user: How can I beat the Ender Dragon in Minecraft?

assistant: Defeating the dragon requires a lot of preparation, as the only way back from the end is by either killing the dragon or by dying. Make sure to have everything in your inventory before jumping through the portal to the End!

Here is a list of items that can be useful to take with you:
* Sword: The sword (ideally diamond or netherite) is used to damage the dragon on its perch as she is immune to arrows at this time. A secondary use is for provoked Endermen. Enchanting the sword is highly recommended.
* Axe: The axe (also ideally diamond or netherite) may deal more damage‌, but it isn't generally recommended in either version of the game. in Java Edition, this is because of its pretty slow recovery.
* Bow: The bow should be the player's main weapon; both for destroying the end crystals, and against the dragon while it is flying through the air. You should bring two to three stacks of arrows or the Infinity enchantment, though with enough practice you can get by with far less. You can save on arrows by bringing snow blocks which you can craft into snowballs, since snowballs can be used to destroy the crystals.
* Crossbow: If the player does not want to use a bow, a crossbow is a great alternative. The advantages of a crossbow are that it has a longer range and can inflict more damage than a regular bow. However, a crossbow cannot be enchanted with Infinity, so it is possible to run out of arrows while using it.
* Armor: The ender dragon has an attack strength of 15 (♥ × 7.5) with her head on hard difficulty. It is the fifth strongest direct attack of any hostile mob. Therefore, the player should wear a full set of diamond or netherite armor enchanted with Protection IV. Netherite armor also helps negate the ender dragon's strong knockback because of its natural knockback resistance.
* Pickaxe: When the player enters the End, they might spawn underground, so some kind of pickaxe is vital to mine through end stone to reach the surface. Having a regular diamond pickaxe is just fine, you can enchant it with Efficiency to dig your way free faster. A diamond pickaxe with Silk Touch is necessary to reclaim an ender chest.
* Food/Healing: As you are going to receive a lot of damage from the dragon or the Endermen, healing items are critical to survive the fight. Golden apples are the most efficient healing item because they provide Absorption, which grants the player 4 (♥♥) temporary health, as well as the Regeneration effect which restores another 4 (♥♥) health over 5 seconds. Beginners should bring a lot of them to avoid dying. Cooked porkchops, steak, bread, and cooked salmon are other nutritious foods to bring to the End. You should bring at least one stack of food items to prevent starving and allow for quick regeneration.
* Potions: Potions are extremely useful in the fight to enhance the player’s performance.
* Ender pearls: Ender pearls are extremely useful to have in the End. The player can use them to get up to the tops of tall towers, or if the spawn platform is away from the island, the player can use them so that they don't have to waste their blocks.
* Blocks: Blocks can be useful for climbing up the towers or to pillar up in order to get a better angle to shoot the end crystals. You might also have to bridge over from the spawn platform if you do not have any ender pearls.
* Beds: Beds can be extremely useful for dealing large amounts of damage to the dragon. Placing them down when the ender dragon is on the portal and blowing them up removes up to 1/5 of the ender dragon's health. Although this is a good strategy it is extremely dangerous and you have to be careful. The main way to not take damage is going inside the ender portal, placing a bed, putting a block next to that bed and then right-clicking. Doing this negates the damage to you as the explosion does not go down to hit your legs and the block you placed prevents your head from being hit.

Here are some tips for during the fight:
* Because falling into the void kills you and destroys your gear, you should stay as close to the center of the island as possible, or at least inside the circle of towers. If you get knocked off, you should immediately throw an ender pearl back up. If you are quick enough, and have aimed your shot correctly, it is possible to teleport out of the void and back onto the surface.
* Destroying the end crystals is a key part of the battle, because they heal the dragon. With all of the crystals active, the dragon recovers faster than you could ever hope to damage it under normal conditions. The easiest way to destroy the crystals is to shoot them with your bow or crossbow. If you see a healing beam, then there is still a crystal left.
* The dragon has three types of attacks: body attacks, the breath attack, and dragon fireballs. The more crystals you have destroyed, the more often the dragon attacks you.
* While the dragon is flying you can shoot it with your bow or crossbow. Try to shoot its head, since it will take the most damage from that.
* When it's hovering over the portal, it is immune to arrow damage, and you are forced to use your sword. Here, get as many critical hits as possible, which deal more damage, and it is possible to get more critical hits when you have Slow Falling. It is also suggested to drink a strength potion because you can inflict more damage using the strength the potion provides.
* Once 200 (♥ × 100) damage has been inflicted, the dragon dies and drops four rare rewards.

Good luck on your next fight against the Ender Dragon!

user: Which of these are better: axe or sword? What about bow vs crossbow? Why did you choose these options?