Best Leggings Enchantments

Every leggings enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Protection	IV	Max build	Reduces almost all damage.
Blast Protection	IV	Alternative	Excludes Protection, so you pick one.
Fire Protection	IV	Alternative	Excludes Protection, so you pick one.
Projectile Protection	IV	Alternative	Excludes Protection, so you pick one.
Swift Sneak	III	Max build	Sneak much faster; only from ancient city chests.
Thorns	III	Max build	Optional damage back.
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max leggings.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max leggings.
Curse of Binding	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on leggings

Leggings give the second most armor: 6 points in diamond or netherite. They are also the only piece that takes Swift Sneak, a treasure enchantment found only in ancient cities. Everything else matches the chestplate: Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Mending and optional Thorns.

Swift Sneak is worth the trip if you build on edges a lot or sneak past the warden. Swift Sneak III lets you sneak at 75% of walking speed instead of 30%. So careful moves stop feeling slow.

Builds for different playstyles

Survival and building

Protection IV, Swift Sneak III, Unbreaking III and Mending. Swift Sneak makes bridging and edge work much faster, and you keep full protection.

Deep dark trips

Swift Sneak shines here. Sneaking stops your footsteps from setting off sculk sensors, so faster sneaking lets you cross an ancient city quickly without calling the warden. Your first book comes from those same cities, so plan two trips.

Mob farms and PvP

Add Thorns III to the core three. Thorns rolls separately on each armor piece that has it, so Thorns on the leggings and chestplate stacks up.

Nether set

Fire Protection IV on the leggings helps with lava and fire, but a Fire Resistance potion does the job better. So most players keep Protection here and carry potions.

Conflicts and which one to pick

Java 26.3 has 6 conflicts on the leggings: Protection with Blast Protection, Protection with Fire Protection, Protection with Projectile Protection, Blast Protection with Fire Protection, Blast Protection with Projectile Protection and Fire Protection with Projectile Protection. An anvil refuses a book that clashes with an enchantment already on the item, so decide before you start.

Protection or a special protection

As on every piece, the four protection types exclude each other. Protection IV is the right pick for leggings you wear every day.

Swift Sneak fits with everything

Swift Sneak conflicts with nothing, so adding it never costs you another book. The only cost is finding it.

Each enchantment on the leggings

Protection IV

Protection cuts almost every kind of damage: mobs, falls, fire, explosions and projectiles. At level IV that means 4 protection points against all damage, about 16% less damage from this piece. The book costs 4 levels on fresh leggings. More about Protection.

Swift Sneak III

Swift Sneak lets you move faster while sneaking. At level III that means you sneak at 75% of walking speed. Sneak much faster; only from ancient city chests. The book costs 12 levels on fresh leggings. More about Swift Sneak.

Thorns III

Thorns damages anything that hits you in melee. At level III that means 45% chance to deal 1–5 damage to the attacker. Optional damage back. The book costs 12 levels on fresh leggings. More about Thorns.

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 fresh leggings. 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 fresh leggings. More about Mending.

The numbers behind the build

A netherite leggings has 555 durability. On armor, Unbreaking III only skips 30% of durability loss, so the piece lasts about 793 durability's worth of hits instead of 555. Mending repairs 2 durability per experience point, so a full repair from almost broken takes about 278 points. That is roughly the XP needed to go from level 0 to level 13.

Protection IV gives this piece 4 protection points, about 16% less damage on its own. Four pieces add up to 16 points, 64% less damage after armor, and the game caps the total at 20 points (80%). A netherite leggings also adds 6 armor and 3 toughness. The armor protection calculator works out any mix.

Swift Sneak in practice

Sneaking stops you from walking off edges, so Swift Sneak makes building at height much faster. It also helps on narrow bridges and in tight tunnels. With Swift Sneak III you sneak at three quarters of walking speed, which feels close to normal walking.

Where to get the books

You need 5 books for this build. Swift Sneak and Mending are treasure enchantments, so the enchanting table won't give them. Plan to trade or loot for them first. Here is where each one comes from:

• Protection IV: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, gear worn by trial chamber mobs, random chest loot and fishing.
• Swift Sneak III: ancient city chests.
• Thorns 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 leggings in the enchanting table and it can roll Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection and Unbreaking. Swift Sneak, Thorns and Mending never show up there on leggings, so those come from books only. The enchanting table calculator shows the odds for each slot.

Which books to get first

Get Protection IV and Unbreaking III first, from the table or librarians. Mending follows from trading, fishing or vaults.

Swift Sneak usually comes last, because it only drops from ancient city chests. Librarians never sell it, and the table never rolls it. Bring the book home and check the cost in the calculator, since the leggings may already have a penalty by then.

Which material to enchant

Put your best books on a netherite leggings: it has the most durability (555), so every enchantment lasts longest, and it also survives lava. The golden leggings has the highest enchantability (25), so it rolls the best results at an enchanting table, but it wears out fast. Enchantments stay on when you upgrade diamond gear to netherite at a smithing table, so you can enchant diamond first and upgrade later.

Netherite has 555 durability against diamond's 495, about 12% more, plus 3 toughness instead of 2 per piece. Copper is the cheap middle step: 165 durability, against 225 for iron, with enchantability 8. It is fine for a first enchant, but don't spend treasure books on it. Gold rolls the best table enchantments (25 enchantability) yet has only 105 durability, so it suits throwaway gear.

Mistakes to avoid

• Adding Swift Sneak to well-used leggings without checking the cost. It is one of the dearest books, and a high penalty pushes the step toward Too Expensive.
• Running a grindstone over the wrong leggings. A grindstone removes every non-curse enchantment, Swift Sneak included.
• Expecting Swift Sneak to help while sprinting or walking. It only changes sneaking speed.
• Wearing Fire Protection leggings in the Overworld. They protect less against mobs and arrows than Protection does.
• Skipping Unbreaking because you have Mending. Unbreaking means fewer repairs, so you spend less of your experience on the leggings.

Leggings enchantment questions

Every enchantment leggings can take in Java 26.3: Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection, Swift Sneak, Thorns, Unbreaking, Mending.

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 leggings costs 44 levels in 5 steps, with no step above 16. So you never need more than 16 levels at once.

Spend the levels step by step as you earn them: that costs about 798 experience points in total. If you saved up to level 44 first, you would need 3782 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. Afterwards the leggings 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
• Boots
• Elytra
• Sword
• Axe
• Spear
• Mace
• Trident
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Pickaxe
• Shovel
• Hoe
• Fishing Rod
• Shears
• Brush
• Flint and Steel
• Shield
• Carrot on a Stick
• Warped Fungus on a Stick