How to Make and Use End Crystals in Minecraft
Here’s how using End Crystals can help players defeat the Ender Dragon to complete the game.
End Crystals were introduced to Minecraft in the 1.9 Combat update, which also introduced The End as a means of “completing” the game. End Crystals allow the Ender Dragon to heal and destroying them plays a vital role in defeating it. They’re also a powerful weapon since End Crystals can cause a large explosion. Though only a few naturally-occurring End Crystals appear in survival Minecraft, you can’t harvest them, but you can craft End Crystals to use either as a weapon or to respawn the Ender Dragon to defeat it all over again.
How to Make End Crystals in Minecraft
End Crystals can be found in The End, where they generate at the top of each Obsidian tower. These End Crystals can only be destroyed, and cannot be broken and picked up. So here’s how to make your own End Crystals instead.
Obtain an Ender Pearl
One of the crafting ingredients you’ll need for an End Crystal is an Eye of Ender, so you’ll need to start by obtaining an Ender Pearl. The easiest ways to do this are either trading with Piglins in The Nether, or killing Endermen. For the latter, the best method by far is creating a platform two blocks above the ground in The Nether’s Warped Forest. Stand under it, and look those Endermen dead in the eye. They won’t be able to get you as they’re too tall, but you’ll be able to slaughter them.
If you’re crafting End Crystals to re-summon the Ender Dragon, you’ll need four Crystals, so you’ll need four Ender Pearls, too.
Grab some Blaze Rods
To turn your Ender Pearl into an Eye of Ender, you’ll need Blaze Powder – crafted from a Blaze Rod. Staying in The Nether, you’ll need to find a Nether Fortress, kill a Blaze or two, and take their dropped Blaze Rods.
Craft an Eye of Ender
Pop the Blaze Rod into a crafting grid, and you’ll be able to add Blaze Powder to your inventory. Add this to a crafting grid below your Ender Pearl, and you’ll receive an Eye of Ender, your first End Crystal crafting ingredient.
Defeat a Ghast for its tears
In addition to your Eye of Ender, you’re going to need yet another item looted from the terrifying depths of The Nether – a Ghast Tear. To obtain a Ghast Tear, you’ll need to defeat one of the most terrifying of Nether mobs, the Ghast. The difficulty here is the fact that Ghasts are ranged attackers, and you’ll most likely defeat them from a distance. As such, try and ensure the Ghast isn’t over lava, and is over an area you can easily access to collect your battle winnings.
Again, you’ll need one Ghast Tear for each End Crystal. If you’re looking to respawn the Ender Dragon, you’ll need four.
Gather Glass Blocks
Thankfully, your third and final End Crystal ingredient is much easier (and safer) to obtain. You’ll need seven Glass Blocks to complete your crafting recipe, so simply smelt seven blocks of Sand or Red Sand for each End Crystal you’re looking to craft. As mentioned previously, this is four for respawning the Dragon, so you’ll need 35 Glass Blocks in total.
Craft your Crystals
Open up the your Crafting Table and place the ingredients in the right position on the 3×3 space. Start by placing the Eye of Ender in the middle position (middle row and middle column). Then, place the Ghast Tear in the middle block of the third row (directly below the Eye of Ender). Place the seven glass blocks in the other empty spaces.
How to Use End Crystals
End Crystals can only be placed on bedrock or obsidian blocks, and players have to be very careful when handling them since they are explosive.
1. Kill mobs and other players
You can use an end crystal to attack other players, similar to a TnT explosive. For this, you’ll have to have both obsidian and the end crystal on your Hotbar. End Crystals can even kill Wither.
2. Revealing ancient debris
End Crystals can be thrown into the Nether world to reveal precious Ancient Debris.
3. Respawning Ender Dragon
Once you have once defeated the Ender Dragon, you can continue to do so as many times as you’d like – whether that’s for obtaining more Dragon Eggs, or to open additional End Gateway Portals (up to a maximum of 20). To do so, you’ll need to respawn the Ender Dragon with End Crystals.
End Crystals are a useful resource from The End in Minecraft, adding a whole new aspect to the Survival mode game.
More Minecraft Crafting Recipe guides
- All you need to know about the Minecraft Crafting Table
- How to craft and use a Blast Furnace
- How to craft a Fermented Spider Eye
- How to make and use a Minecraft Armor Stand
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- How to craft a Shulker Box in Minecraft
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And head over to our Minecraft hub for even more news, guides and how-tos!
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