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Best Combat Enchantments

The right enchants triple your survivability. This is the exact priority order for sword, armor and bow with real damage numbers, plus the level-30 sequence to apply them without wasting a single XP point.

The priority math
  1. 1
    Build a 15-bookshelf altar
    Surround the enchanting table with 15 bookshelves (1-block gap, same level or +1) to unlock level-30 enchants. Anything less caps your roll lower.
  2. 2
    Roll the sword first
    Spend levels on the diamond/netherite sword at 30. Reroll on lapis until you hit Sharpness V (or Smite V for undead-heavy servers).
  3. 3
    Combine on an anvil
    Use an anvil to merge rolled books: Sharpness V + Sweeping Edge III + Fire Aspect II + Unbreaking III + Looting III + Mending onto one sword.
  4. 4
    Max the chestplate + boots
    Prioritize Protection IV on all four armor pieces. Add Unbreaking III + Mending so the kit never breaks mid-fight.
  5. 5
    Add Mending to everything
    Mending beats Infinity and trades XP for durability. With Mending on all gear, your loadout self-repairs from mob/quest XP forever.
ENCHANT TABLE · LVL 30
Sharpness V
+3.0 melee dmg
+1
Sweeping Edge III
75% sweep dmg
+2
Fire Aspect II
8 burn dmg
+3
Unbreaking III
4x durability
+4
Mending
XP -> repair
+5
XP · 30 → 0

What you need

Enchanting Table
Sword to Roll
Anvil for Books
Level 30 XP

Enchantability, before you spend a single level

Which enchantments you can get depends on the item before it depends on your levels. Gold sits at 22, the highest in the game, netherite and leather at 15, iron at 14, diamond at 10 and stone at 5. The same thirty levels produce a visibly better result on a golden sword than on a diamond one.

MaterialTool durabilityMining speedDamage bonusEnchantability
Wood592+015
Stone1314+15
Copper1905+113
Iron2506+214
Diamond15618+310
Gold3212+022
Netherite20319+415

Quick answers

?

Sharpness V or Smite V?

Sharpness V adds +3.0 damage to every mob and is the default pick. Smite V adds +12.5 damage but ONLY to undead (zombies, skeletons, withers). Run Smite for wither/undead farms, Sharpness everywhere else.
?

Is Protection IV better than Blast/Projectile Protection?

Protection IV reduces all damage types and stacks to roughly 64% reduction across four pieces. The specialized protections cap higher against one source but leave you exposed. For general combat, four Protection IV is the strongest single choice.
?

Mending or Infinity on a bow?

Mending. Infinity saves arrows but blocks Mending on the same bow and won't fire tipped/spectral arrows for free. Carry a stack of arrows and run Power V + Mending + Unbreaking III + Flame instead.
?

What level do I need for the best enchants?

Level 30 with 15 bookshelves. That is the cap for table enchanting and the only tier that can roll Sharpness V, Protection IV, and Power V.
?

Does Looting affect combat?

Indirectly. Looting III on your sword raises rare drop rates and mob loot quantity but adds no damage. Always keep it on your main fighting sword.
?

Should I use a sword or an axe?

Sword for sustained fights: faster attack speed, Sweeping Edge crowd control, and a shield in the off-hand. Axe out-damages per hit and breaks shields but its cooldown leaves you open. Sword wins for survival combat.
?

Why does my diamond sword enchant so poorly?

Because diamond has an enchantability of 10, which is low. It feeds directly into the roll at the table, so the same levels buy fewer and weaker enchantments than they would on netherite at 15 or gold at 22.
?

What is the cheapest route to a good sword enchantment?

Roll on gold or on books, then move the result onto the weapon you intend to keep. Gold's 22 enchantability is more than double diamond's, and books avoid wasting a good roll on a poor item.

Blocks and items in this guide

Netherite Sword in MinecraftNetherite SwordDiamond Sword in MinecraftDiamond SwordGolden Sword in MinecraftGolden SwordBookshelf in MinecraftBookshelfDiamond in MinecraftDiamondLeather in MinecraftLeatherPotion in MinecraftPotionShield in MinecraftShield

All 8 of these are named in the guide above, starting with Netherite Sword. Look them up in the item database.

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