End Battle Reborn
Dragonkind Evolved builds upon the vanilla Ender Dragon fight. Rather than recreate the battle from scratch, it adds additional features and mechanics to increase difficulty and complexity while holding true to the general gameplay loop introduced by Vanilla.
Additionally, it incentivizes and rewards respawning the Ender Dragon. While the initial Ender Dragon fight does include changes, each successive battle will feature new Dragon types and End Crystal mechanics, both of which will continue to scale in difficulty as you slay more and more Ender Dragons.
Ender Dragons
All Ender Dragons have more health than normal, and will have even more health depending on how many times it has been respawned. This corresponds to its difficulty level (Fledgeling, Powerful, Cruel, Immortal,Ferocious).
Whenever an Ender Dragon is respawned, it will gain a random Type, which changes or adds onto its behavior. This is denoted by the boss bar name as well as particles emitted by the Dragon. Some Dragon Types only appear at lower or higher difficulty levels.
Shared Behavior
The Vanilla Ender Dragon has the following abilities at all times. When there are no more End Crystals left, all Dragon Types will begin to utilize these abilities in addition to their type-specific powers.
- Summon End Rod Spikes. These work similarly to Evoker Fangs, and are summoned when the Dragon is perching or preparing to perch, or as a last resort.
- Ground all players. This makes all players experience high gravity for 20 seconds, forcing them to (safely) land if flying with Elytra, and preventing them from taking off right away. If there aren't any flying players, it will try something else instead.
- Summon Shulker Bullets. This summons a ring of 12 Shulker Bullets around the Dragon, which will begin to target random players after a few moments. If there are already Shulker Bullets in the area, it will summon End Rod Spikes, instead.
Dragon Types
Zombified Dragon
- Breath Clouds spread more and give Hunger + Nausea
- Periodically summons Zombie Servants
- Converts the ground to Mud as it flies
- Only appears at Fledgeling and Ferocious+ difficulty
Warped Dragon
- Slower flying speed
- Periodically teleports around the arena
- Perches more often
- Breath Clouds give Poison + Slowness
- Breath Clouds don't dissipate until the fight ends
- Only appears at Fledgeling and Ferocious+ difficulty
Sculk Dragon
- Breath Clouds give Darkness + Instant Damage
- Periodically attacks a player with a Sonic Boom attack
- Converts the ground to various Sculk blocks as it flies
- Only appears at Fledgeling, Powerful, and Ferocious+ difficulty
Frost Dragon
- Breath Clouds give extreme Slowness + Slow Falling
- Converts the ground to snow and ice as it flies
- Periodically summons igloos
- They can appear either around the Exit Portal, around up to 3 random players, or around up to 3 random End Crystals
- They break on their own after 15 seconds
- When they break, players trapped inside, or directly outside, will be damaged.
- Only appears at Fledgeling, Powerful, and Ferocious+ difficulty
Dragon Tyrant
- Breath Clouds give Wither + Weakness
- Periodically summons Wither Skeleton Servants
- Converts the ground to Soul Sand and Soul Fires as it flies
- Only appears at Powerful, Cruel, and Ferocious+ difficulty
Skeletal Dragon
- Perches very often
- Periodically summons Skeleton Servants, but at the cost of its health
- Is Invulnerable while Skeleton Servants are alive
- Slowly regenerates health even if there are no more End Crystals
- Only appears at Powerful, Cruel, and Ferocious+ difficulty
Blazing Dragon
- Sets fires all along the ground beneath it
- Shoots fireballs more frequently
- Periodically summons Blaze Servants
- Only appears at Cruel+ difficulty
Elder Dragon
- Has Glowing
- Breath Clouds give Blindness + Instant Damage
- Periodically casts a random spell on up to 3 random players
- Summons Vex Servants
- Summons Evoker Fangs
- Launch into the air
- Only appears at Cruel+ difficulty
Dragon Wight
- Silent, plays different ambient sound effects
- Much faster flying speed
- Shoots fireballs and charges at players more frequently
- Never perches
- Only appears at Immortal+ difficulty
The Last Dragon
- Only and always appears as the 20th Dragon (Immortal difficulty)
- Breath Clouds spread more and give Levitation + extreme Weakness
- Converts the ground to Amethyst blocks as it flies
- Frequently force-grounds flying players
