Minecraft is full of player choice that isn't limited to exploration and creation. Players can utilize a number of weapons and tools and equip those items with special enchantments. Some enchantments are great for attacking specific enemies while others are great for mining resources. Some enchantments, however, can't be combined with others, so picking the right ones is key.
Axes can only hold a few enchantments so when deciding which to use, players should think of what they will be using their axe for. Axes are primarily used for mining wood but because it can inflict more damage on enemies than a sword, it's also a great option for battle.
10 Curse Of Vanishing Is A Good Joke
The Curse of Vanishing isn't so much of an enchantment as it is a nightmare. When it's attached to an item, it makes that item disappear upon the player's death. The Curse of Vanishing can be found through chest loot, fishing, and trading.
This particular enchantment is extremely frustrating. Unless players want to trick a fellow player and give them an axe with Vanishing attached, it's better to steer clear of it. It may also be a good idea to check any discarded axes for the Vanishing enchantment before picking them up.
9 Bane Of Anthropods Is For Spider Haters
Bane of Anthropods is a necessary enchantment for any players —especially those who hate spiders — looking to quickly get rid of pesky insect-like creatures. This enchantment is only effective against Spiders, Bees, Endermites, Cave Spiders, and Silverfish.
While it's only effective against these particular enemies, Bane of Anthropods instantly dispatches them. Spiders can be extremely annoying when one's exploring. Eliminating them quickly is very convenient. Damage can be increased by leveling up the enchantment to level five.
8 Silk Touch Is A Resource Management Assistant
While other enchantments are useful for the crafting, mining, or battling aspects of Minecraft, Silk Touch is designed for the survival side of things. When players mine a block with the enchantment Silk Touch, the object being broken won't transform into its component pieces.
Instead, the object in question will remain whole. Silk Touch becomes an extremely helpful tool for players who are looking to better manage their resources. Perfect for Minecraft players who don't have a real home base, Silk Touch is a must-have enchantment.
7 Gather More Resources With Fortune
When players are looking to harvest some wood by chopping down trees, a great enchantment to have is Fortune. Fortune grants the player more drops out of a single item, however, there is a slight catch.
The Fortune enchantment comes with a limitation: it won't work when players are harvesting from trees, unless the enchantment has been equipped to their axe. On the positive side, for those who feel bad tearing down a forest to build themselves a house, using Fortune means less trees have to fall.
6 From Chopping To Cleaving
For players who prefer an axe as their weapon when taking on enemies, Cleaving — originally called Chopping — is a great enchantment to have. Cleaving increases the damage output for the player's axe, but it also raises the chances for shield stuns.
Cleaving is an extremely useful enchantment to have equipped to one's axe. When players are battling against hordes that feature shielded enemies, they'll quickly find themselves with a great advantage. Players should note Cleaving isn't compatible with the Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Anthropods enchantments.
5 Efficiency Speeds Up The Mining Process
Efficiency is a great enchantment for the players who love building and mining. Players looking to gather up an abundance of resources will want to have Efficiency equipped to their axe as it increases the speed at which they can mine a block.
Because the axe is working at a sped up rate, it will also deteriorate faster than usual. If players wish to take full advantage of Efficiency, they should combine it with the Mending or Unbreaking enchantments, allowing them to get the most mileage out of their axe as well.
4 Smite Destroys Those Undead Enemies
For any of the paranormal exterminator or undead warrior players out there, Smite is the perfect enchantment for them. Smite enhances the axe's ability to kill undead enemies, equipping it with the power to take said enemies out almost instantly.
The Smite enchantment is effective against a host of enemies including: Skeletons, Withers, Zombie Pigmen, Zombies, Strayed, Wither Skeleton, Skeleton Horses, Husks, Drowned, and Phantoms. Because these enemies often appear in the lower areas of map levels, players should equip Smite to quickly dispatch them without much hassle.
3 Sharpness Is Effective Against All Enemies
Sharpness is a great enchantment for the axe as it increases its damage against all enemies — unlike Smite or Bane of Anthropods. Axes make a great weapon against enemies, although they are slow to charge. Adding Sharpness will increase the damage dealt by the axe, while countering its slower charge.
Sharpness can be acquired through Anvil by sacrificing a book with Sharpness level 5 to get the enchanted axe. Sharpness can be leveled up to five times, adding a significant increase to the damage dealt to pesky enemies.
2 Unbreaking Quadrouples Durability
The Unbreaking enchantment does exactly what players expect it to. It increases the durability of weapons and tools to the point of being almost indestructible. When a player is in a battle or is trying to harvest resources, having their axe break in the middle of it all is extremely frustrating.
To make their tasks easier, players can combine Unbreaking with Efficiency, creating a long-lasting and extremely useful tool. The weapon will still degrade over time, but the axe will last much longer than normal.
1 Constantly Repair With XP And Mending
Weapons and tools in Minecraft degrade and eventually break. This can be especially annoying when players are in the middle of desperately chopping down a forest and are left with no tools to finish the job.
The best way around this frustration — other than carrying a lot of axes — is the Mending enchantment. The Mending enchantment uses XP to repair the axe, meaning it will last nearly forever, as long as there is a good pool of XP to draw from when performing the repairs.