I'm trying to play a round of EnderBall with some friends (you become the ball and try to shoot yourself into 'buckets'), but I'm having a devil of a time getting any Ender pearls. I'm finding Endermen, but as soon as I attack them, they either teleport away and don't come back, or don't drop anything when I kill them.
I've been using a diamond sword with knockback, looting and sharpness, as well as another one with just fire aspect. Also tried using an iron sword, which just has sharpness. The thing is, once in a while I do manage to get one, but only after killing dozens of them.
Are there certain enchantments that cause Endermen to decide not to engage? Does looting not up your chances of them dropping an Ender pearl? I've tried using swords that aren't enchanted, but encountering Endermen is somewhat sporadic and difficult to test if it's just random behavior or the enchantments.
Behavior seems consistent with or without mods loaded, but again - hard to tell because they aren't as likely to spawn as others. I seem to remember them both dropping and engaging much more frequently, prior to managing to get better stuff.