Overview
Every hostile mob in the game has a drop table, and Looting bends all of them at once. Common drops rise by up to three extra items per kill, and the rare rolls — a zombie's iron ingot, a skeleton's bow, a zombified piglin's gold ingot, a wither skeleton's skull — each gain a percentage point per level. That last number sounds small and is not: a wither skeleton skull goes from a 2.5% drop to 5.5% with Looting III, which halves the number of skeletons between you and a beacon. For anyone running a farm, that difference is the entire difference. It applies only to mobs killed by you with the enchanted sword in hand, so a farm where the mobs die to fall damage or a lava blade gains nothing at all — the drops must come off your own swing. That is why the standard design for a mob grinder leaves the mobs at half a heart for the player to finish. Looting cannot go on an axe, so a Looting sword is a specific tool you swap to at the farm. It stacks happily with Sharpness, Fire Aspect and Sweeping Edge.
Farming mob drops — wither skeleton skulls for a beacon, gunpowder for rockets, ender pearls, blaze rods and totems — where the extra drops compound over hundreds of kills.
Increases the quantity of mob drops and the chance of rare drops. The single most valuable sword enchantment for anyone farming resources from mobs.
The highest level of Looting is III. It is standard, so it sits in the enchanting table's own offer pool.
At weight 2 it takes up about 6% of the offer pool for an item that accepts it; the larger that share, the less rerolling a level-30 table costs you.
How to get it
Enchant a sword at a table with 15 bookshelves, or apply a book; 2 level II books make level III on an anvil. Weight 2 makes it an uncommon roll, so librarian rerolling is often the faster path to level III.
Tips
- The mob must die to your enchanted sword; fall-damage and lava farms gain nothing from Looting at all.
- Wither skeleton skulls go from 2.5% to 5.5% at level III, which is why a beacon run starts with this book.
- It does not go on an axe, so keep a Looting sword to swap to at the farm.
- Looting does not affect totems at all — an evoker always drops exactly one, however the sword is enchanted.
What each level does
What each level actually gives you. The jump from I to III is where most of the value sits, and an anvil can combine two II books into one III.
Looting III adds up to 3 extra common drops and raises rare-drop chances by 3 percentage points — a zombie iron ingot goes from 2.5% to 5.5%.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | +1 to the maximum rolled drop, and rare drops become 1 percentage point more likely |
| II | +2 to the maximum rolled drop, and rare drops become 2 percentage points more likely |
| III | +3 to the maximum rolled drop, and rare drops become 3 percentage points more likely |
Properties
It sits in the table's own offer pool, and a librarian will trade the book for it, so reroll the lectern until that offer comes up.
- Maximum level
- III
- Type
- Standard
- From enchanting table
- Yes
- Villager trading
- Yes
- Weight
- 2 (6%)
What it can be applied to
Looting can be applied to Sword.
- Sword
Gear it goes on
How to get it
Enchanting table or an enchanted book.
Fifteen bookshelves and the level-30 slot is the fastest route; anything less lowers both the level and the pool you draw from.
Command
With cheats on, the first command applies Looting III to whatever you are holding; the second hands you an item that already has it. Since 1.20.5 the item form uses the "enchantments" component rather than the old NBT tag.
Apply it
/enchant @s minecraft:looting 3Give an enchanted item
/give @s wooden_sword[enchantments={levels:{"minecraft:looting":3}}]Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum level of Looting?
Looting goes up to level 3. Looting III adds up to 3 extra common drops and raises rare-drop chances by 3 percentage points — a zombie iron ingot goes from 2.5% to 5.5%.
How do you get Looting in Minecraft?
Enchanting table or an enchanted book.
What does Looting III do?
Looting III +3 to the maximum rolled drop, and rare drops become 3 percentage points more likely.
