Enchanting

Enchanting is a mechanic that augments armor, tools, weapons (swords and bows), and books with one or more of a variety of "enchantments" that improve an item's existing abilities or imbue them with additional abilities and uses.

Enchanting methods
There are three methods of enchanting items in Survival mode:
 * Through an enchantment table in exchange for experience points and lapis lazuli. Only unenchanted items may be enchanted this way.
 * Through an anvil, combining an enchanted book with an item, which also costs experience points.
 * Through an anvil, combining two of the same item with different existing enchantments into a single item that has the enchantments of both.

There are also an additional four methods of obtaining enchanted items:
 * Through a villager, who may trade some enchanted items for emeralds.
 * Through fishing, which gives a chance of obtaining enchanted items.
 * Through a zombie, skeleton, wither skeleton, or zombie pigman if they have enchanted items and you kill them, there is a chance of getting enchanted items.
 * Through finding them in End city chests.

Items can also be enchanted using commands such as for OPs on a server, or in a singleplayer world with cheats enabled. When enchanted with the command, the maximum enchantment level is 32,767. In Creative mode, items can be enchanted via an anvil and enchanted books, with no experience required. Enchanted books are available in the Creative mode inventory, with individual book displays for the highest level of each enchantment and other levels available via the "Search" tab.

Enchantment table
An item can be enchanted by an enchantment table and placing the item and 1–3 lapis lazuli in the input slots. Upon placing the item, three randomized options will appear on the right of the GUI. The glyphs here do not affect the enchantment, but hovering over a presented enchantment will show one enchantment that will be applied. Only choices with a level requirement equal to or below the player's current level and a lapis lazuli requirement equal to or below the number of lapis lazuli placed in the table can be chosen. Each option will imbue the item with a randomized set of enchantments that are dependent on the number of experience levels required (e.g.: a level 1 enchantment can give a pickaxe the "Efficiency I" enchantment); the actual level cost and the number of lapis lazuli required has no effect.

The level requirement influences the quantity, type, and level of enchantments instilled in the item, with a higher experience level generally resulting in more and/or higher-level enchantments. Nevertheless, there is a heavy random factor, and even a level 30 enchantment (the maximum) doesn't guarantee more than one enchantment, nor even that enchantments will be "maximum strength" — a level 30 enchantment can still yield Fortune II or Efficiency III alone, for example.

In order to increase the enchantment level a bookshelf should be placed next to the enchantment table while keeping one block of air between them. To gain access to the previously mentioned level 30 enchantments a total of 15 bookshelves need to be placed around the enchantment table. See the enchantment mechanics page for more detailed information on this.

Enchanting a book will produce an enchanted book, which does nothing on its own, but effectively "saves" the enchantment for later application to another item with an anvil.

Unlike with an anvil, using the enchanting table while on Creative will still cost XP. However if the player doesn't have enough XP they will just be reduced to level zero and the enchantment will work as if they had paid the full amount. This includes attempts to use the enchanting table while already at level zero.

Affecting offered enchantments
The possible enchantments depend only on the player's enchantment seed, the item type and material, and the enchantment level (1–30). Removing the item and putting it back in, clicking on the item slot with a different item, using a different item of the same type and material, replacing or moving the table (but keeping the same number of bookshelves), using a different table with the same number of bookshelves, or replacing or rearranging the bookshelves without changing their total number has no effect on the possible enchantments.

Changing the enchantment levels offered by adding, removing, or blocking bookshelves will alter the enchantments shown, but will not change possible enchantments, using another enchanting table with the previous bookshelf number will show the previous enchantments. The enchantments for a particular enchantment level (with the same seed and item) do also differ depending on which row it appears in, but they are no "better" or "worse" based on the row despite the different resource costs.

Enchanting any item at any enchantment level changes the player's enchantment seed, which will change the possible enchantments for every item at every enchantment level. Thus, if none of the available enchantments for a tool are desired, 1 lapis lazuli and 1 level could be spent to enchant a book or a different tool to refresh the list. Also, by enchanting any item, you can alter the 2nd enchantment by exiting without saving.

