You need an End Portal Frame and four End Crystals to bring the Ender Dragon back

Once you defeat the Ender Dragon in RLCraft, it does not respawn on its own. To fight it again, you must rebuild the exit portal by placing four End Crystals on top of the four End Portal Frames that surround the exit portal in the End dimension. The dragon will spawn above the portal when all four crystals are in place.

This is different from vanilla Minecraft, where you only need two crystals. RLCraft's modded version requires all four to trigger a respawn. You will need to gather the materials for these crystals before you can summon the dragon again.

Key Takeaways

  • End Crystals are crafted from Ghast Tears, Iron Ingots, and Glass, not found lying around the End dimension.
  • You need exactly four End Crystals placed on the four End Portal Frames that sit at the corners of the exit portal.
  • The dragon spawns in the center above the portal once all four crystals are placed and will begin attacking when ready.
  • Ghast Tears are the hardest material to obtain because you must travel to the Nether and hunt Ghasts.

Gather Ghast Tears from the Nether

The bottleneck for summoning the dragon again is Ghast Tears. You need one tear per End Crystal, so four tears total. Ghasts spawn in the Nether and drop one tear when killed. Travel to your Nether portal, bring a bow with arrows or a sword, and hunt Ghasts in open areas where they spawn. They are large white flying mobs that shoot fireballs, so keep your distance and aim carefully.

If you have not built a Nether portal yet, you need ten blocks of Obsidian. Mine Obsidian with a Diamond or Netherite pickaxe, arrange it in a rectangle (four blocks wide, five blocks tall), and light it with Flint and Steel. Once you enter the Nether, Ghasts spawn in the open caverns. Bring healing potions because their fireballs deal damage and set you on fire.

Craft the End Crystals

Once you have four Ghast Tears, gather the other materials. You need eight Glass blocks and four Iron Ingots. Glass is made by smelting Sand in a furnace—Sand is common near water. Iron Ingots come from smelting Iron Ore, which you mine with a Stone pickaxe or better.

Open your crafting table and place the materials in this pattern for each End Crystal: put one Ghast Tear in the center, surround it with eight Glass blocks (filling all eight surrounding squares), and place one Iron Ingot in the top-middle square. This makes one End Crystal. Repeat four times to make four crystals.

Place the Crystals on the Portal Frames

Return to the End dimension through your End Portal. Walk to the exit portal in the center of the island—this is where you fought the dragon the first time. You will see four black End Portal Frames at the corners of a square, one at each cardinal direction (north, south, east, west). These frames have a small raised platform on top.

Stand on each platform and place one End Crystal on top of each frame. You can place them by holding the crystal in your hand and right-clicking on the frame. Place all four crystals, one on each corner frame. The dragon will spawn when ready in the center of the portal, hovering above the frames.

Prepare for the Fight

Before you place the final crystal, make sure you are ready. The dragon will attack as soon as it spawns. Bring a bow with plenty of arrows, a sword (Netherite or Diamond), healing potions, and blocks to build with. The dragon is fast and deals heavy damage, so you need good armor—at least Diamond level.

A common strategy is to shoot the healing crystals that sit on top of the Obsidian pillars around the arena. These crystals heal the dragon, so destroying them first makes the fight shorter. Bring blocks to climb the pillars or use a bow from a distance. Once the crystals are gone, focus on hitting the dragon with your sword or bow until it dies.

What to Do If You Cannot Find Ghasts

If you are having trouble finding Ghasts in the Nether, explore larger open areas. Ghasts only spawn in open spaces, not in tight caves. Build a platform in the Nether sky or explore the larger caverns. If you still cannot find them, check that your difficulty is set to Normal or Hard—Ghasts do not spawn on Peaceful mode.

Another option is to look for Ghast Tears in Nether Fortresses. Fortresses contain chests with various loot, and some chests have Ghast Tears inside. This is slower than hunting Ghasts directly, but it works if you are unlucky with spawns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to defeat the Ender Dragon more than once?

No, you only need to defeat it once to progress in RLCraft. Summoning it again is optional and mainly for farming experience, loot, or the challenge of fighting it multiple times. Some players summon it repeatedly to collect the experience drops.

What happens if I place only two or three crystals instead of four?

The dragon will not spawn. RLCraft requires all four crystals on all four frames. If you place fewer, nothing happens and you can remove them and try again without losing the crystals.

Can I summon the dragon in the Overworld or Nether?

No, the dragon only spawns in the End dimension at the exit portal. You must travel to the End and place the crystals there. There is no way to fight the dragon in other dimensions.

Do I lose the End Crystals when the dragon spawns?

No, the crystals stay on the frames. If the dragon dies, the crystals remain and you can summon it again without crafting new ones. You only need to craft them once.

What if the dragon flies away and I cannot find it?

The dragon stays in the End dimension and will not leave. If it flies far away, follow it or wait for it to come back to the portal area. You can also build high platforms to get a better view of where it is flying.