Minecraft now offers a wide range of different weapons so you can develop your own combat style. You no longer have to rely solely on the classic sword; there are plenty of other ways to take on both mobs and other players. One of the newer weapons is the mace, an incredibly powerful yet very rare weapon with exclusive enchantments. At first glance it doesn’t seem that strong, but used correctly it becomes the strongest weapon in the entire game! Its combat techniques need to be learned and require a bit more creativity. But with the right enchantments and some strategy, you can flatten most opponents in no time.
Crafting and finding the Minecraft mace: Master Trial Chambers
If you want to fight with the mace, you first need to find its components. You can’t just forge it from gold or iron; you need specific items to assemble it. For the handle you need a Breeze Rod, and for the head the Heavy Core. You can find both items in Trial Chambers, one of Minecraft’s many structures. You’ll sometimes stumble upon them when you’re deep in caves. Alternatively, you can use an online seed finder to scan your world for Trial Chambers. It’s best to note down several locations right away!
Let’s start with the Breeze Rod, as it’s easier to obtain. It’s essentially an Overworld counterpart to the Blaze Rod. It’s dropped by a Breeze, which appears in Trial Chambers near a Breeze spawner. The drop rate is always 100%, so you’ll get at least one rod per Breeze. So, the first crafting ingredient is comparatively easy to get.
It’s less straightforward for the Heavy Core, the mace’s main component. You can only get it in Trial Chambers as well, but you’ll also need some luck. It’s awarded from an Ominous Vault, but only with a 7.5% chance. That’s pretty low! In addition, each Vault can only be opened once with an Ominous Trial Key. That’s why we said you’ll likely need to visit multiple Trial Chambers to find the core.
We recommend tackling Trial Chambers together. Rent a Minecraft server with friends and take on this challenge as a team. Complete the trials and collect valuable loot from the various Vaults!
Minecraft mace enchantments: Best enchants for PvE and PvP
Next, let’s look at the enchantments you can apply to the mace. Most will likely be familiar from other weapons, but there are three enchantments that are exclusive to the mace. One of them is even rarer than the Heavy Core and can only be obtained from Ominous Vaults. But it’s absolutely worth it!
These enchantments belong on every mace:
- Unbreaking: Makes your mace last much longer—up to 2,000 hits at the highest level instead of just 500.
- Mending: Use this to repair your mace with collected XP. Otherwise, you’ll need an anvil and Breeze Rods.
General power on the mace against monsters:
- Smite: Increases damage against undead in Minecraft, i.e., all types of zombies or skeletons.
- Bane of Arthropods: The counterpart to Smite and therefore incompatible with it. Instead, it increases damage against spider-like mobs.
- Fire Aspect: Sets what you hit on fire. Not necessarily the best enchantment, but it can be useful.
Exclusive enchantments for the mace:
- Density: This enchantment makes the mace deal more damage (0.25 hearts) per fallen block. At Density V you deal 1.25 extra hearts of damage. It’s the best enchantment for singleplayer if you want to harness the mace’s true power. Incompatible with Smite, Bane of Arthropods, and Breach.
- Breach: The alternative is Breach, which weakens the opponent’s armor. This is significantly better for multiplayer, since solo you’ll rarely face armored enemies. Each level reduces armor effectiveness by 15%. Incompatible with Smite, Bane of Arthropods, and Density.
- Wind Burst: The last enchantment is also the one you definitely want. Unfortunately, you can only get it from Ominous Vaults, and with just a 5.5% chance. You’ll also need multiple books for level 3. But the search is worth it: with Wind Burst, a successful hit launches you into the air so you can immediately leverage fall damage for your follow-up attack. At level 3 you’ll be carried 24 blocks upward, ready to dive in for the strike. Just make sure you don’t take fall damage yourself.
Minecraft mace combat techniques: Using fall damage the right way
As the enchantments already suggest, the mace isn’t a normal weapon. Yes, you can simply swing it, but then it only deals 3 hearts of damage—about as much as an iron sword. Its true power is unleashed when you attack from above. A fall height of just 1.5 blocks is enough to trigger the mace’s slam attack. You can jump off a cliff, use a Wind Charge, or boost your jump strength with potions or a Beacon. The higher the fall, the stronger the attack.
While the cumulative gain diminishes with distance, it’s still worth it. In principle, you can fall indefinitely and keep increasing your damage. A combination of Density and Wind Burst is therefore the most effective combat method and can take out many regular enemies in one or two hits. It takes a bit of practice, but in terms of raw damage, the mace becomes the best weapon in the game.
Conclusion on the Minecraft mace: A unique weapon built around fall damage
If you’re looking for a varied, powerful, and above all fun weapon in Minecraft, the mace is perfect for you! Its components are a bit harder to obtain, but after you’ve cleared several Trial Chambers you should find both Breeze Rods and a Heavy Core. We then recommend enchanting the mace to unlock its true power. Launch yourself from great heights onto mobs and bounce off them to repeatedly deal splash damage from your fall. This is not only effective against monsters, but can also be a surprisingly strong PvP weapon against other players’ armor.