Anvil combinations
An anvil can be used to combine the enchantments of two items, sacrificing one of them and repairing the other. The items must be of the same type (for example, an iron pickaxe and a diamond pickaxe cannot be combined), and there are limits to what enchantments can be combined and how much work can be done in one operation.

To combine items, the player places the target item in the first slot of an anvil, and the sacrifice item in the second slot. If the combination is allowed, the resulting enchanted item will appear in the anvil's output slot and an experience level cost, labelled "Enchantment Cost", appears below (green if the player has enough experience levels, red if they don't). To complete the enchanting, the player removes the enchanted item from the anvil's output slot, and their experience level is reduced accordingly.

The cost in levels depends on the enchantments, with highly enchanted items costing more. If the target item is also being repaired, that costs more as well. The target item can also be renamed, at additional cost. There is also an accumulating surcharge for prior work done on the anvil. In Survival mode, there is a limit of 39 levels for any work performed on the anvil—if a job would cost more, it will be refused (though it might be do-able in steps: repair and then combine enchantments).

Enchanted books
Enchanted books can be made by using an enchanting table to enchant a book. (They can also be found in generated chests, purchased with emeralds from a villager librarian, or looted by fishing rod.) The book can receive multiple enchantments of any type, but only enchantments appropriate to a given item type may be applied to that item. For example, the same book may receive Respiration and Power enchantments, but the Respiration enchantment will be lost if the book is applied to anything but a helmet, and the Power enchantment will be lost if the book is applied to anything but a bow.

Enchanted books are used on an anvil to add enchantments to items. They can apply some enchantments to items which cannot be enchanted from an enchantment table, e.g., Thorns on boots.

In Creative mode, books can enchant any item with any enchantment, such as a stick having Knockback II. Mutually-exclusive enchantments, such as Protection and Blast Protection, are still mutually-exclusive regardless.

The experience costs for using books are considerably less than for combining items with similar enchantments, since the books themselves cost levels to create. However, it's still an extra cost, and enchanting items directly has a chance to get multiple enchantments. The big advantage of books is that they can be stockpiled for use on an item of choice, and allow for controlled combinations. For example, a Silk Touch book could be used on axe, pickaxe, or shovel, and you can decide which at your leisure—perhaps something that already has Unbreaking? An Unbreaking book might be used to preserve your Looting sword, Fortune pickaxe, or Thorns armor.

Summary of enchantments
The tables below summarize which enchantments can be given to which items in survival mode (in creative mode, any enchantment can be given to any item). Enchantments which can be applied to both hand slot items and armor slot items are listed in both tables.


 * An enchantment table indicates the item can receive the enchantment legitimately in Survival mode by using an enchantment table.
 * An anvil indicates the item can not receive the enchantment legitimately in Survival mode by using an enchantment table (an enchantment table will never offer the enchantment for the item), but can receive the enchantment by another method (for example, using an anvil to combine the item with an enchanted book or another enchanted item).

Enchantments
The sections below describe the enchantments that are possible for the player to acquire legitimately in Survival mode. Other combinations are possible in Creative mode or with cheats, mods, or third-party software.


 * ID: The identification number of the enchantment, can be used on data tags of items to add enchantments. See item format.
 * Maximum Level: The maximum level that can be received legitimately. Higher levels are possible using commands.
 * Primary Items: The items that can receive the enchantment legitimately in Survival mode by using an enchanting table. Items of any material can be enchanted (some more easily than others).
 * Secondary Items: Items which, in Survival mode, cannot receive the enchantment from an enchanting table but can from an enchanted book with an anvil.
 * Enchantment Weight:Relative chance of the enchantment being offered.

Aqua Affinity
Increases underwater mining rate.

Breaking blocks underwater is allowed at regular speed, though the player cannot be floating to get the full effect. Specifically, when swimming, mining takes 5X as long. Levels above 1 are no different.

Bane of Arthropods
Increases damage to "arthropod" mobs (spiders, cave spiders, silverfish and endermites).

Each level separately adds 2.5 ( × $1 1/4$) extra damage to each hit, to "arthropods" only.

The enchantment will also cause "arthropods" to have the Slowness IV effect when hit.

