End Crystal

An **End Crystal** is a type of pseudo-block  (tile entity) that can be found in limited numbers but naturally in The End. They are situated on top of large and tall towers made of Obsidian, on top of a half-block of Bedrock. They are able to be crafted as of 1.9 - The Combat Update, and they are easy to break, only requiring to be hit by any attack. However, the Ender Dragon's flying through it does not count for this. Destroying it will cause a large explosion that will kill a Player unless they are properly protected. This can cause damage to the ender dragon, both from the direct explosion and the beam, but this can only occur if the crystal is currently healing the dragon, and any other mob that was also close enough to the detonation, which is similar to that of a charged Creeper. Due to the fact that they are on a tall structure, sometimes exceeding 30 or more blocks high, the explosion will likely knock players off the tower to a fatal fall. The end crystals slowly heal the ender dragon if it is within large proximity to it.

It is worth mentioning that the end crystal is an entity and not a block. Therefore, it has a hit-box mechanic and health. However, its health is effectively 0 hearts, which means that any form of hostile actions, even those which do not cause damage, will destroy the entity. This is demonstrated by the fact that Eggs, which do not cause damage to most mobs, can destroy it. An ender crystal can be spawned using the /summon command, or it can be placed down after being crafted.

## Uses

Destroying an end crystal causes a large explosion, almost the size of a charged Creeper, so it is best to destroy it with a ranged attack; the use of eggs snowballs, arrows and other ranged equipment is acceptable. When an ender dragon gets near the crystal, it will start to heal the damage it took. However, if the ender dragon comes into contact with the end crystal, it will blow up and damage the ender dragon. When a crystal charging the ender dragon is destroyed, the dragon will take 10 damage.
Despite being only naturally spawned in the End, it's possible to craft them and place them on Obsidian and Bedrock. However, they will not have the bedrock slab, as that is only possible to achive with the /summon.

The End crystals are also the only way to respawn the ender dragon in survival mode in the End. Placing four ender crystals on the deactivated end exit portal will cause all the ender crystals on the obsidian pillars to respawn as well and then explode once the ender dragon is respawned.

## Trivia

* If a player looks closely at an end crystal, they will see that it contains the Galactic alphabet.
	+ The symbols in the Galactic alphabet are found on the enchanting table when it is surrounded by bookshelves.
* While it **is** possible to kill an ender dragon while it's being healed, this is extremely difficult and time-consuming.
	+ If this happens, there will be a glitch in which players destroy the ender dragon (while connected to an ender crystal) and destroy the ender crystal next, which makes the ender dragon **look** like it is still being healed.
* Before 1.4.2, when an end crystal was destroyed, it would make a fire that couldn't disappear. If the block that is supporting it is removed, the fire will be invisible, but players would still get damaged, and it would reappear after a new block was placed again. As of 1.4.2, this bug is fixed.
* Because the fire in the end crystal is unable to be put out (until the crystal as a whole is destroyed, that is), putting a water bucket directly above the ender crystal will create a loop where the water stays just directly above the ender crystal.
* End Crystals have the same mechanics as TNT, though it ignites immediately, with the blast of a Charged Creeper's effect.
* While it appears to be on a Bedrock slab, this is not an item within the game's files.
* If the ender dragon has been killed, a player can use the end crystal to re-summon it without the use of commands. Craft four ender crystals and place them around the End Portal.

## Gallery

2012-04-14 11.29.01.pngAn upper view of an Ender Crystal with the Ender Dragon healing itself.2012-04-14 11.27.05.pngClose view of an Ender Crystal.IMG 0872.PNGEnd Crystals respawning the Ender Dragon and the crystals on the pillars.EndCrystalNew.pngNew texture of the item.EndCrystal.pngOld texture of the item.EndCrystalItemNew.gifThe animated item texture of the End Crystal.