Best Spear Enchantments

Every spear enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Lunge	III	Max build	Dashes you forward with the jab.
Sharpness	V	Max build	Damage against everything.
Smite	V	Alternative	Excludes Sharpness, so you pick one.
Bane of Arthropods	V	Alternative	Excludes Sharpness, so you pick one.
Fire Aspect	II	Max build	Sets targets on fire.
Knockback	II	Max build	Pushes targets back.
Looting	III	Max build	More drops.
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max spear.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max spear.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on a spear

The spear takes almost the same books as a sword, plus Lunge, its own enchantment. Lunge dashes you forward with a jab, so you close gaps quickly. Each lunge costs durability and hunger, which is why Mending and a full food bar matter more here than on a sword.

Like the sword, the spear can take Looting, Fire Aspect and Knockback. So it works as a farming weapon as well as a mobile one.

A Lunge III dash burns 12 exhaustion, which equals 3 hunger points of food. So eat saturating food such as golden carrots or steak before a long fight.

Builds for different playstyles

Mobile fighting

Lunge III, Sharpness V, Unbreaking III and Mending. Lunge closes the distance, Sharpness makes each jab count, and Mending pays back the durability each dash costs.

Farming spear

Sharpness V, Looting III, Unbreaking III and Mending, with Lunge optional. Looting works on a spear just as it does on a sword.

Undead spear

Smite V instead of Sharpness adds 12.5 damage against undead. It suits drowned, zombies and the wither.

PvP spear

Lunge III, Sharpness V, Unbreaking III and Mending. Knockback II pushes targets away, so decide whether you want space or follow-up hits before you add it.

Conflicts and which one to pick

Java 26.3 has 3 conflicts on the spear: Sharpness with Smite, Sharpness with Bane of Arthropods and Smite with Bane of Arthropods. An anvil refuses a book that clashes with an enchantment already on the item, so decide before you start.

Sharpness, Smite or Bane

Only one of them fits. Sharpness V for a general spear, Smite V for undead. Sharpness vs Smite compares them.

Lunge and Mending

They don't conflict, and they work well together, because Mending pays back the durability every lunge costs. Mending on a spear has the short answer.

Each enchantment on the spear

Lunge III

Lunge is a spear enchantment: a jab propels you forward with the strike. At level III that means a dash of strength 1.37 that costs 1 durability and 12 exhaustion. The book costs 3 levels on a fresh spear. More about Lunge.

Sharpness V

Sharpness adds melee damage against every mob and player. At level V that means +3 damage (1.5 hearts). The book costs 5 levels on a fresh spear. More about Sharpness.

Fire Aspect II

Fire Aspect sets the mob you hit on fire. At level II that means the target burns for 8 seconds. The book costs 4 levels on a fresh spear. More about Fire Aspect.

Knockback II

Knockback pushes the mob you hit further away. At level II that means +2 knockback strength. Pushes targets back. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh spear. More about Knockback.

Looting III

Looting makes mobs drop more items and raises the chance of rare drops. The book costs 6 levels on a fresh spear. More about Looting.

Unbreaking III

Unbreaking gives items a chance to not lose durability when used. At level III that means tools skip 75% of durability loss, armor 30%. The book costs 3 levels on a fresh spear. More about Unbreaking.

Mending

Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. At level I that means each experience point you pick up repairs 2 durability. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh spear. More about Mending.

The numbers behind the build

A netherite spear has 2031 durability. Unbreaking III skips three out of four durability losses on average, so it lasts about 8124 uses instead of 2031. Mending repairs 2 durability per experience point, so a full repair from almost broken takes about 1016 points. That is roughly the XP needed to go from level 0 to level 26. With both books, each point of experience pays for about 8 uses.

In Java, Sharpness V adds 3 damage to every hit. Smite V adds 12.5 against undead and Bane of Arthropods V adds 12.5 against spiders, bees and silverfish, but neither adds anything against other mobs.

Where to get the books

You need 7 books for this build. Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table won't give it. Plan to trade or loot for it first. Here is where each one comes from:

• Lunge III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Sharpness V: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, gear worn by trial chamber mobs, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.
• Fire Aspect II: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Knockback II: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, gear worn by trial chamber mobs, ominous vaults (trial chambers), random chest loot and fishing.
• Looting III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, ominous vaults (trial chambers), random chest loot and fishing.
• Unbreaking III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Mending: librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.

Librarians are the most reliable source for exact books, because you can reroll them until they offer the one you want. The trading hall guide shows how, and the villager trade tool lists the prices. Combine the books in the cheapest anvil order so no step becomes too expensive.

Put a spear in the enchanting table and it can roll Lunge, Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fire Aspect, Knockback, Looting and Unbreaking. Mending never shows up there on a spear, so that one comes from books only. The enchanting table calculator shows the odds for each slot.

Which books to get first

Lunge, Sharpness, Looting, Fire Aspect, Knockback and Unbreaking can all come from the enchanting table or librarians. So a spear gets strong early. Mending comes later from trading, fishing or trial chamber vaults.

Get Lunge and Mending early if you dash a lot, since Lunge wears the spear down. Add Looting before your first farm.

Which material to enchant

Put your best books on a netherite spear: it has the most durability (2031), so every enchantment lasts longest, and it also survives lava. The golden spear has the highest enchantability (22), so it rolls the best results at an enchanting table, but it wears out fast. Enchantments stay on when you upgrade diamond gear to netherite at a smithing table, so you can enchant diamond first and upgrade later.

Netherite has 2031 durability against diamond's 1561, about 30% more. Copper is the cheap middle step: 190 durability, against 250 for iron, with enchantability 13. It is fine for a first enchant, but don't spend treasure books on it. Gold rolls the best table enchantments (22 enchantability) yet has only 32 durability, so it suits throwaway gear.

Mistakes to avoid

• Lunging on an empty stomach. Every dash costs hunger, and once your food bar is low you can't sprint.
• Skipping Mending on a Lunge spear. Each dash costs durability, so the spear wears down fast.
• Putting Knockback on a farm spear. It pushes mobs out of reach.
• Adding the books one at a time. Merge them in pairs first, as the spear enchant order does.

Spear enchantment questions

Every enchantment a spear can take in Java 26.3: Lunge, Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fire Aspect, Knockback, Looting, Unbreaking, Mending.

Quick answers: can you put Mending on a spear?, can you put Sharpness on a spear?, can you put Looting on a spear?

See also the full list of incompatible enchantments and the god gear command generator.

Cheapest order

Combining these books in the wrong order can cost twice as many levels or hit Too Expensive! The cheapest order for the max spear costs 46 levels in 7 steps, with no step above 13. So you never need more than 13 levels at once.

Spend the levels step by step as you earn them: that costs about 698 experience points in total. If you saved up to level 46 first, you would need 4267 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. Afterwards the spear has been on the anvil 4 times, so later repairs start at a penalty of 15.

See every step

Other gear

• Full armor set
• Helmet
• Chestplate
• Leggings
• Boots
• Elytra
• Sword
• Axe
• Mace
• Trident
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Pickaxe
• Shovel
• Hoe
• Fishing Rod
• Shears
• Brush
• Flint and Steel
• Shield
• Carrot on a Stick
• Warped Fungus on a Stick