The duration of the effect is a random value between 1 and 1.5 seconds at level I, increasing the max duration by 0.5 seconds each level, up to 3.5s with Bane of Arthropods V.

Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Blast Protection
Reduces explosion damage.

Damage reduction from Protection, Fire Protection, Feather Falling, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection stacks up to an upper limit cap (see Armor).

Also reduces explosion knockback by (15 × level)%. If multiple pieces have the enchantment, only the highest level's reduction is used.

Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, and Projectile Protection are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Curse of Binding
This enchantment is exclusive to the Java and Console editions.

Prevents removal of the cursed item.

The cursed item cannot be removed from any armor slot (outside of Creative mode) unless the player dies or the item breaks.

Counts as a treasure enchantment — can only be obtained from chest loot, fishing, or trading for enchanted books.

Curse of Vanishing
This enchantment is exclusive to the Java and Console editions.

Causes the item to disappear on death.

When the player dies, the item disappears instead of dropping on the ground. The item may still be dropped normally.

Counts as a treasure enchantment — can only be obtained from chest loot, fishing, or trading for enchanted books.

The effect can be prevented by setting the  gamerule to "true".

Depth Strider
Increases underwater movement speed.


 * Every level reduces the amount water slows you by ⅓.
 * Also reduces the speed at which flowing water pushes you when standing still.
 * Level 3 will make you swim as fast as you walk on land. (Any level beyond that will have no effect on speed.)
 * Speed potions will affect your swimming the same way as your walking at level 3.
 * Does not increase vertical speed.
 * If commands are used to put it on other pieces of armor (such as a helmet) it works normally.

If Depth Strider enchanted armor is put onto an armor stand, it will be moved more slowly when pushed by water.

Depth Strider and Frost Walker are mutually exclusive. If combined using commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Efficiency
Increases mining speed. See Breaking Speed for details.

One must use the proper tool for a block in order to receive the speed. Does not matter if you mine it with the incorrect tier.

The speed increase applies to all blocks that when mined, will drop an item.

Efficiency V is only available using an anvil for diamond and stone tools. Wooden, golden and iron tools can get Efficiency V by enchanting.

Feather Falling
Reduces fall damage.

Damage reduction from Protection, Fire Protection, Feather Falling, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection stacks up to an upper limit cap (see Armor).

Also reduces the damage from ender pearl teleportations.

Fire Aspect
Sets the target on fire.

Fire Aspect adds 80 fireticks (4 seconds of burning) per level to the target. Because the first hit is caused by the item with this enchantment, the first second of fire damage will not be recognized. Targets will be dealt / damage on level I/II.

You can use this formula to calculate the Fire damage: Fire damage in = (Level × 4)-1

When possible, dropped meat will be cooked if the mob is killed while on fire. Experience will only be dropped if non-fire damage was dealt by the player within 5 seconds of the death.

Both the Fire Aspect and Flame enchantments are nullified on all Nether mobs, except normal skeletons and endermen, because nether mobs are immune to fire and lava.

Fire Protection
Reduces fire damage.

Damage reduction from Protection, Fire Protection, Feather Falling, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection stacks up to an upper limit cap (see Armor).

Fire Protection will also reduce ongoing fire damage, which is normally not absorbed by armor.

Also reduces burn time when set on fire by (15 × level)%. If multiple pieces have the enchantment, only the highest level's burn time reduction is used.

At Level VII for example you can't be lit on fire through Fire Aspect Enchantments. The only way to burn is staying in Lava or a Firesource. The initiated Fireticks (Lava=300, Fire=150) will be canceled, and only the remaining time in the firesource will be added to the Fireticktimer.

Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, and Projectile Protection are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Flame
Flaming arrows.

Arrows are on fire when shot and deal fire damage over 5 seconds. Unlike flint and steel, flaming arrows only affect players, mobs, and TNT. No other blocks catch fire, and they do not produce light. Fire damage applies after initial damage, similar to Fire Aspect. Creatures killed by fire only drop XP if a player dealt non-fire damage to it within the past 5 seconds.

Fortune
Increases block drops.

