Anvil

What it does

• Combine enchantments: put the item left and an enchanted book (or another enchanted item of the same kind) right.
• Merge books: two books of the same enchantment and level make the next level.
• Repair: each unit of the material (like a diamond) restores 25% durability; combining two damaged items adds their durability plus a 12% bonus.
• Rename: costs 1 level.

Costs

Each step charges both items' prior work penalty plus the enchantments brought in. The penalty doubles each use, which is why the order matters. The calculator finds the cheapest order; a step of 40 or more is Too Expensive!

Damage

Each use has a 12% chance to damage the anvil: anvil, chipped anvil, damaged anvil, then it breaks. Falling anvils also take damage.

Getting the most out of an anvil

Merge books with each other before putting them on gear, and put the most expensive books on early. That keeps the prior work penalty low, so the final steps stay under the 40-level limit. The cheapest order for common gear is already worked out: sword, pickaxe, chestplate, boots, mace and bow.

Keep a spare anvil nearby when doing a big enchanting session, because each use can damage it. A grindstone resets gear that has become too expensive.

How the cost is worked out

Every anvil step in Java adds up three parts. First comes the prior work penalty of the item on the left. Then the game adds the penalty of the item on the right. Finally, it adds the cost of each enchantment the right item brings in.

The enchantment part is the resulting level times that enchantment's multiplier. If the right item is a book, the multiplier is halved, with a minimum of 1. Each enchantment that clashes with one already on the item adds 1 level and is skipped.

The prior work penalty

Each item and book starts with 0 anvil uses. After every step the result gets one more use than the busier of the two inputs. The penalty doubles with each use, as the table shows.

So an item with 6 uses can never be changed again in survival, because the penalty alone is 63. The limit is 39 levels per step: 40 or more shows Too Expensive!. Check any item with the prior work penalty calculator.

Enchantment multipliers

For example, Mending costs 4 levels from an enchanted item but only 2 from a book. That is why books are the normal way to move enchantments.

Worked example: a sword one book at a time

Say you have a fresh diamond sword and seven max books. Most players simply add them one by one. Here is what each step costs, with the sword's penalty growing every time.

Step 7 fails, because the penalty has grown too large. The same seven books in the best order cost 49 levels in total, and no single step goes above 14. The trick is to merge books into pairs first, then put the bundles on the sword. As a result, the sword gets far fewer anvil uses.

The enchantment calculator finds that order for any item. Ready-made orders exist for the sword, pickaxe, helmet, leggings and trident.

Merging books to reach max level

Two books with the same enchantment at the same level make the next level. For example, two Sharpness IV books make Sharpness V for 5 levels. A V and a V stay at V, because nothing goes above the max in survival.

If the levels differ, the higher one wins and nothing is upgraded. So Sharpness IV plus Sharpness III just gives IV, and you pay for IV.

Repairing on the anvil

Repairing with material costs 1 level per unit plus the item's penalty. Each unit restores a quarter of its maximum durability, rounded down, so a nearly broken item can need five units. Here is what each item takes:

• Wood tools and shields: any planks.
• Stone tools: cobblestone, cobbled deepslate or blackstone.
• Iron and chainmail: iron ingots. Gold: gold ingots. Copper: copper ingots.
• Diamond: diamonds. Netherite: netherite ingots.
• Leather armor: leather. Turtle shell: turtle scutes.
• Elytra: phantom membranes. Mace: breeze rods.

Bows, crossbows, tridents, fishing rods and shears have no repair material. Instead, combine two of them, or give them Mending. Combining two items adds both durabilities plus a 12% bonus, costs 2 extra levels, and also merges their enchantments.

However, every repair counts as an anvil use. After a few repairs, even a single diamond becomes Too Expensive. That is why late-game gear relies on Mending and an XP farm instead.

Combining two enchanted items

You can also put two items of the same kind together, like two diamond pickaxes. The left one keeps its name, and it gains the enchantments of the right one. Matching enchantments follow the same rule as books: two equal levels go up one, otherwise the higher level stays.

This is useful when you find an enchanted bow or rod while fishing. Instead of throwing it away, merge it into your own. Still, check the cost first, because the right item uses the full multiplier, not the book one.

Spend levels while you are low

The anvil shows its cost in levels, but you pay in experience points. Higher levels hold far more points each. For example, a 30-level step at level 40 drops you to 10 and takes 2,760 points. The same step at exactly level 30 takes only 1,395.

So do your anvil work as soon as you reach the level a step needs. Several cheap steps at low levels cost less than one big session after a long grind. The XP calculator converts levels to points for any case.

Renaming

A rename costs 1 level plus the item's current penalty. In Java, a rename on its own does not raise the penalty. Also, a rename-only step is capped at 39, so you can always rename an item in survival.

If you rename while combining, the rename adds 1 level to that step. So name it during the last book step, or right at the start while its penalty is still 0. Name tags also need an anvil before you can use them on mobs. Try names and colors with the anvil rename tool.

Placing, falling and mining

The anvil obeys gravity like sand. If you place it above air, it falls and lands on the first solid block. A falling anvil hurts anything it hits: 2 damage per block it fell after the first, up to 40.

Mine an anvil with any pickaxe. It keeps its damage state, so a chipped anvil stays chipped in your inventory. It also takes explosions very well, which keeps your enchanting room safe from creepers.

Java vs Bedrock

These numbers are for Java. Bedrock only charges for the level increase of each enchantment, not the full resulting level. It also charges nothing for clashing enchantments. So the same order is often cheaper on Bedrock, and the cheapest order can differ.

Common mistakes

• Adding books one at a time to the item. Merge them first, as the example above shows.
• Putting the item in the right slot. The left item keeps its type and its name, so the item always goes left.
• Repairing with material again and again. Each repair adds a use and raises the penalty, so put Mending on gear you want to keep instead.
• Using an enchanted sword as the sacrifice. Many enchantments cost twice as much from an item as from a book.
• Fixing a Too Expensive item by grinding it. That also removes every enchantment, so only do it if you can rebuild it; see the grindstone.

Anvils through the game

• Early game: the anvil needs 31 iron ingots, so craft it once you have a steady iron source. Until then, a grindstone repairs tools for free.
• Mid game: use it to add librarian books and to merge table books. Plan each item with the best enchantments list before you start.
• Late game: keep one or two spares, and finish every piece in the cheapest order. Mending then keeps the gear going without more anvil uses.