Best Sword Enchantments

Every sword enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Sharpness	V	Max build	Damage against everything.
Smite	V	Alternative	Huge damage to undead only. A second sword for the wither. Excludes Sharpness, so you pick one.
Bane of Arthropods	V	Alternative	Spiders and bees only; skip. Excludes Sharpness, so you pick one.
Sweeping Edge	III	Max build	Stronger sweep attacks (Java only).
Fire Aspect	II	Max build	Sets mobs on fire, cooked drops.
Knockback	II	Max build	Pushes mobs away; many players skip it.
Looting	III	Max build	More and rarer drops.
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max sword.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max sword.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on a sword

The sword is the fastest melee weapon in Java: 1.6 attacks per second at full charge, against 1.0 for a netherite axe. It also takes Sweeping Edge and Looting, which no axe can. So the sword is the weapon for mob farms and drops, while the axe hits harder per swing.

Every max sword starts with Sharpness V, Unbreaking III and Mending. After that it depends on what you fight. Looting III is a must for farms, while Fire Aspect II and Knockback II are a matter of taste.

Builds for different playstyles

Mob farm sword

Sharpness V, Sweeping Edge III, Looting III, Unbreaking III and Mending. Sweeping Edge hits every mob in the sweep at once, and Looting raises the drops. Leave off Knockback, which pushes mobs out of reach. Fire Aspect is optional; it only turns meat drops into cooked food.

Wither and undead sword

Swap Sharpness for Smite V. It adds 12.5 damage against undead, so zombies, skeletons, wither skeletons, phantoms, drowned and the wither itself go down far faster. Keep a normal Sharpness sword for everything else.

Wither skeleton skulls

Looting III raises the skull drop chance from 2.5% to 5.5%. Pair it with Smite V for a dedicated Nether fortress sword.

PvP

Sharpness V, Sweeping Edge III, Unbreaking III and Mending. Many players skip Knockback because it pushes the target out of combo range. Fire Aspect II hurts players without Fire Resistance, so keep it if your fights run long.

Conflicts and which one to pick

Java 26.3 has 3 conflicts on the sword: 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 of Arthropods

Only one of the three fits on a sword. Sharpness V for an all-round sword, Smite V for undead, and Bane of Arthropods almost never. The three-way comparison has the numbers.

Knockback and Fire Aspect: worth it?

They conflict with nothing, so the max build includes both. However, Knockback II can hurt farm rates, so many players leave it off and save 2 levels.

Each enchantment on the sword

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 sword. More about Sharpness.

Sweeping Edge III

Sweeping Edge makes a sword's sweep attack hit nearby mobs harder. At level III that means swept mobs take 75% of the attack damage. Stronger sweep attacks (Java only). The book costs 6 levels on a fresh sword. More about Sweeping Edge.

Fire Aspect II

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

Knockback II

Knockback pushes the mob you hit further away. At level II that means +2 knockback strength. Pushes mobs away; many players skip it. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh sword. 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 sword. 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 sword. 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 sword. More about Mending.

The numbers behind the build

A netherite sword 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, a netherite sword deals 8 damage per fully charged hit. Sharpness V adds 3, for 11. At 1.6 attacks per second that is about 17.6 damage per second. Smite V instead adds 12.5 against undead, for 20.5 per hit. Try other setups in the sword damage calculator.

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:

• Sharpness V: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, gear worn by trial chamber mobs, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.
• Sweeping Edge III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, 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 sword in the enchanting table and it can roll Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Sweeping Edge, Fire Aspect, Knockback, Looting and Unbreaking. Mending never shows up there on a sword, so that one comes from books only. The enchanting table calculator shows the odds for each slot.

Which books to get first

Roll Sharpness, Looting and Unbreaking at the enchanting table on a diamond sword. Sweeping Edge, Fire Aspect and Knockback can show up there too, so a few rolls often cover half the build.

Then get Mending from a librarian or fishing. Add Looting III before you build your first mob farm, and make a Smite sword before you summon the wither. Upgrade to netherite last: the enchantments stay on.

Which material to enchant

Put your best books on a netherite sword: it has the most durability (2031), so every enchantment lasts longest, and it also survives lava. The golden sword 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, and it hits 1 harder. 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

• Putting Knockback on a farm sword. Mobs fly out of reach, and you lose kills.
• Using one sword for everything. A Smite sword does the wither fight much faster, and you don't risk your main sword.
• Spam-clicking in Java. The attack cooldown means a half-charged hit does far less damage, and Sweeping Edge only triggers on full hits.
• Leaving Mending for last on a sword you use every day. The sooner it has Mending, the less you spend on repairs.
• Adding books to the sword one at a time. Merge them in pairs first, or the penalty climbs fast.

Sword enchantment questions

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

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 sword costs 49 levels in 7 steps, with no step above 14. So you never need more than 14 levels at once.

Spend the levels step by step as you earn them: that costs about 785 experience points in total. If you saved up to level 49 first, you would need 5062 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. Afterwards the sword 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
• 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