Enchanting

"Enchant" redirects here. For the command, see Commands § enchant. For the block used to enchant and displays "Enchant", see Enchantment Table.

An enchantment table surrounded by bookshelves

	“	How does enchanting work in Minecraft? Well, you open a magical book and pick a random spell, not quite sure knowing what it will do. MAGIC!	„
		— Notch

Enchanting is a mechanic that augments armor, tools, weapons 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 the player kills them, there is a chance of them dropping said items.
• Through finding them in end city and other assorted treasure chests, such as shipwrecks, buried treasure, abandoned mineshafts, dungeons, and woodland mansions.

Server operators and players in singleplayer worlds with cheats enabled can also enchant items using commands such as /enchant. When enchanted with the /give command, the maximum enchantment level is 2,147,483,647‌^{[upcoming: JE 1.14]} or 32,767^{[until JE 1.14]}. 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

Main article: Enchantment mechanics

Enchantment table interface. Top: Without item. Bottom: With item, hovering over the second line.

An item can be enchanted by using an enchantment table and placing the item in the input slots and 1–3 lapis lazuli in its dedicated slot. Upon placing the item, three (pseudo)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 experience. However, if the player doesn't have enough experience, 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, the player can alter the 2nd enchantment by exiting without saving.‌^{[Legacy Console Edition only]}

Anvil combinations

Main article: Anvil mechanics

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, labeled "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

Main article: Enchanted Book

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 the player can decide which at their leisure—perhaps something that already has Unbreaking? An Unbreaking book might be used to preserve the player's Looting sword, Fortune pickaxe or Thorns armor.

Summary of enchantments

Summary of enchantments

Name	Summary	Max Level	Weight
Aqua Affinity	Increases underwater mining rate.	I	2
Bane of Arthropods	Increases damage to arthropods.	V	5
Blast Protection	Reduces explosion damage.	IV	2
Channeling	Trident "channels" a bolt of lightning towards a hit entity. Only functions during thunderstorms.	I	1
Curse of Binding	Prevents removal of items (except for in creative).	I	1
Curse of Vanishing	Item destroyed on death.	I	1
Depth Strider	Increases underwater movement speed.	III	2
Efficiency	Increases mining speed.	V	10
Feather Falling	Reduces fall damage.	IV	5
Fire Aspect	Sets target on fire.	II	2
Fire Protection	Reduces fire damage.	IV	5
Flame	Arrows set target on fire.	I	2
Fortune	Increases block drops.	III	2
Frost Walker	Turns water beneath the player into ice.	II	2
Impaling	Trident deals additional damage to mobs that spawn naturally in the ocean.	V	2
Infinity	Shooting consumes no arrows.	I	1
Knockback	Increases knockback.	II	5
Looting	Increases mob loot.	III	2
Loyalty	Trident returns after being thrown. Higher levels reduce return time.	III	5
Luck of the Sea	Increases fishing luck.	III	2
Lure	Increases fishing rate.	III	2
Mending	Repair items with experience.	I	2
Multishot ‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]	Shoot 3 arrows at the cost of one.	I	?
Piercing ‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]	Arrows pass through multiple entities.	IV	?
Power	Increases arrow damage.	V	10
Projectile Protection	Reduces projectile damage.	IV	5
Protection	Reduces most types of damage.	IV	10
Punch	Increases arrow knockback.	II	2
Quick Charge ‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]	Decreases crossbow reloading time.	III	?
Respiration	Extends underwater breathing time.	III	2
Riptide	Trident launches player with itself when thrown. Only functions in water or rain.	III	2
Sharpness	Increases damage.	V	10
Silk Touch	Mined blocks drop themselves.	I	1
Smite	Increases damage to undead mobs.	V	5
Sweeping Edge‌[Java Edition only]	Increases sweeping attack damage.	III	2
Thorns	Damages attackers.	III	1
Unbreaking	Increases effective durability.	III	5

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 cannot 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; note the enchantment table could still apply the enchantment to the item as a random additional enchantment).

