Enchanting
Minecraft enchantments
All 42 enchantments, their maximum levels, conflicts and what they apply to.
Aqua Affinitymax 1Removes the underwater mining-speed penalty. Without it, breaking blocks while submerged takes five times as long, so it is effectively mandatory for underwater building.
Bane of Arthropodsmax 5Adds damage against spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, endermites and bees, and slows them on hit. The narrowest of the three damage enchantments.
Blast Protectionmax 4Reduces explosion damage and knockback from creepers, TNT, beds in the Nether and end crystals. A niche pick that shines in the Nether and against raids.
Breachmax 4Reduces the effectiveness of the target’s armour, so the mace hits armoured mobs and players far harder.
Channelingmax 1Summons lightning where a thrown trident lands, but only during a thunderstorm and only on a target in the open sky. The standard way to make a charged creeper.
Curse of Bindingmax 1cursetreasurePrevents you from removing the armour piece once it is worn — it comes off only when it breaks or you die. A trap enchantment, mostly used on adventure maps.
Curse of Vanishingmax 1cursetreasureDestroys the item when you die instead of dropping it. Purely a downside, and it cannot be removed by a grindstone.
Densitymax 5Increases the mace’s bonus damage per block fallen. Added with the Mace in 1.21, it turns a well-timed drop attack into the highest single hit in the game.
Depth Stridermax 3Increases how fast you move through water. It does not help you swim upward, but it transforms travel across oceans and flooded caves.
Efficiencymax 5Increases mining speed. It is the first enchantment most players want, because it compounds with every block you will ever break.
Feather Fallingmax 4Reduces fall damage only. It stacks with Protection, which makes it one of the most valuable boot enchantments in the game — a fall that would kill you outright becomes survivable.
Fire Aspectmax 2Sets the target on fire on hit, adding damage over time and automatically cooking any meat the mob drops. Do not use it on a mob farm where you want the drops intact.
Fire Protectionmax 4Cuts fire, lava and burning damage specifically, and shortens how long you stay on fire. Useful for Nether trips, but it cannot be combined with Protection, Blast Protection or Projectile Protection.
Flamemax 1Sets arrows on fire, adding burn damage on top of the impact. It also lights TNT and campfires from a distance.
Fortunemax 3Multiplies the drops from ores and some plants — diamonds, coal, redstone, lapis, emeralds, glowstone, melons and carrots. Mutually exclusive with Silk Touch.
Frost Walkermax 2treasureFreezes water into frosted ice beneath your feet, letting you walk across oceans. It is a treasure enchantment, so an enchanting table will never give it to you.
Impalingmax 5Adds damage against aquatic mobs — and, since 1.13, against any mob standing in water or in the rain. Best paired with a drowned farm.
Infinitymax 1Lets the bow fire ordinary arrows without consuming them, as long as you carry at least one. It does not work with tipped or spectral arrows, and it conflicts with Mending.
Knockbackmax 2Pushes mobs further away on hit. Excellent for keeping creepers at a distance, and for shoving mobs into drops — but it also scatters mobs you were trying to group up.
Lootingmax 3Increases the quantity of mob drops and the chance of rare drops. The single most valuable sword enchantment for anyone farming resources from mobs.
Loyaltymax 3Returns a thrown trident to your hand. Without it, throwing a trident means walking to pick it up, which is why almost every trident carries Loyalty.
Luck of the Seamax 3Improves the odds of pulling treasure rather than junk while fishing. Combined with Lure, it turns fishing into a genuine source of enchanted books.
Luremax 3Reduces the wait between bites. It speeds fishing up considerably but slightly lowers the treasure rate, so pair it with Luck of the Sea.
Mendingmax 1treasureSpends collected experience on repairing the item instead of filling your XP bar. It effectively makes gear permanent, which is why it is the most sought-after enchantment in the game.
Multishotmax 1Fires three arrows at once for the cost of one. It conflicts with Piercing, and only the centre arrow can be picked back up.
Piercingmax 4Lets bolts pass through multiple mobs and shields, and the arrows can still be recovered. Excellent against raids and mob corridors.
Powermax 5Adds percentage damage to every arrow fired from the bow. A Power V bow kills most mobs in one fully charged shot.
Projectile Protectionmax 4Reduces damage from arrows, tridents, shulker bullets and blaze fireballs. Worth considering for pillager outposts and woodland mansions, where ranged attackers dominate.
Protectionmax 4Reduces most incoming damage — melee, arrows, fire, explosions and falls alike. It is the general-purpose armour enchantment, and because it is mutually exclusive with the three specialised protections, most players simply take it on all four pieces.
Punchmax 2Adds knockback to arrows. Handy for keeping mobs off you at range, and for launching mobs off ledges.
Quick Chargemax 3Shortens crossbow reload time. It closes the gap between the crossbow and the bow in sustained fights.
Respirationmax 3Extends how long you can stay underwater before drowning, and improves underwater visibility. Combine it with Aqua Affinity for any serious ocean monument work.
Riptidemax 3Launches you with the trident when it is thrown in water or rain, turning it into a movement tool. It conflicts with both Loyalty and Channeling.
Sharpnessmax 5Adds flat extra damage to every melee hit, against every mob. The default damage enchantment: it is not the strongest against any single mob type, but it never does nothing.
Silk Touchmax 1Makes blocks drop themselves instead of their normal drop — glass, ice, ore blocks, grass blocks, bee nests and budding amethyst all keep their original form. It does not work on spawners in Java Edition. Mutually exclusive with Fortune.
Smitemax 5Adds heavy extra damage against undead mobs — zombies, skeletons, wither skeletons, drowned, phantoms and the Wither itself. Against anything living it does nothing at all.
Soul Speedmax 3treasureMakes you move faster on soul sand and soul soil instead of slower, at the cost of boot durability. Essential for anyone who builds roads through the Nether.
Sweeping Edgemax 3Increased the damage of the sweeping attack that hits every mob around you when you swing a fully charged sword. Removed from Java Edition in 1.21.2, where sweeping damage became a property of the sword itself; existing enchanted swords keep it.
Swift Sneakmax 3treasureLets you crouch at close to walking speed. Introduced with the Deep Dark, where sneaking past a Warden is the difference between escaping and dying.
Thornsmax 3Reflects damage back at anything that hits you, at the cost of extra armour durability. Divisive: it kills mobs you wanted to farm and wears your gear down faster.
Unbreakingmax 3Gives each use a chance not to consume durability, so a tool lasts several times longer. It goes on essentially every tool, weapon and armour piece worth keeping.
Wind Burstmax 3treasureLaunches you back into the air after a mace smash attack, letting you chain drops together. It conflicts with Density and Breach.