Sharpness vs Smite vs Bane of Arthropods

The difference

All three are melee damage enchantments, and only one can go on a weapon. Sharpness helps against everything. Smite and Bane of Arthropods add 2.5 damage per level, but only against undead or arthropods. Arthropods are spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, endermites and bees. Bane also slows the arthropods it hits. Still, few arthropods are dangerous, so it is the weakest pick of the three.

Level by level

The pattern is the same at every level. Smite and Bane deal 9.5 more than Sharpness against their own targets at level V. Against all other mobs they deal 3 less.

Does Bane of Arthropods ever pay off?

A cave spider has 12 health and a spider has 16. With a diamond sword (7 damage) and fully charged hits, the counts look like this:

So Bane only changes the result at a spider or cave spider farm, where one-hit kills save time. Even there, Sharpness V needs just one extra hit per spider.

Which to pick, situation by situation

• Main weapon. Sharpness, every time. It is the only one of the three that helps against creepers, endermen, players and bosses.
• Undead farm or wither fight. Smite. Zombies, skeletons, drowned and the wither are all undead, and Smite V adds 12.5 per hit.
• Cave spider spawner. Bane of Arthropods is a fair choice here. Cave spiders come in a steady stream, and Bane also slows them as they bite.
• Strongholds and silverfish. Sharpness is fine. Silverfish have very little health, so the extra Bane damage is wasted on them.
• Early game. Take whatever damage enchantment the enchanting table offers on your first sword. Then replace it with Sharpness when you can.
• PvP. Sharpness. Players are neither undead nor arthropods.

Max build with each

Here is what a full sword costs with each option, books combined in the cheapest order on a fresh sword:

Open the Sharpness build or the Smite build or the Bane of Arthropods build in the calculator. The sword enchant order walks through every anvil step. The best sword enchantments page explains each book in the build.

Which items take each

• Sharpness goes on sword, axe and spear. The enchanting table offers it on the sword and spear, while the axe needs a book. Related questions: Sharpness on axe, Sharpness on mace, Sharpness on trident, Sharpness on spear.
• Smite goes on sword, axe, spear and mace. The enchanting table offers it on the sword and spear, while the axe and mace need a book. Related questions: Smite on axe, Smite on mace.
• Bane of Arthropods goes on sword, axe, spear and mace. The enchanting table offers it on the sword and spear, while the axe and mace need a book.

What each one does

Sharpness

Sharpness adds melee damage against every mob and player. Level I adds 1 damage and each level after that adds 0.5, for +3 damage at Sharpness V.

• Sharpness, Smite and Bane of Arthropods exclude each other: Sharpness is the all-round choice.
• It works on swords, axes and spears. The mace uses Density or Breach instead.

Smite

Smite adds a lot of damage against undead mobs: zombies, skeletons, the wither, phantoms, drowned, zombie piglins and more. Each level adds 2.5 damage against them.

• Smite V adds 12.5 damage against undead, more than four times what Sharpness V adds.
• A Smite sword or mace is the classic choice for the wither fight.

Bane of Arthropods

Bane of Arthropods adds damage against spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, endermites and bees, and slows them down when hit. Each level adds 2.5 damage against them.

• It is the least useful of the three damage enchantments, since few arthropods are dangerous.
• Use it only on a dedicated spider-farm weapon.

Where to get them and what they cost

• Sharpness: max level V, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, gear worn by trial chamber mobs, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 5 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Sharpness V book for 17 to 64 emeralds.
• Smite: max level V, 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 5 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Smite V book for 17 to 64 emeralds.
• Bane of Arthropods: max level V, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 5 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Bane of Arthropods V book for 17 to 64 emeralds.

All three can go on the sword, axe and spear. Whichever you pick, combine the books in the cheapest order with the enchantment calculator or follow the sword enchant order.

Good to know

The table weights show how often each one turns up. Sharpness has weight 10, while Smite and Bane have 5 each. So among the three, Sharpness appears about as often as the other two together.

Bane's slowness is a nice extra at a spider farm, because the spiders crawl slower while they take hits. Still, it is no reason to choose Bane for a main sword. All three also fit with Fire Aspect, Looting, Unbreaking and Mending, so the rest of the build stays the same.

Common mistakes

• Keeping a Bane sword from the table. If the table gives you Bane, use that sword as a spare. Then enchant a fresh one for your main weapon.
• Thinking Bane helps against creepers. Creepers are not arthropods. Bane does nothing to them, or to endermen and slimes.
• Using Smite against spiders. Spiders are arthropods, not undead. So Smite adds nothing to them.

Switching from one to the other

An anvil never swaps Sharpness for Smite or Bane of Arthropods. If you put a conflicting book on an item, the anvil shows no result at all. So the only way to switch on the same item is a grindstone. It strips every enchantment except curses, then you enchant the item again from scratch.

If an enchanting table gives you Bane of Arthropods, keep that sword as a spare and enchant a fresh one for your main weapon. If you do grind an item, the Java grindstone also clears its prior work penalty, so the rebuild costs the same as on new gear.

Java and Bedrock differences

In Java 26.3, Sharpness, Smite and Bane of Arthropods are incompatible. Sharpness is weaker in Java than in Bedrock: Java adds +3 at level V, Bedrock adds 1.25 per level for +6.25. So Smite's lead over Sharpness is bigger in Java. Java swords can also take Sweeping Edge, which Bedrock does not have. The anvil also 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.

More comparisons

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• Density vs Breach
• Fortune vs Silk Touch
• Fortune vs Looting
• Protection vs Fire Protection
• Protection vs Blast Protection
• Loyalty vs Riptide
• Multishot vs Piercing
• Depth Strider vs Frost Walker