What Quick Charge does
| Level | Effect | Book cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | the crossbow loads in 1s instead of 1.25s | 1 |
| II | the crossbow loads in 0.75s instead of 1.25s | 2 |
| III | the crossbow loads in 0.5s instead of 1.25s | 3 |
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 Quick Charge works
A plain crossbow takes 1.25 seconds to load. Each level of Quick Charge takes a quarter of a second off. At level III the crossbow loads in half a second, more than twice as fast.
The time saved matters most in fights where you shoot again and again. With Quick Charge III, a crossbow reloads almost as fast as you can aim, which puts it close to a bow for steady fire.
Loaded crossbows stay loaded
A loaded crossbow keeps its arrow until you fire it, even in your inventory. So you can load several crossbows before a fight and switch between them on your hotbar. Quick Charge helps here too, because loading the next one takes less time.
Pairs well with
- Multishot, for three projectiles every half second.
- Piercing, for steady shots that pass through lines of mobs.
- Firework rockets, for fast explosive bursts.
- Unbreaking III and Mending, since fast reloads use durability quickly.
In a build
Quick Charge conflicts with nothing, so every max crossbow takes it. It is a ×1 book, so Quick Charge III adds only 3 levels to a fresh crossbow. The best crossbow enchantments page shows the full Multishot and Piercing builds, and the crossbow enchant order the cheapest steps.
Quick Charge by level
- Level I: loads in 1 second.
- Level II: loads in 0.75 seconds.
- Level III: loads in 0.5 seconds.
Each level takes the same quarter second off. Level III is the max in survival.
Quick Charge and movement
You move slowly while you load a crossbow. Faster loading means less time at that slow speed, so Quick Charge also helps you dodge between shots.
Crossbow or bow?
With Quick Charge III, a crossbow fires almost as often as a bow. A bow with Power V still deals more damage per arrow. But a crossbow can stay loaded in your hotbar, and Multishot or Piercing hit several targets at once.
Quick Charge on the anvil
Quick Charge is a ×1 book, so it costs very little at any point. Therefore add it near the end, after Multishot or Piercing.
Quick Charge in raids
Raids come in waves, and pillagers shoot back. With Quick Charge III you fire twice as often, so you clear each wave faster and take fewer hits. Bring a stack of arrows and some fireworks for the bigger waves.
Quick Charge and fireworks
Firework rockets take as long to load as arrows. So Quick Charge III also speeds up a firework crossbow, which turns it into a fast, heavy hitter. Since rockets are cheap to craft from paper and gunpowder, a creeper farm keeps you stocked.
Which items take Quick Charge
Quick Charge goes on 1 kind of gear in the calculator: crossbow. An enchanting table can roll it on the crossbow.
Nothing conflicts with Quick Charge, so it fits next to every other enchantment its items can take.
Quick Charge from the enchanting table
The level you can roll depends on the item's enchantability. A material with a higher value reaches higher levels from the same level 30 enchant. This table shows the best Quick Charge each crossbow can get from a level 30 enchant with 15 bookshelves.
| Item | Enchantability | Best from the table |
|---|---|---|
| Crossbow | 1 | II |
Anything higher has to come from a book instead. Then the enchanting table calculator shows the exact chance for every level.
Anvil cost of Quick Charge
Quick Charge has an anvil multiplier of 2 from another item and 1 from a book. So a Quick Charge III book costs 3 levels on a fresh item, and each lower level costs 1 less. Two fresh Quick Charge II books merge into Quick Charge III for 3 levels. Building it from scratch takes 4 level I books and 3 merges, 9 levels in all. That is as cheap as books get, so it rarely decides the order.
Java charges the full resulting level every time, even when the item already has a lower level of it. 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
Quick Charge is part of the max build for 1 item: best crossbow enchantments. To put it on in the cheapest order, see the crossbow enchant order.
More reading: Getting books from librarians, How to enchant in Minecraft, Every max enchantment level. You can make a Quick Charge book with the command generator. The librarian price list shows what villagers charge for it.
How to get Quick Charge
- 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. Level I costs 5–19 emeralds plus a book.
- Random enchanted books It is also in the pool for the random enchanted books and gear in many chests and in fishing loot.
Quick Charge is an uncommon roll at the enchanting table. In Java the table can't give Quick Charge III at all: the lowest enchanting level that can roll level III is higher than its highest one, so it only comes from books. Librarians sell it, and two level II books merge into III.
Enchanting power and librarian prices
| Level | Enchanting power | Librarian price |
|---|---|---|
| I | 12–50 | 5–19 emeralds |
| II | 32–50 | 8–32 emeralds |
| III | 52–50 | 11–45 emeralds |
The power column is the hidden enchanting value each level needs. A level 30 enchant on a crossbow reaches power 36 at most. That already includes the enchantability bonus and the random spread. The price column shows what a librarian can ask for each book. Curing a zombie villager or the Hero of the Village effect lowers it.
Tips
- Quick Charge III loads in half a second.
- It works with both Multishot and Piercing.
Commands
Give yourself a Quick Charge book or enchant the item in your hand. These work in Java 26.3 once cheats are on.
/give @p enchanted_book[stored_enchantments={quick_charge:3}]
/enchant @s quick_charge 3
/give @p crossbow[enchantments={quick_charge:3}]Versions
Quick Charge is in every Java version from 1.21 (when enchantments became data files) up to 26.3.
Its costs, levels and items have not changed in that time.
Also see the update log for every change, and how this data is checked. Bedrock player? See Quick Charge on Bedrock.
Questions
What is the best crossbow build?
Quick Charge III, Multishot or Piercing IV, Unbreaking III and Mending.
How fast does Quick Charge III load a crossbow?
In half a second, instead of 1.25 seconds without it.
Can you get Quick Charge III from the enchanting table?
No. In Java the table can only give Quick Charge I or II. Level III comes from librarians or from merging two level II books.
Is Quick Charge worth it?
Yes. Every crossbow build uses it, because it conflicts with nothing and cuts the load time from 1.25 to 0.5 seconds at level III.
Can Quick Charge go on a bow?
No. Quick Charge only goes on crossbows.
Does Quick Charge work with Multishot?
Yes. They do not conflict, and together they make the standard crowd-clearing crossbow.
What is the max level of Quick Charge?
Quick Charge III. It cuts the load time from 1.25 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
Does Quick Charge work with Piercing?
Yes. Quick Charge conflicts with nothing, so it fits on both the Piercing and the Multishot crossbow.