Minecraft Enchanting Table

How to make an enchanting table

The recipe takes 1 book, 2 diamonds and 4 obsidian. In a crafting table, put the book in the top middle slot. Fill the middle row with diamond, obsidian, diamond, and the whole bottom row with obsidian.

1. Book: craft 3 sugar cane into 3 paper, then combine the paper with 1 leather. Cows are the usual source of leather.
2. Diamonds: mine deep, below Y 0, where diamond ore is most common. An iron pickaxe or better is needed.
3. Obsidian: pour water onto a still lava pool, then mine the obsidian with a diamond or netherite pickaxe.

So from scratch you need 3 sugar cane, 1 leather, 2 diamonds and 4 obsidian, plus 3 more diamonds for the pickaxe that mines the obsidian.

Crafting any shape

3 Paper, 1 Leather

Crafting

1 Book, 2 Diamond, 4 Obsidian

How to use it

Put an item in the left slot and lapis lazuli in the right. Three options appear; the number is the level you need, and the option costs 1, 2 or 3 levels and lapis. Hovering an option shows one of the enchantments you will get.

Use the bookshelf setup tool to place them and the table calculator to see the odds. The glyphs in the table are random: translate them here.

Tips for better enchants

• Enchant books instead of gear when you want to choose later where an enchantment goes.
• Gold gear and books get different odds: gold rolls the best results, books the fewest enchantments.
• The options only change after you enchant something. Spend one level on a cheap item to see new ones.
• Use the table calculator to see which level gives the enchantment you want most often.

For anything the table won't give, switch to books and the anvil.

What you see in the table

This is the window with a full setup. The glyph text is decoration. The green number on the right is the level you need, and the small number on the left is how many levels and lapis the option takes.

Enchant

64

1. 1klaatu berata niktu9
2. 2fire imbue sphere18
3. 3elder scrolls grow30

Option levels for every bookshelf count

The table above jumps in steps of five. Here is every count from 0 to 15, from the same formula the game uses. The numbers are the lowest and highest level each option can show.

Notice that the bottom option is the only one that reaches 30. At 15 shelves it always shows exactly 30, so the full setup gives you a level 30 choice every time. The top option never goes above 10, and the middle one tops out at 21.

Also, more than 15 shelves does nothing. The game stops counting at 15, so extra shelves are only decoration.

Where the bookshelves go

Picture a 5 by 5 square with the table in the middle. The outer ring of that square has 16 spots, and each one can hold a bookshelf. You can also stack a second ring one block higher, so there are 32 valid spots in total. Corners count too.

In Java, the gap can contain air or replaceable blocks such as short grass, snow layers or water. Torches, carpets and slabs block bookshelf power. An air gap is the simplest layout.

Only regular bookshelves count. Chiseled bookshelves look similar but give the table no power.

The easiest build is one ground ring of 16 shelves with one removed as a doorway. That gives exactly 15. If you prefer a room, put 8 shelves on the bottom layer and 7 above them along two or three walls instead. See the bookshelf page for more layouts, or plan yours in the setup tool.

Here is a quick check that works in game. While you stand near the table, small glyphs float from each shelf toward it. Only shelves that count send glyphs, so a silent shelf is blocked or in the wrong spot.

Enchantability: why the material matters

Every item has an enchantability value. When you pick an option, the game adds a random bonus of up to two times a quarter of that value, then shifts the result up or down by as much as 15%. As a result, a high value means higher levels and more enchantments from the same option.

Material	Armor	Tools and weapons
Wood	—	15
Stone	—	5
Leather	15	—
Chainmail	12	—
Copper	8	13
Iron	9	14
Gold	25	22
Diamond	10	10
Netherite	15	15
Turtle shell	9	—

For example, a diamond sword (10) gets a bonus of up to 4, while a gold sword (22) gets up to 10. That is why gold rolls so well, even though it breaks fast. Bows, crossbows, tridents, fishing rods and books all have an enchantability of just 1, and the mace has 15.

Some items have no enchantability at all, so the table won't take them: elytra, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick, warped fungus on a stick. For those you need enchanted books and an anvil.

The best a level 30 option can give

Because of enchantability, the table can't reach every max level on every material. This is the highest level each item can roll from a level 30 option, worked out from the game's enchantment costs.

Item	Enchantability	Best from the table	Max level
Diamond Sword	10	Sharpness IV	V
Netherite Sword	15	Sharpness IV	V
Golden Sword	22	Sharpness V	V
Diamond Pickaxe	10	Efficiency IV	V
Iron Pickaxe	14	Efficiency V	V
Netherite Pickaxe	15	Efficiency V	V
Diamond Chestplate	10	Protection IV	IV
Bow	1	Power IV	V
Trident	1	Impaling V	V

In short, diamond tops out at Sharpness IV and Efficiency IV. Netherite, iron, copper, gold and even wooden tools reach Efficiency V thanks to their higher enchantability; only diamond and stone stop at IV. To finish a diamond sword, merge two Sharpness IV books on an anvil, or buy a Sharpness V book. The table calculator shows the full odds for any item and level.

