10 Best Bow Enchantments to Finish Off Mobs in Minecraft

If you have a good aim, bows are one of the best and most reliable weapons you can have in Minecraft. They’re easy to craft, and you can attack mobs with them from a safe distance. But to make them even better, you’ll want to add to them the best bow enchantments. That way, you can turn a regular bow into a more formidable weapon.

In this guide, we rank the best bow enchantments in Minecraft. We also show you how to add enchantments to a bow and combine enchantments to create the ultimate weapon.

Also read: 10 Best Minecraft Sword Enchantments to Gain an Edge

Best Bow Enchantments in Minecraft

Here are the best bow enchantments you can try in Minecraft, ranked from our favorite to our least favorite. Except for Mending, all of them are obtainable through the enchanting table. On top of that, they’re all compatible with both Java and Bedrock Editions of Minecraft.

1. Power

The Power enchantment is, without a doubt, one of the best Minecraft bow enchantments. It’s also one of the most commonly used. This bow enchantment boosts the damage that bow-shot arrows deliver.

The Power bow enchantment has five levels of upgrades in total. With Power I, you’ll be able to inflict damage that’s worth two hearts, even with no charge. That’s one more heart than an unenchanted and uncharged bow can inflict. At full charge, a Power-enchanted bow can inflict 16 hearts’ worth of damage. Of course, you’ll get the best results if you upgrade it fully. With Power V, an enchanted bow increases damage dealt by a whopping 150%, inflicting 25 hearts’ worth of damage. This bow enchantment is extremely useful for one-on-one combat in multiplayer mode. It’s also great for taking down the Ender Dragon when you reach The End.

2. Mending

Minecraft bows, among other tools and weapons, can get worn off after you use them for a while. But with Mending, your bow lasts longer and can be potentially indestructible. When you apply this enchantment, your bow repairs itself every time you kill mobs. However, instead of the XP you gain from these kills counting towards your score, they go towards restoring your bow.

Unlike all of the other best bow enchantments on this list, you unfortunately can’t get Mending from the enchanting table. However, you can acquire it in a number of other ways, one of which is by looting chests. You can also get Mending enchanted books by fishing them out of the water. Other methods include raids and bartering with a librarian villager of any level.

3. Infinity

Infinity is a Minecraft fan-favorite enchantment. When applied, the Infinity enchantment allows you to never run out of arrows to shoot. This is handy if you don’t have the best aim, so you don’t need to worry about ever running out of arrows. It’s also great if you don’t want to spend time, energy, and resources crafting arrows.

Take note, though, that infinity has no effect on spectral and tipped arrows. Also, you can’t have a bow that has both Mending and Infinity enchantments.

4. Flame

Flame is also one of the best bow enchantments in Minecraft, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. With this enchantment, you can shift objects and mobs on fire. However, there are exceptions, which include blocks and most mobs from the Nether. Similar to other fire-based weapons, a Flame-enchanted bow can’t inflict fire damage to these mobs. Instead, they’ll only get normal arrow damage.

The Flame enchantment can’t be upgraded, but it can be used for a lot of things. For one, it can inflict five hearts’ worth of fire damage to any mob. This enchantment is best used with Power, as these two combined can finish off most mobs with just one shot of an arrow.

But besides inflicting fire damage, Flame Enchanted bows can get you cooked food. Instead of raw meat, food-based mobs (like pigs) will drop cooked meat when killed with a flaming arrow. On top of that, you can use the weapons to light campfires and candles and set off TNTs from a safe distance. However, flaming arrows themselves can’t be used as a light source. They also lose their effect when you shoot them through rain or water.

5. Unbreaking

Unbreaking is similar to Mending in that it makes your bow last longer. However, it doesn’t have the potential to make your bow virtually indestructible. This bow enchantment extends your bow’s life significantly by preventing your bow’s health from being reduced. It also has a maximum of three levels. A bow with Unbreaking III applied can last four times longer than a bow without this enchantment.

