Enchanting is a game mechanic in Minecraft that improves weapons, armor, books, and tools in Minecraft by adding an “enchantment“, which either amplifies their current use or ability or introduces new abilities or use. Consequently, it’s a crucial part of the Survival Mode, since it can provide a stepping stone in the various parts of the game, especially hunting, gathering, and building. It’s less important in Creative Mode, but equally fun to play around with. After all, the aforementioned enchantments are applied randomly, and most have multiple ranks. With that out of the way, let’s get into how to enchant in Minecraft.
1. Enchant in Minecraft Survival Mode
There are 3 primary ways to enchant in Minecraft Survival Mode:
1. Enchanting Table
The most common method of enchanting in Minecraft is making an Enchanting Table and placing it on the ground. Placing a Bookshelf nearby (one block of air apart) increases the level of enchantments the Enchanting Table offers. The efficiency stops increasing at 15 Bookshelves, which are required for the maximum, level 30 enchantments. For best results, they should be placed in a rectangular pattern around the Enchanting Table, with one block of air in-between, and one empty block for entrance. Once enchanted, item icons gain a faint purple glow. Upon using the Enchanting Table (identical instructions to using a Crafting Table), a player will see two empty slots on the left and three empty rectangles on the right. Their purpose is as follows:
Slot 1
The slot on the far left accepts any items that can be enchanted. They must be unenchanted to be viable.
Slot 2
The slot to the right of Slot 1. Only accepts one item, the “fuel“ for the Enchanting Table, Lapis Lazuli. The number of Lapis Lazuli required depends on the level needed to enchant an item. For example, enchanting an item with a maximum enchantment level of 30 will consume 3 Lapis Lazuli.
Slots 3-5
The three rectangles on the right-hand side are empty until a player places the unenchanted item in Slot 1. When it is, glyphs appear in one, two, or all three slots. They are faded out if the enchanting cannot be performed. Hovering over them shows a potential enchant and its rank, and displays other requirements. Potential enchantments and their rank increase based on the players’ current experience level. Players will see 4 enchanting indicators:
- Green orb on the far left side. The number next to it signifies the number of experience levels that will be consumed upon enchanting.
- Glyphs. Easter egg. See at the bottom.
- Name and rank of the enchant. Possible combinations are item-specific. For example, you can only apply Respiration to the helmet.
- Green numbers on the far right side. The minimum level a player needs to have to perform that enchant.
2. Anvil (Item + Enchanted Book)
Enchanted Book is acquired when a player uses Enchanting Table to enchant a Book item. This effectively saves one of the enchantments offered in Slots 3-5 for later use. Creating and using an Anvil allows players to do the following:
- Rename an item
- Repair an item
- Combine two items into one by placing them into Slot 1 and Slot 2
How does Minecraft enchanting using an Enchanted Book work?
Placing a compatible unenchanted item in Slot 1 and an Enchanted Book in Slot 2 produces a repaired item with the enchantments inherited from the Enchanted book. Anvil will “sacrifice“ the item in Slot 2 in the process. If the two items have different enchantments, both are present in the final item with identical ranks. Combining two enchantments of the same name, but different rank produces the next rank. For example, two Sharpness I enchantments produce Sharpness II. The price, called Enchantment Cost, is displayed in the bottom right corner and shows how many experience levels will be consumed. Furthermore, the cost increases if the player also needs to repair an item. Also, Experience Cost gradually increases with the number of times you repaired it. Anvil will stop working when it reaches level 39.
3. Anvil (Two items of the same type and material)
The final way to enchant in Minecraft using an Anvil is by placing two items of identical type and material (two Diamond Pickaxe, for example). The same rules apply as above, and you can even combine two Enchanted Books to gain a more powerful version of the Enchanted Book. Furthermore, the Enchantment Cost of combining two items is greater than that of combining an item and an Enchanted Book.
2. Enchant in Minecraft Creative Mode
The way to enchant items in Minecraft Creative Mode is identical to that of Survival Mode, except that the process does not have Enchanting Cost. Creative Mode inventory displays Enchanted Books with the highest ranks of every enchant name. Players can find lower levels via the Search function. Using an Enchanting Table in Creative Mode still consumes experience levels. However, if you have insufficient experience, enchanting a Minecraft item reduces your level to zero. Funnily enough, you can continue to enchant items even at zero.
3. Enchant in Minecraft using Cheats/Commands
Server owners or those playing the single-player version of the game can enable Minecraft cheats. Then, by utilizing two of the Minecraft cheats/commands, they can either enchant items or spawn already enchanted items. Here are 2 examples:
1. Giving the nearest player a Diamond Sword enchanted with Unbreaking IX (Java Edition Only)
Enter this into the chat:
/give @p diamond_sword{Enchantments:[{id:"minecraft:unbreaking",lvl:9}]} 1
2. Enchanting the item currently held by the nearest player with Sharpness V (All Versions)
Doing this requires you to enter:
/enchant @p sharpness 5
You can also use Enchantment ID for Sharpness:
/enchant @p 16 5
Note. The maximum level in Survival Mode is Unbreaking III. You can add Unbreaking IX via /give but not via /enchant. The /give maximum enchantment level is 2,147,483,647.
How to decipher the enchanting language in Minecraft?
The glyphs displayed in the Enchanting Table are translations of 3 random words from a predetermined list. They are purely cosmetic and don’t affect the enchantment name or effect. If you’re curious, they’re translated from the Standard Galactic Alphabet, a language from the Commander Keen computer game series.