Best Carrot on a Stick Enchantments

Every carrot on a stick enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max carrot on a stick.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max carrot on a stick.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on a carrot on a stick

The carrot on a stick steers a saddled pig. Hold it while riding and the pig walks where you look; use it to give the pig a speed boost. It takes Unbreaking, Mending and Curse of Vanishing, so the best build is Unbreaking III and Mending.

Each boost wears the stick down, and it has little durability to start with. So Unbreaking III makes the biggest difference here.

You craft it from a fishing rod and a carrot. So for most players a few spare sticks are easier than enchanting one.

Builds for different playstyles

Pig farms and breeding

No books at all. You only need plain carrots, potatoes or beetroots to breed and lead pigs.

Pig travel

Unbreaking III. It is enough for casual rides, and the stick is cheap to replace. Boost only on open ground, where the pig can run.

Pig racing and adventure maps

Unbreaking III and Mending, if you ride pigs often. Mending only repairs while you hold the stick, so collect XP with it in hand.

Each enchantment on the carrot on a stick

Unbreaking III

Unbreaking gives items a chance to not lose durability when used. At level III that means tools skip 75% of durability loss, armor 30%. The book costs 3 levels on a fresh carrot on a stick. More about Unbreaking.

Mending

Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. At level I that means each experience point you pick up repairs 2 durability. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh carrot on a stick. More about Mending.

Is it worth a book?

Unbreaking III costs only a few levels, so it is worth it if you ride pigs more than once in a while. Mending is a harder sell. It only repairs while you hold the stick as XP comes in, and riding itself gives none, so a spare stick is often simpler.

A pig is slower than a horse, but pigs are easy to find and need no taming. So for a short ride between nearby builds, or a silly race with friends, a carrot on a stick does the job.

Getting a saddle

Saddles turn up in chests in dungeons, nether fortresses, bastions, ancient cities, villages and several other structures. Fishing can also catch one as treasure, and master leatherworkers sell them. So check your storage before you go looking.

A saddled pig drops its saddle when it dies, so you never lose the saddle along with the pig.

Breeding and leading pigs

You don't need the stick to lead pigs. They follow you if you hold a plain carrot, potato or beetroot, and the same foods breed them. So save the stick for riding.

Pig riding in practice

Pigs need a saddle before you can ride them. Saddles come from chests, fishing and trading, so check what you have first. Once you ride, the stick decides the direction; without it the pig wanders.

Pigs are slow without boosts, so the carrot on a stick is more fun than fast. For real travel, horses, striders and the elytra do the job better.

Where to get the books

You need 2 books for this build. Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table won't give it. Plan to trade or loot for it first. Here is where each one comes from:

• Unbreaking III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Mending: librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.

Librarians are the most reliable source for exact books, because you can reroll them until they offer the one you want. The trading hall guide shows how, and the villager trade tool lists the prices. Combine the books in the cheapest anvil order so no step becomes too expensive.

Which books to get first

Unbreaking III is the only book worth chasing. Add Mending only if you have spare copies after all your main gear.

Mistakes to avoid

• Boosting all the time. Each boost costs a lot of durability, so save it for when you need speed.
• Spending a Mending book here before your armor and tools.
• Trying to ride without a saddle. You can't mount a pig without one.
• Leaving your saddled pig unfenced. It wanders off once you get off, so park it in a pen.
• Riding pigs near cliffs. The pig walks where you look, and a fall hurts both of you.
• Mixing it up with the warped fungus version. Pigs ignore the warped fungus on a stick, and striders ignore the carrot.
• Putting Curse of Vanishing on it. You lose it on death, and it adds nothing.

Carrot on a Stick enchantment questions

Every enchantment a carrot on a stick can take in Bedrock 26.60: Unbreaking, Mending.

See also the full list of incompatible enchantments and the god gear command generator.

Putting the books on

Unbreaking III alone costs 3 levels on a fresh carrot on a stick. Mending alone costs 2 levels on a fresh carrot on a stick. Both together cost 6 levels, about 54 experience points if you spend them as you earn them. Unbreaking III first costs 3 + 3 levels. Mending first costs 2 + 4. Merging the two books first, then adding the result, costs 2 + 6. The cheapest route costs 6.

Afterwards the carrot on a stick has been on the anvil 2 times, so its prior work penalty is 3. Any later anvil repair starts from that cost, which is one more reason to let Mending do the repairs. Check your own item in the enchantment calculator if it already has anvil uses.

Other gear

• Full armor set
• Helmet
• Chestplate
• Leggings
• Boots
• Elytra
• Sword
• Axe
• Spear
• Mace
• Trident
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Pickaxe
• Shovel
• Hoe
• Fishing Rod
• Shears
• Brush
• Flint and Steel
• Shield
• Warped Fungus on a Stick