Swords are arguably the most iconic weapon in Minecraft; the diamond sword is a well-loved symbol of the franchise. And in-game, even with many newer weapons, the sword remains a fantastic choice for combat. That’s partly thanks to the large number of enchantments you can use. A sword can be highly specialized, giving it a big advantage over other weapons in the game. You can shape it exactly the way you want! Some enchantments are mutually exclusive, though, so you’ll have to decide how to use them. We’ve ranked all sword enchants to make your choice easier.
Sweeping Edge: Maximized area damage for groups
Sweeping Edge is the one enchantment you should never forget on a sword. Since you can now hit more than one enemy at a time with a sword, it’s important to squeeze out the maximum damage. Without this enchant, you deal significantly less damage to mobs you don’t hit directly. For fights against groups, it’s essential. And groups love to swarm you in Minecraft!
Damage varies by sword. Without this enchantment, sweeping damage only deals half a heart. The best sword, netherite, can deal a full 3 hearts of sweeping damage to nearby enemies with Sweeping Edge III. A huge upgrade!
Sharpness: The best all-round damage boost
In our opinion, Sharpness is the second-best enchantment for swords because it applies to every mob and generally increases your sword’s damage. That way you’re prepared for any challenge, no matter what you’re fighting. A sword with Sharpness V should always be in your inventory for quick and easy monster fights. Looking at Java Edition, you’ll deal roughly 1.5 extra hearts of damage at the highest level.
On a server, it’s important everyone can benefit from enchantments. Sharpness books can sometimes be found as loot, but Level 5 must always be made by combining two Level 4 books. Rent a Minecraft server now and enchant your swords together!
Looting: More drops and higher drop chances
Looting is another classic that basically always belongs on a sword. And aside from tridents, it’s the only weapon that can carry this enchant, which makes it quite unique! Looting increases the amount of item drops you receive when monsters and animals die. Depending on the type of drop, Looting can increase both the chance and the quantity. It’s always worth it, especially for rare drops like wither skeleton skulls or shulker shells. Looting can be increased up to Level 3, i.e., Looting III.
Unbreaking: Increase your sword’s durability
Unbreaking can be applied to almost all weapons, tools, and armor, including the sword. It makes your gear last up to four times longer. Durability consumption is reduced; at Level 3, for example, a sword only loses durability on roughly every fourth hit. Of course, you can repair swords manually as they wear down, but that costs valuable resources you can save this way. Ideal target: Unbreaking III.
Mending: Repair with experience points
A direct upgrade to Unbreaking is Mending, though we’ve placed it one spot lower. Why? It’s harder to get and only available through trading, treasure, or fishing. For many players it’s a top pick because you’ll never need real resources for repairs again. But with swords, you should focus on maximizing damage first, and Mending doesn’t help there. With Unbreaking III you’re already in a great spot, and Mending then rounds out the set perfectly.
Smite: Best secondary sword against the undead
Smite is the first enchantment we only recommend in certain situations. It deals extra damage to undead—any kind of zombie, skeletons, and the Wither. It cannot be used together with Sharpness, which makes it less flexible. So you should keep a secondary sword with this enchantment. Especially against the Wither, Smite V outperforms Sharpness V. Each level adds around 1.25 hearts of damage—just like Sharpness across its levels—so it’s extremely useful against undead mobs.
Fire Aspect: Instantly cooked drops and extra damage
Fire Aspect is a bit of an odd enchantment—good in some cases, but not always as useful as you might think. It sets monsters and animals on fire. They burn for 4 seconds and take damage. At Level 2, you can deal up to 3.5 extra hearts of damage—nothing to sneeze at. Fire Aspect also lets mobs drop cooked items, such as cooked meat from animals or baked potatoes from zombies. Some mobs—like those from the Nether, the Ender Dragon, and the Wither—are immune.
Bane of Arthropods: Bonus vs. spiders and more
Alongside Sharpness and Smite, there’s a third damage enchant that’s also mutually exclusive. Bane of Arthropods deals extra damage to arthropod-like mobs: spiders, bees, silverfish, and endermites. In addition to the damage bonus of about 1.25 hearts per level, it can also slow enemies. Since the use case is very specific and arthropods aren’t the toughest foes, this enchantment ranks lower.
Knockback: When the enchantment makes sense
At first glance, Knockback sounds useful, but it’s often counterproductive. It pushes hit mobs back and creates more distance. However, if you’re actively fighting, it can make taking down enemies slower. It’s most useful when you want to keep mobs at bay without engaging them directly.
Conclusion: Spend your levels on your sword wisely
Enchantments improve every piece of gear in Minecraft, and of course that includes swords. You can use nine different sword enchants, even if three of them are mutually exclusive. We recommend building your sword for crowd combat while dealing the best possible damage to all types of monsters. Also keep an eye on durability so your sword breaks more slowly. Otherwise, you can keep secondary swords for fighting undead, arthropods, or for burning targets. In most cases, we don’t recommend Knockback.