Enchantments for hand slot items

Enchantment							(JE)	(BE)
Bane of Arthropods
Channeling
Curse of Vanishing
Efficiency
Fire Aspect
Flame
Fortune
Impaling
Infinity
Knockback
Looting
Loyalty
Luck of the Sea
Lure
Mending
Multishot
Piercing
Power
Punch
Quick Charge
Riptide
Sharpness
Silk Touch
Smite
Sweeping Edge
Unbreaking

Enchantments for armor slot items

Enchantment
Aqua Affinity
Blast Protection
Curse of Binding
Curse of Vanishing
Depth Strider
Feather Falling
Fire Protection
Frost Walker
Mending
Projectile Protection
Protection
Respiration
Thorns
Unbreaking

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.

Maximum Level

The maximum level that can be received legitimately. Higher levels are possible using commands. With commands the maximum value is 2,147,483,647 ‌^{[upcoming: JE 1.14]} or 32,767 ^{[until JE 1.14]}

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

Aqua Affinity

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Increases underwater mining rate.

Normally, when mining underwater, a 2x penalty is applied to mining time. When mining while wearing armor with Aqua Affinity, this penalty is ignored. (The related but distinct penalty for mining while floating is not affected by Aqua Affinity.) All levels have the same effect.

Bane of Arthropods

Bane of Arthropods

Maximum Level	V
Primary Items
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	5

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

Blast Protection

Maximum Level	IV
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Reduces explosion damage.

The Formula for damage reduction by explosions is (8 x level)%, meaning for every additional Level another 8% of the damage is absorbed. The highest Level (Blast Protection IV) will absorb 32% (4 x 8%), so basically 1/3 of the damage inflicted by any explosion. Theoretically at Level XIII (13) no damage from explosions is possible (because it would absorb 100%), but since the damage reduction is capped at 80%, Level X (10) is the most efficient one to use. Also reduces explosion knockback by (15 × level)%. So at level VII you would not be knocked back at all.

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.

Channeling

Channeling

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	1
Sounds	Channeling

Summons a lightning bolt when a mob is hit by a thrown trident (does not work attacking melee), if there is currently a thunderstorm going on.

The mob must be exposed to the open sky in order for the enchantment to work. The mob cannot be in water while being hit with this enchantment. This enchantment allows the player to change creepers, villagers, and pigs into charged creepers, witches, and zombie pigmen, respectively.

Riptide and Channeling are mutually exclusive.

Channeling is available from enchantment tables, villagers, desert temple chests, shipwreck chests and fishing.

Curse of Binding

Curse of Binding

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items	None
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	1

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.

Note: if the keepInventory gamerule is set to true, the player will keep the cursed item even after death. Only the item breaking will remove it.

Curse of Vanishing

Curse of Vanishing

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items	None
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	1

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 keepInventory gamerule to true.

Depth Strider

Depth Strider

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Increases underwater movement speed.

• Every level reduces the amount water slows the player by ⅓.
• Also reduces the speed at which flowing water pushes the player when standing still.
• Level 3 will make the player swim as fast as they walk on land. (Any level beyond that will have no effect on speed.)
• Speed potions will affect the player's swimming the same way as their 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

Efficiency

Maximum Level	V
Primary Items
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	10

Increases the speed the player mines. See Breaking#Speed for details.

One must use the proper tool for a block in order to receive the speed. It does not matter if the player mines it with the incorrect tier.

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

Efficiency when applied to axes will increase the chance that the axe may stun a shield, with the base chance being 25% and a 5% increase for each level of efficiency.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

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

Feather Falling

Maximum Level	IV
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	5

Reduces fall damage. (Does not actually decrease falling speed.)

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

Fire Aspect

Maximum Level	II
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

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 3 ()/7 () damage on level I/II.

The player can use this formula to calculate the Fire damage: Fire damage in 1 () = (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

Fire Protection

Maximum Level	IV
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	5

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, the player can't be lit on fire through Fire Aspect Enchantments. The only way to burn is staying in Lava or a fire source. The initiated Fireticks (Lava=300, Fire=150) will be canceled, and only the remaining time in the fire source 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

"Flame" redirects here. For other uses, see Flame (disambiguation).