For coal, diamond, emerald, nether quartz, and lapis lazuli, level I gives a 33% chance to multiply drops by 2 (averaging 33% increase), level II gives a chance to multiply drops by 2 or 3 (25% chance each, averaging 75% increase), and level III gives a chance to multiply drops by 2, 3, or 4 (20% chance each, averaging 120% increase). 1 drop has a weight of 2, and each number of extra drops has a weight of 1.

For redstone, carrots, glowstone, sea lanterns, melons, nether wart, potatoes, beetroots (seeds only) and wheat (seeds only), each level increases the drop maximum by +1 (maximum 4 for glowstone, 5 for sea lanterns, and 9 for melons). For tall grass, each level increases the drop maximum by +2.

Fortune increases the probability of flint dropping from gravel, and saplings dropping from leaves, and apples dropping from oak and dark oak leaves.

Silk Touch and Fortune are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to apply both Silk Touch and Fortune to an item, the Silk Touch enchantment will take precedence over the Fortune enchantment for blocks affected by both enchantments.

Frost Walker
Creates frosted ice blocks when walking over water.

If moving on ground (i.e. not falling, jumping, or flying), any still water blocks with air above within a radius of 2 + Level around the block being moved to will be turned into frosted ice.

It also eliminates all damage from magma blocks.

Counts as a treasure enchantment — can only be obtained from chest loot, fishing, or trading for enchanted books.

If this enchantment is put on the boots of an armor stand, it will function around the armor stand.

Depth Strider and Frost Walker are mutually exclusive. If combined using commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Infinity
Shooting doesn't consume regular arrows.

Allows user to fire infinite arrows as long as they have 1 arrow in their inventory. Fired arrows cannot be retrieved except in Creative mode (where they are erased instead of added to your arrows).

Tipped and spectral arrows are consumed as usual.

Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive on an anvil, but they can be combined using commands.

Knockback
Increases knockback.

For each level, adds 3 blocks distance to the base knockback. Does combine slightly with knockback caused by attacking while sprinting.

Looting
Mobs can drop more loot.


 * Increases maximum loot drop for most common drops by +1 per level.
 * Increases chance of uncommon drops by making a second attempt to drop if the original attempt failed. The success chance of this second attempt is ½ for Looting I, ⅔ for Looting II, and ¾ for Looting III.
 * Increases chance of rare drops by +1 percentage points per level (i.e., 3.5% at level I, 4.5% at level II, and 5.5% at level III).
 * Increases chance of equipment drops by +1 percentage points per level (i.e., 9.5% at level I, 10.5% at level II, and 11.5% at level III).
 * The exact drop chances depend on the type of drop.
 * Notably, this applies not only to kills with the sword but to any kills while holding the sword in the main hand. For example, a player can fire a projectile then switch to the looting sword before the projectile reaches the target to get the looting effect, or can fire a projectile from the off-hand while holding a looting sword in the main hand.
 * Using codes to get higher levels than 3 works as expected, adding higher numbers with a weight of 1. High enough numbers however (like level 1000) may crash the game due to too many dropped item entities.
 * This applies to mobs killed with a sweep attack.

Luck of the Sea
Increases luck while fishing.

With the default loot tables, this lowers chance of "junk" catches and increases chance of "treasure" by about 2 percentage points, and decreases the chance of fish by about 0.15 percentage points.

Lure
Increases rate of fish biting your hook while fishing.

Decreases wait time until a catch by 5 seconds per level. At Level V, the fish-catching particle effects start almost instantly. At Level VI, you are not able to catch anything.

Mending
Repair durability with experience.

When an item with the enchantment is held (main hand, offhand, or armor slots), XP orbs collected will repair the item at a rate of 2 durability per XP instead of adding the XP to the player's total. If multiple items have the enchantment, one will be chosen at random for each XP orb collected, and if the chosen item does not need repair, the XP will be added to the player's total as normal, rather than choosing another item to repair.

Counts as a treasure enchantment — can only be obtained from chest loot, fishing, or trading for enchanted books.

Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive. If combined using commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Power
Increases arrow damage by, rounded up to nearest half-heart.

Arrow entities have an NBT tag, which for an unenchanted bow is 2, and increments by 0.5 per enchantment level.

Anvil required for level V.

