Best Crossbow Enchantments

Every crossbow enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Piercing	IV	Alternative	Arrows go through mobs; replaces Multishot. Excludes Multishot, so you pick one.
Multishot	I	Max build	Three arrows at once.
Quick Charge	III	Max build	Faster loading.
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max crossbow.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max crossbow.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on a crossbow

The crossbow loads slower than a bow draws, but it can stay loaded, fire firework rockets and take Multishot or Piercing. Quick Charge III fixes the slow reload, so it goes on every build.

Crossbows also take Unbreaking and Mending. They can't take Infinity, Power or Flame, so you always need ammo. A crossbow has more durability than a bow, but every shot still wears it down, so Unbreaking and Mending earn their slots.

Builds for different playstyles

Multishot for groups

Quick Charge III, Multishot, Unbreaking III and Mending. Three arrows per shot hit crowds hard, and each shot still uses only one arrow.

Piercing for lines

Quick Charge III, Piercing IV, Unbreaking III and Mending. Each arrow passes through up to four extra mobs, and you can pick the arrows up again.

Firework crossbow

Multishot with firework rockets fires three rockets at once. Add firework stars to the rockets and each one explodes for real damage. That makes it a strong raid and boss weapon.

Mob farm crossbow

Piercing IV, Quick Charge III, Unbreaking III and Mending. Arrows go through rows of mobs, and you can pick them up again afterwards.

Raids

Multishot and Piercing both work against pillagers. Piercing is better when they line up in a corridor; Multishot wins in the open.

Conflicts and which one to pick

Java 26.3 has 1 conflict on the crossbow: Piercing with Multishot. An anvil refuses a book that clashes with an enchantment already on the item, so decide before you start.

Multishot or Piercing

Multishot for groups and fireworks, Piercing IV for lines of mobs and arrow recovery. See Multishot vs Piercing.

No Infinity on a crossbow

Infinity only goes on bows, so bring arrows or rockets. Infinity on a crossbow has the short answer.

Each enchantment on the crossbow

Multishot

Multishot makes a crossbow fire three arrows at once for the cost of one. At level I that means the crossbow fires 3 projectiles in a spread for the cost of 1. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh crossbow. More about Multishot.

Quick Charge III

Quick Charge makes a crossbow load faster. At level III that means the crossbow loads in 0.5s instead of 1.25s. Faster loading. The book costs 3 levels on a fresh crossbow. More about Quick Charge.

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 crossbow. 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 crossbow. More about Mending.

The numbers behind the build

A crossbow has 465 durability. Unbreaking III skips three out of four durability losses on average, so it lasts about 1860 uses instead of 465. Mending repairs 2 durability per experience point, so a full repair from almost broken takes about 233 points. That is roughly the XP needed to go from level 0 to level 12. With both books, each point of experience pays for about 8 uses.

A plain crossbow takes 1.25 seconds to load. Quick Charge III cuts that to 0.5 seconds, so you fire more than twice as often. Multishot then puts three projectiles in the air for the cost of one arrow.

Loading and firing

A crossbow stays loaded until you fire, so you can load it, switch items and shoot later. That makes it great for an opening shot, or for carrying a firework load into a fight. Quick Charge only shortens the loading itself, not the flight or the damage.

Firework loads

A crossbow can fire firework rockets as projectiles, which a bow can't. Rockets with firework stars explode on impact for damage, while plain rockets only fly. Rockets made with more gunpowder fly further.

Crossbow or bow?

A Power V bow does more damage per arrow, and Infinity means you never run out. The crossbow wins with fireworks, Multishot crowds and Piercing lines, and it needs no long draw. So many players carry both and pick by the fight.

Where to get the books

You need 4 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:

• Multishot: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, ominous vaults (trial chambers), random chest loot and fishing.
• Quick Charge III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• 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.

Put a crossbow in the enchanting table and it can roll Piercing, Multishot, Quick Charge and Unbreaking. Mending never shows up there on a crossbow, so that one comes from books only. The enchanting table calculator shows the odds for each slot.

Which books to get first

Quick Charge, Multishot, Piercing and Unbreaking can come from the enchanting table or librarians. Mending comes later from trading, fishing or vaults.

Get Quick Charge first, since it changes how the crossbow feels the most. Then add Multishot or Piercing, depending on what you fight.

At a Java enchanting table, Piercing turns up far more often than Multishot, because Multishot is a rare enchantment. So a librarian is the easier way to get Multishot.

Crossbows also turn up as loot, because pillagers drop them, sometimes already enchanted. So check any crossbow you pick up before you craft a new one.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trying to pick up Multishot side arrows. You can't: only the middle arrow can be collected again.
• Using Piercing with firework rockets. Piercing only affects arrows.
• Shooting star-loaded fireworks at close range. The blast can hurt you too.
• Carrying the crossbow unloaded into a fight. Load it ahead of time, so your first shot is ready the moment you need it.
• Firing fireworks near pets or friends. The blasts can't break blocks, but they hurt anyone close to the impact.
• Skipping Quick Charge. Without it every shot takes 1.25 seconds to load.
• Carrying only fireworks. They hit hard but cost gunpowder and paper, so keep a stack of arrows for small fights.

Crossbow enchantment questions

Every enchantment a crossbow can take in Java 26.3: Piercing, Multishot, Quick Charge, Unbreaking, Mending.

Quick answers: can you put Mending on a crossbow?, can you put Multishot and Piercing on a crossbow?, can you put Infinity on a crossbow?

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

Cheapest order

Combining these books in the wrong order can cost twice as many levels or hit Too Expensive! The cheapest order for the max crossbow costs 17 levels in 4 steps, with no step above 6. So you never need more than 6 levels at once.

Spend the levels step by step as you earn them: that costs about 187 experience points in total. If you saved up to level 17 first, you would need 394 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. Afterwards the crossbow has been on the anvil 3 times, so later repairs start at a penalty of 7.

See every step

Other gear

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