Flame

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Produces flaming arrows.

Arrows are on fire when shot and deal 4 () 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. If it is raining, the flame effect on a fired arrow will disappear, making it a normal arrow.

Fortune

Fortune

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

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. If commands are used to give an item an extremely high level of fortune, mining a block will make it drop an excessive amount of ore that can cause copious amounts of lag.

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 melon slices). 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.

Fortune drops

Drops	not enchanted	level I	level II	level III
Flint	10%	14%	25%	100%
Jungle Saplings	2.5%	2.78%	3.125%	4.17%
Other Saplings	5%	6.25%	8.33%	10%
Apples	0.5%	0.556%	0.625%	0.833%

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

Frost Walker

Maximum Level	II
Primary Items	None
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	1

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. The water blocks must also be on the same level as the block being moved to in order to become ice.

Continuous motion is required for ice to remain when light levels would otherwise cause it to melt. For example, if the player walks onto a river in daylight and stops, they will see the ice gradually melt around (and under) them.

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.

Impaling

Impaling

Maximum Level	V
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Java Edition‌

Each level separately adds 2.5 ( × 1 ¹⁄₄) extra damage to each hit, to "aquatic" mobs only (dolphins, elder guardians, fish, guardians, squids, and turtles, but not drowned as they are classified as undead). Works in melee and ranged attacks.

Bedrock Edition‌

Each level separately adds 2.5 ( × 1 ¹⁄₄) extra damage to each hit to all mobs when underwater. Works in melee and ranged attacks.

Infinity

Infinity

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	1

Shooting doesn't consume regular arrows.

Allows the player to shoot infinite arrows as long as they have at least 1 arrow in their inventory. Fired arrows cannot be retrieved except in Creative mode (where they are erased instead of added to the player's arrows).

Tipped and spectral arrows are consumed as usual.

Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive, and if combined with commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Knockback

Knockback

Maximum Level	II
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	5

Increases knockback.

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

Looting

Looting

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

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 level / (level + 1).
• 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).
• Affects any kills while holding the enchanted item in the main hand, not only to kills with the enchanted item. For example, a player can fire a projectile then switch to the looting item before the projectile reaches the target to get the looting effect, or can fire a projectile from the off-hand while holding a looting item in the main hand. This allows looting to work on arrows shot from a bow, as long as the player is holding the looting item when the arrow lands.
• Using commands 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.

Loyalty

Loyalty

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	5
Sounds	Loyalty

When a player throws a trident, this enchantment will cause the trident to return to the player who threw it, after it comes in contact with any block or entity. Higher enchantments will cause it to come back faster.

Loyalty and Riptide are mutually exclusive. If the two are combined via commands, the trident will become unthrowable, while Riptide still functions normally.

Luck of the Sea

Luck of the Sea

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

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

Lure

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Increases rate of fish biting the player's hook while fishing.

Decreases wait time until a catch by 5 seconds per level.

If commands are used to get a level higher than level 5 the wait timer will not start and no fish will bite at all.

Mending

Mending

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items	None
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	2

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.

Mending counts as a treasure enchantment: It can be obtained only from chest loot, fishing, or trading for enchanted books.

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

Multishot

Multishot ‌^{[upcoming: JE 1.14]}

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	?

A Crossbow will shoot 3 arrows each shot, sending them in different directions (10° apart), but only consume 1 arrow. The extra arrows cannot be collected after shooting.

Multishot and Piercing are mutually exclusive. If combined using commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Piercing

Piercing ‌^{[upcoming: JE 1.14]}

Maximum Level	IV
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	?

Shot arrows can pass through level + 1 entities. Arrows shot from a piercing crossbow can still be picked up after piercing a mob, allowing for infinite use of all arrow types, including spectral and tipped arrows.

Piercing and Multishot are mutually exclusive. If combined using commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Power

Power

Maximum Level	V
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	10

Increases arrow damage by 25% × (level + 1), rounded up to nearest half-heart.

