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In Minecraft, gear maketh the player. Or so the saying goes.
Pretty much everything you do in the game can be made easier with the right tools. And who can ever forget the first time they completed a set of diamond gear? Well those crafted items might get the job done, but at a certain point in your Minecraft career you start to look for the next best thing.
That’s where enchanting comes in! Enchantments are a game mechanic that adds abilities to your equipment, and you can even put multiple enchantments on one item.
Enchanting isn’t all that complicated in general. Usually, you need an enchantment table set up with bookshelves and/or an anvil for using enchanted books. Acquiring the best possible gear in Minecraft becomes an adventure of itself, as you’ll grind and explore for just the right enchantments.
So this is my pick for the best enchantments and the ones listed here are available regardless of whether you have Minecraft: Java Edition or Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.
20. Blast Protection/Fire Protection
Starting off this list we have a double entry for two good armor enchantments.
Blast Protection reduces the damage you take from explosions and the distance you get knocked back; you’d want this enchantment especially for dealing with creepers.
On the other hand, Fire Protection reduces the damage you take while on fire and how long you burn. This enchantment gives you extra safety around lava and mobs that set you ablaze. Both enchantments have a maximum level of 4.
Fair warning though: you can’t have both on the same piece of armor.
Also, these enchantments are mutually exclusive with the Protection and Projectile Protection enchantments too. Make sure to pick what you need the most, whether it’s dealing with creepers or traipsing through the Nether!
19. Thorns
Next up we have another armor enchantment! While wearing items with Thorns you have a chance to deal damage to attackers that hit you.
Keep in mind that gear loses durability whenever they deal damage in this way. The cool thing is that when you take damage from an attacker, every piece of gear you have with Thorns can deal a separate instance of damage—but only one will actually receive the durability loss (chosen at random).
Plus, Thorns doesn’t conflict with any other enchantments and has a max level of 3.
You can become a tactical nuke just by taking a bit of damage. Who knew!
18. Aqua Affinity
Aqua Affinity is the first of the underwater enchantments on this list.
Usually mining while underwater takes a lot longer compared to when you’re on land.
This helmet-only(or turtle shell if you have one) enchantment negates that problem entirely. Just remember that it doesn’t work when you’re floating. Still, Aqua Affinity’s a great quality-of-life enchantment to have for underwater mining and exploring.
17. Respiration
Respiration is a must-have for anyone who wants to explore Minecraft’s nautical areas.
This enchantment increases the amount of time you can breathe underwater by 15 seconds per level, up to 45 seconds at level 3.
But, wait! There’s more!
The enchantment also gives you a chance not to take drowning damage when you do happen to run out of breathing air. Keep in mind that this enchantment is helmet exclusive (like Aqua Affinity).
Before you go on those underwater treks make sure to slap it on your deep diving helmet. Enjoy life under the sea.
16. Depth Strider
Another part of our underwater series is the Depth Strider, a boots-only enchantment that increases your speed underwater.
At the level of 3 you’ll be able to swim in water as quickly as you could walk on land.
It doesn’t affect how fast you can sink or breach the water, though. This enchantment is highly recommended for anyone who wants to explore underwater shipwrecks or ruins.
You can even wear this together with a Respiration helmet for a dual purpose.
15. Luck of the Sea
Here we have the Luck of the Sea enchantment. Now fishing is like a minigame in Minecraft that can get pretty lucrative with the right gear and time investment.
With that said, Luck of the Sea makes it more worthwhile.
This enchantment reduces the odds of you catching junk while increasing the chances of treasure per enchantment level(3 being the highest).
Overall it helps you catch more treasure, which can include gear or rare materials or even enchanted books. You should put Luck of the Sea on a fishing rod if you really want to maximize your gains out there in the deep blue waves.
14. Lure
So this is yet another fishing-rod exclusive enchantment: Lure.
Enchanting your fishing rod with Lure decreases the time it takes for fish to bite at your line by 5 seconds per level.
The enchantment gets as high as level 3 for a total reduction of 15 seconds. Because this enchantment takes effect each time you cast out your line, it gets more valuable the more often you fish which maximizes your time investment.
So if you want to get the most out of fishing you should definitely have Lure on your signature rod. Make sure to pair it with Luck of the Sea for an even more lucrative combo.
13. Sharpness
Sharpness is a weapon enchantment that you can apply to swords and axes.
It’s a pretty straightforward enchantment that increases the melee damage you deal on each hit, and it has a max enchantment level of 5 for a noticeable bonus.
Important to note: Sharpness can’t be put on items that already have the Smite or Bane of Arthropods enchantments.
Between these three, Sharpness tends to be the better deal for general weapon use since it lets you deal more damage regardless of what kind of mob you’re fighting.
12. Looting
Here we have an excellent sword-exclusive enchantment for mob farming.
When you kill monsters with a Looting sword you have an increased chance of getting more loot and better drops, like rare items and equipment (but not XP).
With a maximum enchantment level of 3, Looting is a must-have for farming mob drops!
PRO TIP: The Looting enchantment works so long as you hold the enchanted sword in your main hand at the time that you score a kill. This means that you could shoot at creatures with an offhand bow while holding the Looting sword in your main hand. The advantage of this is you don’t consume your enchanted sword’s durability.
