling potions, water buckets for MLG water bucket saves, and at least one stack of blocks for pillar building.

Bring ender chests filled with backup gear in case of death. A pumpkin helmet prevents endermen from becoming aggressive, though it limits visibility. Slow falling potions are arguably the most important item because they negate void death completely when active.

Main Island — Ender Dragon Fight

The main End island consists of a central obsidian platform surrounded by end stone terrain. The Ender Dragon circles the island, periodically diving at the player. Ten obsidian pillars support end crystals that heal the dragon. Each crystal must be destroyed before the dragon becomes vulnerable.

Destroy crystals by shooting them with arrows or building up and breaking them. Crystals protected by iron bars require careful positioning to break. Once all crystals are destroyed, the dragon can be damaged by hitting its head or neck. The dragon drops 12,000 experience orbs and a dragon egg upon death.

Outer Islands — End Cities and Chorus Forests

After defeating the dragon, throw an ender pearl through the gateway portal that appears at the edge of the main island to reach the outer islands. These islands generate with chorus trees, end ships, and end cities. Chorus fruit is the only unique food source in the End, teleporting you randomly when eaten.

End ships float beside end cities and contain the highly sought-after elytra, a pair of wings that allows for gliding flight. The ship also holds a dragon head, an end rod, and a loot chest with enchanted diamond gear and iron ingots.

End City Loot and Resources

End cities are tall, tower-like structures built from purpur blocks and end stone bricks. Each floor contains loot chests with enchanted diamond armor, swords, pickaxes, iron tools, and emeralds. The top floors contain shulker spawners. Shulkers drop shulker shells, which can be crafted into shulker boxes for portable storage.

Shulker boxes are one of the most valuable items in Minecraft, giving you 27 inventory slots per box. A full inventory of shulker boxes effectively gives you over 1,000 item slots. Each box retains its contents when broken, making them ideal for long expeditions.

Pro Tip: Use the elytra with rockets for maximum mobility. Craft rockets with paper and gunpowder (3 gunpowder + 3 paper = 3 rockets, flight duration depends on gunpowder amount). To land safely, press sneak to fold the elytra and deploy a water bucket or slime block before impact.