Bow Damage by Power Level and Bow Charge

Level	Increase	No charge	Medium charge	Full charge	Full charge (critical)
Not enchanted	+0% (2.0)	1 ()	6 ()	9 ()	10 ()
I	+50% (3.0)	2 ()	9 ()	14 ( × 7)	15 ( × 7.5)
II	+75% (3.5)	2 ()	11 ( × 5.5)	16 ( × 8)	18 ( × 9)
III	+100% (4.0)	2 ()	12 ( × 6)	18 ( × 9)	20 ( × 10)
IV	+125% (4.5)	3 ()	14 ( × 7)	20 ( × 10)	23 ( × 11.5)
V	+150% (5.0)	3 ()	15 ( × 7.5)	23 ( × 11.5)	25 ( × 12.5)

Anvil required for level V.

Projectile Protection

Projectile Protection

Maximum Level	IV
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	5

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

The Formula for damage reduction by projectiles is (8 x Level)% meaning for every additional Level another 8% of the damage is absorbed. The highest Level (Projectile Protection IV) will absorb 32% (4 x 8%), so basically 1/3 of the damage inflicted by any projectiles. Theoretically at Level XIII (13) no damage by projectiles are possible (because it would transcend 100%), but since the damage to be absorbed is capped at 80% the maximum efficient Level to use would be X (10).

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

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

Protection

Maximum Level	IV
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	10

Reduces all damage, except damage from the Void, the /kill command, poison or hunger damage.

The Formula for damage reduction is (4 x Level)% meaning for every additional Level another 4% of the damage is absorbed. The highest Level (Protection IV) will absorb 16% (4 x 4%). Theoretically at Level XXV (25) no damage is possible (because it would transcend 100%), but since the damage to be absorbed is capped at 80% the maximum efficient Level to use would be XX (20).

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

Punch

Maximum Level	II
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Increases knockback.

Mobs and players are knocked back further. Each level punches back entities 3 blocks further.

Quick Charge

Quick Charge‌^{[upcoming: JE 1.14]}

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	?

Reduces time for a crossbow to load an arrow or a firework rocket. Higher levels further decrease the loading time.

Respiration

Respiration

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Extends 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.

Riptide

Riptide

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2
Sounds	Riptide I Riptide II Riptide III

Allows the trident to be used as a means of fast transportation.

When thrown by a player standing in water or while it's raining, the player will not let go of the trident and will instead travel with it. Higher levels can transport the player further. If the player collides with a mob or another player, it will deal throwing damage. Players can use this to reach higher heights by throwing the trident enchanted with Riptide straight upwards.

Riptide has no effect if the player is not standing in water and it's not raining.

Riptide is mutually exclusive with Loyalty and Channeling (but the latter are not mutually exclusive with each other).

Sharpness

Sharpness

Maximum Level	V
Primary Items
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	10

Increases melee damage.

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

Sharpness V is only available for wooden, stone, iron and diamond tools by using an anvil. 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

Silk Touch

Maximum Level	I
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	1

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

The table below lists if the block can be obtained by the Silk Touch enchantment.