11. Power
Power is the bow-version of the Sharpness enchantment.
It increases the arrow damage you deal and the enchantment applies regardless of how long you charge your bow shot.
Like Sharpness, Power has a maximum level of 5 so you could end up with a very potent bow. At around Power III you could start killing most of the common hostile mobs with a single, fully charged shot.
10. Punch
If you like ranged attacks then you’re really gonna like this one: another bow enchantment, no doubt.
For each level of Punch (to a max of 2) enemies that get hit with a shot arrow are knocked back an additional 3 blocks.
Since a lot of mobs need to get close to even hurt you, Punch is very useful for keeping yourself at a safe distance and away from harm.
9. Knockback
Knockback is the sword-only version of Punch.
Whenever you smack something with a Knockback sword you push them back an additional 3 blocks away from you.
At the maximum level of 2 this enchantment makes it so you’re smacking hostile mobs a whole 6 squares away!
A sword is generally more common and easier to use in tighter spaces so this enchantment’s extremely handy for close-up skirmishes.
8. Feather Falling
Think back to all the times you were mining, exploring, or building high up somewhere.
Usually crouching will keep you safe on a ledge. But all it takes is one slip to fall back to spawn.
This Feather Falling enchantment can help prevent that outcome.
Feather Falling is boots-exclusive and it reduces the amount of damage you take from… well, falling.
With a max level of 4 and the option to stack it with other Protection enchantments, a pair of Feather Fall boots can really cushion any unfortunate drop.
7. Silk Touch
Some blocks in Minecraft yield only partial drops when you attempt to gather them with conventional tools (if any).
Think melon slices, bookshelves, clay—that kind of stuff.
Usually you’d have to combine multiple components just to get the block you initially wanted, which can get tedious. Well the Silk Touch enchantment lets you collect blocks that you otherwise couldn’t, like an intact melon or a block of glowstone.
You can slap this enchantment onto pickaxes, shovels, and regular axes. The rider here is that Silk Touch doesn’t work on everything, though it’s often needed to collect some very rare or special blocks.
Also keep in mind that you can’t have both the Silk Touch and Fortune enchantments on the same item.
6. Fortune
Here we have another loot-focused enchantment. Aren’t they the best?
With a Fortune tool you have a chance of getting more drops after gathering a block.
Higher enchantment levels (3 at most) increase the number of extra drops you can get, really making the most of those mining trips.
Much like Silk Touch, you can slap Fortune on pickaxes, shovels, and axes.
As I said before you can’t have Fortune and Silk Touch on the same tool unfortunately. But hey! These enchantments are so useful that you might consider having a tool with each.
5. Efficiency
We’re getting to the big must-haves for enchantments now.
Efficiency increases the speed that your tools gather blocks.
You can slap Efficiency on to any pickaxe, shovel, ax, and even shears, for up to a maximum level of 5.
Efficiency only works for tools used on the right blocks (like a shovel for dirt or a pickaxe for ore). Quicker mining means you can get more blocks in a shorter time, so this really helps you be more efficient during your Minecraft adventures. Get it?
Make no mistake, your best tools will need to have Efficiency on them!
4. Infinity
Infinity is arguably the best and most economic bow enchantment.
It lets you shoot arrows without consuming them, although you do need a single arrow in your inventory to make it work.
In the most recent Minecraft editions you can’t put Infinity on a bow that already has Mending, but you can stack on other bow enchantments for a truly terrifying weapon.
Plus now you can shoot down mobs as much as you want (durability willing, of course). Overall Infinity saves you a good bit on materials and inventory space if you’re fond of bows.
3. Protection
Protection tops my recommendations for a defensive armor enchantment.
With a max level of 4, Protection increases each piece of armor’s damage reduction.
This enchantment is incompatible with the likes of Blast Protection, Fire Protection, and Projectile Protection. But it’s usually better all-around because the reduction applies to most any form of damage (not counting hunger).
Optimize your survivability by enchanting your armor with Protection today. Don’t wait until you’re already being mobbed!
2. Mending
Gear with the Mending enchantment regains durability using experience orbs.
Whenever you’re holding or wearing a Mending item, experience orbs that drop go to restoring durability instead of leveling you up.
This enchantment will do wonders for extending your gear’s shelf life, especially since experience isn’t all that hard to come by.
Plus you can put Mending on just about any equipment type which makes this enchantment that much more valuable and customizable.
The main hurdle to slapping this onto everything is that you can only find it from treasure chests, fishing, or trading.
1. Unbreaking
The top Minecraft enchantment you’ve been waiting for: Unbreaking.
With a maximum level of 3, this enchantment can remarkably reduce the chances of your items losing durability.
Unbreaking makes it so that all that high quality, potentially enchanted gear stays in use for significantly longer.
Better yet, you can enchant any piece of equipment with Unbreaking. No restrictions here.
For even more durability management consider combining it with Mending. Now you can have a top-tier gear set and make it last, too!
Ianara Natividad is a writer and editor who loves gaming, creative writing, content creation, and history. Since early 2018 she has contributed extensively to Worldbuilding Magazine, a digital publication dedicated to worldbuilders. Ianara enjoys working with other content creators and relishes every opportunity to write something new and exciting.
