Fortune vs Looting

The difference

Fortune goes on axe, pickaxe, shovel and hoe and increases block drops. Looting goes on sword and spear and increases mob drops. They work the same way in spirit, but on different items, so a full kit has both.

Neither one affects the other's job. A Fortune pickaxe gives no extra drops when you hit a mob with it, and Looting does nothing to blocks.

Level by level

Looting III quadruples average blaze rods and ender pearls, from 0.5 to 2 per kill. The wither skeleton skull chance more than doubles, from 2.5% to 5.5%. That makes Looting the bigger time saver of the two for boss materials.

Which to pick, situation by situation

• Which to get first. Fortune III if you still need diamonds. Looting III once you start on blazes, endermen and wither skeletons.
• Mob farms. Looting. Kill the mobs with a Looting sword, and every common drop goes up by as much as one per level.
• Crop farming. Fortune on a hoe. It raises the drops of carrots, potatoes, beetroot seeds and wheat seeds when you break the crops.
• Wither skulls. Looting III. The skull is a rare drop, and Looting raises its chance.
• Ore mining. Fortune III, on a pickaxe kept apart from your Silk Touch pickaxe.
• Experience. Neither. Fortune and Looting change item drops, not the experience you get.

Which items take each

• Fortune goes on axe, pickaxe, shovel and hoe. The enchanting table can offer it on all of them.
• Looting goes on sword and spear. The enchanting table can offer it on both. Related questions: Looting on axe, Looting on spear, Looting on trident.

What each one does

Fortune

Fortune gives extra drops from ores, crops and some other blocks. On ores like diamond, Fortune III averages about 2.2 drops per block.

• Fortune and Silk Touch exclude each other. Keep one pickaxe of each.
• Mine ores with Silk Touch, then place and break them with Fortune for the same result.

Looting

Looting makes mobs drop more items and raises the chance of rare drops. Each level adds up to one extra common drop and improves rare and equipment drops.

• Looting III is a must for wither skeleton skulls, blaze rods and ender pearls.
• It goes on swords and spears; axes cannot take it.

Where to get them and what they cost

• Fortune: max level III, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 6 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Fortune III book for 11 to 45 emeralds.
• Looting: max level III, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, ominous vaults (trial chambers) and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 6 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Looting III book for 11 to 45 emeralds.

No single item takes both, so they never compete for the same slot. Whichever you pick, combine the books in the cheapest order with the enchantment calculator.

Good to know

Where Fortune matters most

Fortune pays off on ores that drop items: coal, diamond, emerald, lapis, redstone, nether quartz and nether gold. Iron, copper and gold ore drop raw metal, which Fortune also multiplies. However, it does nothing to ancient debris or to blocks that drop a single fixed item, like stone or logs.

Where Looting matters most

Looting pays off on mobs with valuable drops. Blaze rods, ender pearls, ghast tears, gunpowder and wither skeleton skulls are the classic targets. It also raises the chance of rare drops and of mobs dropping their gear. Because of that, a Looting sword is the standard weapon at every mob farm.

Getting the books

Both are normal enchantments, so the enchanting table, librarians and loot all offer them. A Fortune III or Looting III book costs 11 to 45 emeralds from a librarian. Since no item takes both, there is no reason to choose between them. Get Fortune first if you still need diamonds, then Looting.

Using both on one trip

A Nether fortress run shows how the two fit together. First, a Looting sword handles wither skeletons and blazes for skulls and rods. Then a Fortune pickaxe takes care of nether quartz and nether gold on the way home. Neither tool helps with the other job, so carry both. The same goes for an Overworld cave trip, where Looting raises creeper gunpowder and Fortune raises the ores.

Common mistakes

• Expecting Looting to work on blocks. Looting only changes mob drops. Breaking melons or ores with a Looting sword gives normal drops.
• Killing with the wrong item. Looting counts the weapon in your hand when the mob dies. So switch to the Looting sword for the last hit.
• Forgetting the spear. Spears take Looting too, so a Looting spear also works as a farming weapon.

Changing your mind later

There is nothing to swap. No item can take both, so each has its own slot in a full kit. Any item can still gain more books later, as long as no single anvil step reaches 40 levels.

Java and Bedrock differences

In Java 26.3, Fortune and Looting never share an item. The anvil differs between the editions. Java charges the full new level of every book, plus 1 level for each conflicting enchantment it skips. Commands work with one /give in Java, using the enchantments component. This page shows the Java 26.3 numbers.

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