The mace is the strangest weapon in Minecraft. On flat ground it is worse than a diamond sword: 6 attack damage and a slow 0.6 attack speed. Drop onto something from height and it becomes the hardest-hitting weapon in the game, with damage that scales the further you fall and no upper cap.
That single mechanic is the whole weapon, and it is also why most players who craft one are disappointed with it. Swung like a sword, the mace is a downgrade. Used as designed, nothing else comes close.
The damage formula
A smash attack triggers when you hit a mob while falling 1.5 blocks or more. Below that threshold you get an ordinary hit and nothing special happens.
The extra damage stacks in three bands, and the tapering matters:
| Blocks fallen | Extra damage per block |
|---|---|
| First 3 | 4 HP each |
| Next 5 | 2 HP each |
| Every block after | 1 HP each |
Working that through from the 6 base damage:
- 3 blocks: 6 + 12 = 18 HP
- 8 blocks: 6 + 12 + 10 = 28 HP
- 20 blocks: 6 + 12 + 10 + 12 = 40 HP
- 50 blocks: 6 + 12 + 10 + 42 = 70 HP
The shape of that table is the practical lesson: the first three blocks are worth as much as the next six. A modest drop gets you most of the value, and chasing enormous heights pays 1 HP a block for the privilege of a long climb.
A three-block drop already triples your damage. You do not need a tower. A raised platform, a ledge, or a jump off a mob's own arena wall is enough to make the mace worth carrying.
The part that makes it safe
A successful smash attack negates the fall damage you had accumulated. Land the hit and the fall costs you nothing.
This is what turns the mace from a gimmick into a real weapon. Without it, every attack would trade your health for theirs. With it, a 20-block drop onto a target is free, provided you connect. Miss, and you take the full fall like anyone else.
There is a second effect worth knowing: the smash knocks back every entity within 2.5 blocks, similar to a wind charge. Against a group, the mace hits one target hard and scatters the rest, which buys you the time the slow attack speed otherwise costs you.
The three exclusive enchantments
The mace has its own enchantment set, and the interactions between them are where people waste levels.
| Enchantment | Max | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Density | V | +0.5 HP per level for each block fallen |
| Breach | IV | Reduces target armor effectiveness by 15% per level |
| Wind Burst | III | Launches you upward on a smash, 8 blocks of height per level |
Density and Breach cannot be combined. They are mutually exclusive, and so are Smite and Bane of Arthropods with them. You are choosing one line, not stacking them.
The choice is straightforward once you know what you are hitting:
Pros
- Density for unarmored targets and for big falls. It multiplies the mechanic the weapon is built around.
- Breach for armored targets, which in practice means other players. Armor reduction is worth little against a zombie and a great deal against someone in netherite.
Wind Burst is the interesting one. It launches you upward after a smash, which means you can chain smash attacks: hit, get launched, fall, hit again. It stacks with either of the other two since it is a separate slot.
Sharpness cannot be applied to a mace. This catches people out constantly, because every other melee weapon takes it. Fire Aspect works (up to II), and so do Unbreaking III and Mending. If you were saving a Sharpness book for your mace, spend it on a sword instead.
Getting one
The mace is crafted from a heavy core plus a breeze rod, and both come from trial chambers.
The heavy core is the hard half. It drops only from ominous vaults, at a 7.5% chance per vault, which means you need Bad Omen to convert the chamber into its harder form before the drop is even possible. A regular vault will never give you one no matter how many you open.
Our trial chambers guide covers the vault and key loop in full, and the Breeze guide covers killing the mob that drops the rod. This page is about the weapon once you have it.
How to actually fight with it
The mace rewards a completely different habit from a sword, and that habit is the reason many players give up on it.
Against a single tough target, get above it. Pillar three blocks, jump, hit on the way down. Repeat. It feels slow, but each hit is worth three sword hits, and the fall damage is cancelled every time you connect.
Against a boss, the mace is at its best where you can build. The wither fight has obvious opportunities; the ender dragon less so, since the perch window wants you on the ground beside its head rather than above it.
In a group fight, the 2.5-block knockback matters more than the damage. Land in the middle of a cluster and everything flies outward.
Cons
- Do not use it as your walking-around weapon. 6 damage and 0.6 attack speed is worse than a sword on flat ground, and that is the situation you are in most of the time.
- Do not fall onto a target you might miss. The fall damage negation only applies when the hit lands.
- Do not put Density on a mace you plan to PvP with. Armor makes it far less effective than Breach there.
Frequently asked questions
How much damage does the mace do?
6 HP on the ground. A smash attack adds 4 HP per block for the first 3 blocks, 2 HP per block for the next 5, and 1 HP per block after that, so a 3-block drop does 18 HP and a 20-block drop does 40 HP. There is no cap.
Why can't I put Sharpness on my mace?
Sharpness cannot be applied to maces. It is one of the few melee weapons the enchantment does not cover. Fire Aspect, Unbreaking and Mending all work, and the mace has three exclusive enchantments of its own: Density, Breach and Wind Burst.
Density or Breach: which is better?
They are incompatible, so it is one or the other. Density suits unarmored targets and long falls since it scales with distance fallen. Breach cuts through armor, which mostly matters in PvP against players in good gear.
Does the mace stop fall damage?
Yes, when the smash attack connects. A successful hit negates the fall damage you had built up. If you miss, you take the fall normally.
How far do I need to fall to use a smash attack?
At least 1.5 blocks. Below that it counts as a normal attack with no bonus damage. Three blocks is the sweet spot for effort versus reward, since the first three blocks give 4 HP each and everything after gives less.
How do I get a heavy core?
From ominous vaults in trial chambers, at a 7.5% chance each. You need Bad Omen when you enter the chamber to make the spawners and vaults ominous; regular vaults never drop a heavy core.
The one-line version
The mace is a positioning weapon pretending to be a melee weapon. Three blocks of height triples your damage and costs you nothing when the hit lands, which is the entire design. If you are swinging it on flat ground and wondering why it feels weak, that is the answer.
Getting the ingredients is the harder half of owning one: trial chambers for the heavy core, and the Breeze for the rod.
