What Curse of Vanishing does
| Level | Effect | Book cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | the item is destroyed on death | 4 |
Book cost is the anvil cost of putting that book on a fresh item. However, already-used items add their prior work penalty: work it out in the calculator.
How Curse of Vanishing works
When you die, your items normally drop on the ground for you to pick up. An item with Curse of Vanishing is destroyed instead. It is gone for good, along with all its enchantments.
It goes on almost anything: armor, tools, weapons, elytra, shields, compasses, carved pumpkins and mob heads.
When it matters
- With keepInventory off, a vanishing item is lost on every death. Treat it as temporary gear.
- With keepInventory on, you keep the item, so the curse never triggers.
- A totem of undying stops the death, so the item survives.
In practice, a vanishing curse on a good sword or pickaxe is a real risk in survival. Every death can cost you the whole item.
Curses can't be removed
A grindstone keeps curses while removing everything else. An anvil can't remove them either. So a Curse of Vanishing item stays cursed for good. If the item is worth a lot, use it carefully or keep it for safe jobs, such as building at home.
Using it on purpose
- Adventure maps use it to stop players from keeping starting gear after a death.
- PvP servers use it so killed players don't drop strong gear for others.
- Combined with Curse of Binding on a carved pumpkin, it makes the classic prank: stuck on, then gone when you die.
Where cursed items come from
Random enchanted books and gear from chests and fishing can carry it. Librarians can sell the book too. Check loot before you rely on it: the curse shows as a red line in the item's tooltip.
Is a cursed item still worth using?
Often, yes. A Curse of Vanishing item works exactly like a normal one until you die. So a cursed sword with good enchantments is still a strong sword. The trick is to use it where deaths are rare, and to keep an uncursed backup for risky trips.
Vanishing on gear you trade or share
A cursed item stays cursed when you give it to someone else. So if you hand out loot to friends, tell them about the curse. Then they can decide whether to risk it on a dangerous trip.
Which items take Curse of Vanishing
Curse of Vanishing goes on 22 kinds of gear in the calculator: helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick, warped fungus on a stick. It is a treasure enchantment, so on every item it comes from an enchanted book and an anvil, never from the enchanting table.
Nothing conflicts with Curse of Vanishing, so it fits next to every other enchantment its items can take.
Anvil cost of Curse of Vanishing
Curse of Vanishing has an anvil multiplier of 8 from another item and 4 from a book. So the book costs 4 levels on a fresh item. That is one of the most expensive books. So put it on early, while the prior work penalty is still low.
Bedrock only charges for the levels a book adds. So upgrading a lower level costs only the difference. Every step also adds the prior work penalty of both items. The enchantment calculator finds the cheapest order for your whole set of books.
Builds, questions and guides
Curse of Vanishing can go on 22 items: best helmet enchantments, best chestplate enchantments, best leggings enchantments, best boots enchantments, best elytra enchantments, best sword enchantments, best axe enchantments, best spear enchantments, best mace enchantments, best trident enchantments, best bow enchantments, best crossbow enchantments, best pickaxe enchantments, best shovel enchantments, best hoe enchantments, best fishing rod enchantments, best shears enchantments, best brush enchantments, best flint and steel enchantments, best shield enchantments, best carrot on a stick enchantments, best warped fungus on a stick enchantments. To put it on in the cheapest order, see the helmet enchant order, chestplate enchant order, leggings enchant order, boots enchant order, sword enchant order, axe enchant order.
More reading: Minecraft curses explained, Getting books from librarians, Every max enchantment level. You can make a Curse of Vanishing book with the command generator. The librarian price list shows what villagers charge for it.
How to get Curse of Vanishing
- Librarian villagers Librarians can sell it as an enchanted book at a higher price, because it is a treasure enchantment.
- Random enchanted books It is also in the pool for the random enchanted books and gear in many chests and in fishing loot.
Curse of Vanishing is a treasure curse. It never appears in the enchanting table, but it can turn up on books and gear from chests and fishing, and librarians can offer it. As with every curse, the goal is usually to avoid it.
Tips
- Harmless if you play with keepInventory on.
- Like all curses, it can't be removed with a grindstone.
Commands
Hold the item and run this command in Bedrock 26.60 with cheats on. Bedrock's /enchant only goes up to the max level. Its /give command can't add enchantments.
/enchant @s vanishing 1Questions
What does Curse of Vanishing do with keepInventory?
Nothing: with keepInventory you keep the item, so the curse never triggers.
Can you remove Curse of Vanishing?
No. Grindstones keep curses, and anvils can't remove them. The item stays cursed.
Does a totem of undying save vanishing items?
Yes. A totem stops you from dying, so the curse never triggers and you keep the item.
Is Curse of Vanishing bad?
On gear you want to keep, yes, because every death destroys it. With keepInventory on it does nothing.
Can a compass have Curse of Vanishing?
Yes. Compasses can carry it, so a cursed compass disappears when you die.
Can you get Curse of Vanishing from the enchanting table?
No. The table never adds curses. Cursed items and books come from chests, fishing and librarian trades.