List of blocks obtainable with Silk Touch

Block	Normal drops	Obtainable with Silk Touch?	Notes
Beetroots	1 Beetroot Seeds if not fully grown 1 Beetroot and 0-3 Beetroot Seeds if fully grown	No
Blue ice *	Nothing	Yes
Bookshelf	3 Book	Yes
Cake *	Nothing	No
Campfire	2 Charcoal	Yes	‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]
Carrots	1-4 Carrot	No
Clay	4 Clay	Yes	Clay can also be obtained by crafting with the clay balls the block drop, or killing an Enderman holding the block.
Coal Ore *	1 Coal	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Cocoa	1-3 Cocoa Beans	No
Coral Block *	Dead Coral Block	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Coral * Coral Fan *	Nothing	Yes
Diamond Ore *	1 Diamond	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Double Slab	2 Slab	No	All slabs except wooden drop nothing when mined without a pickaxe.
Emerald Ore *	1 Emerald	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Ender Chest *	8 Obsidian	Yes
Farmland	Dirt	No
Fire *	Nothing	No	Mining puts the fire out.
Frosted Ice*	Nothing	Yes‌[Legacy Console Edition only]	Frosted Ice cannot be obtained in inventory.‌[Java and Bedrock editions only]
		No‌[Java and Bedrock editions only]
Glass Pane * Glass *	Nothing	Yes
Glowstone	2-4 Glowstone Dust	Yes	Can also be crafted with 4 glowstone dust.
Grass Block	Dirt	Yes	Can also be obtained by killing an Enderman holding the block.
Grass Path	Dirt	Yes‌[Bedrock Edition only]
		No‌[Java and Legacy Console editions only]
Gravel	90% chance for Gravel and 10% chance for Flint	Partial
Ice *	Nothing	Yes
Infested Block (Monster Egg)	Spawns 1 Silverfish	No	When mined with a Silk Touch tool, it drops the original version of the block, not the monster egg, and no silverfish will spawn.
Inverted Daylight Detector	Daylight Detector	No
Lapis Lazuli Ore *	4-8 Lapis Lazuli	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Leaves	0-1 Saplings 0-1 Apple from oak and dark oak leaves	Yes	Leaf blocks can also obtained by mining them with shears.
Melon	3-7 Melon	Yes	Can also be crafted on the crafting table with 9 melon slices.
Melon Stem	0-4 Melon Seeds	No
Monster Spawner *	Nothing	No	The spawner drops experience if mined with a pickaxe.
Mushroom Blocks	0-2 Mushrooms	Yes
Mycelium	Dirt	Yes	Can also be obtained by killing an Enderman holding the block.
Nether Quartz Ore *	1 Nether Quartz	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Nether Wart	1-4 Nether Wart	No
Packed Ice *	Nothing	Yes
Podzol	Dirt	Yes	Can also be obtained by killing an Enderman holding the block.
Potatoes	1-4 Potato, and 2% chance for a Poisonous Potato	No
Pumpkin Stem	0-4 Pumpkin Seeds	No
Redstone Ore *	4-5 Redstone Dust	Yes (only with pickaxe)
Sea Lantern	2-3 Prismarine Crystals	Yes
Snow *	1 Snowball	Yes (only with shovel)	Can craft 6 using 3 snow blocks.
Snow Block *	4 Snowball	Yes (only with shovel)	Can also be crafted with 4 snowballs.
Stone *	Cobblestone	Yes (only with pickaxe)	Can also be smelted from cobblestone.
Turtle Egg *	Nothing	Yes
Wheat	1 Seeds if not fully grown 1 Wheat and 0-3 Seeds if fully grown	No

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

Smite

Maximum Level	V
Primary Items
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	5

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

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

Sweeping Edge

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items	None
Enchantment Weight	2

Increases sweep attack damage.

• Increases the damage that will be dealt to mobs for each hit from a sweep attack by 50%/67%/75% of the sword's attack damage for levels I/II/III.
• The formula for sweep attack damage is: 1 + Attack_Damage * (Sweeping_Edge_Level / (Sweeping_Edge_Level + 1)), rounded down. Here, the Attack_Damage is the sword's damage after applying Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods.
• As an example, an Iron Sword enchanted only with Sweeping Edge I will deal 1 + 6 * (1 / (1 + 1)) = 4 () damage each sweep attack, to each mob hit. A Diamond Sword enchanted with Sharpness V and Sweeping Edge III will deal 1 + 10 * (3 / (3 + 1)) = 8 () sweep damage. Any sword without Sweeping Edge enchantment will deal 1 + Attack_Damage * (0 / (0 + 1)) = 1 () sweep damage. Extra damage from Smite and Bane of Arthropods will be applied against undead mobs and arthropod mobs, respectively.
• Higher levels than Sweeping Edge III (obtainable via the use of commands or third party editors) will be processed following the formula above and the sweep damage will cap beneath 100% of sword's attack damage.

Thorns

Thorns

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	1
Sounds	Thorns

Attackers are damaged when they deal damage to the wearer.

