ULTIMATE ENCHANTING GUIDE Minecraft 1.21/26.2+!
A full enchanting walkthrough covering enchanting basics, how to get enchantments, anvil use, enchantment conflicts, and strong gear setups for tools, armor, weapons, bows, and more.
Watch this first if you prefer a visual overview, then use the written guide below as a checklist for setting up bookshelves, choosing enchantments, and planning anvil upgrades.
How to Start Enchanting
Enchanting lets you upgrade tools, weapons, and armor with special effects. To start, you need an enchanting table, bookshelves, lapis lazuli, and enough XP levels to pay for the enchantments.
Craft an Enchanting Table
You need diamonds, obsidian, and a book. This usually becomes realistic once you have mined diamonds and collected obsidian with a diamond pickaxe.
Add Bookshelves
Bookshelves increase the enchantment levels available. For max-level enchanting, place 15 bookshelves around the enchanting table with one block of space between them.
Bring Lapis and XP
Enchanting costs lapis lazuli and XP levels. Higher-level enchantments require more levels, so XP farms, mining, mobs, and trading become useful.
Enchant Gear or Books
You can enchant tools, armor, weapons, or books. Books are useful because you can save good enchantments and apply them later with an anvil.
Max Enchanting Table Setup
For level 30 enchantments, place 15 bookshelves around the enchanting table. Leave one block of empty space between the table and the shelves. If that space is blocked, the bookshelves may not count.
How to Get Enchantments
There are several ways to get enchantments. The enchanting table is simple, librarian villagers give the most control, anvils let you apply books, and fishing or loot can give extra enchanted items.
Enchanting Table
Good for early and mid-game upgrades. It is less controlled than books, but enchanting an item directly does not increase its anvil history.
Librarian Villagers
One of the best ways to target specific books like Mending, Unbreaking, Protection, Efficiency, Fortune, Silk Touch, Sharpness, and more.
Anvils and Books
Use anvils to apply enchanted books, combine books, rename items, and build stronger gear. This gives more control but costs XP.
Fishing and Loot
Fishing, loot chests, mob drops, and exploration can give enchanted books or gear. These are less predictable but still useful.
How to Avoid “Too Expensive”
Anvils get more expensive the more times an item is upgraded or combined. To avoid hitting the Too Expensive limit, try to reduce the number of times you use the anvil on your main item and combine books in a smarter order.
Use the Enchanting Table First
If you can get useful enchantments directly from the enchanting table, do that before adding books. This reduces the number of anvil uses needed later.
Use Max-Level Books When Possible
Combining many low-level books into one max-level book can make the final item more expensive. Villager trades for max-level books can help keep anvil costs lower.
Do Not Add Every Book One by One
Adding books to an item one at a time increases the item's anvil history quickly, which can lead to higher XP costs and eventually the Too Expensive message.
Combine Books in Small Groups
Instead of putting every enchantment on one giant book, combine books into smaller groups first. For example, make two-enchantment books, then apply those to the item.
Avoid One Giant Book
Putting every enchantment onto one single book can become very expensive. A few smaller combined books are usually easier to apply.
Check Both Anvil Slots
The order of items or books in the anvil can change the XP cost. Swap the left and right slots before confirming to see which order is cheaper.
Pair Expensive Books With Cheaper Ones
Some enchantments cost more than others. Avoid combining only expensive books together when possible. Pair costly enchants with cheaper ones like Unbreaking or Mending.
Best Enchantments by Gear Type
The best enchantments depend on what you are upgrading. Tools are great for speed and resource gathering, armor improves survival, and weapons make combat and mob drops much better.
Tools
Tools are usually the first things worth enchanting because better tools save time every time you mine, chop, dig, or collect resources.
Armor
Armor enchantments improve survival. Protection, Feather Falling, and Mending are especially useful for exploration, caves, the Nether, and the End.
Weapons
Weapon enchantments make combat easier and improve drops. Sharpness is the best general sword damage choice, while Looting is especially useful for mob drops.
