Smite

Overview

Undead mobs are the majority of what tries to kill you at night, in caves, in Nether fortresses and at the end of the game, and Smite hits every one of them far harder than Sharpness does. Zombies, husks, drowned, skeletons, strays, wither skeletons, zombified piglins, phantoms, zombie villagers and the Wither itself all take the full bonus, and at maximum level the difference is dramatic enough to change how many swings a fight takes. That list is the argument for and against it in one breath. If your evening consists of a mob farm, a fortress and a wither summon, Smite is comfortably the strongest choice available. If it consists of caving, where creepers and spiders share the tunnels, Sharpness is the safer general pick because Smite contributes nothing to those fights. Most players who commit to it do so on a second sword kept specifically for the Wither, where the boss's own undead status makes the enchantment worth several minutes of the fight. It refuses to share a weapon with Sharpness, Bane of Arthropods, Impaling, Density and Breach, so the decision is exclusive and permanent short of a grindstone.

A dedicated undead weapon — the Wither, a fortress full of wither skeletons, a zombie or skeleton farm — where nearly everything you swing at is on its target list.

Adds heavy extra damage against undead mobs — zombies, skeletons, wither skeletons, drowned, phantoms and the Wither itself. Against anything living it does nothing at all.

Smite caps at V. Being a standard enchantment, an enchanting table can produce it directly.

It carries a weight of 5, which is roughly 13–21% of everything a table can roll for gear that takes it — so that is about how often you should expect to see it.

How to get it

Enchant a sword or axe at a table with 15 bookshelves, or combine 2 level IV books on an anvil for level V, which adds 12.5 damage against undead targets. Weight 5 makes it a fairly common table roll.

Tips

• The Wither is undead, so a Smite V axe is the fastest melee answer to the boss fight.
• It does nothing to creepers, spiders or endermen, which is why caving swords take Sharpness instead.
• A wither skeleton farm plus Smite V and Looting III is the standard route to a beacon.
• A grindstone strips it if you change your mind, but you lose the levels rather than recovering them.

What each level does

Here is what each level does. V is worth the trip, and you can reach it by combining two IV books on an anvil rather than rolling for it.

Smite V adds 12.5 extra damage against undead mobs.

Properties

An enchanting table can offer it directly, and a librarian villager will sell it as a book — rerolling a librarian's trade by breaking and replacing their lectern is the cheapest route to it.

What it can be applied to

Smite can be applied to Sword and Axe.

• Sword
• Axe

Gear it goes on

Wooden SwordWooden AxeStone SwordStone AxeGolden SwordGolden AxeIron SwordIron AxeDiamond SwordDiamond AxeNetherite SwordNetherite Axe

Incompatible enchantments

Smite cannot share an item with Bane of Arthropods, Breach, Density, Impaling, and Sharpness.

The anvil does not warn you. It leaves the conflicting enchantment off, keeps the cost, and hands the item back, so plan the order before you spend the book.

Bane of ArthropodsBreachDensityImpalingSharpness

How to get it

Enchanting table or an enchanted book.

At a table with fifteen bookshelves the level-30 slot is where it appears; below level 30 the offer pool is smaller and the levels lower, which is why the bookshelf ring is worth building before you enchant anything you care about.

Command

With cheats on, the first command applies Smite V 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.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesThe Complete Minecraft Enchanting Guide (1.21.4)→
• ToolsEnchantment Order Calculator→

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

Bane of Arthropods