Gives a Level × 15% chance of inflicting 1 ()-4 () (or Level - 10 if Level > 10) damage on anyone who attacks the 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 or 1 point otherwise.

If present on multiple pieces of armor, each piece will separately inflict Thorns damage on the attacker, but the Thorns durability penalties for all of them will be applied to just one of the pieces, chosen randomly.

Thorns III can be obtained only by using an anvil to combine two Thorns II enchantments or by trading for an enchanted book from a villager.

Thorns can be applied to a non-armor item only by using commands or a third-party tool. When such an item is held in either hand, an attacker will suffer damage according to the formula above but the durability penalty will not be applied.

Unbreaking

Unbreaking

Maximum Level	III
Primary Items
Secondary Items
Enchantment Weight	5

Increases effective durability.

For most items, (100/(Level+1))% chance a use reduces durability. On average, lifetime is (Level+1) times as long.

For armor, (60 + (40/(Level+1)))% 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.

Data values

IDs

Java Edition:

Enchantment	Name ID
Protection	protection
Fire Protection	fire_protection
Feather Falling	feather_falling
Blast Protection	blast_protection
Projectile Protection	projectile_protection
Thorns	thorns
Respiration	respiration
Depth Strider	depth_strider
Aqua Affinity	aqua_affinity
Sharpness	sharpness
Smite	smite
Bane of Arthropods	bane_of_arthropods
Knockback	knockback
Fire Aspect	fire_aspect
Looting	looting
Efficiency	efficiency
Silk Touch	silk_touch
Unbreaking	unbreaking
Fortune	fortune
Power	power
Punch	punch
Flame	flame
Infinity	infinity
Luck of the Sea	luck_of_the_sea
Lure	lure
Frost Walker	frost_walker
Mending	mending
Curse of Binding	binding_curse
Curse of Vanishing	vanishing_curse
Impaling	impaling
Riptide	riptide
Loyalty	loyalty
Channeling	channeling
Sweeping Edge	sweeping
Multishot‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]	multishot‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]
Piercing‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]	piercing‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]
Quick Charge‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]	quick_charge‌[upcoming: JE 1.14]

Bedrock Edition:

Enchantment	Name ID	Numeric ID
Protection	protection	0
Fire Protection	fire_protection	1
Feather Falling	feather_falling	2
Blast Protection	blast_protection	3
Projectile Protection	projectile_protection	4
Thorns	thorns	5
Respiration	respiration	6
Depth Strider	depth_strider	7
Aqua Affinity	aqua_affinity	8
Sharpness	sharpness	9
Smite	smite	10
Bane of Arthropods	bane_of_arthropods	11
Knockback	knockback	12
Fire Aspect	fire_aspect	13
Looting	looting	14
Efficiency	efficiency	15
Silk Touch	silk_touch	16
Unbreaking	durability	17
Fortune	fortune	18
Power	power	19
Punch	punch	20
Flame	flame	21
Infinity	infinity	22
Luck of the Sea	luck_of_the_sea	23
Lure	lure	24
Frost Walker	frost_walker	25
Mending	mending	26
Curse of Binding	binding_curse	27
Curse of Vanishing	vanishing_curse	28
Impaling	impaling	29
Riptide	riptide	30
Loyalty	loyalty	31
Channeling	channeling	32
Multishot	multishot	33
Piercing	piercing	34
Quick Charge	quick_charge	35

Item data

•  tag: The item's tag tag.

• •  Enchantments: Contains enchantments on this item that affect the way the item works.
    • : A single enchantment.
      •  id: The name of the enchantment.
      •  lvl: The level of the enchantment, where 1 is level 1.
  •  StoredEnchantments: Contains enchantments for enchanted books.
    • : A stored enchantment, identical structure to each enchantment in Enchantments.
  •  RepairCost: Number of enchantment levels to add to the base level cost when repairing, combining, or renaming this item with an Anvil.

