Repair & Name
The order in words
Get all 4 books ready before you start, and keep at least 12 levels on hand. Then follow these steps on an anvil:
- Step 1: Put the chestplate in the left slot and the Thorns III book in the right. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 12 levels.
- Step 2: Merge the Unbreaking III book with the Mending book, the first one on the left. Neither side has been on an anvil yet, so you only pay for the enchantments: 2 levels.
- Step 3: Put the chestplate (now with Thorns III) in the left slot and the Unbreaking III + Mending book in the right. You pay 5 levels for the enchantments plus 2 for prior work, so 7 in total.
- Step 4: Put the chestplate (now with Thorns III + Unbreaking III + Mending) in the left slot and the Protection IV book in the right. You pay 4 levels for the enchantments plus 3 for prior work, so 7 in total. That finishes the chestplate.
Why this order is the cheapest
Each repair or enchantment combination increases prior work. Rename-only operations do not. So the order keeps the penalties low by merging books with each other in pairs. With 4 books, the chestplate needs at least 3 rounds on the anvil, and this order uses exactly that many.
The first step puts Thorns III straight on the chestplate for 12 levels. It is the dearest book in the build, so it goes on while the item has no penalty at all. The expensive books, Thorns III and Protection IV, cost 12 and 4 levels on their own, so the order adds them while their penalty is still low. Cheap books like Mending can ride along later, when the penalty has grown.
The chestplate has the shortest armor order: four books in four steps. Thorns III goes on the bare chestplate first, because it is the dearest book by far. Unbreaking and Mending then go on together as one merged book.
Protection IV comes last, on its own. It is the cheapest book here, so it can take the step where the chestplate already carries a penalty. Skip Thorns and the order drops to three books.
Levels and experience
The full order costs 28 levels. If you do each step as soon as you have its levels, you spend about 414 experience points. Saving up to level 28 first would take 1186 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. So enchant in small batches and keep your levels low. The XP calculator converts any level into points.
After the last step the chestplate has been on the anvil 3 times. Its prior work penalty is now 7, so a later repair or rename starts at that cost. Check a single step with the prior work penalty calculator.
If you skip a book
You don't need every book on day one. Leaving out Thorns III saves the most: the rest costs 13 levels instead of 28.
No Mending yet? Enchant the rest now for 23 levels, then add Mending later for 9 more. That is 32 levels in all, against 28 if you wait and do it in one go. The extra cost is small, so using the item early is usually worth it.
| Book left out | Total for the rest | Levels saved |
|---|---|---|
| Protection IV | 21 | 7 |
| Thorns III | 13 | 15 |
| Unbreaking III | 22 | 6 |
| Mending | 23 | 5 |
If your chestplate was on an anvil before
A used chestplate costs more, because the anvil adds its prior work penalty to every step it is in:
| Earlier anvil uses | Cheapest total | Survival? |
|---|---|---|
| None (fresh) | 28 levels | Yes |
| 1 | 32 levels | Yes |
| 2 | 38 levels | Yes |
| 3 | 44 levels | Yes |
Many players start from a chestplate that already has Unbreaking III from the enchanting table. In that case the other 3 books cost 22 levels in 3 steps, because a table enchant adds no prior work penalty.
Enter your own item's enchantments and uses in the calculator.
Java and Bedrock costs
Bedrock charges only the levels an enchantment gains. So if your chestplate already has Protection III, adding a Protection IV book costs 1 level here. Java charges the full resulting level, so the same step costs 4 there. Merging two Protection III books into one IV costs 1 in Bedrock and 4 in Java.
For a fresh chestplate with one book per enchantment, no enchantment gains a level twice, so both rules give the same step costs. Bedrock also charges nothing for a clashing enchantment on a book, while Java adds 1 level for each.
The books in this order
Protection IV, Thorns III, Unbreaking III, Mending. Not sure which books to get? The best chestplate enchantments page explains each one and where to find it. If the anvil refuses a step, read Too Expensive! for the fixes. The anvil guide covers repairs and renaming.
Questions
What is the best enchant order for a chestplate?
1. chestplate + book (Thorns III): 12 levels; 2. book (Unbreaking III) + book (Mending): 2 levels; 3. chestplate + book (Unbreaking III + Mending): 7 levels; 4. chestplate + book (Protection IV): 7 levels. Total: 28 levels.
Why is my chestplate too expensive?
Each anvil use raises the item's prior work penalty (0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 31…). A chestplate that has already gone through the anvil several times, for combining or repairs, reaches the 40-level limit quickly. Combine the books with each other first, then put the finished book on the chestplate in as few steps as possible.
Do I need all the books at the same level?
Use books at the final level you want. Two books of the same level merge into the next level (two Sharpness IV make Sharpness V), but that costs an extra anvil step.
How many levels do I need for a max chestplate?
28 levels in total, spread over 4 steps. The dearest step costs 12, so you never need more than 12 levels at once.
Can I add Mending to my chestplate later?
Yes. Enchant the rest first for 23 levels, then add Mending for 9 more. That is 32 levels in all, against 28 if you wait and do everything at once.
Does Thorns go on a chestplate first?
Yes, in the cheapest order. It is the most expensive book, so it goes on while the chestplate has no penalty yet.