Minecraft is a popular open-world sandbox video game where players explore, gather resources, craft tools and structures, and engage in combat. While Minecraft offers limitless possibilities for creation and adventure, most players share the goal of ultimately beating the game by defeating the Ender Dragon boss mob.
To reach and defeat the Ender Dragon, players must travel to a dimension called The End by activating and passing through an End Portal. However, activating the End Portal requires 12 Eyes of Ender, which in turn require Blaze Powder to craft. This Blaze Powder is obtained by defeating Blaze mobs in Nether Fortresses and collecting the Blaze Rods they drop. Since each Blaze Rod can be crafted into 2 Blaze Powder, players need at least 8-12 Blaze Rods to obtain the Blaze Powder needed for the 12 Eyes of Ender to activate the portal and beat the game.
Getting to the End
Reaching the End and activating the End Portal requires a series of steps:
- Obtain at least 10 Obsidian blocks to build the portal frame
- Craft Eyes of Ender using Ender Pearls and Blaze Powder
- Activate the portal by placing 12 Eyes of Ender into the frame
- Travel through the activated End Portal to reach The End dimension
- Defeat the Ender Dragon boss to beat the game
Each Eye of Ender requires 1 Ender Pearl and 1 Blaze Powder to craft. Since 12 Eyes are needed, players will need at least 12 Blaze Powder. Each Blaze Rod can be crafted into 2 Blaze Powder, so a minimum of 6 Blaze Rods are required to obtain the Blaze Powder for the Eyes of Ender.
However, collecting exactly 12 Blaze Powder worth of Blaze Rods would provide no margin for error. If any rods or powder are lost or misused, the player would have to return to the Nether to collect more. Therefore, most players collect at least 8-12 extra Blaze Rods to ensure they have enough powder with extra to spare.
Finding and Collecting Blaze Rods
Blazes only spawn naturally in Nether Fortresses, castle-like structures found in the Nether dimension. Players will need to build a Nether Portal using Obsidian and Flint and Steel to travel to the Nether.
Once in the Nether, players must explore to find a Nether Fortress, as they generate randomly throughout the dimension. Nether Fortresses usually contain several levels, corridors, bridges, and rooms. Blazes spawn from specialized monster spawners located in Nether Fortresses.
When killed, Blazes have a 50% chance of dropping 1 Blaze Rod. However, they spawn continuously from spawners, allowing players to kill them repeatedly to farm Blaze Rods:
- Break any blocks around the Blaze spawner to allow room to maneuver
- Stand near the spawner until Blazes appear
- Kill the Blazes using a Sword or Bow
- Collect any Blaze Rods that drop
- Return to the spawner to allow more Blazes to spawn
This process can be repeated until the player has collected at least 8-12 spare Blaze Rods beyond the minimum 6 needed to craft Blaze Powder for 12 Eyes of Ender.
Using the Blaze Rods to Activate the End Portal
Once the player has returned safely from the Nether with at least 8-12 surplus Blaze Rods, they can be used to activate the End Portal:
- Craft a Brewing Stand to allow for Alchemy crafting
- Craft Blaze Powder from the Blaze Rods (1 rod = 2 powder)
- Craft Eyes of Ender from Blaze Powder and Ender Pearls
- Build the End Portal frame from 10 Obsidian
- Activate the frame by placing 12 Eyes of Ender into it
- Enter the activated End Portal to teleport to the End
Having those extra Blaze Rods beyond the minimum 6 needed allows for mistakes in crafting or transportation. The player can simply re-craft any missing Eyes of Ender or Blaze Powder without having to make a second dangerous Nether expedition.
Fighting the Ender Dragon
Once through the portal, the player will arrive at a central island in the End dimension. Here lies the End fountain and portal back to the Overworld spawn point, surrounded by several smaller Obsidian pillars.
The Ender Dragon will begin flying around the central island, occasionally charging at the player or firing purple Ender charges. Using a Sword and Bow, the player must damage the Dragon’s health until depleted. Critical hits to the head and neck deal more damage.
Special crystalline healing structures called Ender Crystals are located atop each Obsidian pillar around the island. The player must shoot down and destroy these crystals while avoiding the Dragon’s attacks. This will prevent the Dragon from healing until all crystals are destroyed.
With all healing crystals destroyed, attacking the Ender Dragon directly will deplete its health bar until defeated. Upon death, the Ender Dragon will erupt in a tall column of Experience Points and will spawn an Exit Portal back to the Overworld.
Entering this portal completes the game, with credits rolling to recognize the player defeating the Ender Dragon and beating Minecraft!
Conclusion
Beating the Ender Dragon to win Minecraft requires activating an End Portal in the Overworld with 12 Eyes of Ender, each crafted from an Ender Pearl and Blaze Powder. This Blaze Powder must be crafted from Blaze Rods collected from Blazes in the Nether.
Since each Blaze Rod makes 2 Blaze Powder, at least 6 rods are needed for the required 12 Eyes of Ender. However, collecting 8-12 extra rods provides flexibility in case some are lost, allowing the player to re-craft Eyes or Powder without returning to the Nether.
Having these surplus Blaze Rods to activate the portal is a key reason most players collect 8 or more rods before beating the Ender Dragon and completing their journey.
