Enchantment

This article is about the Minecraft mechanic. For the Minecraft Dungeons mechanic, see MCD:Enchantment. For the Minecraft: Story Mode property, see Story Mode:Enchantment. For the A Minecraft Movie property, see Movie:Enchantment.

"Enchanted" redirects here. For the featured server, see Featured servers § List of featured servers.

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

Enchantments are properties that modify certain items by enhancing their existing effects or granting additional ones. Enchanted items usually display an animated glint.

Obtaining

Enchanting table

An enchanting table can be used to enchant unenchanted items at the cost of lapis lazuli and experience levels, or for free in Creative.

Only one of the three random offered enchantments can be selected, however there is a chance for additional enchantments to also be applied. The quality of the enchantments increase with their experience cost and the number of nearby bookshelves, with the effect of bookshelves maxing out at 15.

Anvil

An anvil can be used to combine two items and their enchantments, which can be two items of the same type, or an item and an enchanted book. This combines the list of enchantments, keeping the higher level of duplicate enchantments, or upgrading duplicate enchantments of the same level to the next higher.

Combining items in an anvil costs experience levels; the amount depends on the enchantments of the sacrificed item, and the number of times the items have been used in an anvil, except for Creative, where anvils are free.

Trading

Some villagers sell enchanted equipment or books. Armorer, fisherman, fletcher, toolsmith, and weaponsmith villagers sell enchanted tools, weapons, or armor with non-treasure enchantments. Librarian villagers sell enchanted books that can have almost any enchantment, including most treasure enchantments, but excluding the Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst enchantments.

Bartering

Piglins can trade enchanted books or iron boots with a random level of Soul Speed when given gold ingots.

Fishing

Enchanted books, bows, and fishing rods can be obtained from fishing up treasure loot.

Mob drops

Some mobs can spawn with enchanted weapons or armor, which have a chance of 8.5%‌^{[Java Edition only]}/25%‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} + 1% per level of Looting to drop if the mob is killed by a player or tamed wolf.

Generated loot

Most structures that contain loot chests have a chance of generating enchanted books or items.

Creative

Enchanted books for all levels of all enchantments can be found in the Creative inventory.

Commands

Commands such as /give can give a player enchanted items, and /enchant can directly apply enchantments to the item held in the main hand.

Behavior

Effects

The effects of enchantments vary significantly. Some enchantments increase protection against specific types of damage, others increase damage dealt to certain classes of mobs. Some enchantments grant unique abilities such as summoning a lightning bolt or turning water into ice blocks. See § List of enchantments.

Level

Many enchantments have multiple levels. Generally, the higher the level, the more potent the enchantment's effects are. Levels are stylized as Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, ...). The minimum level of any enchantment is I; the maximum level depends on the enchantment. In Java Edition, for effects that only have level I, no number is shown. Commands such as /give can be used to ignore the normal limit and obtain enchantments with levels 0–255, though the effectiveness of levels higher than the intended one varies by enchantment. See § Maximum effective values for enchantments.

Incompatibilities

Some enchantments are incompatible with one another. It is not possible to receive conflicting enchantments from an enchanting table or to find generated loot with conflicting enchantments. Combining items in an anvil loses the sacrificed item's conflicting enchantments. /enchant refuses to add conflicting enchantments, though other commands, such as /give, can force conflicting enchantments onto the same item with varying results to their effects.

Conflicting enchantments

• Sword: Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods
• Tool: Fortune and Silk Touch
• Armor: Protection, Fire Protection, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection
• Boots: Depth Strider and Frost Walker
• Bow: Infinity and Mending
• Crossbow: Multishot and Piercing
• Trident: Loyalty and Riptide or Channeling and Riptide
• Mace: Density, Breach, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods
• Book: Sharpness, Density, and Breach; all conflicts above

Primary and secondary items

An enchantment's primary items are the items that can receive the enchantment from an enchanting table. The secondary items are the ones that that cannot receive the enchantment from an enchanting table but can still have it applied with an enchanted book in an anvil.

