Best Minecraft Enchantments for Every Item (2026)

The best Minecraft enchantments for most gear are Unbreaking III and Mending, plus Protection IV on armor, Sharpness V on swords, and Efficiency V with Fortune III on pickaxes. Newer weapons have their own best picks, like Density V on the mace and Lunge III on the spear. This guide covers every enchantable item in the game.

_{Current as of Minecraft 26.2 (Chaos Cubed). Updated after the Copper Age drop (1.21.9) added copper gear, the spear, and new weapon enchantments.}

Most armor, weapons, and tools in Minecraft can be enchanted. To do this, you will need to gather enough XP and build an enchanting table surrounded by many bookshelves. If you do not have enough bookshelves, the number of enchants available will be reduced. Note that some enchantments can only be applied by combining a piece of equipment and an enchantment book in an anvil.

Adding enchantments to your armor, tools, and weapons in Minecraft will improve your gear significantly in terms of survivability, utility, speed, and durability. It’s common for players to build a library or dedicated room for enchanting.

Although certain enchantments may be better for certain situations, you can follow our list here for a general guide of the best enchantments for each type of equipment in Minecraft.

What Are the Best Armor Enchantments?

The best enchantments for every piece of armor are Protection IV, Mending, and Unbreaking III. These three work on helmets, chestplates, leggings, and boots, and they are the standard setup for survival.

Enchantment	Max Level	What It Does	Conflicts With
Protection	IV	Reduces most damage by 4% per level (16% at max)	Fire, Blast, and Projectile Protection
Fire Protection	IV	Reduces fire and lava damage by 8% per level, and shortens burning time	Protection, Blast, Projectile Protection
Blast Protection	IV	Reduces explosion damage by 8% per level and cuts explosion knockback	Protection, Fire, Projectile Protection
Projectile Protection	IV	Reduces arrow, trident, and other projectile damage by 8% per level	Protection, Fire, Blast Protection
Mending	I	Repairs armor as you pick up XP orbs	Nothing
Unbreaking	III	Armor lasts about 43% longer at max level	Nothing
Thorns	III	Damages attackers, but wears out your armor faster	Nothing

• Protection IV – We recommend that all armor pieces have this enchant. Each level of this enchant adds a 4% reduction in damage. For example, Protection II adds 8% (Level 2 * 4%) damage reduction, and Protection IV adds 16% (Level 4 * 4%) damage reduction. If all four of your armor pieces have Protection IV, you will take 64% less damage.
• Mending – Automatically repairs your armor as you pick up XP orbs. For example, slaying a mob would drop XP orbs and automatically repair your armor (at a rate of 2 durability per 1 xp). This enchant can only be obtained after finding a mending enchantment book. You can’t enchant mending using an enchanting table, you must use an anvil.
• Unbreaking III – Armor lasts longer before breaking from durability. At level III unbreaking, each armor piece will last about 40% longer before breaking or needing repairs. Highly recommended for all pieces.

Notes on other enchants:

• You can swap Protection IV for one of the situational protections. Fire Protection IV is worth it on one piece if you spend a lot of time in the nether. Blast Protection IV helps in creeper-heavy areas and against TNT. Projectile Protection IV is good at skeleton farms and in PvP. For everything else, Protection IV is the safer pick because it covers all of it at once. Total damage reduction from all your armor caps at 80% no matter what you use.
• Thorns III is an enchant that damages attackers. It makes your armor break more quickly, so it is not recommended for most situations.

What Are the Best Helmet Enchantments?

The best helmet enchantments are Protection IV, Mending, Unbreaking III, Aqua Affinity, and Respiration III.

• Protection IV, Mending, and Unbreaking III are all recommended.
• Aqua Affinity – Allows you to mine and dig underwater at normal speeds. Without this enchant, you mine 5x slower while swimming.
• Respiration III – Extends your underwater breathing time by 45 seconds. You will be able to swim underwater for longer periods of time when using this enchant.

What Are the Best Chestplate Enchantments?