Every enchantment the table can give

The table offers 36 of the 43 enchantments. Each one only appears on the items listed here, and books can roll any of them.

Enchantment	Max level	Goes on
Aqua Affinity	I
Bane of Arthropods	V
Blast Protection	IV
Breach	IV
Channeling	I
Density	V
Depth Strider	III
Efficiency	V
Feather Falling	IV
Fire Aspect	II
Fire Protection	IV
Flame	I
Fortune	III
Impaling	V
Infinity	I
Knockback	II
Looting	III
Loyalty	III
Luck of the Sea	III
Lunge	III
Lure	III
Multishot	I
Piercing	IV
Power	V
Projectile Protection	IV
Protection	IV
Punch	II
Quick Charge	III
Respiration	III
Riptide	III
Sharpness	V
Silk Touch	I
Smite	V
Sweeping Edge	III
Thorns	III
Unbreaking	III

The other 7 never come from the table: Curse of Binding, Curse of Vanishing, Frost Walker, Mending, Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, Wind Burst. The enchantment list has a page for every enchantment.

What an enchant really costs in experience

The option only takes 1, 2 or 3 levels. But levels get more expensive the higher you climb. Going from level 30 to 27 removes 306 experience points, while going from 3 to 0 removes only 27.

So the smart routine is simple. Reach exactly 30, take the bottom option, then earn the 306 points back before the next one. You never have to grind from zero again. Overshooting to level 50 gains you nothing at the table, because the requirement never goes above 30. Use the XP calculator to plan a session.

Re-rolling the options

Each player has a hidden enchanting seed. It picks the options and only changes after you actually enchant something. Closing the table, breaking it or waiting does not change it.

Swapping the item shows a different list, because each item has its own pool and enchantability. However, the seed stays the same, so putting the first item back brings back the same three options.

• Cheap re-roll: enchant a book or a spare shovel with the top option. It costs 1 level and 1 lapis and gives you a fresh set.
• Pick a lower level: place a torch or carpet in the gap in front of a few shelves. That turns them off, so the table offers lower levels without breaking anything.
• Read the hint: hovering an option shows one enchantment it will give. If that one is what you want, take it; the extras are a bonus.

Lapis lazuli

Each option uses 1, 2 or 3 lapis, matching its slot. Lapis ore needs a stone pickaxe or better and drops 4 to 9 lapis, so Fortune pays off well here. In Java, the lapis goes back to your inventory when you close the table. Bedrock keeps it in the table instead.

Plan on a stack per session. One full stack covers 21 level 30 enchants, since each costs 3.

What the glyphs on the table mean

The symbols in the enchanting window, and the ones that drift from the bookshelves, are the Standard Galactic Alphabet. Each option shows a few random words in it. They never tell you which enchantment you will get; only the hint you see when you hover an option does that.

Want to read or write them? The enchanting table translator turns any text into the same letters.

Java vs Bedrock

The table works almost the same in both editions. These are the differences that change how you build and enchant.

For anvil costs, Bedrock has its own rules; the Bedrock calculator uses them.

Books the table can't give

For the treasure enchantments you need books from other places:

• Librarian villagers sell Mending and Frost Walker, and most table enchantments at max level. See the trading hall guide.
• Piglin bartering and bastion chests give Soul Speed.
• Ancient city chests are the only source of Swift Sneak.
• Ominous vaults in trial chambers drop Wind Burst.
• Fishing and chest loot give random books, some with treasure enchantments.

Put the books on your gear with an anvil. The enchantment calculator finds the cheapest order, so you avoid Too Expensive.

Mining and placing the table

Mine the table with any pickaxe to get it back; without one it drops nothing. It resists explosions as well as obsidian does, so a creeper won't destroy it. The table also gives off a dim light.

If you rename the table on an anvil before placing it, the new name shows as the title of its window. That is handy on servers with several enchanting rooms.

The block ID is minecraft:enchanting_table and it stacks to 64. With cheats on, /give @p minecraft:enchanting_table gives you one in Java, and /give @p enchanting_table in Bedrock.

Common mistakes

• Placing shelves right next to the table. They must be two blocks away, with an empty block between.
• Lighting the room with torches on the floor between the shelves and the table. Put lights on the walls or ceiling instead.
• Trying to enchant an item that already has an enchantment. The table only accepts clean items, so use the grindstone first or add books on the anvil.
• Waiting for Mending. It is a treasure enchantment, so the table never offers it; see how to get Mending.
• Enchanting diamond gear at low levels early on. You lock in weak enchantments and the item can't go back in the table.

A plan for each stage of the game

• Early game: craft the table as soon as you have 2 diamonds and some obsidian. Even without shelves, enchant iron tools and books with the top options for Efficiency and Unbreaking.
• Mid game: build the full 15-shelf room and set up an XP farm. Then enchant books at level 30, because books can go on any item later.
• Late game: use the table mostly for books and fresh netherite or diamond gear. After that, finish each item with librarian books in the cheapest anvil order.

For a full build, start from the best armor enchantments and the enchanting guide.