YUNG's Better End Island

Overview

YUNG's Better End Island is a complete visual and mechanical overhaul of the main End Island. Every major structure has been redesigned: the Obsidian Pillars now use detailed templates with varying heights and styles, the boring Bedrock fountain is replaced by an imposing central cathedral tower, the Obsidian Spawn Platform gets a cleaner redesign, and the End Gateways feature stone brick aesthetics. The Ender Dragon fight itself is fundamentally changed, with a dramatic multi-stage summoning sequence that makes entering the End feel like a proper boss encounter.

Perhaps the most interesting mechanical addition is the degradation system. Each time you kill and re-summon the Ender Dragon, more of the island's Obsidian converts to Crying Obsidian, giving the End a progressively more battle-worn appearance. The mod also adds a full reset command for server operators and supports six configuration options to customize the experience. You can browse any items or recipes associated with this mod using the tabs above.

The Dragon Summoning Sequence

The most dramatic change in YUNG's Better End Island is how the Ender Dragon is summoned. In vanilla, the Dragon simply appears when you enter the End. This mod replaces that with a cinematic multi-stage ritual that takes about 30 seconds to complete.

Stage 1: Preparation (5 seconds)

The four summoning End Crystals in the central tower lock their beams onto a point high above the island at Y=128. Dragon growl sounds play at specific intervals as the sequence builds tension.

Stage 2: Pillar Activation (varies)

Each Obsidian Pillar is activated one at a time, spending 2 seconds per pillar. The summoning crystals redirect their beams to each pillar's peak, followed by an explosion (power 5.0) that clears the initial pillar structure and rebuilds it in its "broken" or "guarded" form with an End Crystal on top. There is a 20% chance each pillar spawns in the guarded variant with Iron Bars cages. With 10 pillars, this stage takes about 20 seconds total.

Stage 3: Dragon Arrival (5 seconds)

The summoning crystals redirect their beams back to the sky. After a crescendo of dragon growl sounds, all four summoning crystals explode simultaneously (power 6.0 each), and the Ender Dragon spawns. A large explosion (also power 6.0) detonates 20 blocks above the exit portal as a final dramatic flourish.

Redesigned Structures

Obsidian Pillars

The 10 Obsidian Pillars are completely rebuilt using structure templates. Each pillar has a unique height variant (sizes 0 through 9) and comes in three styles: "initial" (the clean version you see before the fight starts), "broken" (the battle-worn version that appears after the summoning explosion), and "guarded" (the caged variant with Iron Bars protecting the End Crystal). Each pillar template includes both a top section and a bottom section, and the End Crystal placement height varies based on the pillar's height.

The pillar templates use a mix of Obsidian and Crying Obsidian, with approximately 30% of the accent blocks being Crying Obsidian. Some template positions have a chance to be air instead of solid, creating a more organic, weathered appearance. The overall effect is pillars that look like ancient, partially crumbling monoliths rather than featureless columns.

Central Cathedral Tower

The centerpiece of the redesign is the cathedral tower that replaces the vanilla Bedrock fountain. This large structure houses the Exit Portal at its base and features a Bell at its peak. Before the Dragon fight, the tower appears in its "initial" form with four invulnerable End Crystals positioned 8 blocks out in each cardinal direction. After the Dragon is defeated, the tower transitions to its "broken" form as the Exit Portal activates. The cathedral uses Bedrock for its structural core (matching vanilla's indestructible nature) and includes detailed architectural elements.

Spawn Platform

The vanilla 5x5 Obsidian platform is replaced with a more elaborate landing structure. The new platform extends 14 blocks below the spawn point and includes architectural details that make it feel like a proper arrival point rather than a bare slab.

End Gateways

The small End Gateway portals that spawn after each Dragon kill are also redesigned. Instead of the plain vanilla frame, they use a custom template with stone brick detailing that makes them look like proper portal structures. The gateway functionality is unchanged; they still teleport you to the outer End islands.

Crying Obsidian Degradation

One of the most clever features in this mod is the progressive degradation system. Every time the Ender Dragon is killed and re-summoned, more Obsidian blocks across the island convert to Crying Obsidian. The conversion chance scales linearly based on how many times the Dragon has been killed: at 0 kills, there's a 0% chance; at 10 or more kills, Obsidian has a 50% chance to become Crying Obsidian.

This degradation affects the Obsidian Pillars, the End Gateways, and the Spawn Platform. After several Dragon re-summons, your End Island will look visibly battle-scarred with purple Crying Obsidian scattered throughout the structures. The effect is permanent and cumulative, making each subsequent Dragon fight feel like it has lasting consequences on the world.

Re-summoning the Ender Dragon

To re-summon the Ender Dragon after defeating it, place four End Crystals on the Bedrock pedestals inside the central cathedral tower, just as you would place them around the vanilla Exit Portal. The mod checks for crystals at two locations: the Better End Island crystal positions (7 blocks from center in each cardinal direction) and the vanilla crystal positions (2 blocks from center). This means re-summoning works whether you're using the cathedral tower or have configured the mod to use the vanilla portal.

Once all four crystals are placed, the full summoning sequence plays again. If the "Respawn Central Tower on Resummon" config is enabled (it is by default), the cathedral tower will regenerate to its initial form before the fight. Each pillar is rebuilt one by one with explosions, and a new set of End Crystals is placed. Remember that each re-summon increases the Crying Obsidian degradation across the island.

Configuration Options

The mod's config file is located at betterendisland-forge-1_21.toml in your config folder. All six options give you fine control over which redesigned features to use.

Mod Compatibility

YUNG's Better End Island requires YUNG's API as a dependency. The mod automatically detects and integrates with several other End-related mods. When Better End (by Quiqueck) is installed, pillar heights are adjusted to account for the raised terrain (base Y=70 instead of Y=60). The Endergetic Expansion mod is also detected for compatibility. If More Dragon Eggs is installed, the Dragon Egg will always drop on every kill regardless of the config setting.

The mod works by replacing vanilla structures through mixins rather than adding new blocks or items, which means it's broadly compatible with most other mods. However, other mods that also modify the End Island structures or the Dragon fight sequence may conflict.