- Frequently shoots Amethyst Shard projectiles at up to 5 random players
- You can still summon more Dragons after this one
Beacon Dragon
- Has Glowing
- Much slower flying speed when near the ground
- Breath clouds give Glowing + Instant Damage, and cause nearby Endermen to aggro at affected players
- Constantly projects a "beacon" particle beam
- Alternates between three targets: ahead of the Dragon, directly beneath it, or directly at the nearest player
- Deals minor but repeated damage to any players or mobs hit
- Cannot continue through dragon-immune blocks
- Only appears at Ferocious+ difficulty
Desert Dragon
- Converts the ground to sand with frequent cacti as it flies
- Shoots regular, unblockable Fireballs very frequently
- Periodically summons Hoglin servants
- Breath Clouds give Hunger, significant Slowness, and a long duration of Mining Fatigue
- Only appears at Ferocious+ difficulty
Thunder Dragon
- Creates permanent electrical hazards encircling the arena
- Breath attack summons lightning instead of Area Effect Clouds
- Breath Clouds created by fireballs give Strong Instant Damage + significant Speed
- Slightly faster flying speed
- Perches less often
- Always drops a Trident enchanted with Channeling
- Only appears at Ferocious+ difficulty
10,000 Dragon
- Only and always appears as the 30th Dragon (Ferocious difficulty)
- Breath Clouds spread more and give long Poison + strong Instant Damage
- Converts the ground to gold-colored blocks as it flies
- Frequently chooses one or more of the following abilities:
- Force-grounds flying players
- Shoots sustained golden lasers at up to 5 random players
- Performs a slam attack into the ground, producing a damaging shockwave
- You can still summon more Dragons after this one
End Crystals
Whenever an End Crystal is destroyed, it will regenerate. The maximum number of times each End Crystal can regenerate increases the higher the Ender Dragon difficulty, but for the first battle, the maximum is 2. They can also regenerate fewer than the max, but no less than once.
Whenever an End Crystal regenerates, it has a chance to possess at least 1 ability, up to a maximum of 3. At higher difficulties, End Crystals will be guaranteed to have at least 1 ability, and will start with an ability(s) rather than needing to regenerate first. Some abilities will only appear at higher difficulties, too. Most abilities emit particles to denote what they are.
End Crystal Abilities
Caged
- Has a more secure cage around it
Forcefield
- Immune to projectiles
Fiery
- Burns players who get close
Laser
- Periodically shoots a laser at the closest player. Can be dodged by jumping
Witch
- Periodically gives a random neutral or negative effect to a player who doesn't have any effects
- Only appears at Powerful+ difficulty
Anti-Grav
- Players nearby the Obsidian Pillar get Levitation
- Only appears at Powerful+ difficulty
Cursed
- No particles. Destroying this crystal will damage the closest player quite a lot
- Only one Cursed Crystal can be present at a time
- Only appears at Cruel+ difficulty
Launcher
- Glows when charged. While charged, frequently shoots heat-seeking Eye of Ender projectiles at players flying within its airspace
- Only appears at Ferocious+ difficulty
Portal
- Periodically teleports up to 3 random players to the top of random towers
- Only one Portal Crystal can be present at a time
- Only appears at Ferocious+ difficulty
10,000
- Only appears during the 10,000 Dragon fight
- Only one 10,000 Crystal can be present at a time
- Makes all other End Crystals invulnerable until this one is destroyed
Rewards
So why would you want to fight such increasingly difficult Ender Dragons? Defeating an Ender Dragon now drops loot near the exit portal, which varies based on the Dragon Type. Additionally, this will always produce 1 custom Dragon-themed item. These items are powerful in their own right, and all have custom enchantments that make them more effective when used against Dragons. However, they all have a Curse of Deterioration.
Custom Items
Dragonslayer Sword
- Deals 15 damage
- Has a greatly increased attack speed
- Enchanted with Wingpsan V
- Enchanted with Dragonbane IV
Dragon-Sinew Crossbow
- Enchanted with Exhalation
- Enchanted with Dragonbane IV
Dragontooth Pickaxe
- More effective when mining Obsidian
- Enchanted with Pillaring III
Dragonhide Armor (4 separate pieces)
- Each piece gives more Armor value than Netherite. A full set provides 25 total Armor.
