L_Ender's Cataclysm boss stats

Why big hits do less than you expect

Cataclysm bosses cap the damage they take. No single hit can do more than the boss's per-hit cap, and the same number is the most it takes in a quick burst. Once that allowance is used up, further hits do almost nothing until it refills at the per-second limit. So the Ender Guardian loses at most 22 health at once and 13 per second after that, whatever the weapon. Steady, well-timed damage beats one enormous blow.

Range matters too. Hits from farther than the full-damage distance lose strength, and from half as far again they do nothing, so bosses cannot be sniped from safety. A boss with no target heals every second, which is why stepping away to recover gives it its health back. Many special attacks add a share of your own maximum health on top of their damage, up to doubling the hit, so extra hearts help less than armor. Servers can scale boss health in the config; enter the multiplier to see the adjusted totals.