Best bow enchantments in Minecraft

Bow enchantment ranking

Power: your main damage

Power is the bow's version of Sharpness: it increases the damage of every arrow. Without it, a bow deals 6-10 damage (depending on draw). With Power V, the maximum damage rises to 25 (fully drawn bow).

A fully drawn Power V arrow can kill most standard mobs (20 HP) in a single shot. Tougher targets such as the Iron Golem (100 HP) and bosses need more hits. In PvP, an unprotected player can die from a single Power V hit.

Infinity vs Mending: the big dilemma

Infinity and Mending are mutually exclusive on a bow. It is the most debated choice among Minecraft players, and both sides have strong arguments.

Infinity

• Uses no arrows: one arrow in your inventory is enough
• Saves an inventory slot (you do not have to carry a stack of arrows)
• Ideal for everyday play: you never run out of ammo
• Does not work with tipped arrows or spectral arrows: they are consumed as usual

Mending

• XP repairs the bow automatically, so it never wears out
• You have to carry and produce arrows
• A bow has 384 durability points: without Mending it will eventually break
• Better in the long run, especially with an arrow farm (skeleton spawner)

Which one to pick?

Infinity if you do not have a stable source of arrows, play solo and value convenience. A bow with Infinity + Unbreaking III lasts 1,500+ shots before it wears out. Then you craft a new one and enchant it again.

Mending if you have an arrow farm (skeleton spawner, Fletcher villager), play on a server with easy access to arrows, or do not want to lose a perfectly enchanted bow. Mending = a bow forever.

Recommendation for most players: start with Infinity (more convenient day to day), and once you have built a skeleton farm, switch to Mending. On SMP servers where arrows are cheap, Mending is the better choice from the start.

Flame

Flame sets the target on fire for 5 seconds, dealing an extra 5 points of fire damage. The effect does not stack with further hits: every hit resets the burn timer.

Pros:

• Up to 5 extra damage per arrow: it kills weaker mobs even without Power V
• A burning target glows in the dark, so it is easier to track in caves and at night
• Animals killed while burning drop cooked meat
• Ignites TNT from a distance: handy for building and mining

Cons:

• Fire-immune mobs (Blaze, Ghast and many other Nether mobs) take no extra damage
• On servers with wooden bases, Flame can accidentally set buildings on fire

Overall, Flame is a positive enchantment: 5 extra points of fire damage are worth the minor inconveniences. Put it on your bow unless you mostly play in the Nether.

Punch: arrow knockback

Punch knocks back a target hit by an arrow. At level II the knockback is significant: several blocks backward.

When it helps:

• Knocking Creepers back before they get within explosion range
• Knocking players off bridges and cliffs in PvP
• Keeping your distance from fast mobs (such as Vindicators)

When to avoid it:

• Mob farming: knocked-back mobs get out of your kill range
• Fighting in enclosed spaces: knockback is pointless when the mob bounces off a wall

Punch is a situational enchantment. You usually do not need it on a main Survival bow: Power V often kills the target in one hit, so the knockback never gets a chance to work. In PvP it can be useful for controlling your opponent's position.

Unbreaking

Unbreaking III on a bow is a must-have whether you pick Infinity or Mending.

• A bow has 384 durability points
• Unbreaking III gives a ~75% chance that a shot does not use up durability
• Effective durability: 384 x 4 = ~1,536 shots

With Infinity + Unbreaking III you get a bow good for over 1,500 shots without any repairs. With Mending + Unbreaking III the bow repairs itself faster than it wears out, because less wear means less XP needed for a full repair.

Optimal bow builds

Everyday build (Survival)

• Power V: maximum damage
• Infinity I: no worrying about arrows
• Flame I: extra damage and cooked meat
• Unbreaking III: 1,500+ shots of durability

The most convenient bow for everyday play. One arrow in your inventory, and the rest is pure convenience. When it wears out, you enchant a new one.

Endgame build (server / long Survival)

• Power V: maximum damage
• Mending I: a bow forever
• Flame I: extra damage
• Unbreaking III: slower wear + faster repair

A bow that never breaks. It means carrying arrows, but a skeleton farm or a Fletcher villager solves that. The best choice for servers where a perfectly enchanted bow is too valuable to lose.

PvP build

• Power V: can kill an unprotected player in one shot
• Punch II: knocks the opponent back so they cannot close in
• Flame I: extra fire damage and harder aiming for the target (the burning effect gets in the way)
• Infinity I: in PvP you do not want to run out of ammo
• Unbreaking III

Bow vs crossbow: which to pick

The bow and the crossbow are two different ranged weapons with their own strengths:

The bow dominates in raw damage. Power V gives unmatched firepower, and Infinity and Flame add convenience and damage over time. Pick the bow as your main ranged weapon.

The crossbow is better for opening a fight (pre-loaded, instant shot) and for crowd control (Multishot on groups, Piercing on targets lined up in a row). Keep the crossbow as the weapon that starts a fight and the bow as your main tool.

Related pages

• All enchantments in Minecraft
• Best sword enchantments
• Trident enchantments
• Power: details
• Infinity: details
• How to enchant items