Magic is hidden around every corner in Minecraft, but nowhere is it more prevalent than enchanting. From making netherite armor impenetrable with protection V to granting lowly sticks the power to knock enemies into the sky, it completes every item and allows them to be specialized. Today we go over the basics of witchcraft and wizardry in this Minecraft 1.18 Enchanting guide.

Crafting An Enchanting Table

Before one can enchant, an enchanting table is needed. This will require a book, two diamonds, and four obsidian. On the crafting table, place three obsidian along the bottom row, diamond, obsidian, diamond, along the middle row, and a single book directly in the middle of the top row.

You can now perform enchantments up to the eighth level by placing the brand-new enchanting table.

Creating an Enchanting Station

Before delving into the depths of magic, more must be done. This begins with level thirty enchantments which require 15 bookshelves to be nearby.

The easiest way to go about this is by placing a five-by-five square of bookshelves around your enchanting table. One correctly made will have 15 bookshelves boarding a three-by-three open space with an enchanting table at its center. The screenshot above provides a visual to go by.

Remember that the enchanting station’s bookshelves do not have to be a square. As long as there are 15 bookshelves, they can be stacked up to two blocks high and placed anywhere in the five by five square surrounding the enchanting table.

Experience Points

With your enchanting station ready, your adventures into the depths of magic have begun! But to enchant, lapis lazuli and levels gained through EXP, or experience points, are required. Lapis is easy enough to mine, and many activities passively grant experience, so already having a few levels without noticing is not uncommon. Your current level is found directly above the item bar.

Mining, smelting, slaying mobs, breeding animals, fishing, and trading for enchanting bottles are all examples of how to earn experience points through intended methods. However, should it be desired, there are plenty of mob farm designs around the internet that provide automated and semi-manual methods of gaining experience.

In either case, level thirty is your goal when enchanting an item.

Minecraft 1.18 Enchanting Guide

With your EXP ready, it is time to begin the central portion of our Minecraft 1.18 Enchanting Guide. Place your tool and lapis lazuli within the enchanting table and select the level thirty enchantment. Each time you gain level thirty, this can be repeated. Armor, tools, fishing rods, weapons, and even books are all options.

We personally recommend starting by enchanting pickaxes until you get fortune III. This makes mining give significantly more drops. From there, it is whatever you happen to desire.

In the late game, many players turn to enchanting books. These enchanted books can be used to apply additional enchantments to already enchanted items or further increase the level of existing enchantments. For example, Efficiency IV can be brought to V by combining it with another Efficiency book.

But how does one apply the books? Anvils!

A Mage’s Guide to Smithing

By spending experience points and levels, anvils can be used to apply enchanted books, change the name of items, and even combine items which both repairs and merges the enchantments. For example, placing two half durability enchanted pickaxes with Fortune II will merge them into a new pickaxe with restored durability and Fortune III.

Keep in mind the first slot in the anvil is the pickaxe which is being repaired/edited, and switching the slot each tool is in can change both the cost and the outcome. For example, when looking to repair a renamed enchanted tool, ensure it is in slot one while the unenchanted tool is in slot two.

The anvil and books can also be used to create very specific enchanted items. Need a helmet for work at the bottom of the ocean? Aqua Affinity and Respiration books can be applied as needed. There are also enchantments exclusive to books, such as mending. This very rare enchantment repairs items automatically as experience points are collected.

Finally, it is important to note not all enchantments are compatible. For example, the Sharpness enchantment can not be placed on the same weapon as Smite or Bane of Arthropods. Similarly, armor can not have protection and projectile protection simultaneously. Different sets of tools and armor will need to be crafted and enchanted for different scenarios.

Disenchanting

Did you obtain an undesired enchantment? If so, a grindstone can be used to refund some of the experience. Placing it within will remove all non-curse enchantments with a single click. A handy tool with little else to say about it!

A Spell’s End

I hope our Minecraft 1.18 enchanting guide has helped grasp the basics of enchanting. The world of magic is vast with many powerful magical combinations waiting to be discovered. May your bows overflow with power and your shields be unbreaking, for a new spell blade has awakened!

Until Next Time,

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