The best chestplate enchantments are Protection IV, Mending, and Unbreaking III. The chestplate gives more armor points than any other piece, so this is the one to enchant first if you are short on levels.

• Protection IV, Mending, and Unbreaking III are all recommended.
• Thorns III is optional. It damages attackers but eats through durability, so most players skip it.

What Are the Best Leggings Enchantments?

The best leggings enchantments are Protection IV, Mending, Unbreaking III, and Swift Sneak III. Swift Sneak only goes on leggings, so this is the one armor piece with an exclusive enchantment worth hunting for.

Enchantment	Max Level	What It Does	How to Get It
Protection	IV	Reduces most damage by 4% per level	Enchanting table or anvil
Swift Sneak	III	Crouch faster, 15% more speed per level	Ancient city chests only
Unbreaking	III	Leggings last about 43% longer	Enchanting table or anvil
Mending	I	Repairs leggings as you pick up XP orbs	Books from loot, trading, or fishing

• Swift Sneak III – Normally you crawl along at 30% of your walking speed while crouched. Each level of Swift Sneak adds 15%, so at level III you move at 75% of normal walking speed while still sneaking. It makes the deep dark survivable, and it is handy any time you are sneaking along ledges or through a mob farm.
• You cannot enchant Swift Sneak at an enchanting table. It only comes from enchanted books in ancient city chests, deep underground in the deep dark biome. Villagers do not trade it and you will not fish it up. Bring a book to the deep dark and expect to loot several chests before you find one.
• Protection IV, Mending, and Unbreaking III are all recommended alongside it. Swift Sneak does not conflict with any of them.

What Are the Best Boots Enchantments?

The best boots enchantments are Protection IV, Mending, Unbreaking III, Feather Falling IV, and either Depth Strider III or Frost Walker II.

• Protection IV, Mending, and Unbreaking III are all recommended.
• Feather Falling IV – Reduces fall damage by 50%. When combined with Protection IV on at least two pieces of armor, a maximum fall damage reduction of 80% can be achieved.
• Depth Strider III OR Frost Walker II – Only one of these can be on your boots, select one depending on your play style. Depth Strider III increases your swimming speed to the same speed as walking on land. Frost Walker II turns water into ice, allowing you to walk on water. As an additional benefit, Frost Walker II also removes damage when walking on magma blocks and campfires.
• Soul Speed III – Makes you walk faster on soul sand and soul soil instead of being slowed down. Level III gets you moving quicker across soul blocks than sprinting on normal ground. If you spend time in soul sand valleys or run a nether highway over soul soil, this one is excellent.

Getting Soul Speed takes a trip to the nether. Barter with piglins for enchanted books or iron boots, kill piglins wearing golden boots, or loot bastion remnant chests. You cannot get it from an enchanting table, villagers, or fishing. Note that the boots take a small durability hit every so often while the enchant is working, so put Unbreaking III and Mending on them too.

Shields

• Unbreaking III and Mending
• No other additional enchants can be added, other than Mending and Unbreaking III.

What Are the Best Weapon Enchantments?

As with armor, Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended for your weapons. One exception is the bow, as you cannot combine the Infinity enchant with mending (see bow section).

What Are the Best Sword Enchantments?

The best sword enchantments are Sharpness V, Looting III, Sweeping Edge III, Unbreaking III, and Mending.

Enchantment	Max Level	What It Does	Conflicts With
Sharpness	V	Adds 3 damage (Java) or 6.25 (Bedrock)	Smite, Bane of Arthropods
Smite	V	Extra damage to undead mobs only	Sharpness, Bane of Arthropods
Bane of Arthropods	V	Extra damage to spiders, silverfish, endermites, and bees	Sharpness, Smite
Looting	III	More item drops from mobs	Nothing
Sweeping Edge	III	Sweeping damage +75% (Java only)	Nothing
Fire Aspect	II	Sets enemies on fire	Nothing
Knockback	II	Pushes enemies away when you hit them	Nothing