Besides being considered one of the best bow enchantments, Unbreaking is among the least challenging to acquire in Minecraft. You can get Unbreaking I, Unbreaking II, and Unbreaking III through an enchanting table or by fishing out enchanted books with any of these enchantments. You can also get them by bartering with a librarian villager or by finding an Unbreaking-enchanted book in a dungeon chest.

6. Punch

Similar to the sword enchantment Knockback, Punch increases the knockback an enemy receives when you attack them. With Punch, you can push them back by an additional three blocks with every hit. You can only upgrade this bow enchantment once, which means you can knock back an enemy by up to six additional blocks with one shot. If you use commands, though, you can increase Punch’s effect by 255.

Although a boost in knockback doesn’t equal a boost in damage dealt, a Punch-enchanted bow is still an effective weapon. You can use this bow enchantment to push enemies (like hostile mobs) into traps and other areas. Plus, since bows are already ranged weapons, you can use a Punch-enchanted bow to buy yourself time to hide from enemies, escape, or craft needed items and weapons to fight back. Punch is truly a great boost to any bow, making it one of the best bow enchantments in the all-time favorite sandbox game.

7. Curse of Vanishing

Curse of Vanishing is still a useful enchantment, but it’s arguably at the bottom of the list when it comes to the best bow enchantments in Minecraft. That’s because it only takes effect if you die during a game. Plus, it’s only helpful if you’re playing in multiplayer mode.

If a bow is enchanted with Curse of Vanishing, it doesn’t drop as an item if you get killed in multiplayer mode. Instead, it disappears entirely, which means other players can’t steal it from you upon your death. However, it also means you can’t have it back when you respawn. You’ll have to craft a new bow and apply the same enchantments again.

If you still want to get your enchanted bow back when you respawn, all you need to do is place it in a chest, ideally one that’s easily accessible when you get back. However, note that this trick won’t really work if you’re playing in single-player mode at hardcore difficulty. That’s because deaths in this mode are permanent. As such, your items and weapons will also disappear with you. Also, unlike with other bow enchantments, you can’t remove Curse of Vanishing from a bow using a grindstone or a crafting table.

Best Crossbow Enchantments in Minecraft

Having the best bow enchantments is great, but why not take it up a notch and get the best crossbow enchantments as well? A crossbow is expectedly more capable than a regular Minecraft bow. To craft a crossbow, you’ll need the same materials when making a bow (three sticks and two pieces of string), in addition to a tripwire hook and an iron ingot. Once you have a crossbow ready, here are the best crossbow-specific enchantments you can add to it:

1. Piercing

The Piercing enchantment is a very useful addition to any crossbow. With this enchantment, crossbow-shot arrows can pierce through multiple entities at once. This is handy for fighting off many enemies, allowing you to save on ammo. Plus, you can still get the arrows back after you’ve shot them.

With Piercing, you also aren’t limited on the types of arrows you can use this enchantment with. That means it can also work on tipped and spectral arrows. On top of that, this enchantment is effective even against shields.

This crossbow enchantment has four levels of upgrades. The level determines how many additional entities your arrow can pierce through. Thus, an arrow shot from a crossbow with Piercing IV can pierce through a total of five entities.

2. Quick Charge

Crossbows take a while to reload in Minecraft — 1.25 seconds to be exact. That doesn’t seem like an awfully long time, but when you’re defending yourself from hostile mobs, every nanosecond counts. With Quick Charge, you’ll be able to reduce a crossbow’s reload time by 0.25 seconds for every upgrade. Since you can go up to Quick Charge III, you can reduce your crossbow’s reload time by 0.75 seconds. That means, with a fully upgraded Quick Charge crossbow, you only need to wait half a second before you can shoot another arrow.