Treasure

Treasure enchantments cannot be obtained through an enchanting table, and are never found on natural equipment worn by mobs or on enchanted items traded by villagers. Most treasure enchantments, however, can be generated on enchanted books sold by librarians. If a treasure enchantment is tradable, it has double the emerald-price, up to the stack size, compared to a non-treasure enchantment of the same level.

Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst can only be obtained in specific structures or through a specific game mechanic.

Curse

Curse enchantments apply negative modifiers to items and cannot be removed once applied. Attempting to disenchant an item with curse enchantments removes all other enchantments, except for the curse enchantments.

Disenchanting

Enchantments can be removed from an item by moving it through a grindstone or combining it with another item in a grindstone or crafting grid. These methods of disenchanting items do not remove curse enchantments.

List of enchantments

Descriptions

• Max Level: Maximum level that can be obtained without commands.
• Primary Items: The items that can receive the enchantment from an enchanting table. Items of any material can be enchanted, though some more easily than others.
• Secondary Items: Items that cannot receive the enchantment from an enchanting table but can from an enchanted book with an anvil.

Name	Identifier	Summary	Incompatible With	Max Level	Primary Items	Secondary Items
Aqua Affinity	aqua_affinity	Removes the mining speed reduction that occurs when underwater.		I
Bane of Arthropods	bane_of_arthropods	Increases damage against arthropod mobs (spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, endermites and bees) and applies Slowness IV to them.	Smite, Sharpness, Breach, Density	V	‌[BE only]‌[BE only]	‌[JE only]‌[JE only]
Blast Protection	blast_protection	Reduces explosion damage and knockback.	Fire Protection, Protection, Projectile Protection	IV
Breach	breach	Reduces the effectiveness of armor on the target, including innate armor points.	Density, Bane of Arthropods, Smite, Sharpness	IV
Channeling	channeling	During thunderstorms, a thrown trident summons a lightning bolt on the target upon hit.	Riptide	I
Curse of Binding	binding_curse‌[JE only] binding‌[BE only]	Items cannot be removed from armor slots.		I
Curse of Vanishing	vanishing_curse‌[JE only] vanishing‌[BE only]	Item disappears on death.		I		‌[BE only]
Density	density	Increases the damage of a mace's smash attack.	Breach, Bane of Arthropods, Smite, Sharpness	V
Depth Strider	depth_strider	Lessens the movement speed reduction that occurs when in water.	Frost Walker	III
Efficiency	efficiency	Increases mining efficiency.		V
Feather Falling	feather_falling	Reduces fall damage.		IV
Fire Aspect	fire_aspect	Sets naturally flammable mobs on fire.		II	‌[BE only]	‌[JE only]
Fire Protection	fire_protection	Reduces fire damage and burning time.	Blast Protection, Protection, Projectile Protection	IV
Flame	flame	Fired arrows burn, set targets on fire, and light TNT and campfires.		I
Fortune	fortune	Chance to receive more item drops from certain blocks.	Silk Touch	III
Frost Walker	frost_walker	Turns water into frosted ice beneath the wearer's feet, and provides immunity to campfire and magma block damage.	Depth Strider	II
Impaling	impaling	In Java Edition, increases damage against aquatic mobs. In Bedrock Edition, increases damage against mobs in water or rain.		V
Infinity	infinity	Prevents consumption of arrows, but not spectral arrows or tipped arrows.	Mending	I
Knockback	knockback	Increases melee knockback.		II
Looting	looting	Chance to receive more item drops from most mobs.		III
Loyalty	loyalty	Returns the trident to its owner upon landing after being thrown.	Riptide	III
Luck of the Sea	luck_of_the_sea	Increases the rate of treasure items from fishing.		III
Lunge	lunge	Launches the player horizontally when using a spear's jab attack, at the cost of consuming saturation and hunger points as well as 1 durability.		III
Lure	lure	Decreases time for bites when fishing.		III
Mending	mending	Repairs the item using experience.	Infinity	I
Multishot	multishot	Adds 2 arrows to the sides of the center arrow, at the cost of increasing incurred durability damage.	Piercing	I
Piercing	piercing	Causes fired arrows to pierce entities, allowing for a single arrow to hit multiple mobs, and allows arrows to be picked up again after hitting a target.	Multishot	IV
Power	power	Increases arrow damage.		V
Projectile Protection	projectile_protection	Reduces damage from projectiles.	Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection	IV
Protection	protection	Reduces most forms of damage.	Blast Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection	IV
Punch	punch	Increases arrow knockback.		II
Quick Charge	quick_charge	Increases crossbow charging speed.		III
Respiration	respiration	Extends underwater breathing time.		III
Riptide	riptide	Trident when used launches the wielder while in water or rain, replacing its ability to be thrown as a projectile.	Channeling, Loyalty	III
Sharpness	sharpness	Increases melee damage.	Bane of Arthropods, Smite, Breach, Density	V	‌[BE only]	‌[JE only]
Silk Touch	silk_touch	Certain blocks that would otherwise drop different items or nothing will drop themselves instead.	Fortune	I		‌[BE only]
Smite	smite	Increases damage dealt against undead mobs.	Bane of Arthropods, Sharpness, Breach, Density	V	‌[BE only]‌[BE only]	‌[JE only]‌[JE only]
Soul Speed	soul_speed	Movement speed on soul sand is increased instead of decreased, and movement speed on soul soil is increased.		III
Sweeping Edge ‌[JE only]	sweeping_edge	Increases the damage of a sword sweep attack. This increase applies to nearby entities that are close to the attacked entity, but does not apply to the attacked entity itself.		III
Swift Sneak	swift_sneak	Lessens the movement speed reduction that occurs when sneaking.		III
Thorns	thorns	Random chance to damage entities that attack the user, at the cost of increasing incurred durability damage.		III	‌[BE only]‌[BE only]‌[BE only]‌[BE only]	‌[JE only]‌[JE only]‌[JE only]‌[JE only]
Unbreaking	unbreaking	Gives a chance for items to ignore durability loss, effectively increasing their durability.		III
Wind Burst	wind_burst	Causes a burst of wind upon executing a mace smash attack that launches the attacker upward.		III
Cleaving ‌[JE Combat Tests only]	cleaving	Increases the damage and shield stun time of an axe.	Sharpness, Bane of Arthropods, Smite	III

