How to Summon the Ender Dragon Again in RLCraft
RLCraft transforms Minecraft into one of the most punishing modpacks ever assembled — and even defeating the Ender Dragon doesn't mean the challenge is over. If you're wondering how to resummon the Ender Dragon in RLCraft specifically, the answer is a bit different from vanilla Minecraft, and the variables in your world setup matter more than most guides acknowledge.
What Actually Happens After You Kill the Ender Dragon in RLCraft
In vanilla Minecraft, resummoning the Ender Dragon is straightforward: place four End Crystals on the edges of the Exit Portal and the process begins automatically. RLCraft keeps this base mechanic but layers additional complexity on top, primarily because the modpack includes Lycanites Mobs, Bountiful, Recurrent Complex, and other mods that alter End dimension behavior and mob spawning in meaningful ways.
When the Dragon is defeated, the Exit Portal activates and the dragon egg appears — same as vanilla. What changes is the context surrounding the fight: the End in RLCraft is significantly more dangerous due to added hostile mobs, altered loot tables, and modified progression requirements that affect how and when resummoning is practical.
The Standard Resummoning Method 🐉
The core resummoning process follows vanilla rules:
- Craft or obtain four End Crystals — each requires one Eye of Ender, one Ghast Tear, and seven Glass blocks arranged in the standard recipe
- Travel to the main End island — specifically to the large obsidian pillar structure containing the Exit Portal
- Place one End Crystal on each of the four sides of the Exit Portal's top surface
- All previously destroyed obsidian pillars regenerate automatically, along with new End Crystals atop them
- The Ender Dragon respawns and the fight restarts
This sequence works in RLCraft because the pack does not override the core resummoning mechanic. What it does change is how difficult it is to get there safely, gather the required materials, and survive the second fight.
Why RLCraft Makes This Harder Than Vanilla
Getting the Materials
Ghast Tears are the most unpredictable ingredient. In RLCraft, the Nether is populated with a wider variety of hostile mobs from Lycanites, meaning Ghast farming becomes significantly riskier. Ghasts also drop tears inconsistently, so expect to farm multiple Ghasts per crystal.
Eyes of Ender require Ender Pearls (from Endermen) and Blaze Powder (from Blazes). Both enemy types exist in RLCraft but are subject to the pack's enhanced difficulty scaling, which can make Blaze Rod farming in fortresses a serious challenge depending on your gear tier.
Glass is the easy part — smelt sand, done.
The End Dimension Itself
RLCraft's End dimension spawns additional hostile creatures beyond vanilla Endermen. Depending on your modpack version, you may encounter Lycanites mobs like Geists or other ethereal enemies that can disrupt your approach to the portal. Players who attempt the resummon without adequate armor, ranged options, and healing items often find themselves overwhelmed before the dragon even reappears.
Dimension Access and Stability
Some RLCraft configurations or added mods can affect portal stability or End island generation. If your world was generated with specific worldgen mods active, the End island structure may vary slightly. This is rare, but worth checking if the Exit Portal location seems unusual.
Variables That Change Your Experience
| Variable | Lower Difficulty | Higher Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Gear tier | Dragonsteel or Tide Guardian armor | Iron/early-game armor |
| Lycanites mob spawns | Managed with mob traps | Uncontrolled, open island |
| RLCraft version | Newer versions (2.9+) with balance patches | Older or modded versions |
| End Crystal materials | Farmed in advance | Gathering during live combat |
| Party size | Multiplayer with coordination | Solo |
Your gear tier is arguably the single biggest factor. Players reaching the End in iron or low-tier armor for the first time will struggle to resummon safely, let alone win the second fight. The dragon's return spawns a fresh set of End Crystals on the pillars, meaning you need to destroy those before damaging the dragon — all while managing the additional RLCraft mob pressure.
Common Issues Players Run Into
"The crystals won't place" — Make sure you're placing on the correct four edge blocks of the Exit Portal's top rim, not the sides of the obsidian structure itself. The placement hitboxes can be tricky with some texture packs or shader mods.
"The dragon won't spawn after placing crystals" — Confirm all four crystals are placed correctly. If one was destroyed by a mob or misplaced, the sequence won't trigger. This happens more often in RLCraft because hostile mobs in the End can inadvertently destroy placed crystals before the sequence completes. 🔮
"The End is completely empty / broken" — This points to a chunk loading or world generation issue rather than a resummoning mechanics problem. Checking your RLCraft version number and any additional mods installed on top of the base pack is the first step to diagnosing this.
What Resummoning Actually Gets You
Beyond the challenge itself, defeating the Ender Dragon a second (or third) time grants additional experience points — the dragon drops 12,000 XP on first kill and 500 XP on subsequent kills in vanilla, values RLCraft generally preserves. The dragon egg only appears once. If you're farming XP for enchanting or leveling skills, repeated summoning is a viable (if risky) strategy.
The End gateway portals that spawn after each dragon kill also accumulate, giving you additional access points to the outer End islands where End Cities and Elytra can be found — a major reward in any RLCraft playthrough given how valuable flight becomes in the late game.
How smoothly all of this plays out depends heavily on where you are in the RLCraft progression curve, what version you're running, and how your specific world's End dimension generated.