Bows and Crossbows
Bows and crossbows are great for safe ranged combat. Bows choose between Infinity and Mending, while crossbows choose between Multishot and Piercing.
Best Gear Setups to Aim For
These are simple end goals for strong everyday gear. You do not need every enchantment immediately, but these setups give you a clear direction when building long-term equipment.
General Armor
Main Sword
Main Pickaxes
Bow or Crossbow
Enchantments That Conflict
Some enchantments cannot normally be placed on the same item. This matters because choosing one can lock you out of another. Plan important gear before combining books or using expensive anvil upgrades.
Fortune vs Silk Touch
A tool usually cannot have both Fortune and Silk Touch. Fortune is better for extra drops, while Silk Touch is better for collecting exact blocks.
Mending vs Infinity
Bows normally cannot have both Mending and Infinity. Infinity saves arrows, while Mending keeps the bow repairable with XP.
Protection Types
Protection, Fire Protection, Blast Protection, and Projectile Protection compete with each other. General Protection is usually the easiest all-purpose choice.
Sharpness vs Smite
Sharpness is better for general combat. Smite is stronger against undead mobs like zombies, skeletons, Wither Skeletons, and the Wither.
Depth Strider vs Frost Walker
Boots usually cannot have both Depth Strider and Frost Walker. Depth Strider is better for swimming, while Frost Walker lets you walk across water and avoid magma block damage.
Multishot vs Piercing
Crossbows cannot normally have both Multishot and Piercing. Multishot fires three arrows, while Piercing lets arrows pass through targets.
Riptide vs Loyalty and Channeling
A trident with Riptide cannot normally have Loyalty or Channeling. Riptide is for movement, while Loyalty and Channeling are for throwing the trident.
Smart Enchanting Goals
Good enchanting is not just about getting random upgrades. Try to build toward useful gear sets that support mining, survival, combat, farms, and boss preparation.
First Pickaxe Upgrade
Aim for Efficiency, Unbreaking, and either Fortune or Silk Touch. Fortune is usually more useful early because it helps increase resource drops.
First Armor Set
Protection and Unbreaking are strong early goals. Feather Falling on boots is very valuable because fall damage causes many avoidable deaths.
Long-Term Gear
Mending and Unbreaking are the backbone of long-term gear. Once you have both, your best tools and armor can last much longer.
Villager Trading
Librarian villagers can sell enchanted books, including powerful options like Mending. This is one of the most reliable ways to control your enchants.
Common Enchanting Mistakes
Helpful Enchanting Resources
Enchanting has a lot of small rules, and exact mechanics can depend on your edition and version. These resources are useful when you want specific enchantment details or deeper mechanics.
Minecraft Wiki – Enchanting
Useful for checking exact enchantment rules, item compatibility, bookshelf mechanics, and version-specific details.
View resourceMinecraft Wiki – Enchantment
Good for looking up individual enchantments, max levels, conflicts, compatible items, and what each enchantment does.
View resourceRelated Minecraft Guides
Enchanting connects naturally to mining, farms, villagers, combat, the Nether, and the End. These guides help you gather materials, earn XP, and make better use of enchanted gear.
Beginner Guide
Learn what to do first, how to survive the night, gather food, craft tools, and start progressing.
Mining Guide
Gather diamonds, lapis, obsidian, coal, redstone, and the materials needed for enchanting.
Minecraft Farms
Build XP farms, mob farms, food farms, and resource farms that support enchanting progression.
Villager Guide
Use librarian villagers to get enchanted books, Mending, trading halls, and reliable gear upgrades.
Nether Guide
Prepare enchanted gear before exploring fortresses, bastions, lava lakes, and dangerous Nether mobs.
Ender Dragon Guide
Bring stronger armor, weapons, bows, and protection enchantments before fighting the Ender Dragon.
Explore Similar Progression & Survival Games
Looking for more crafting, building, survival, and gear progression? Check out these related hubs.