Summary of enchantments by item

The table below shows which enchantments can be applied to particular items.

Item	Any combination of	Only one from each column
Helmet	Mending, Unbreaking, Thorns, Respiration, Aqua Affinity, Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing	Protection, Projectile Protection, Fire Protection, Blast Protection
Turtle Shell
Chestplate	Mending, Unbreaking, Thorns, Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing
Leggings	Mending, Unbreaking, Thorns, Swift Sneak, Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing
Boots	Mending, Unbreaking, Thorns, Feather Falling, Soul Speed, Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing		Depth Strider, Frost Walker
Sword	Mending, Unbreaking, Fire Aspect, Looting, Knockback, Curse of Vanishing, Sweeping Edge‌[JE only]	Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods
Spear	Mending, Unbreaking, Fire Aspect, Looting, Knockback, Curse of Vanishing, Lunge	Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods
Mace	Mending, Unbreaking, Fire Aspect, Wind Burst, Curse of Vanishing	Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Density, Breach
Axe	Mending, Unbreaking, Efficiency, Curse of Vanishing	Fortune, Silk Touch	Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Cleaving​[upcoming: JE Combat Tests]
Pickaxe
Shovel
Hoe
Bow	Unbreaking, Power, Punch, Flame, Curse of Vanishing	Infinity, Mending
Fishing Rod	Mending, Unbreaking, Lure, Luck of the Sea, Curse of Vanishing
Trident	Mending, Unbreaking, Impaling, Curse of Vanishing	Channeling, Riptide	Loyalty, Riptide
Crossbow	Mending, Unbreaking, Quick Charge, Curse of Vanishing	Piercing, Multishot
Shears	Mending, Unbreaking, Efficiency, Curse of Vanishing, Silk Touch‌[BE only]
Elytra	Mending, Unbreaking, Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing
Shield	Mending, Unbreaking, Curse of Vanishing
Flint and Steel
Carrot on a Stick
Warped Fungus on a Stick
Brush
Compass	Curse of Vanishing
Recovery Compass‌[BE only]
Carved Pumpkin	Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing
Heads

The tables below show which enchantments can be obtained through an enchanting table, and which can only be applied through an anvil.