- Each piece is enchanted with varying levels of Dragonhearted
- Each piece is enchanted with varying levels of Dragonyield
- The Dragonhide Sabatons (boots) are enchanted with Voidwalk
Dragonskull Shield
- Enchanted with Clear Skies
- Enchanted with Kickback
Dragonscale Wings
- Provides some Armor
- Enchanted with Dragonhearted III
- Enchanted with Altitude
Draconic Scepter
- Enchanted with Exhalation V
- Enchanted with Dragonbane IV
- Right-click to launch a laser where you are looking, reaching up to 48 blocks away. It damages mobs near where it hits.
- The laser can pierce Forcefield End Crystals, and has a wider range to damage End Crystals and Dragons
- Right-click while Sneaking to charge up an area-of-effect spell around you, damaging nearby mobs when it finishes. This uses more durability than the laser.
Dragon Eyes
- Right click to equip as a helmet
- Enchanted with Dragonsight
- Enchanted with Dragon Lungs III
Dragonheart Anchor
- Placeable block
- Once placed, sneak while near it to set your Recovery point
- If you are ever below two hearts, or are in the void, you are teleported to your Recovery point and healed slightly. Works no matter what dimension you're in
- Cannot save you from lethal damage
- Each Dragonheart Anchor can only be used 3 times before breaking
- Does not drop if broken by hand, even with Silk Touch
- Placing in a dimension other than the End causes it to explode
If you already have one of the above items, you're less likely to get it again.
Enchantments
These custom enchantments cannot be obtained from the Enchanting Table, or from loot other than the Ender Dragon. As of v1.5, if you already possess all of the custom items above (except for the Dragonheart Anchor), then the Dragon will have a chance to drop an Enchanted Book with one of these enchantments, instead of another custom item. Not all enchantments can appear on books this way.
Curse of Deterioration
- Curse for all custom items
- Cannot be removed in a Grindstone
- Prevents the item from having Mending applied to it
Wingspan
- Enchantment for Swords
- Hitting a mob creates a more powerful Sweeping Edge-like effect
Dragonbane
- Enchantment for weapons
- Enchanted weapon deals additional damage against Dragons
Exhalation
- Enchantment for Crossbows
- Shot arrows deal 15 damage, and are more effective against Dragons
- Shot arrows hit End Crystals and Ender Dragons from a greater distance (8 blocks), but can't pierce Forcefield End Crystals
Pillaring
- Enchantment for Pickaxes
- When a block is mined, the next 3 blocks in a row also get mined. This uses durability.
- Respects Unbreaking, if applied
Dragonhearted
- Enchantment for Armor and Elytra
- Grants additional max hearts equal to the level
- Stacks with each armor piece
Dragonyield
- Enchantment for Armor
- Thorns-like enchantment that only affects Dragons
- Stacks with each armor piece
Voidwalk
- Enchantment for Boots
- You can hover over the void as long as there are no blocks beneath you. Useful for traversing the Outer End without Elytra.
Clear Skies
- Enchantment for Shields
- While blocking, causes Dragon breath clouds to instantly dissipate
Kickback
- Enchantment for Shields
- When a mob attack is blocked, knocks the mob back and deals them damage
- The above damage is more effective against Dragons
Altitude
- Enchantment for Elytra
- While flying, looking upwards gives a strong levitation effect
Dragonsight
- Enchantment for Helmets and Dragon Eyes
- While wearing, hidden ores will be highlighted in the direction you're looking
- Enchanted item slowly loses durability while wearing
Dragon Lungs
- Enchantment for Helmets
- Applies the same effects as Aqua Affinity and Respiration
There are also advancements for killing each Type and each Difficulty of Dragon, and one advancement for collecting each custom reward item.
Ominous Dragon Fights
As of v1.5, when a Dragon is respawned while any of the players in the arena have the Bad Omen effect, they will lose Bad Omen, and an Ominous Dragon Fight will start. This will have effects on the Dragon and End Crystals to make the fight far more challenging, but promises increased rewards.
Ominous Dragon Fight Details
- The difficulty of the fight is increased by 1 tier. This affects the types of Dragon and Crystals that can appear, the Health of the Dragon, and how many times End Crystals can regenerate.
- Regardless of the difficulty tier, the dragon will always be called an "Ominous X Dragon"
- Most Dragons and End Crystals that use periodic abilities will use those abilities more frequently.
- All Dragon Types will use their post-End Crystal abilities throughout the fight, even if there are still End Crystals. These are also used more frequently.
- When defeated, the Dragon will drop the reward amount relative to the increased difficulty tier. Additionally, this loot is doubled, including the unique Dragon Item. (This can result in getting two of the same item.)