Minecraft Enchanting Guide: Best Enchantments for Every Item

Enchantments are the key to upgrading your tools and armor in Minecraft. They provide special effects and boosts, with most often increasing the damage you deal, or reducing the amount of damage that you take.

In this guide, we’re going to give a quick overview of the best Enchantments you can obtain for each item. For a more in-depth look and to learn what each Enchantment does, you should take a look at our Minecraft Enchantment Guides.

What is Enchanting

Enchanting is a mechanic in Minecraft where you can further upgrade your gear, even when you’re at the highest tier armor (which is Netherite). There are multiple Enchantments to choose from, and each one offers vastly different effects.

Players can start Enchanting when they’ve made substantial progress in Minecraft. You’ll need to craft an Enchanting Table, which doesn’t come cheap, costing 2 Diamonds, 4 Obsidian and a Book.

Once an Enchantment Table is placed, you can then start to Enchant items. Enchantments scale with the player level, and you should only focus on Enchanting when you are around level 30 in Minecraft, as this will offer the best possible choices. Alternatively, players who have Enchanted Books can place them inside an Anvil to apply them to tools and armor.

How to Enchant in Minecraft

To start Enchanting, you will need to interact with an Enchantment Table. Remember, the higher level you are means the better Enchantments you will receive. Your Enchanting Table should be surrounded with books too, as this influences the level of any received Enchantments.

It’s also a good idea to have some Lapis Lazuli on hand, as some will be deducted each time you select an Enchantment. Place an item into the table, and you can see the options on the right hand side. By hovering over each one, you can see a glimpse of what you will receive. Even though only one Enchantment is listed, you can receive multiple.

The Best Minecraft Enchantments

There’s a lot that goes into determining what the Best Enchantments are in Minecraft, and a lot of it comes down to personal preference. Some Enchantments which are usually considered as being the best are the likes of Infinity, which provides unlimited arrows, or Frost Water for boots which allow you to walk on water.

Below, we’ve compiled a short list of the best Enchantments for every item in Minecraft. Remember, it comes down to personal preference mostly, and you can switch this up in any way.

Best Armor Enchantments

When it comes to Armor Enchantments, you’re going to want to focus on protection in most cases. That way, you’ll stay alive in Minecraft longer, which is especially useful if you’re playing in Hardcore mode. Both the Boots and Helmets in Minecraft offer some unique Enchantments which benefit you in different ways.

Best Helmet Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Aqua Infinity (I): Increases underwater mining rate.
      2. Respiration (III): Allows you to breathe for a longer duration underwater. 
      3. Unbreaking (III): Increases item durability. 

Best Chestplate Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Blast Protection (IV): Reduces explosion damage and knock-back. Especially useful against Creepers. 
      2. Projectile Protection (IV): Reduces projectile damage which is great against Skeletons.
      3. Protection (IV): Reduces most types of damage. Makes you stronger and harder to be killed by enemy mobs. 

Best Leggings Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Blast Protection (IV): Reduces explosion damage and knock-back. Especially useful against Creepers. 
      2. Projectile Protection (IV): Reduces projectile damage which is great against Skeletons.
      3. Protection (IV): Reduces most types of damage. Makes you stronger and harder to be killed by enemy mobs.

Best Boots Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Depth Strider (III): Increases movement speed when travelling underwater.
      2. Frost Water (II): Turns water beneath the player into frosted ice, allowing you to essentially walk on water. This enchantment has to be applied at an anvil.
      3. Feather Falling (IV): Reduces fall damage, allowing you to fall from greater heights.

Best Tool & Weapon Enchantments

Unlike Armor Enchantments, the tools you apply to your tools and weapons will vary massively. When it comes to Tools, you might want to try and prioritize a combination of speed and durability. Whereas with weapons, increasing the amount of damage you deal is a good idea.

Best Sword Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Bane of Arthropods (V): Increases damage dealt to arthropods. Arthropods include Spiders, Cave Spiders, Silverfish and Endermites. 
      2. Fire Aspect (II): Sets your target on fire upon hitting them, inflicting more damage.
      3. Looting (III): Increases the amount of loot that mobs drop.
      4. Smite (V): Increases damage to undead mobs such as Skeletons and Zombies.
      5. Sweeping Edge (III): Increases sweeping attack damage.

Best Axe Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Efficiency (V): Increases mining speed, allowing you to chop down trees faster.
      2. Unbreaking (III): Increases item durability.
      3. Silk Touch (I): Mined blocks drop themselves.

Best Pickaxe/Shovel Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Efficiency (V): Increases mining speed, allowing you to harvest minerals and stone faster.
      2. Fortune (III): Increases some block drops, for example, instead of receiving 1 diamond per block, it’s possibly to receive 4 diamonds with Fortune III.
      3. Silk Touch (I): Mined blocks drop themselves.
      4. Unbreaking (III): Increases item durability.

Best Bow Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Flame (I): Fires Flame arrows, allowing you to set targets on fire.
      2. Infinity (I): Shooting consumes no arrows, essentially allowing infinite ammunition.
      3. Punch (II): Increases arrow knock-back.
      4. Power (V): Increases arrow damage.

Best Trident Enchantments

1. 1. 1. Channeling (I): The Trident will channel a bolt of lightning towards an enemy. However this only works during thunderstorms. 
      2. Impaling (V): Trident deals more damage to ocean mobs. 
      3. Loyalty (III): After throwing a Trident, it will be returned to you.