• indicates the item can receive the enchantment from an enchanting table.
• indicates the item cannot receive the enchantment from an enchanting table, but can receive the enchantment by using an anvil to combine the item with an enchanted book or another enchanted item.

Enchantments for hand slot items

Enchantment												‌[BE only]
Bane of Arthropods			‌[JE only]
			‌[BE only]
Breach
Channeling
Cleaving​[upcoming: JE Combat Tests]			‌[JE only]
Curse of Vanishing
Density
Efficiency
Fire Aspect
Flame
Fortune
Impaling
Infinity
Knockback
Looting
Loyalty
Luck of the Sea
Lunge
Lure
Mending
Multishot
Piercing
Power
Punch
Quick Charge											[n 1]
Riptide
Sharpness			‌[JE only]
			‌[BE only]
Silk Touch					‌[BE only]
Smite			‌[JE only]
			‌[BE only]
Sweeping Edge
Unbreaking
Wind Burst

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
Soul Speed
Swift Sneak
Thorns	‌[JE only]		‌[JE only]	‌[JE only]
	‌[BE only]		‌[BE only]	‌[BE only]
Unbreaking

Maximum effective values for enchantments

Using commands such as /give, items can be enchanted with levels 0–255, though the effectiveness of levels higher than the intended one varies by enchantment.

All enchantments have some effective range in which they scale normally, and for enchantments where that is not the entire 0–255 range, all levels outside it are treated as the closest level in the range unless otherwise specified.

Data values

Item data

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition:

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Disenchanted	Use a Grindstone to get experience from an enchanted item.	—	20	Bronze

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Enchanter	Enchant an item at an Enchanting Table	Insert an item in an enchanting table, then apply an enchantment.

Videos

History

Reveal

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Legacy Console Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

Issues

Issues relating to "Enchanting", "Enchantment", or "Enchanted" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  A sword with 4 enchantments on it
• 
  A diamond pickaxe with multiple high-level enchantments, right after enchanting (pre-1.13)
• 
  Place 15 bookshelves around an enchanting table to get the highest level enchantments.
• 
  A bow that has four enchantments
• 
  Table of enchantment probabilities for books
• 
  The GUI of the enchantment table in Pocket Edition while the Pocket UI Profile is activated (top = no item, bottom = with item hovering on the second line)

Development images

• 
  Enchant screen, posted by Notch
• 
  Some enchantments, posted by Jeb
• 
  Pre-release 1.8 enchanting table screen. Note that gold ingots were required instead of lapis lazuli.
• 
  First image of enchanting in Pocket Edition
• 
  Underwater, with and without the Respiration enchantment comparison. This feature was removed in 1.13.

Trivia

• Enchantments on items are always listed in the same order on their tooltips, that being: Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing, Riptide, Channeling, Wind Burst, Frost Walker, Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Impaling, Power, Density, Breach, Piercing, Sweeping Edge, Multishot, Fire Aspect, Flame, Knockback, Punch, Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection, Feather Falling, Fortune, Looting, Silk Touch, Luck of the Sea, Efficiency, Quick Charge, Lure, Respiration, Aqua Affinity, Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, Depth Strider, Thorns, Loyalty, Unbreaking, Infinity, and Mending.

See also

• Enchanting/Levels
• Tutorial:Best enchantments guide
• Brewing
• Crafting
• Smelting
• Enchanting mechanics
• Anvil mechanics

References

External links

• Getting Started with Enchantments in Minecraft – Minecraft Help Center
• All Enchantments in Minecraft – Minecraft Help Center