Every item has a "best" enchantment set, and every set has one or two choices where the game forces you to pick. This page lists the full set for each item, the maximum level of each enchantment, and what to choose when two of them are incompatible.
How to actually get these books, cheaply, is in the enchanting setup guide: bookshelves, librarians, and the anvil order that keeps costs down.
Two enchantments for everything
Put these on every tool, weapon and armor piece that can take them:
- Mending: repairs the item with XP orbs you pick up. Only from librarians, fishing or loot, never the enchanting table.
- Unbreaking III: makes the item lose durability less often.
With both, an item effectively lasts forever as long as you collect XP.
Image: SyntaxMine, made from Minecraft's own textures.
Armor
| Piece |
Best set |
| Helmet |
Protection IV, Respiration III, Aqua Affinity, Unbreaking III, Mending |
| Chestplate |
Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Mending (Thorns III optional) |
| Leggings |
Protection IV, Swift Sneak III, Unbreaking III, Mending |
| Boots |
Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Depth Strider III, Soul Speed III, Unbreaking III, Mending |
The clash: Protection types. Protection, Fire Protection, Blast Protection and Projectile Protection cannot go on the same piece. Protection IV reduces every damage type, so it is the right default. A set with one Blast Protection piece is a common choice for anyone who fights creepers or uses TNT a lot.
The clash: Depth Strider vs Frost Walker on boots. Depth Strider for fast swimming, Frost Walker for walking on water by freezing it. Depth Strider is the better everyday pick.
Thorns damages attackers but uses up durability faster. Fine with Mending, skip it otherwise.
Swords
Sharpness V, Looting III, Fire Aspect II, Sweeping Edge III, Knockback II (optional), Unbreaking III, Mending.
The clash: Sharpness vs Smite vs Bane of Arthropods. Only one. Sharpness works on everything; Smite does more against undead (zombies, skeletons, the Wither); Bane against spiders and other arthropods. Sharpness for a general sword, Smite for a dedicated mob-farm or Wither sword.
Knockback is a matter of taste: great in open fights, annoying in a mob farm where you want mobs to stay put.
Axes
Sharpness V, Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending. An axe takes the same damage enchantment choice as a sword (Sharpness, Smite or Bane), but not Looting, Fire Aspect or Sweeping Edge. Most players keep the axe as a tool with Efficiency and Silk Touch or Fortune for wood and crops.
Pickaxes, shovels and hoes
Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, plus Fortune III or Silk Touch.
The clash: Fortune vs Silk Touch. Fortune multiplies drops from ores (diamonds, coal, lapis, redstone, emeralds) and crops. Silk Touch picks up the block itself (ore blocks, glass, ice, grass, bookshelves). Most players carry two pickaxes, one of each. For how much Fortune III actually adds on diamonds, see the diamond Y level guide.
Bows
Power V, Punch II, Flame, Unbreaking III, plus Infinity or Mending.
The clash: Infinity vs Mending. Infinity means one arrow lasts forever; Mending keeps the bow repaired. Arrows are cheap from a string farm and skeletons, so Mending is the long-term pick. Infinity is better early, before you have Mending books.
Crossbows
Quick Charge III, Unbreaking III, Mending, plus Multishot or Piercing IV.
The clash: Multishot vs Piercing. Multishot fires three arrows in a spread (great against groups and for firework rockets); Piercing sends one arrow through several targets. Multishot is the popular choice.
Tridents
Impaling V, Unbreaking III, Mending, plus Loyalty III and Channeling, or Riptide III.
The clash: Riptide vs Loyalty and Channeling. Riptide launches you when you throw it in water or rain, which is a movement tool. Loyalty makes the trident fly back to you, and Channeling summons lightning during thunderstorms. For a throwing weapon, Loyalty + Channeling. For travel, Riptide. Many players keep one of each.
Impaling adds damage against aquatic mobs on Java (drowned, guardians, fish, squid, axolotls, turtles, dolphins). Getting a trident in the first place is covered in the drowned trident farm.
The mace
Density V or Breach IV, Wind Burst III, Fire Aspect II, Unbreaking III, Mending.
The clash: Density vs Breach (and both against Smite and Bane). Density adds damage per block fallen, which makes smash attacks devastating. Breach reduces the armor of whatever you hit, which is better against heavily armored targets. Wind Burst launches you back up after a smash, so you can chain hits. More in the mace guide.
Fishing rods
Luck of the Sea III, Lure III, Unbreaking III, Mending. Luck of the Sea raises the chance of treasure (including enchanted books), Lure shortens the wait.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best enchantments in Minecraft?
Mending and Unbreaking III on everything. Then Protection IV on armor, Sharpness V and Looting III on swords, Efficiency V with Fortune III or Silk Touch on pickaxes, and Power V on bows.
Can you have Mending and Infinity on the same bow?
No. They are incompatible on Java. Pick Mending for the long run, Infinity early on.
Can you put Fortune and Silk Touch on the same pickaxe?
No. Carry two pickaxes, one with each.
Is Protection better than Blast Protection?
For general use, yes: Protection IV reduces all damage types. Blast Protection only helps against explosions.
What is the best enchantment for the mace?
Density V for maximum smash damage, or Breach IV against armored targets, plus Wind Burst III to chain smash attacks.
Getting these books cheaply is the subject of the enchanting setup guide, and the cheapest librarian trades are in villager trades. The XP to pay for it all comes from an XP farm.
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