Curse of Binding

Curse of Binding

Maximum level	I
Primary items	None
Secondary items
Enchantment weight	1
Overleveling behavior	No change

Curse of Binding is an enchantment that prevents the item from being removed from armor slots.

Obtaining

Curse of Binding is a treasure enchantment; it can be obtained from fishing, raid drops,‌^{[BE only]} trading with a librarian of any level, and in non-village structure loot.

Usage

An item with Curse of Binding cannot be removed from any armor slot unless the player is in Creative mode, the player dies, or the item breaks. For items without durability or the elytra, the player must die to remove the item, making removal in Hardcore mode impossible.

All mobs also follow the Curse of Binding; for example, if wearing a leather helmet enchanted with Curse of Binding, they cannot take it off to equip their preferred netherite helmet if they find one. A player cannot remove the enchantment using a grindstone or crafting table; instead, the item returns to the player, still cursed. However, if the cursed item is a carved pumpkin or mob head, placing and breaking the block removes the curse.

If the keep_inventory‌^{[JE only]} or keepinventory‌^{[BE only]} game rule is set to true, the player keeps the cursed item even after death. In this situation, only breaking the item, if possible, removes it.

However, the execution of the commands /item‌^{[Java Edition only]} or /replaceitem‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} is compulsory. Therefore, they can still remove items with Curse of Binding by replacing them.

This enchantment does not prevent removal of the affected item from one's inventory unless it is equipped.

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Enchantment definition

{
  "anvil_cost": 8,
  "description": {
    "translate": "enchantment.minecraft.binding_curse"
  },
  "effects": {
    "minecraft:prevent_armor_change": {}
  },
  "max_cost": {
    "base": 50,
    "per_level_above_first": 0
  },
  "max_level": 1,
  "min_cost": {
    "base": 25,
    "per_level_above_first": 0
  },
  "slots": [
    "armor"
  ],
  "supported_items": "#minecraft:enchantable/equippable",
  "weight": 1
}

History

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Legacy Console Edition

Issues

Issues relating to "Curse of Binding" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

References