What Efficiency does
| Level | Effect | Book cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | +2 mining speed | 1 |
| II | +5 mining speed | 2 |
| III | +10 mining speed | 3 |
| IV | +17 mining speed | 4 |
| V | +26 mining speed | 5 |
Book cost is the anvil cost of putting that book on a fresh item. However, already-used items add their prior work penalty: work it out in the calculator.
How mining speed works
Every tool has a base mining speed for the blocks it is made for. Efficiency adds to that speed, and the bonus grows fast with each level: +2 at level I, +5 at II, +10 at III, +17 at IV and +26 at V. So the jump from IV to V is the biggest of all.
The bonus only applies when you use the right tool. A pickaxe with Efficiency V still breaks logs at hand speed, and an axe still mines stone slowly.
Instant mining
With Efficiency V and a Haste II beacon, many common blocks break almost as fast as you can click. Harder blocks like deepslate still take a moment.
Things that slow you down anyway
- Mining underwater is 5 times slower unless your helmet has Aqua Affinity.
- Mining while not standing on the ground is another 5 times slower, even with Efficiency.
- Mining Fatigue from elder guardians makes mining extremely slow until it wears off.
Efficiency on every tool
Efficiency goes on pickaxes, axes, shovels, hoes and shears. The table offers it on all of them except shears, which need a book.
- On an axe, it speeds up logs, planks, bookshelves and other wooden blocks. See Efficiency on an axe.
- On a shovel, it makes dirt, sand and gravel vanish as fast as you click.
- On a hoe, it clears leaves, hay bales, moss and sculk quickly.
- On shears, it speeds up wool, leaves and cobwebs. See Efficiency on shears.
The max pickaxe
The standard pickaxe is Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending and either Fortune III or Silk Touch. Efficiency is a ×1 book, so Efficiency V costs only 5 levels on a fresh pickaxe. That makes it a good book to add last. See the best pickaxe enchantments and the pickaxe enchant order.
Which level is enough?
On a pickaxe, Efficiency V is worth the effort: the last level adds the biggest jump in speed. On other tools, lower levels already feel fast.
- On a shovel, even Efficiency III breaks dirt, sand and gravel almost as fast as you can click.
- On an axe, logs speed up a lot but never break instantly.
Big digging projects
For a perimeter or a huge tunnel, stack every speed boost. Build a full four-layer beacon pyramid to unlock Haste II. Then use an Efficiency V pickaxe with Unbreaking III and Mending, and keep a shovel for dirt and gravel. A Silk Touch pickaxe for glass and ore blocks completes the kit.
Efficiency on a budget
You don't need Efficiency V right away. An iron pickaxe with Efficiency III already makes stone and ores go much faster, and it is easy to get from a level 30 enchant. Save the expensive books for your netherite tools, and keep the iron one as a spare for risky caves.
Efficiency and Haste from a beacon
A beacon needs a full four-layer pyramid to offer Haste II. Once you have one, place it near your main mining area or storage. Then every Efficiency tool feels much faster within its range.
Efficiency and Fortune
A Fortune pickaxe with Efficiency V mines ore veins quickly and gets more from every ore. Since the two don't conflict, the max Fortune pickaxe carries both. The Silk Touch pickaxe takes Efficiency V too.
Common mistakes
- Using the wrong tool. Efficiency only helps on blocks your tool is made for.
- Mining while you jump or swim. The off-ground penalty is bigger than most Efficiency levels.
- Skipping Unbreaking. Faster mining also means you use durability faster.
Which items take Efficiency
Efficiency goes on 5 kinds of gear in the calculator: axe, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, shears. An enchanting table can roll it on the axe, pickaxe, shovel, hoe. On shears the table never offers it, so there it only comes from a book.
Nothing conflicts with Efficiency, so it fits next to every other enchantment its items can take.
Anvil cost of Efficiency
Efficiency has an anvil multiplier of 1 from another item and 1 from a book. So an Efficiency V book costs 5 levels on a fresh item, and each lower level costs 1 less. Two fresh Efficiency IV books merge into Efficiency V for 1 level. Building it from scratch takes 16 level I books and 15 merges, 49 levels in all. That is as cheap as books get, so it rarely decides the order.
Bedrock only charges for the levels a book adds. So upgrading a lower level costs only the difference. Every step also adds the prior work penalty of both items. The enchantment calculator finds the cheapest order for your whole set of books.
Builds, questions and guides
Efficiency is part of the max build for 5 items: best axe enchantments, best pickaxe enchantments, best shovel enchantments, best hoe enchantments, best shears enchantments. To put it on in the cheapest order, see the axe enchant order, pickaxe enchant order, shovel enchant order, hoe enchant order, shears enchant order.
Common questions: can you put Efficiency on an axe?, can you put Efficiency on shears?
More reading: Getting books from librarians, How to enchant in Minecraft, Every max enchantment level. You can make an Efficiency book with the command generator. The librarian price list shows what villagers charge for it.
How to get Efficiency
- Enchanting table It can appear when you enchant a supported item at an enchanting table. However, higher levels need more bookshelves and a level 30 enchant.
- Librarian villagers Librarians can sell it as an enchanted book.
- Trial chamber vaults One of the places it reliably shows up, the same as in Java.
- Random enchanted books It is also in the pool for the random enchanted books and gear in many chests and in fishing loot.
Efficiency is the most common tool enchantment at the table. Librarians sell it often, and trial chamber vaults can give it too.
Tips
- Efficiency V on a netherite pickaxe with Haste II mines stone instantly.
- It also goes on shears and axes, and on hoes for faster leaf and hay mining.
Commands
Hold the item and run this command in Bedrock 26.60 with cheats on. Bedrock's /enchant only goes up to the max level. Its /give command can't add enchantments.
/enchant @s efficiency 5Questions
What is instant mining?
When your mining speed is high enough, a block breaks the moment you click. In Java, a diamond or netherite pickaxe with Efficiency V and Haste II does it for stone, but not for deepslate.
Does Efficiency work on shears?
Yes. Shears can take Efficiency from a book, and it makes wool, leaves and cobwebs break faster.
How much faster is Efficiency V?
It adds 26 to the tool's mining speed. On a high-tier pickaxe that makes most stone break several times faster.
Can you mine deepslate instantly?
Not with survival gear. Deepslate stays slower than stone even with Efficiency V and Haste II.
Is Efficiency or Unbreaking better on a pickaxe?
Use both. Efficiency makes you mine faster, and Unbreaking makes the pickaxe last longer. They do not conflict, and both are cheap ×1 books.
Does Efficiency work on obsidian?
Yes, but obsidian is so hard that it still takes several seconds to mine, even with a diamond or netherite pickaxe and Efficiency V.
What is the max level of Efficiency?
Efficiency V in survival. It adds 26 to the tool's mining speed.
Can you put Efficiency on a sword?
No. Efficiency goes on pickaxes, axes, shovels, hoes and shears, but not on swords.
Does Efficiency make tools break faster?
Not per block. You use the same durability per block, but you mine more blocks per minute, so Unbreaking and Mending matter more.