Repair & Name
The order in words
Get all 7 books ready before you start, and keep at least 16 levels on hand. Then follow these steps on an anvil:
- Step 1: Put the boots in the left slot and the Thorns III book in the right. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 12 levels.
- Step 2: Merge the Soul Speed III 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 boots (now with Thorns III) in the left slot and the Soul Speed III + Mending book in the right. You pay 14 levels for the enchantments plus 2 for prior work, so 16 in total.
- Step 4: Merge the Depth Strider III book with the Unbreaking III book, the first one on the left. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 3 levels.
- Step 5: Put the boots (now with Soul Speed III + Thorns III + Mending) in the left slot and the Depth Strider III + Unbreaking III book in the right. You pay 9 levels for the enchantments plus 4 for prior work, so 13 in total.
- Step 6: Merge the Feather Falling IV book with the Protection IV book, the first one on the left. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 4 levels.
- Step 7: Put the boots (now with Soul Speed III + Depth Strider III + Thorns III + Unbreaking III + Mending) in the left slot and the Protection IV + Feather Falling IV book in the right. You pay 8 levels for the enchantments plus 8 for prior work, so 16 in total. That finishes the boots.
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 7 books, the boots need at least 3 rounds on the anvil, and this order uses 4.
The first step puts Thorns III straight on the boots for 12 levels. It is the dearest book in the build, so it goes on while the item has no penalty at all. The expensive books, Soul Speed III and Thorns III, cost 12 and 12 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.
Boots have the longest armor order: seven books in seven steps. Thorns III goes on the bare boots first, and Soul Speed III pairs with Mending before it joins. Those are the two dearest books, so the order gets them in early.
Feather Falling IV and Protection IV merge into one book for the final step. Both are cheap books, so they can carry the boots' high penalty at the end and still keep the step well under the limit.
Levels and experience
The full order costs 66 levels. If you do each step as soon as you have its levels, you spend about 1250 experience points. Saving up to level 66 first would take 11097 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 boots has been on the anvil 4 times. Its prior work penalty is now 15, 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 Soul Speed III saves the most: the rest costs 49 levels instead of 66.
No Soul Speed yet? Enchant the rest now for 49 levels, then add Soul Speed III later for 27 more. That is 76 levels in all, against 66 if you wait and do it in one go. That is a real premium, so wait for the book if it is close.
No Mending yet? Enchant the rest now for 61 levels, then add Mending later for 17 more. That is 78 levels in all, against 66 if you wait and do it in one go. That is a real premium, so wait for the book if it is close.
| Book left out | Total for the rest | Levels saved |
|---|---|---|
| Protection IV | 57 | 9 |
| Feather Falling IV | 57 | 9 |
| Soul Speed III | 49 | 17 |
| Depth Strider III | 55 | 11 |
| Thorns III | 49 | 17 |
| Unbreaking III | 59 | 7 |
| Mending | 61 | 5 |
If your boots was on an anvil before
Used boots costs more, because the anvil adds its prior work penalty to every step it is in:
| Earlier anvil uses | Cheapest total | Survival? |
|---|---|---|
| None (fresh) | 66 levels | Yes |
| 1 | 73 levels | Yes |
| 2 | 83 levels | Yes |
| 3 | 95 levels | Yes |
Many players start from boots that already has Unbreaking III from the enchanting table. In that case the other 6 books cost 59 levels in 6 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
Java charges the full resulting level of every enchantment a book brings. So if your boots already has Protection III, adding a Protection IV book costs 4 levels here. Bedrock charges only the levels you gain, so the same step costs 1 there. Merging two Protection III books into one IV costs 4 in Java and 1 in Bedrock.
For fresh boots with one book per enchantment, no enchantment gains a level twice, so both rules give the same step costs. Java also charges 1 level for each clashing enchantment on a book, which Bedrock skips.
The books in this order
Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Soul Speed III, Depth Strider III, Thorns III, Unbreaking III, Mending. Not sure which books to get? The best boots 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
Frost Walker: Frost Walker II, Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Soul Speed III, Thorns III, Unbreaking III, Mending. 64 levels in 7 steps, 2 fewer than the max build. See the order in the calculator.
Questions
What is the best enchant order for boots?
1. boots + book (Thorns III): 12 levels; 2. book (Soul Speed III) + book (Mending): 2 levels; 3. boots + book (Soul Speed III + Mending): 16 levels; 4. book (Depth Strider III) + book (Unbreaking III): 3 levels; 5. boots + book (Depth Strider III + Unbreaking III): 13 levels; 6. book (Feather Falling IV) + book (Protection IV): 4 levels; 7. boots + book (Protection IV + Feather Falling IV): 16 levels. Total: 66 levels.
Why is my boots too expensive?
Each anvil use raises the item's prior work penalty (0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 31…). Boots that have already gone through the anvil several times, for combining or repairs, reach the 40-level limit quickly. Combine the books with each other first, then put the finished book on the boots 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 max boots?
66 levels in total, spread over 7 steps. The dearest step costs 16, so you never need more than 16 levels at once.
Can I add Mending to my boots later?
Yes. Enchant the rest first for 61 levels, then add Mending for 17 more. That is 78 levels in all, against 66 if you wait and do everything at once.
Why are boots so expensive to enchant?
They take seven books, more than any other piece. Seven books need three rounds on the anvil, so the last steps carry a larger penalty.