Swords in Minecraft are primarily for combat. They deal the highest amount of damage of all tools and you can use them pretty much against everyone. You can make them from wood, gold, iron, diamonds, and netherite.
There are also enchantments that you can put on your sword – there are 10 enchantments in total. Some of them are great, some of them are okay-ish, and some are straight garbage. We’re gonna get to the bottom of every enchantment, explain how each one of them works and which one is the best. List is ranked from worst to best.
- Curse of Vanishing
- Bane of Arthropods
- Knockback
- Sweeping Edge
- Looting
- Fire Aspect
- Unbreaking
- Sharpness
- Mending
- Smite
What Are The Best Enchantments For Swords In Minecraft
Curse of Vanishing
Swords with Curse of Vanishing enchantment won’t last for long, the reason that is because they will disappear once you die. You might find the rest of your items at the location of your death but the sword will simply not be there.
There’s a chance you might find a sword with this enchantment somewhere in a treasure chest, which is better than nothing I suppose.
The maximum level of this enchantment is I.
Bane of Arthropods
Your sword deals significantly more damage to spiders. Most players don’t use Bane of Arthropods enchantment and for a good reason – it’s too situational. If you find a spider spawner and want to build a mob kill farm, you might find some uses for it. Additionally, bees also count as arthropods, which means that you’ll be dealing extra damage to them as well.
The maximum level of this enchantment is V.
Knockback
As the name suggests, Knockback enchantment will push mobs off of you after successful attacks. I suppose it’s useful against creepers and other mobs that can be dangerous when up close. I suppose it also has some uses in PVP, whether you want to throw someone into lava or just buy yourself some time.
The maximum level of this enchantment is II.
Sweeping Edge
The point of Sweeping Edge enchantment is to increase the damage of your sweep attack. If you don’t know what the sweep attack is, it’s the attack that’s capable of striking multiple enemies at once. One of the efficient ways of killing mobs is to gather them all at once and hit them till they drop dead. It saves you a lot of time and this enchantment is also useful for self-made mob farms!
The maximum level of this enchantment is III.
Looting
Looting increases the chances of you getting extra loot from slaying mobs. Although it’s not particularly combative, this enchantment is ideal if you have a mob farm and want to collect more items. The items from this enchantment can also be enchanted, which you can disenchant and get extra XP.
The maximum level of this enchantment is III.
Fire Aspect
You’re gonna love this enchantment. Fire Aspect simply sets the mobs on fire every time you attack them. This effect doesn’t stack but resets each time you strike. This enchantment helps you safely kill creepers and deal damage gradually to several enemies at once, which helps preserve the durability of your sword.
The damage from Fire Aspect I is 1.5 hearts(4 seconds), whereas the damage from Fire Aspect II is 3.5 hearts(8 seconds).
The maximum level of this enchantment is II.
Unbreaking
Swords are made for attacking mobs, which means that you’ll run of out durability extremely quickly. Unbreaking fixes that issue and it will enable you to stay in combat for a whole lot more. If you’re wondering how many durability points will be added to your sword per level of this enchantment, look below:
Basic durability of a diamond sword – 1562 points of durability
Unbreaking I – 3124 points of durability
Unbreaking II – 4686 points of durability
Unbreaking III – 6248 points of durability
A very useful enchantment if you’re doing nothing all day but beating the crap out of random mobs. A must-have!
The maximum level of this enchantment is III.
Sharpness
Sharpness enchantment focuses on dealing more damage to all types of mobs. Perfect if you’re outside at night, targeting multiple mobs, such as creepers, zombies, spiders, skeletons, and other hostile mobs. It stacks with Sweeping Edge and it’s overall a great enchantment if you value damage but it’s not compatible with enchantments such as Smite or Bane of Anthropods.
The maximum level of this enchantment is V.
Mending
Every time you slay a mob with your sword, they’re gonna drop experience orbs. Mending causes you to regenerate durability every time you receive experience – 1 point of experience = 2 points of durability. Keep in mind that you will also reduce the rate at which you level up!
The maximum level of this enchantment is I.
Smite
Smite is an enchantment that deals more damage than Sharpness but it’s only restricted to undead creatures, such as:
- Chicken Jockey
- Drowned
- Husk
- Phantom
- Skeleton
- Skeleton Horse
- Skeleton
- Horseman
- Spider
- Jockey
- Stray
- Wither
- Wither Skeleton
- Zoglin
- Zombie
- Zombie Horse
- Zombie Villager
- Zombified Piglin
As you can see, there is a sizable list of enemies that you will be able to damage more severely. One of the best enchantments if you’re planning to go to the Nether and other undead-infested zones!
The maximum level of this enchantment is V.
Frequently asked questions about swords
Swords or Axes?
Swords are better for combat. They’ve got 10 enchantments in total and most of them are great for gathering items, as well as improving your damage output.
How do I get the levels to enchant my sword?
There are multiple answers to this question. One of them is to simply attack mobs and gather experience orbs or set up mob farms that you can find on Youtube. You can also gather EXP from crop farming, fishing, etc.
