Repair & Name
The order in words
Get all 5 books ready before you start, and keep at least 9 levels on hand. Then follow these steps on an anvil:
- Step 1: Put the bow in the left slot and the Power V book in the right. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 5 levels.
- Step 2: Merge the Punch II book with the Mending book, the first one on the left. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 2 levels.
- Step 3: Put the bow (now with Power V) in the left slot and the Punch II + Mending book in the right. You pay 6 levels for the enchantments plus 2 for prior work, so 8 in total.
- Step 4: Merge the Unbreaking III book with the Flame book, the first one on the left. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 2 levels.
- Step 5: Put the bow (now with Power V + Punch II + Mending) in the left slot and the Flame + Unbreaking III book in the right. You pay 5 levels for the enchantments plus 4 for prior work, so 9 in total. That finishes the bow.
Why this order is the cheapest
Each repair or enchantment combination increases prior work. Rename-only operations do not. So the order keeps the penalties low by merging books with each other in pairs. With 5 books, the bow needs at least 3 rounds on the anvil, and this order uses exactly that many.
The first step puts Power V straight on the bow for 5 levels. It is the dearest book in the build, so it goes on while the item has no penalty at all. The expensive books, Power V and Punch II, cost 5 and 4 levels on their own, so the order adds them while their penalty is still low. Cheap books like Mending can ride along later, when the penalty has grown.
Power V goes on the bare bow first. Punch and Mending then join as one book, and Unbreaking pairs with Flame for the last step.
The Infinity bow swaps Mending for Infinity. An Infinity book costs 4 levels against Mending's 2, so the Infinity bow costs a little more.
Levels and experience
The full order costs 26 levels. If you do each step as soon as you have its levels, you spend about 334 experience points. Saving up to level 26 first would take 997 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. So enchant in small batches and keep your levels low. The XP calculator converts any level into points.
After the last step the bow has been on the anvil 3 times. Its prior work penalty is now 7, so a later repair or rename starts at that cost. Check a single step with the prior work penalty calculator.
If you skip a book
You don't need every book on day one. Leaving out Power V saves the most: the rest costs 18 levels instead of 26.
No Mending yet? Enchant the rest now for 21 levels, then add Mending later for 9 more. That is 30 levels in all, against 26 if you wait and do it in one go. The extra cost is small, so using the item early is usually worth it.
| Book left out | Total for the rest | Levels saved |
|---|---|---|
| Power V | 18 | 8 |
| Flame | 21 | 5 |
| Punch II | 19 | 7 |
| Unbreaking III | 20 | 6 |
| Mending | 21 | 5 |
If your bow was on an anvil before
A used bow costs more, because the anvil adds its prior work penalty to every step it is in:
| Earlier anvil uses | Cheapest total | Survival? |
|---|---|---|
| None (fresh) | 26 levels | Yes |
| 1 | 32 levels | Yes |
| 2 | 38 levels | Yes |
| 3 | 48 levels | Yes |
Many players start from a bow that already has Unbreaking III from the enchanting table. In that case the other 4 books cost 20 levels in 4 steps, because a table enchant adds no prior work penalty.
Enter your own item's enchantments and uses in the calculator.
Java and Bedrock costs
Bedrock charges only the levels an enchantment gains. So if your bow already has Power IV, adding a Power V book costs 1 level here. Java charges the full resulting level, so the same step costs 5 there. Merging two Power IV books into one V costs 1 in Bedrock and 5 in Java.
For a fresh bow with one book per enchantment, no enchantment gains a level twice, so both rules give the same step costs. Bedrock also charges nothing for a clashing enchantment on a book, while Java adds 1 level for each.
The books in this order
Power V, Flame, Punch II, Unbreaking III, Mending. Not sure which books to get? The best bow enchantments page explains each one and where to find it. If the anvil refuses a step, read Too Expensive! for the fixes. The anvil guide covers repairs and renaming.
Other builds
Infinity: Power V, Flame, Punch II, Unbreaking III, Infinity. 29 levels in 5 steps, 3 more than the max build. See the order in the calculator.
Questions
What is the best enchant order for a bow?
1. bow + book (Power V): 5 levels; 2. book (Punch II) + book (Mending): 2 levels; 3. bow + book (Punch II + Mending): 8 levels; 4. book (Unbreaking III) + book (Flame): 2 levels; 5. bow + book (Flame + Unbreaking III): 9 levels. Total: 26 levels.
Why is my bow too expensive?
Each anvil use raises the item's prior work penalty (0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 31…). A bow that has already gone through the anvil several times, for combining or repairs, reaches the 40-level limit quickly. Combine the books with each other first, then put the finished book on the bow in as few steps as possible.
Do I need all the books at the same level?
Use books at the final level you want. Two books of the same level merge into the next level (two Sharpness IV make Sharpness V), but that costs an extra anvil step.
How many levels do I need for a max bow?
26 levels in total, spread over 5 steps. The dearest step costs 9, so you never need more than 9 levels at once.
Can I add Mending to my bow later?
Yes. Enchant the rest first for 21 levels, then add Mending for 9 more. That is 30 levels in all, against 26 if you wait and do everything at once.
Can I add Infinity to my bow later?
Only if it has no Mending. Infinity and Mending exclude each other, so decide before you start.