You can obtain Quick Charge I and Quick Charge II through fishing or by using an enchanting table. They’re also sometimes available in chests found in stronghold libraries and dungeons. To get Quick Charge III, you’ll need to combine enchanted crossbows or enchanted books using an anvil. You can also get it through librarian villagers or chests in desert pyramids or abandoned mineshafts.

3. Multishot

Lastly, we have Multishot, which allows you to shoot three arrows or firework rockets all at the same time. But what’s even better is that you only use up one arrow or one rocket when you use this enchantment. All three arrows are shot in different directions. You can collect arrows after they’re shot, but only the central arrow is retrievable.

However, before you bombard your enemies with arrows from your Multishot crossbow, keep in mind that using this enchantment uses up to 3 durability points per shot. When used with firework rockets, you use up to 9 durability points. As such, it’s best to pair up Multishot with Mending and/or Unbreaking, as these are also compatible with crossbows. Either that or make sure to have at least a spare crossbow in your inventory.

How to Add Enchantments to a Bow in Minecraft

There are two ways you can add enchantments to a bow in Minecraft. The first method involves an enchanting table, and the second involves an anvil. We show you both methods below.

Using an Enchanting Table

To add bow enchantments using an enchanting table, you’ll need a bow and some lapis lazuli. Once you have those items, follow this easy step-by-step guide:

1. Create an enchanting table using our guide, and set it down.
2. To get the best bow enchantments possible, surround the enchanting table with 15 bookshelves.
3. While facing the enchanting table, tap on it to access the Enchant menu.
4. Put the bow you want to enchant in the left slot under the Enchant icon.
5. Put up to three lapis lazuli in the slot next to the bow.
6. Now, wait for the slots on the right to show you three random bow enchantment options.
7. Tap on one of the options to apply the enchantment to your bow. Make sure you have the required XP (the green number on the far right) to apply the bow enchantment.
8. Move the enchanted bow to your inventory.

Using an Anvil

If you want a bit more control over which enchantment you add to your bow, consider using an anvil. Using an anvil is also the only way you can add a Mending enchantment to a bow.

For this method, you’ll of course need a bow, as well as an enchanted book with the specific enchantment you want to add. Here’s a step-by-step guide to follow:

1. If you don’t have one yet, make an anvil using this guide.
2. Set the anvil down.
3. Stand in front of the anvil, and tap on it to access its menu.
4. Transfer the bow into the leftmost slot.
5. Transfer an enchanted book into the empty box next to the bow.
6. Move the resulting enchanted bow into one of your free inventory slots.

How to Combine the Best Bow Enchantments

Having an enchanted bow is great, but did you know you can combine the best bow enchantments to make an ultra-powerful weapon? In Minecraft, you can have up to six enchantments on a bow. However, note that the Mending and Infinity enchantments are mutually exclusive. That means you can’t have both of these enchantments in one bow.

To combine the best bow enchantments in Minecraft, you’ll first need an anvil. You’ll also need either an enchanted bow and an enchanted book or two enchanted bows. Once you have those ready, follow these steps to combine bow enchantments:

1. If you haven’t yet, make an anvil, and set it down.
2. Tap on the anvil to launch its menu.
3. Place an enchanted bow in the left input slot.
4. Place either an enchanted book or another enchanted bow in the right inner slot.
5. If the enchantment cost below the slots appears in green, that means you have enough XP and can go ahead with the combination.
6. If the enchantment cost is in red, the combination isn’t allowed, and you need to gain more XP.
7. Drag the resulting enchanted bow from the output slot to your inventory.

Fight Mobs with the Best Bow Enchantments

These best bow enchantments are, without a doubt, incredibly helpful in Minecraft. With any of these applied to a weapon, you can be the master of ranged combat. What’s more, is that they’re fairly easy to add to your bow. All you need is an enchanting table or an anvil, and you’ll be good to go.

Do you agree with our ranking of the best bow enchantments? Which one of them is your favorite? Feel free to let us know!

If you also got a trident you want to upgrade, check out our guide on the best trident enchantments in Minecraft.