• Unbreaking III and Mending are both recommended.
• Sharpness V – Increases damage done by 3 (Java Edition) or 6.25 (Bedrock Edition). Very useful enchant for increasing melee damage.
• Smite V – Increases damage done to undead mobs, but cannot be combined with Sharpness V. It’s typically recommended to apply Sharpness V because it increases damage against all enemies.
• Bane of Arthropods V – Increases damage against spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, endermites, and bees, and slows them down when you hit them. Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive, so a sword can only carry one of the three. Most players stick with Sharpness V. Bane of Arthropods is worth a second sword if you are clearing a spider spawner or a woodland mansion.
• Sweeping Edge III – Increases sweeping damage done by 75% (Java Edition only).
• Looting III – Increases item drops from mobs (does not increase XP drops). Very useful enchant for some activities, such as wither skeleton skull farming.

The following enchants are optional, depending on your preferences and playstyle: Fire Aspect II (sets enemies on fire), Knockback II (pushes enemies away when you hit them – can be helpful or annoying).

What Are the Best Axe Enchantments?

The best axe enchantments are Sharpness V, Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, and either Fortune III or Silk Touch.

• Unbreaking III and Mending are both recommended.
• Sharpness V – As with swords, increases melee damage done significantly.
• Axes can also have the Smite V enchantment to increase damage against undead mobs, but it can’t be combined with Sharpness V.
• Efficiency V – Significantly increases woodcutting speed, an absolute must if you are using the axe for chopping down trees as opposed to just for combat.
• Silk Touch or Fortune III – Select one of these two depending on your situation. Silk touch harvests blocks in their original form, for example breaking leaves will drop leaf blocks. Fortune III increases item drops only and not block drops (with trees, this means more saplings but not more wood).

What Are the Best Mace Enchantments?

The best mace enchantments are Density V, Wind Burst III, Fire Aspect II, Unbreaking III, and Mending. The mace deals more damage the farther you fall before hitting, so its enchants are built around smash attacks.

Enchantment	Max Level	What It Does	Conflicts With
Density	V	Extra smash damage for every block fallen	Breach, Smite, Bane of Arthropods
Breach	IV	Ignores 15% of the target’s armor per level	Density, Smite, Bane of Arthropods
Wind Burst	III	Launches you upward after a smash so you can chain another one	Nothing
Fire Aspect	II	Sets enemies on fire	Nothing

• Density V or Breach IV – Pick one, they cannot be combined. Density V is best against mobs because most mobs wear no armor. Breach IV is best in PvP because it cuts through up to 60% of a player’s armor.
• Wind Burst III – Only found in ominous vaults inside trial chambers. It bounces you back into the air after a smash attack so you can dive again.
• Unbreaking III and Mending – More important on the mace than any other weapon. The mace has low durability and smash attacks wear it down fast.

Watch out: some websites claim you can put Density and Breach on the same mace. You can’t. Density, Breach, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive, so a mace can only ever have one of the four.

What Are the Best Spear Enchantments?

The best spear enchantments are Lunge III, Sharpness V, Looting III, Unbreaking III, and Mending. The spear was added in the Copper Age drop (1.21.9) and has a longer reach than any other melee weapon at 4.5 blocks.

Enchantment	Max Level	What It Does	Conflicts With
Lunge	III	Your jab attack dashes you forward (spear only)	Nothing
Sharpness	V	Extra damage against everything	Smite, Bane of Arthropods
Looting	III	More item drops from mobs	Nothing
Fire Aspect	II	Sets enemies on fire	Nothing
Knockback	II	Pushes enemies away, helps keep spear distance	Nothing

• Lunge III – The spear’s exclusive enchant. Jabbing dashes you forward, farther at each level. Each use costs hunger (1 point per level) and 1 durability, and it doesn’t work in water or while flying with an elytra.
• Sharpness V – The best damage pick, just like on swords. Smite V or Bane of Arthropods V can replace it, but only one of the three can be on the spear.
• Knockback II – Worth considering on a spear. The spear works best at a distance, and knockback keeps enemies out of your face.

What Are the Best Bow Enchantments?

