Wither Ascension

The vanilla Wither dies in about minutes and does not put up much of a fight. Wither Ascension changes this, turning it into a boss fight where you must contend with numerous attacks, clever AI, a craftable counter-weapon, a twisting environment, and a secret rematch if you defeat it quickly enough.

Please note: This is a difficult encounter. Make sure to bring potions, strong gear, and a friend if possible!

Differences from the Standard Wither

• 4 stages instead of 1: The Wither changes its tactics as its health decreases.
• 15+ types of attack: Includes beams, chains, black holes, and lightning.
• Telegraphed warnings: Each attack includes a warning so you know what to expect and how to dodge.
• Advanced AI: It actively hunts you and avoids your blows if you run away.
• Craftable counter-weapon: A special weapon to stun it and allow you to strike.
• Dynamic battlefield: The arena itself fights you as it becomes corrupted around the Wither.
• Secret rematch: A second phase triggers if you kill it before its enrage timer expires.

The Fight

• Awakening (Start): The Wither begins dormant for a few seconds—swirling souls, summoning thunder, and launching a starting shockwave. Get used to the Wither here.
• Stage 1 (100%–50%): It begins testing you with a rotating set of attacks.
• Stage 2 (50%–33%): It roars and summons minions before unlocking more powerful attacks such as the Soul Beam and Shadow Clone. Arrows that get too close are devoured.
• Stage 3 (< 33%: Enraged): The Wither enters an enraged state and its attacks become far stronger and faster.
• Final Stand (< 30%): It becomes stronger and faster for a final push; burst it down!

Attacks

• Soul Beam: The Wither charges energy before launching a sweeping beam. Hide behind cover to avoid it.
• Soul Chains: The Wither binds chains to you; run away or take a hefty blow.
• Shadow Clone: The Wither vanishes and reappears as 3 glowing copies; find the real one.
• Soul Storm: 8 floating orbs surround the Wither before occasionally firing a homing soul at you.
• Black Hole: The Wither engulfs you in a vortex before exploding; run!
• Charge / Slam: The Wither dashes through blocks, or leaps into the air and slams down with a shockwave.
• Pull / Pulse / Rage: The Wither pulls you in, pushes you back, or launches a barrage of lightning at you.
• Lightning Storm / Minions / Skull Barrages: Falling lightning, skeletons, and skulls rain down on you.
• Corrupted Ground: Purple fog that damages and slows you if you stand in it for too long.

How to Win

1. Craft the Wither-Bane Blade: Drop a Netherite Sword and a Withered Core (obtained by killing Wither Skeletons) on the ground. Use it to stun the Wither for 8 seconds; this is your window to strike as it cannot dodge melee attacks.
2. Watch the Wither's warnings: It will tell you what attack is coming and how to avoid it.
3. Don't camp: It will shoot skulls at anyone running away, and lightning or magma at anyone trying to kite it.
4. Stay on the move: The battlefield becomes corrupted and the fog of war thickens the longer you fight it.
5. Finish it off in Stage 3: It becomes far stronger and faster. Use your best attacks to burst it down.

Death, Trophies & Secret

Defeating it plays a short cutscene and drops a Wither Trophy that increases your reach and damage. Defeating it multiple times grants additional trophies (5 / 25 / 100 kills).

If you defeat it in under 5 minutes, it respawns as "The Unbroken" for a faster, stronger rematch!

Installation

1. Download and extract the .zip file into your world's datapacks/ folder.
2. Load the world (or type /reload) and enable it in World Settings → Data Packs.

Recommended Resource Pack

To have the best experience, make sure to use the Remastered Wither resource pack alongside this datapack.

Requirements

• Minecraft: Java Edition 1.21.x
• Mods: No mods required; it is a vanilla datapack.
• Multiplayer: Works in both singleplayer and multiplayer; multiple Withers can be fought at once.