Protection

What is Protection?

Protection is the most important defensive enchantment in Minecraft. It reduces most types of damage you take: physical (from mobs), fire, explosions, projectiles, falls and magic. It is the most universal enchantment for armor, much like Sharpness is for weapons.

Each level of Protection gives 4% damage reduction on every armor piece. A full armor set with Protection IV (4 pieces x 4 levels) gives a total of 64% extra damage reduction (the game caps it at 80%). That makes a player in a full set of netherite armor with Protection IV very hard to kill with most of the threats in the game.

Protection is one of the most common enchantments at the enchanting table (weight 10), so getting it is no problem. It should be the first enchantment on every armor piece, before you add others like Unbreaking or Mending. Check out our enchanting guide, which covers the best order for applying enchantments to armor.

Damage reduction at each level

Protection works on the Enchantment Protection Factor (EPF) system. Each level adds 1 EPF, and each EPF point gives 4% damage reduction.

The EPF cap is 20, which gives 80% reduction. With 4 pieces of Protection IV (16 EPF) you're already very close to the maximum. You can reach the cap by adding specialized enchantments on individual pieces.

Protection vs specialized enchantments

Here's a comparison:

How to get Protection

Best strategies and uses

The ideal armor set

Every piece of netherite armor should have Protection IV + Unbreaking III + Mending as a minimum. Extra enchantments for individual pieces:

• Helmet: Protection IV + Respiration III + Aqua Affinity + Unbreaking III + Mending
• Chestplate: Protection IV + Unbreaking III + Mending (+ optionally Thorns III)
• Leggings: Protection IV + Swift Sneak III + Unbreaking III + Mending
• Boots: Protection IV + Feather Falling IV + Depth Strider III + Unbreaking III + Mending

You'll find the armor crafting recipes in our dedicated guide. Each piece needs the matching material, from leather through iron and diamond to netherite, which comes from the Nether.

Protection in PvP

In PvP, a full set with Protection IV is the absolute minimum. Many players also use specialized enchantments on individual pieces, for example Projectile Protection on the helmet (people often aim for the head) and Blast Protection on the chestplate (protection against TNT and end crystals). On PvP servers it's also worth having a good weapon with Sharpness V.

The Nether and Fire Protection

When exploring the Nether, it's worth having at least 2 pieces with Fire Protection IV. This drastically reduces lava damage: you can survive a few seconds in lava and calmly climb out, which is invaluable when building bridges over lava lakes. Combined with a fire resistance potion, it gives almost complete immunity to fire.

Exploring the End

In the End, Protection IV is essential for surviving Enderman attacks. Pair it with Feather Falling IV on your boots to explore these dangerous places safely. A full set with Protection IV lets you survive most of the threats in the End.

Thorns: worth it?

Thorns damages attackers, but it wears out your armor faster. With Unbreaking III and Mending that downside is mild, but it is still there. In PvE, Thorns is useful at mob farms, but in PvP it may be undesirable. It depends on your playstyle.

Farming XP to enchant armor

To fully enchant a whole armor set you need huge amounts of experience. We recommend building an XP farm: an Enderman farm in the End or a spawner farm in the Overworld will give you enough experience to reach level 30 many times over. Each armor piece has to be enchanted separately at the table and combined at the anvil.