Videos

Main article: Enchanting/video

[edit]

History

Java Edition
1.0.0			September 30, 2011		First mentions of the enchantment table.. According to a picture Notch posted of the enchantment table, they were originally crafted with cobblestone instead of obsidian.[citation needed]
			October 1, 2011		The first images of the enchantment screen are revealed, with enchantments written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The first enchantment translates onto "Well Played Internets You Are Good", the second translated into "These Names Will Be Random And Confusing", and the third translates to "Each Spell Costs Experience Levels". The Standard Galactic Alphabet or SGA was originally created by Tom Hall for use in the Commander Keen series of computer games.
			October 3, 2011		The first images of a player wearing enchanted armor are revealed.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3		Basics of enchanting have been added, along with the enchanting table. It does not require bookshelves to get maximum enchantments. Many enchantments are not yet in the game. Enchantments are to be labeled in the enchanting table as random words written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4		A bug where all enchantments would show up as Feather Falling I has been fixed.
					Enchanting has been now properly enabled enchanting on multiplayer. Previously, if a player attempted to enchant an item, it appeared enchanted for the client, but updated with the un-enchanted status once the player logged out and then back in again.
1.1			?		Added four bow enchantments: Power, Flame, Punch, and Infinity.
1.2.1			12w05a		Enchanting will now no longer requires experience in Creative mode.
			12w06a		Bows and golden swords will now have a small chance of being already enchanted when dropped by their respective mobs.
1.3.1			12w17a		Ice and glass panes can again now be collected with a Silk Touch-enchanted tool.
			12w22a		The maximum enchantment power has been lowered from 50 to 30.
					Experience is now collectable with mining and smelting in a furnace.
			12w23a		Glint (animated glow effect) on enchanted tools and armor is now visible on multiplayer.
1.4.2			12w34a		Flame enchanted bows will now ignite TNT blocks.
			12w41a		Enchantments can now be combined using anvils, allowing some high level enchantments to be applied where they were not previously possible.
1.4.4			pre		Enchantments can now be applied using /enchant. However, Protection is unavailable due to a bug.
1.4.6			12w49a		/enchant now works with ID 0, meaning it can be used to apply protection.
					The player can now enchant books to then be used to enchant a tool.
			12w50a		Added a new armor enchantment: Thorns.
					The player can now add the Silk Touch enchantment to shears and the Unbreaking enchantment to anything that has durability.
					Efficiency has been nerfed a bit, so that enchanted tools that don't match the block the player is breaking will no longer work as quickly as before (e.g. Efficiency V Pickaxes no longer instantly break dirt or wood logs).
1.5			?		Efficiency has been completely nerfed when using tools on the wrong block types - they will now break the block at the same rate as the player's bare fists.
1.7.2			13w36a		Added two fishing rod enchantments: Luck of the Sea and Lure.
					The fishing rod can now be enchanted without the use of books.
					Armor can now receive unbreaking without the use of books.
1.8			14w02a		Enchanting has received a major overhaul where there is now a secondary cost, which is lapis lazuli.
					When enchanting an item, one enchantment will now appear in the tooltip when selecting an enchantment (e.g Looting III?...).
					Levels are hard to obtain again (like pre-1.3 settings.)
					Level 5 enchants (Sharpness, Power, Smite & Bane of Arthropods) can now be applied without the use of an anvil.
					Villager trading has been revamped, causing clerics to no longer enchant items, while black apron villagers will trade enchanted items.
			14w04a		Looting will now give a 1 percentage point increase per level to the chance of getting rare drops.
			14w25a		Added a new enchantment for boots: Depth Strider.
1.9			15w36a		Reduced benefits for Sharpness and the protection enchantments. Previously, Sharpness added 1.25 () damage per level; see Armor/Before 1.9#Enchantments for the effect of pre-1.9 Protection.
			15w42a		Added Frost Walker and Mending enchantments.
					When multiple pieces of Thorns armor are worn, one will now be chosen at random instead of always using the "bottommost" piece.
