Minecraft Enchanting: A Full Guide

Minecraft has an in-depth enchanting system that, like brewing potions, can give you a competitive edge in combat. If you’re playing PvP, an enchanted weapon or set of armor will place you head and shoulders above another player without enchanted gear. 

Whether you enchant a sword to deal more damage, a set of boots to help you fall slower, or even a shield to automatically repair itself, learning how Minecraft enchantment works with items will give you an edge in all end-game content. 

Minecraft Enchantment List

Before setting out to enchant all of your gear, you need to first understand what each enchantment is and what it does. Minecraft has a lot of different enchantments that range in level from 1 to 5. Most utility enchantments (like Infinity) have only 1 level, while damage enchantments often go up to 5.

Melee Weapon Enchantments

The first enchantment you are likely to encounter is on a sword (although you can use an axe as a melee weapon too.) Early-game enemies can drop enchanted weapons. 

• Sharpness: Increases damage dealt by 2.5 per level of enchantment.
• Smite: Increases damage dealt to undead enemies like Zombies and Skeletons by 2.5 per enchantment level. 
• Bane of Arthropods: Increases damage dealt to insect-like enemies such like Spiders and Silverfish by 2.5 per enchantment level. 
• Fire Aspect: Attacks set target on fire with a maximum enchantment level of 2. Damage dealt increases by 3 and 7 depending on level. 
• Looting: Increases the amount and rarity of loot mobs drop when killed with a maximum enchantment level of 3.
• Knockback: Each attack knocks enemies back a set number of blocks with a maximum enchantment level of 2. Each level increases the distance by 3 blocks.
• Efficiency: In Java Edition, an axe enchanted with Efficiency has a 25% chance to disable the use of a shield for 5 seconds, with an increased chance of 5% per level.

There are also Trident-only enchantments that are listed here due to its dual nature as a melee and a ranged weapon.

• Channeling: Summons a bolt of lightning when enemies are struck with the weapon with a maximum enchantment level of 1. This only works in a thunderstorm.
• Impaling: Each hit deals additional damage to mobs in the water. In Java Edition, the extra damage is only applied to aquatic monsters, while in Bedrock the damage applies to any monster in the water.

Ranged Weapon Enchantments

These enchantments apply to bows, crossbows, and tridents.

• Flame: Arrows set enemies ablaze for 5 additional points of fire damage.
• Infinity: Bows do not consume arrows.
• Piercing: Each arrow can pass through multiple enemies. 
• Power: Increases arrow damage by 25% per level.
• Punch: Increases knockback from arrows by 3 blocks per level.
• Quick Charge: Reduces the time needed to ready the crossbow.
• Multishot: Fires 3 arrows at the cost of 1.

Again, there are a few ranged Trident-only enchantments to be aware of.

• Loyalty: The trident returns when thrown, with each level reducing the return time. 
• Riptide: The trident pulls the player with it when thrown, with the distance traveled increasing with each level. This enchantment only works in water or in rain.

General-Purpose Enchantments

These enchantments work on most any item. 

• Mending: Gaining experience repairs item durability. 
• Unbreaking: Increases the amount of times an item can be used before it breaks.
• Curse of Vanishing: The item disappears upon player death. 

Tool Enchantments

These enchantments are best for your tools.

• Efficiency: Increases the speed you mine or break blocks.
• Fortune: Every block yields more resources. Yield increases by level.
• Silk Touch: Blocks drop as blocks instead of breaking — i.e. a Glowstone block drops a Glowstone block instead of Glowstone Dust.
• Lure: Decreases the time it takes to attract fish to a fishing rod.
• Luck of the Sea: Increases the chance of fishing rare loot.

Armor Enchantments

Armor enchantments can give you dramatically more protection from damage than just armor alone. 

• Aqua Affinity: Increases underwater mining speed.
• Respiration: Increases underwater breathing time.
• Protection: Increases resistance to all types of damage by 4% per level.
• Blast Protection: Reduces the damage from explosions and knockback distance.
• Fire Protection: Reduces the damage from fire and the amount of burn time. 
• Projectile Protection: Reduces the damage taken from bows, crossbows, and other projectiles.
• Soul Speed: Increases walking speed on Soul Sand per level. 
• Thorns: Reflects some of the damage taken back to your attacker at the cost of durability.
• Feather Falling: Reduces fall damage.
• Frost Walker: Transforms water blocks into ice and allows you to run and walk over water.
• Depth Strider: Increases underwater movement speed. 
• Curse of Binding: Armor cannot be removed once equipped except through death or breaking.

How to Enchant Items in Minecraft

You can enchant items one of two ways: through an Enchanting Table, or with an Anvil.

How To Make An Enchanting Table

An Enchanting Table requires 7 items: one book, two Diamonds, and Four Obsidian. 

1. Place a book in the top-middle of the crafting grid.

2. Place a Diamond in the middle-left and middle-right squares of the crafting grid.

3. Place Obsidian in the entire bottom row and one in the middle square of the entire grid.

That’s all it takes to make an Enchanting Table, but its capabilities are somewhat limited unless it is surrounded by Bookshelves. It requires 15 Bookshelves placed one square away from the Enchanting Table in a 5×5 grid.

How to Make an Anvil

An Anvil requires three Blocks of Iron and four Iron Ingots.

1. Place three Blocks of Iron across the top row of the crafting grid.

2. Place one Iron Ingot in the middle of the crafting grid.

3. Place three Iron Ingots across the bottom row.

An Anvil allows you to enchant items with Enchanted Books. Enchanted Books can carry multiple enchantments of varying levels and can be found in chests in Nether Fortresses, villages, Bastions, abandoned mine shafts, and more. You can also find Enchanted Books when fishing. 

How to Enchant an Item in Minecraft Using an Enchanting Table

The Enchanting Table is easy to use. You’ll need the item you want to enchant and a piece of Lapis Lazuli. 

1. Open the Enchanting Table interface.

2. Add the item you want to enchant to the left box.

3. Add the Lapis Lazuli to the right box.

4. Select an enchantment from those that appear on the list. If you don’t want any of the available enchantments, wait one in-game day and try again. The available enchantments will be different.

If you use the level 30 enchantment option, there is a chance you will receive a bonus enchantment on top of the one you select. The Enchanting Table is an easy way to enchant items, but it’s not as accurate as using an Enchanted Book.

How to Enchant an Item in Minecraft Using an Anvil

An Anvil can be used to repair items, but it’s also how you apply an Enchanted Book to an item.

1. Open the Anvil interface.

2. Add the item you want to enchant to the left-most square.

3. Add the Enchanted Book to the square beside it.

4. Remove the newly-enchanted item from the square on the right. It will require a certain amount of experience depending on how many times the item has passed through the anvil. 

Each time an item passes through an Anvil, whether to be enchanted or repaired, it increases the cost of subsequent uses. Once that level cost rises above 39, the game will simply say “Too Expensive” and won’t allow you to use that item in an anvil any longer. 

Minecraft enchanting can make or break your adventure. Fire Protection can help fighting creatures in the Nether, while Aqua Affinity and Respiration can give you an edge in Ocean Temples. Feather Falling helps with exploration. There are so many possibilities, and you’re limited only by the items you can find.