The best bow enchantments are Power V, Infinity, Flame, and Unbreaking III.

• Unbreaking III is recommended.
• Power V – Increases arrow damage from a bow. Recommended for slaying mobs more quickly.
• Infinity – A great enchantment for bows and strongly recommended. Allows you to shoot infinite arrows, without needing any arrows in your inventory. Note that you must still have at least one arrow in your inventory and mending cannot be combined with infinity.
• Flame – Sets your arrows on fire, causing additional damage to targets and setting them on fire. Flame arrows cannot set blocks on fire and targets are not set on fire when it is raining.
• Punch II – Knocks targets away when they are hit by an arrow. Optional enchantment.

What Are the Best Crossbow Enchantments?

The best crossbow enchantments are Quick Charge III, Piercing IV, Unbreaking III, and Mending.

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended.
• Quick Charge III – Speeds up crossbow reloading time.
• Piercing IV or Multishot – Select one of these two enchantments as they cannot be combined. Multishot shoots 3 arrows while only consuming one arrow, whereas Piercing IV allows arrows to go through mobs and shoot multiple targets. In general, piercing is recommended over Multishot.

What Are the Best Trident Enchantments?

The best trident enchantments are Impaling V, Unbreaking III, Mending, and either Loyalty III with Channeling or Riptide III.

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended
• Impaling V – Increases damage and recommended for all tridents.
• Loyalty III and Channeling, OR Riptide III only – Loyalty III automatically returns your trident after throwing it and channeling strikes lighting during thunderstorms. Riptide III teleports your character to the location that you throw it. Select Loyalty III and channeling for combat, and riptide for transportation.

What Are the Best Tool Enchantments?

What Are the Best Pickaxe Enchantments?

The best pickaxe enchantments are Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III, and Mending.

Enchantment	Max Level	What It Does	Conflicts With
Efficiency	V	Much faster mining speed	Nothing
Fortune	III	More drops from ores like diamonds and redstone	Silk Touch
Silk Touch	I	Blocks drop themselves (stone instead of cobblestone)	Fortune
Unbreaking	III	Tool lasts about 4 times as long	Nothing
Mending	I	Repairs the tool as you pick up XP	Nothing

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended.
• Fortune III or Silk Touch – These enchantments cannot be combined and only one can be selected. Fortune III is generally recommended because it increases mining drops such as diamonds, redstone dust, lapis lazuli, and emeralds. Silk Touch will allow you to harvest original blocks, for example mining stone instead of cobblestone, which can be useful for building castles.
• Efficiency V – Increases mining speed and blocks break more quickly. Highly recommended for all pickaxes.

What Are the Best Shovel Enchantments?

The best shovel enchantments are Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, and Mending.

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended.
• Efficiency V – Strongly recommended. Increases digging speed and dirt blocks break nearly instantly.
• Silk Touch – Will allow you to harvest original blocks such as grass blocks, snow, and ice. Only recommended if you have a need these blocks, otherwise this enchantment can be skipped.

Hoes

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended.
• Since a hoe is mainly used for tilling dirt into farmland, additional enchants are not entirely necessary.
• It is possible to apply Efficiency V, Silk Touch, or Fortune III to a hoe if desired.

What Are the Best Fishing Rod Enchantments?

The best fishing rod enchantments are Luck of the Sea III, Lure III, Unbreaking III, and Mending.

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended.
• Luck of the Sea III – Reduces the chance of finding “junk” in Minecraft while fishing and increases the chance of finding treasure. Improves overall loot while fishing.
• Lure III – Increases the speed of attracting fish to your bobber.

Shears

• Unbreaking III and Mending are recommended.
• Efficiency V – Greatly increases speed at which the shears break blocks.
• Silk Touch – Allows harvesting of leaf blocks from trees. Useful if you need leaves for building gardens or hedge mazes.

Should You Enchant Copper Gear?

Enchant copper tools, but skip enchanting copper armor. Copper equipment was added in the Copper Age drop (1.21.9) as a tier between stone and iron, and its two halves behave very differently at the enchanting table.

