What Projectile Protection does
| Level | Effect | Book cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | 2 points against projectiles, about 8% less per piece | 1 |
| II | 4 points against projectiles, about 16% less per piece | 2 |
| III | 6 points against projectiles, about 24% less per piece | 3 |
| IV | 8 points against projectiles, about 32% less per piece | 4 |
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.
What counts as a projectile
Projectile Protection works against arrows from skeletons, strays, bogged and pillagers. It also covers thrown tridents, shulker bullets, llama spit and the direct hit of blaze and ghast fireballs. Each level gives 2 protection points against them.
You do not need a full set
As with the other special types, Protection still counts against projectiles. So three pieces of Protection IV plus one piece of Projectile Protection IV already reach the 20-point cap. Every extra Projectile Protection piece lowers your defence against melee, falls and fire.
Projectile Protection or a shield?
A raised shield blocks arrows from the front completely. So if you fight archers head-on, a shield does more than any armor enchantment. Projectile Protection is for the arrows you do not see coming, such as skeletons behind you in a cave.
When it is worth a slot
- Raids, where pillagers shoot crossbows and illagers rush you at the same time.
- Skeleton and blaze farms where you stand near the mobs.
- Exploring trial chambers, where the bogged shoot poison arrows.
- PvP against bow and crossbow players.
For everything else, Protection on every piece is the stronger choice.
Projectile Protection by level
Each level adds 2 points against projectiles, so level IV adds 8. That is enough to reach the cap with three Protection IV pieces. Lower levels still help, but you only need one piece, so it is worth getting that one piece to IV.
Projectile Protection on the anvil
It is a ×1 book, so level IV costs only 4 levels. But it excludes Protection, so you can't add it to a piece that already has Protection. Put it on a fresh piece of a spare set instead.
Projectile Protection in trial chambers
Trial chambers are full of archers: skeletons, strays and bogged, plus breezes that fire wind charges. A spare chestplate with Projectile Protection IV helps there, while the rest of the set keeps Protection. Then you swap back when you leave the chamber.
Which items take Projectile Protection
Projectile Protection goes on 4 kinds of gear in the calculator: helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots. An enchanting table can roll it on the helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots.
It can't share an item with Protection, Blast Protection or Fire Protection. If an item already has one of those, the anvil skips the Projectile Protection book.
Anvil cost of Projectile Protection
Projectile Protection has an anvil multiplier of 2 from another item and 1 from a book. So a Projectile Protection IV book costs 4 levels on a fresh item, and each lower level costs 1 less. Two fresh Projectile Protection III books merge into Projectile Protection IV for 1 level. Building it from scratch takes 8 level I books and 7 merges, 17 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
Projectile Protection can go on 4 items: best helmet enchantments, best chestplate enchantments, best leggings enchantments, best boots enchantments. To put it on in the cheapest order, see the helmet enchant order, chestplate enchant order, leggings enchant order, boots enchant order.
More reading: Getting books from librarians, How to enchant in Minecraft, Every max enchantment level. You can make a Projectile Protection book with the command generator. The librarian price list shows what villagers charge for it.
How to get Projectile Protection
- 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.
- Gear worn by trial chamber mobs 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.
Projectile Protection is an uncommon table roll on every armor piece, and trial chamber mobs can wear armor with it. Librarians can also sell it, and the book costs only ×1 per level on the anvil.
Tips
- Good for raids, skeleton farms and fights against blazes and ghasts.
- Pick it over Protection only when projectiles are the main danger.
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 projectile_protection 4Questions
Does Projectile Protection help against the Ender Dragon?
Not much. The dragon's fireball leaves a cloud of dragon's breath, and its other attacks are melee hits, so neither counts as a projectile. It does help against skeletons on the End islands.
Does Projectile Protection work against the warden?
No. The warden attacks in melee and with its sonic boom, and neither is a projectile.
How many pieces of Projectile Protection should I wear?
One is enough if the rest have Protection IV. Three Protection IV pieces plus one Projectile Protection IV piece already reach the 80% cap against projectiles.
Does Projectile Protection work against fireballs?
Yes against the direct hit of blaze and ghast fireballs. The blast of a ghast fireball is explosion damage, which Blast Protection covers.
Can you put Projectile Protection on a shield?
No. Shields can't take protection enchantments. A raised shield blocks most arrows from the front anyway.
What is the max level of Projectile Protection?
Projectile Protection IV. It adds 8 points against projectiles on one piece.
Does Projectile Protection stack across pieces?
Yes, the points from every piece add up. But three Protection IV pieces plus one Projectile Protection IV piece already reach the 80% cap.