Density vs Breach

The difference

Both are mace damage enchantments, and they exclude each other (and Smite). Density adds 0.5 damage per level for every block you fall before the smash, so it grows with height. Breach makes the target's armor 15% less effective per level. That matters most against heavily armored players.

Density only works on a smash attack, which needs a real fall. A plain mace swing on flat ground gets nothing from it. Breach applies to every hit, falling or not.

Level by level

Smash damage before armor

The mace's own smash bonus already grows with every block you fall. Density adds its bonus on top. These are Java numbers for a fully charged smash:

Density V turns a 10-block smash from 30 into 55 damage, and a 20-block smash from 40 into 90. Breach can't match that against mobs with little armor. However, a target in full netherite blocks a big share of every hit, and that is where Breach earns its slot. Try your own heights in the mace damage calculator.

Which to pick, situation by situation

• Mob farms and PvE. Density. Most mobs wear little or no armor, so raw damage wins. A Wind Burst bounce turns every hit into a new smash.
• High drops and pillar fights. Density. Its bonus has no cap on height, so a long fall onto a target hits extremely hard.
• PvP against netherite. Breach. Netherite armor and toughness soak up a large part of every hit, and Breach IV cuts that armor's effect by 60%.
• Short hops. Breach holds up better. Density's bonus shrinks with the fall, while Breach works the same on every hit.
• The wither. Consider Smite instead. The wither is undead, and Smite V adds 12.5 to every mace hit without any fall at all.
• Warden and Ender Dragon. Density, ideally with Wind Burst to keep smashing. Neither boss is undead, so Smite does nothing here.

Max build with each

Here is what a full mace costs with each option, books combined in the cheapest order on a fresh mace:

Open the Density build or the Breach build in the calculator. The mace enchant order walks through every anvil step. The best mace enchantments page explains each book in the build.

Which items take each

• Density goes on mace. The enchanting table can offer it there directly.
• Breach goes on mace. The enchanting table can offer it there directly.

What each one does

Density

Density makes the mace's smash attack hit harder the further you fall. Each level adds 0.5 damage for every block fallen.

• Density V adds 2.5 damage per block, so a 20-block drop adds 50 damage.
• It excludes Breach and Smite: Density is the PvE favourite.

Breach

Breach lets mace hits ignore part of the target's armor. Each level reduces how effective the target's armor is by 15%.

• Breach IV cuts armor effectiveness by 60%, which is huge against netherite.
• It conflicts with Density and Smite on the mace.

Where to get them and what they cost

• Density: max level V, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, ominous vaults (trial chambers) and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 5 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Density V book for 17 to 64 emeralds.
• Breach: max level IV, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, ominous vaults (trial chambers) and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 8 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Breach IV book for 14 to 58 emeralds.

They are incompatible, so you choose one per item. Both can go on the mace. Whichever you pick, combine the books in the cheapest order with the enchantment calculator or follow the mace enchant order.

Good to know

The mace's other books fit with either choice. Wind Burst, Fire Aspect, Unbreaking and Mending all go next to Density or Breach. So the decision only affects one slot of the build.

Breach only weakens the target's armor points and toughness. It does not touch the Protection enchantments on that armor. So a Protection IV set still cuts the hit after Breach has done its work.

Since Density needs a fall, it pairs best with Wind Burst. Each smash then bounces you up again, and the next fall adds more Density damage.

Getting the books

Density and Breach are both normal enchantments, so the enchanting table can offer them on a mace. Librarians also sell them: Density V for 17 to 64 emeralds and Breach IV for 14 to 58. Wind Burst, by contrast, only comes from ominous vaults, so it is the book to protect.

Common mistakes

• Judging Density on flat ground. Density adds nothing without a fall. So test it from a few blocks up, or after a wind charge jump.
• Putting Breach on a mob mace. Most mobs have little armor, so Breach has little to cut through.
• Grinding the mace. A grindstone also wipes Wind Burst, which only drops from ominous vaults. Think twice before you do it.

Switching from one to the other

An anvil never swaps Density for Breach. If you put a conflicting book on an item, the anvil shows no result at all. So the only way to switch on the same item is a grindstone. It strips every enchantment except curses, then you enchant the item again from scratch.

The mace is expensive, so think twice before grinding one. A Density mace with Wind Burst covers PvE, and a second Breach mace covers duels. If you do grind an item, the Java grindstone also clears its prior work penalty, so the rebuild costs the same as on new gear.

Java and Bedrock differences

In Java 26.3, Density and Breach are incompatible. The anvil differs between the editions. Java charges the full new level of every book, plus 1 level for each conflicting enchantment it skips. Commands work with one /give in Java, using the enchantments component. This page shows the Java 26.3 numbers.

More comparisons

• Sharpness vs Smite
• Sharpness vs Smite vs Bane of Arthropods
• Mending vs Infinity
• Fortune vs Silk Touch
• Fortune vs Looting
• Protection vs Fire Protection
• Protection vs Blast Protection
• Loyalty vs Riptide
• Multishot vs Piercing
• Depth Strider vs Frost Walker