Enchantments transform good gear into exceptional gear. A diamond pickaxe with Fortune III and Efficiency V mines diamonds several times faster than an unenchanted netherite pickaxe. Knowing which enchantments to prioritize — and which to avoid — makes a massive difference in every stage of the game.

How Enchanting Works (Quick Recap)

You need an Enchanting Table surrounded by bookshelves (up to 15 for max-level enchantments). Higher-level enchantments require more levels and bookshelves. Use an Anvil to combine enchanted books from fishing, trading, or looting with your tools.

The most efficient path for top-tier enchantments: fish with Luck of the Sea III or trade with Librarian villagers to get specific books, then apply them via anvil.

Pickaxe Enchantments

The pickaxe is your most important tool — enchant it first.

Priority 1: Efficiency V

Dramatically increases mining speed. The difference between Efficiency I and V is enormous — you'll mine stone nearly instantly at V. Always aim for the maximum level.

Priority 2: Fortune III

Each ore you mine has a chance to drop multiple items. At Fortune III:

  • Diamonds: average 2.2 per ore (up from 1)
  • Coal: up to 4 per ore
  • Gravel: 100% flint chance
  • Nether quartz: up to 4 per ore

Never use Fortune on iron or gold ore — these drop raw ore, not items, so Fortune doesn't help. Use Silk Touch for those.

Priority 3: Unbreaking III

Triples effective durability. Essential on any tool you use frequently.

Priority 4: Mending

Repairs the pickaxe using experience orbs you collect. With Mending, a properly maintained pickaxe lasts indefinitely. Get this from a Librarian villager — it's one of the most valuable books in the game.

Situational: Silk Touch

Use this on a second pickaxe dedicated to collecting blocks in their original form: glass, bookshelves, ores (to smelt for XP later), grass, ice, coral, etc.

Best setup: Two pickaxes — one with Fortune III / Efficiency V / Unbreaking III / Mending for ores, one with Silk Touch / Efficiency V / Unbreaking III / Mending for everything else.

Sword Enchantments

Priority 1: Sharpness V

+3 damage at level V. Works on all mobs. Always take Sharpness over Smite or Bane of Arthropods unless you're building a specialized farm.

Smite V deals bonus damage only to undead (zombies, skeletons, wither skeletons, phantoms). Better than Sharpness for skeleton farms.

Priority 2: Looting III

Enemies drop more items — and rare drops become much more common. Creepers drop more music discs. Wither skeletons drop skulls more often. Endermen drop more pearls. This is the farming enchantment.

Priority 3: Unbreaking III + Mending

Same reasoning as the pickaxe — keep your best sword running forever.

Priority 4: Fire Aspect II

Sets mobs on fire. Animals killed while burning drop cooked meat. Great for passive food generation.

Priority 5: Sweeping Edge III (Java only)

Increases sweep attack damage. Useful in mob farms where you're hitting groups.

Situational: Knockback II

Good for keeping creepers at a safe distance. Less useful if you have other protection strategies.

Bow Enchantments

Priority 1: Power V

+25% damage per level. At Power V, you one-shot most mobs. The single most important bow enchantment.

Priority 2: Infinity

One arrow in your inventory lasts forever. Eliminates the need to constantly restock arrows. Note: doesn't work with spectral or tipped arrows.

Priority 3: Flame I

Arrows set targets on fire. Animals drop cooked meat. Excellent against the Nether's blaze enemies.

Priority 4: Unbreaking III

Bows don't break often, but Unbreaking III is always worth adding.

Infinity and Mending are mutually exclusive — you cannot have both. Most players choose Infinity for the convenience of infinite arrows.

Armor Enchantments

Helmet

  • Protection IV — reduces all damage by 16% per piece (cap of 4 pieces)
  • Aqua Affinity I — mines at full speed underwater. Extremely useful.
  • Respiration III — extends breath underwater significantly
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Chestplate

  • Protection IV — highest priority
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Leggings

  • Protection IV
  • Swift Sneak III — sneak at near-walking speed. Excellent in the Deep Dark / Ancient Cities
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Boots

  • Protection IV
  • Feather Falling IV — reduces fall damage by 48%. Near-essential for exploring mountains and the End
  • Depth Strider III — walk faster underwater
  • Frost Walker II — turns water to ice beneath you (mutually exclusive with Depth Strider)
  • Soul Speed III — walk fast on soul sand/soil in the Nether
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

General Armor

  • Thorns III — reflects damage to attackers. Degrades armor faster, but with Mending it's manageable
  • Blast Protection IV — situational; use on one piece when farming creepers or visiting end cities

Axe Enchantments

Axes deal more damage than swords pre-Sharpness, especially against shields.

  • Sharpness V — best combat damage
  • Efficiency V — for chopping trees at speed
  • Silk Touch or Fortune — situational
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Shovel Enchantments

  • Efficiency V — moves dirt, gravel, and sand at incredible speed
  • Silk Touch — picks up grass blocks, snow layers, etc.
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Trident Enchantments

Tridents are found by killing drowned mobs — rare but powerful.

  • Loyalty III — trident returns after being thrown (like Thor's hammer). Makes tridents practical for combat
  • Channeling I — calls a lightning bolt on hit during thunderstorms. Rare but dramatic
  • Riptide III — launches you through the air when thrown in rain or water. For mobility, not combat (incompatible with Loyalty/Channeling)
  • Impaling V — bonus damage to aquatic mobs only
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Crossbow Enchantments

  • Quick Charge III — dramatically reduces reload time
  • Multishot I — fires 3 arrows in a spread (costs 1 arrow). Great for groups
  • Piercing IV — arrows pass through multiple mobs. Better for single targets in a line
  • Unbreaking III + Mending

Multishot and Piercing are mutually exclusive.

Getting Enchantments Efficiently

The best method for specific enchantments is Librarian villagers:

  1. Place a lectern near an unemployed villager — it becomes a Librarian
  2. Trade with it to see its book selection
  3. If you don't see what you want, break and replace the lectern to reset its trades
  4. Repeat until you find the book you need (Mending, Fortune III, etc.)
  5. Buy as many as you need and apply via anvil

This lets you build a perfect tool set without relying on random enchanting table rolls.

Final Priority Order

If you could only enchant things in order, do it like this:

  1. Pickaxe (Fortune III / Efficiency V / Unbreaking III / Mending)
  2. All armor pieces (Protection IV / Unbreaking III / Mending)
  3. Boots (add Feather Falling IV)
  4. Sword (Sharpness V / Looting III / Unbreaking III / Mending)
  5. Bow (Power V / Infinity / Flame I / Unbreaking III)
  6. Silk Touch pickaxe (second pickaxe)
  7. Everything else

Get Mending on everything you rely on — it transforms the game from gear management into genuine progression.