					Enchantments with max 1 level will now no longer display the level, e.g. "Infinity" rather than "Infinity I".
			15w43a		Frost Walker will now no longer work on flowing water.
			15w43c		Lure will now no longer affects loot.
			15w44a		Mending is now available at lower enchantment levels.
			15w47b		Silk Touch may no longer be added to shears.
			15w47c		Silk Touch is no longer required to collect cobwebs.
			15w49a		Frost Walker will now work when standing on transparent blocks.
			15w51a		Frost Walker will no longer affect water blocks that do not have an air block above.
1.10			16w20a		Mobs with frost walker boots will now not take damage when walking on the new magma blocks.
1.11			16w32a		The block entity ID for the enchantment table is changed from EnchantTable to enchanting_table.
			16w39a		Added Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing.
1.11.1			16w50a		Added a new enchantment for swords: Sweeping Edge.
					Infinity and Mending are now mutually exclusive.
			?		Anvils will now no longer allow enchanted books to apply to items, if no change in enchantments would take effect. This can occur if all enchantments on the book are incompatible with existing enchantments on the item – or if the enchanted book has no enchantments.
1.13			17w47a		Renamed "Enchantment Table" to "Enchanting Table."
					Hoes can now be enchanted.
					Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 116.
			18w07a		The addition of tridents has added 4 new enchantments that can be applied to them: Loyalty, Impaling, Riptide, and Channeling.
			18w08b		The Respiration enchantment will now no longer grant enhanced vision underwater.
			18w14a		Riptide is now no longer compatible with Loyalty or Channeling.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.14			18w43a		Added 3 new enchantments for crossbows: Multishot, Quick Charge, and Piercing.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.12.1			build 1		Added the enchanting system and enchantment tables.
					Enchantment tables will now emit a light level of 12.
					Enchantment tables can now be crafted on the stonecutter.
					Added enchantment tables to the Creative mode inventory.
			build 11		Enchanting tables are now craftable in the crafting table, instead of the stonecutter.
Pocket Edition
1.1			alpha 1.1.0.0		Added Mending and Frost Walker enchantments.
Bedrock Edition
1.4			beta 1.2.13.8		Added Loyalty, Impaling, Riptide, and Channeling as part of Experimental Gameplay, able to be applied to the new tridents.
			beta 1.2.13.11		When Experimental Gameplay is enabled, tridents can now be enchanted.
			beta 1.2.14.2		Fully implemented Loyalty, Impaling, Riptide, and Channeling.
					Tridents are now fully implemented and can now be enchanted.
1.8			beta 1.8.0.10		Added 3 new enchantments for crossbows: Multishot, Quick Charge, and Piercing.
Legacy Console Edition
TU7	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	Patch 1	Added the enchanting system and enchanting tables.
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3		Added the Luck of the Sea, Lure and Depth Strider enchantments.
					Enchanting will now consume lapis lazuli.
					Enchanting has now been re-balanced.
					Enchanted Books can now receive multiple enchants at once.
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13		Added the Frost Walker and Mending enchantments.
TU54	CU44	1.52	Patch 24	Patch 4	Added Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing.
TU69		1.76	Patch 38		The addition of tridents has added 4 new enchantments that can be applied to them: Loyalty, Impaling, Riptide, and Channeling.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added enchantments.
1.9.19					Added the Frost Walker and Mending enchantments.

Issues

Issues relating to "Enchanting" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Gallery

• 

  A sword with 4 enchantments on it.

• 

  A diamond pickaxe with multiple high level enchantments, right after enchantment.

• 

  Enchantment table enchanting window.

• 

  Place 15 bookshelves around an enchantment table to get the highest level enchantments.

• 

  A golden pickaxe with the Silk Touch enchantment from level 20.

• 

  A bow that has many enchantments.

• 

  A screenshot of the enchanting interface.

• 

  Table of enchantment probabilities for books.

• 

  The GUI of the enchantment table in Pocket Edition (top = no item, bottom = with item hovering on the second line).

See also

• Enchantment Mechanics
• Brewing
• Crafting
• Smelting

External links

• Minecraft Enchantment Guide - Various enchantment calculation tools
• Minecraft Enchantment Calculator

Gameplay

View at: Template:Gameplay/content [edit]