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Ender Dragon in Minecraft, shown for the Free the End advancement (The End tab)
Ender Dragon in Minecraft, shown here for Free the End in the The End tab. Image: BNitw.png from minecraft.wiki, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
The EndHard
Free the End advancement icon in Minecraft, Dragon Egg in hard difficulty

Free the End

Good luck

Requirements: Defeat the Ender Dragon.

Free the End advancement icon in MinecraftAdvancement Made!Free the End

Overview

Free the End is a task advancement in the End tab of Minecraft's advancement system, carrying the in-game description "Good luck." It branches directly off The End, so that earlier advancement is its prerequisite and must be earned first. The End tab covers advancements for the End dimension, from slaying the Ender Dragon to finding End Cities and the Elytra. Free the End was added in Minecraft 1.12 and is still in the 26.2 advancement set.

It is rated Hard difficulty on this site: requires significant effort, rare resources, or dangerous encounters. It uses the standard task frame, meaning it is a normal step in the tree rather than a goal or challenge milestone. 4 further advancements branch out of it: The Next Generation, Remote Getaway, The End... Again..., and You Need a Mint.

In tree terms, Free the End sits first along its line: the full path from the End root reads The End -> Free the End. That means 1 advancement must be completed before this one becomes available, and Free the End is one of 9 total advancements in the End tab. No other advancement shares its parent, so it is the only thing that branches from The End.

How to Complete Free the End

Earning Free the End comes down to the following, performed in order:

  1. Defeat the Ender Dragon.
  2. Destroy the end crystals on top of the obsidian pillars first (use a bow or climb up), then attack the dragon when it perches on the central fountain.
  3. The dragon has 200 health points.

Tips & Fastest Route

  • Fastest route: Destroy all 10 end crystals on the pillars, then attack the dragon while it perches on the central portal.
  • Snipe caged crystals with a bow; climb pillars or pillar up to reach the open ones.
  • Bed explosions deal massive damage to the perched dragon if you detonate one as it lands.
  • Make sure The End is already ticked off before you start, otherwise Free the End will not be tracked even if you perform the steps correctly.
  • At Hard difficulty, Free the End rewards preparation over speed: line up the items and conditions in the steps first rather than improvising mid-attempt.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving crystals intact lets the dragon heal indefinitely, so clear every one before committing to melee.
  • Remember that Free the End will not appear as available until The End is done, since the game only tracks an advancement once its parent has been unlocked.

Reward & What It Unlocks

Free the End grants no experience directly; its value is progression rather than a point payout.

Earning it unlocks 4 follow-on advancements, The Next Generation, Remote Getaway, The End... Again..., and You Need a Mint, each of which becomes trackable only once Free the End is complete.

Details

Advancement ID
minecraft:end/kill_dragon
Icon Item
Dragon Egg
Category
The End
Difficulty
Hard
XP Reward
None
Version Added
1.12