Taking Inventory: Dragon's Breath

Dragon’s breath! One of the rarest and most powerful substances in Minecraft. This noxious gas is a challenge to obtain, let alone in great quantities. But it can make a huge difference in your potion-brewing, so it’s worth the effort. Let’s get in-depth on how and why.

Dragon’s breath was added to Minecraft in the Combat Update, released in 2016. This update reworked the game’s combat mechanics and substantially revamped the End dimension, as well as introducing the offhand slot and the elytra.

Getting hold of Dragon’s breath is not easy, and there are a few things you’ll need to do to make it happen. First, you'll need to dig down to the depths of the Overworld and find diamonds. Then you’ll need to craft a diamond pick and harvest some obsidian to build a Nether portal. After that, you'll have to head to the Nether and locate a Nether Fortress. Defeat enough blazes so you get a healthy amount of blaze powder, and then make it back to the Overworld alive. That wasn't too complicated, was it?

You'll be happy to know that you’re not done yet. Now you need to slay a bunch of Endermen and collect a good amount of Ender pearls – maybe half a stack or so? Use some of those pearls to locate a stronghold, and battle your way through it into the portal room. Combine the Ender pearls with the blaze powder to make Eyes of Ender, and pop them into the portal frame so that the portal activates. Make friends with a silverfish while you’re there!

Before you step into the portal you’ll want to be ready. You’ll want your best weapons and armor, ideally enchanted, as well some healing and buff potions and – crucially – a bunch of glass bottles. Step through, and locate the Ender Dragon (or more likely, wait for it to find you). During the fight, the dragon will likely use a breath attack – leaving purple particles lingering on the ground. Step into the miasma (quickly, it fades fast!) and collect the gas in one of your glass bottles.

Did you survive? Congratulations! You’re now the proud owner of some Dragon’s breath! Now, all you need to do is defeat the dragon and jump into the portal to get home. Already defeated the dragon? No worries – just make some end crystals and pop them around the exit portal and it’ll respawn!

Now to the important question: why would you even want a bottle of dragon’s breath? Simple! It allows you to turn splash potions into lingering potions – which leave behind an area-of-effect cloud when thrown. Any creature that walks into the cloud will be subjected to the potion’s effects. You can also turn those lingering potions into tipped arrows, though the cauldron approach to making tipped arrows is arguably more efficient.

Now the only thing left to do is establish what dragon’s breath smells like. Sulphur? Smoke? Brimstone? Bacon? As the developers are yet to communicate this information, it's up to us players to decide. Send us your thoughts! We’ll stuff them into an empty potion bottle and throw them out the window, so your ideas linger for passers-by to enjoy.