Best Minecraft weapon enchantments (November 2022)

A pixelized man and woman duel with their weapons.
Credit: https://www.baefga.gq/ProductDetail.aspx?iid=154335711&pr=30.88

A pixelized man and woman duel with their weapons.
Credit: https://www.baefga.gq/ProductDetail.aspx?iid=154335711&pr=30.88

It can be challenging to create the best Minecraft weapon enchantments combination that will make you a formidable foe against mobs and fellow players. With all the possible books you’ve acquired and diamond/netherite weapons you’ve crafted, who wouldn’t be overwhelmed with all those resources?

However, despite having a vast array of enchantment books, not every combination will be most efficient against dangerous mobs. This is especially applicable if you’re on hard/hardcore mode.

With that, we bring you this guide of the best Minecraft weapon enchantments to equip. From close-range to long-range arsenals, this guide has it all for any type of Minecraft fighter. To better prepare for the journey ahead, we also have guides on the best Minecraft armour enchantments and best Minecraft mods to enhance your gaming experience.

Best Minecraft Weapon Enchantments

Here you’ll find some of the best Minecraft weapon enchantments for close-range and long-range weapons that will either make your adventuring or PVP experience more enjoyable.

Sword

A Minecraft player holding a sword.
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Craft the best combination for your sword.

Unbreaking - As the name suggests, this enchantment gives a sword increased durability, decreasing the inconvenience of having to repair it. Having Unbreaking is quite a common enchantment across both weapons and armour, however, it is a crucial one.

Sharpness - Applicable to both swords and axes, Sharpness increases melee damage and has a maximum level of Sharpness V. To easily defeat hordes of enemies or heavily tanked ones, this enchantment increases the damage taken by mobs and decreases the number of clicks needed to defeat a mob.

Sweeping Edge -To complement Sharpness in battling groups of mobs, Sweeping Edge improves a weapon’s range of attack. As the sword has a built-in sweep-attack, Sweeping Edge III can cover a lot of attack area, especially when a player is stuck in a pinch. Though note that this enchantment is incompatible with Sharpness.

Fire Aspect - With Fire Aspect, mobs take increased damage due to being set on fire with this sword-exclusive enchantment. Furthermore, Fire Aspect adds four seconds of burning per level to the target hit. Though, one should note that Fire Aspect has only two levels.

Mending - One of the rarest enchantments a player could snag, Mending restores an item’s durability using experience orbs gained in the game. Having this on a sword eliminates the need to ever repair or craft another sword.

Here are some of the best combinations to buff your sword:

  • Unbreaking III + Sweeping Edge III + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Sweeping Edge III + Fire Aspect
  • Unbreaking III + Sharpness V + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Sharpness V + Fire Aspect
  • Sharpness V + Fire Aspect + Mending

Axes

A Minecraft player standing in front of a cave while holding an axe.
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Combine resource gathering and fighting enchantments through the axe.

Fortune - Posing also as a resource tool, axes are capable of holding the Fortune enchantment, which increases the number of specific item drops. From mob drops of raw flesh to tree wood, having this enchantment makes resource gathering much easier.

Smite - To tip the balance between the dead and the living, the Smite enchantment increases damage dealt to undead mobs. As the axe has two more damage than a sword, this enchantment makes it more useful and effective against the zombies and skeletons lurking at night.

Sharpness - Increases the weapon’s melee damage.

Mending - Mends weapons by itself using XP.

Unbreaking - Improves the weapon’s durability.

Here’s some axe enchantment combinations to bring the best out of your weapon:

  • Unbreaking III + Fortune III + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Smite IV + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Sharpness V + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Fortune III + Smite IV
  • Unbreaking III + Fortune III +Sharpness V

Tridents

A Minecraft player standing on a small island with her trident.
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Safely tread the waters with some powerful trident enchantments.

Loyalty - Another exclusive enchantment, Loyalty allows a player’s trident to return to the owner once thrown. This makes player movement much easier, especially during battles, removing the need to pick up the trident.

Riptide - In addition to Loyalty, Riptide is a trident-only enchantment which hurls the user to the direction the player is facing. The catch to this enchantment though is that it can only be used when the player is wet, and this cannot be combined with Loyalty.

Channelling - In this otherworldly enchantment, Channelling produces lightning when a mob is hit by a thrown trident. However, this can only occur when a thunderstorm is occurring. It’s quite useful in terms of damage increase but Channelling is incompatible with Riptide.

Impaling - Similar to the Smite enchantment of swords and axes, Impaling causes a trident to deal extra damage to specific mobs. This would be aquatic mobs such as Guardians and Elder Guardians. Unfortunately, this does not affect the Drowned as they are classified as undead mobs rather than underwater mobs.

Unbreaking - Improves the weapon’s durability.

Mending - Mends weapons by itself using XP.

Here are some optimised trident combinations:

  • Unbreaking III +Loyalty III + Impaling V + Channelling + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Riptide III + Impaling V + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Loyalty III + Impaling V + Mending
  • Unbreaking III + Loyalty III + Channelling

Bows

A Minecraft player floating on water while holding her bow.
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With the Infinity enchantment included, your bow will be undefeated.

Infinity - A bow-exclusive enchantment, this enchantment prevents regular arrows from being consumed when shot, making it one of the most sought out bow enchantments in Minecraft. At least one arrow is needed for this enchantment to be used. Though, note that Infinity is incompatible with Mending.

Power - Like the Sharpness enchantment of melee weapons, Power increases the damage of arrows loaded onto the bow. With five levels, this enchantment is impressive with the long-range damage it can deal with just one hit.

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Flame - Comparable to the Fire Aspect enchantment, Flame causes bows to shoot flaming arrows at aimed targets. However, what distinguishes this from its melee enchantment counterpart would be how Flame has only one level of enchantment.

Mending - Mends weapons by itself using XP.

Below are some powerful combinations for bow enchantments:

  • Power V + Unbreaking III + Flame + Mending
  • Power V + Unbreaking III + Flame + Infinity
  • Power V + Unbreaking III + Flame
  • Power V + Unbreaking III + Infinity
  • Power V + Unbreaking III + Mending

Crossbows

A Minecraft player standing surrounded by snow while holding her crossbow.
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An underrated weapon, the crossbow can cover a lot of ground from afar.

Quick Charge - As crossbows have a significantly greater charging time than bows, not many players pick the crossbow as a go-to long-range weapon. Having this enchantment changes that and can decrease the loading time by 0.25 seconds per level.

Multi-shot - Being a crossbow-exclusive enchantment, this allows players to shoot three arrows or firework rockets at the cost of one. This is very useful when dealing with multiple enemies while playing.

Piercing - In this unique enchantment, Piercing can pass through enemies and even ignore shields despite blocking. Each level of Piercing equates to the number of entities damaged by an arrow shot using a crossbow with this enchantment. However, do note that Piercing is incompatible with Multishot.

Unbreaking - Improves the weapon’s durability.

Finally, here are some optimal crossbow enchantments:

  • Quick Charge III + Piercing IV + Unbreaking III + Mending
  • Quick Charge III + Multishot + Unbreaking III + Mending
  • Quick Charge III + Unbreaking III + Piercing IV + Mending
  • Quick Charge III + Unbreaking III + Piercing IV
  • Quick Charge III + Unbreaking III + Mending

If new enchantments are added to the game in future updates, we'll be sure to update this list.

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