Projectile Protection
Reduces projectile damage (arrows, ghast/blaze fire charges, etc.).

Damage reduction from Protection, Fire Protection, Feather Falling, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection stacks up to an upper limit cap (see Armor).

Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, and Projectile Protection are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Protection
Reduces all damage, except damage from the Void, the command, or hunger damage.

Damage reduction from Protection, Fire Protection, Feather Falling, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection stacks up to an upper limit cap (see Armor).

Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, and Projectile Protection are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Punch
Increases knockback.

Mobs and players are knocked back further.

Respiration
Extends underwater breathing time.


 * Increases underwater breathing time by +15 seconds per level
 * Grants an x/(x+1) chance of not taking drowning damage each second, where x is the level
 * Improves underwater vision
 * Levels above III don't work, as they increase visibility over 100% which resembles swimming in ice slush.

Sharpness
Increases melee damage.

Adds extra damage for the first level, and 0.5 ( × $1/4$) for each additional level.

Sharpness V is only available using an anvil for wooden, stone, iron and diamond tools. Golden tools and books can get Sharpness V by enchanting.

Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Silk Touch
Allows collection of blocks that are normally unobtainable: Mined blocks drop themselves instead of the usual items.

Items which can be obtained legitimately by using Silk Touch:

List of blocks obtainable with Silk Touch
NOTE: Blocks marked with * drop nothing when mining them by hand.

Silk Touch and Fortune are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to apply both Silk Touch and Fortune to an item, the Silk Touch enchantment will take precedence over the Fortune enchantment for blocks affected by both enchantments.

Smite
Increases damage to "undead" mobs (skeletons, zombies, withers, wither skeletons, zombie pigmen, skeleton horses and zombie horses)

Each level separately adds 2.5 ( × $1 1/4$) extra damage to each hit, to "undead" mobs only.

Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive. If commands are used to have two or more of these enchantments on the same item, the effects will stack.

Sweeping Edge
This enchantment is exclusive to the Java Edition.

Increases sweeping attack damage.


 * Increases the damage that will be dealt to mobs for each hit from a sweep attack.
 * Damage of the sweep attack is boosted by 50%/66%/75% of a sword's damage for levels I/II/III. The damage stacks with Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods.
 * The formula for damage is generic.attackDamage * (enchantment level / (enchantment level + 1) + 1)
 * As an example, an Iron Sword only enchanted with Sweeping Edge 1 will deal 6 * (1/1+1)+1 = 4 damage each sweep attack, to each mob hit. A sword enchanted with Sharpness V and Sweeping Edge I will deal 9 * (1/2)+1 = 5.5 Damage. Extra damage from Smite and Bane of Arthropods will stack against undead mobs and arthropod mobs, respectively.
 * Sweeping Edge will stack to higher levels than III via the use of commands or third party editors, following the formula above. Damage will cap beneath 200%, due to the formula.

Thorns
Attackers are damaged when they deal damage to the wearer.

chance of inflicting - (or  if Level > 10) damage on anyone who attacks wearer, whether by melee attack, arrow, or other projectile. In addition to the normal durability reduction for being hit, reduces durability by 3 points when inflicting damage and 1 point otherwise.

If present on multiple pieces of armor, each armor piece in turn will be given its chance to inflict Thorns damage on the attacker, but the extra Thorns durability penalty will be applied to one of those armor pieces chosen randomly.

Anvil required to create Thorns III by combining two Thorns II enchantments or trading for an enchanted book from a villager.

If applied to any item besides armor via the use of commands or third party tools, if the item is held in either hand, Thorns will deal damage to attackers, following the formula, but not consume any durability on the item, if applicable. However, Thorns can only be applied to armor in survival Minecraft.

Unbreaking
Increases effective durability.

For most items,  chance a use reduces durability. On average, lifetime is (Level+1) times as long.

For armor,  chance a use reduces durability (each durability hit against "unbreaking" armor has a 20%/27%/30% chance of being ignored). On average, armor lasts 25%/36%/43% longer.

When durability is reduced by multiple points (e.g. hooking a mob with fishing rods or Thorns armor), Unbreaking is applied for each point of reduction.