Copper tools are more enchantable than diamond tools and only slightly behind iron, so they roll good enchantments often. They take the exact same enchants as any other pickaxe, axe, shovel, sword, or hoe. Since copper is cheap and easy to find, an enchanted copper pickaxe is a great way to test enchantment combos without risking expensive gear. Just remember that copper tools mine at stone level, so you still need iron or better for diamonds.

Copper armor is the opposite. It has the lowest enchantability of any armor type in the game, so it rolls weak enchantments. Save your XP and levels for iron, diamond, or netherite armor instead.

You can read about every copper item, including the copper golem and copper chests, in our Minecraft copper guide.

What Are the Curses in Minecraft?

There are two curses in Minecraft: Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing. Both are bad for you, both only come from loot, and neither can be removed with a grindstone. Check gear you find in chests before you put it on.

Curse	Max Level	What It Does	Where It Turns Up
Curse of Binding	I	You cannot take the item off once it is on	Chest loot, fishing, villager trades
Curse of Vanishing	I	The item is destroyed when you die	Chest loot, fishing, villager trades

• Curse of Binding – Goes on armor and anything else you wear on your head, like a carved pumpkin or a mob head. Once you equip it, it is stuck until the item breaks or you die. Watch out for cursed helmets in dungeon and mineshaft chests.
• Curse of Vanishing – The item disappears when you die instead of dropping. Never put your good gear in a cursed slot, and never trade for a cursed elytra.
• A grindstone will not save you. Grindstones strip every enchantment off an item except curses. To get rid of a curse you have to destroy the item, or on Java you can move the enchantment onto another item by crafting the two together.

Other Enchantments

Some enchantments are possible, however do not have useful applications.

Flint and Steel

• Unbreaking III and Mending
• No other additional enchants can be added.

Elytra

• Unbreaking III and Mending
• No other additional enchants can be added.

Carrot on a Stick

• Unbreaking III and Mending
• No other additional enchants can be added.

Brush

• Unbreaking III and Mending
• No other additional enchants can be added.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best enchantment in Minecraft?

Mending is the best overall enchantment because it works on nearly every item in the game. It repairs your gear automatically as you collect XP orbs, so well-enchanted equipment can last forever. You cannot get it from an enchanting table, only from a mending book applied with an anvil.

Can you have Mending and Infinity on the same bow?

No. Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive on bows. Infinity gives you unlimited arrows but your bow will slowly wear out. Mending keeps the bow repaired but you will need to carry arrows. Most players pick Infinity and simply craft a new bow when the old one breaks.

Can you put Density and Breach on the same mace?

No. Density, Breach, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive, so a mace can only have one of the four. Pick Density V for fighting mobs and Breach IV for fighting other players. Some websites claim they stack, but that is not true in vanilla Minecraft.

What is the max level of Sharpness?

Sharpness V is the maximum level. You can reach it by combining two Sharpness IV items or books in an anvil. It adds 3 extra damage in Java Edition and 6.25 in Bedrock Edition.

Is copper gear worth enchanting?

Copper tools are worth enchanting because they are cheap and more enchantable than diamond tools. Copper armor is not worth enchanting because it has the lowest enchantability of any armor in the game. Enchant copper tools as budget gear, and save your levels for iron or better armor.

What enchantment can only go on leggings?

Swift Sneak is the only leggings-exclusive enchantment. It goes up to level III and makes you move faster while crouched, up to 75% of your normal walking speed at level III. You cannot put it on any other armor piece.

How do you get Swift Sneak in Minecraft?

Swift Sneak only comes from enchanted books found in ancient city chests, in the deep dark biome deep underground. It is not available from an enchanting table, villager trades, or fishing. Bring a book to the deep dark and loot as many chests as you can find.

Can a grindstone remove a curse?

No. A grindstone removes every enchantment on an item except Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing. Curses stay on the item permanently. If you pull a cursed helmet out of a chest, either leave it alone or use it as anvil fodder.