An enchanting table lets you enchant tools, weapons, books and armour. For the strongest enchantments you need 15 correctly placed bookshelves and at least 30 experience levels. Here you'll learn how to craft the table, build the level-30 setup and get good enchantments.
Crafting the enchanting table: recipe and materials
You need 1 book, 2 diamonds and 4 obsidian.
- Obsidian forms when water hits a lava source block. You can mine it with a diamond or Netherite pickaxe.
- Book: 3 paper (from sugar cane) + 1 leather.
How many bookshelves does an enchanting table need?
For level 30 enchantments you need exactly 15 active bookshelves. There must be one block of space between the table and the shelves. More than 15 bookshelves won't raise the maximum enchantment level any further.
Level-30 enchanting table setup: spacing and placement
- The bookshelves stand 2 blocks from the table – so with exactly one free block in between.
- They sit at the same height as the table or one level above.
- The gap must be completely clear. Even a torch, a carpet or snow in the gap disables the shelf behind it.
- Only normal bookshelves count – chiseled bookshelves don't power the table.
- Bookshelf recipe: 6 planks + 3 books.
Materials for the table and 15 bookshelves
The table needs one book; the 15 bookshelves need another 45. That's 46 books in total, which gives this overall requirement:
| Material | Amount |
|---|---|
| Books | 46 |
| Paper (or sugar cane) | 138 |
| Leather | 46 |
| Planks | 90 |
| Diamonds | 2 |
| Obsidian | 4 |
To mine the obsidian you also need a diamond or Netherite pickaxe.
How enchanting works
- Open the table, insert your item and add lapis lazuli.
- Three offers appear – the bottom row shows the highest tier (up to level 30).
- Click an offer. For the top option you must have at least level 30, but only 3 levels and 3 lapis are consumed.
| Slot | Lapis cost | Level cost | Required level (max.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | up to 8 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | up to 19 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | up to 30 |
The mysterious script next to the offers is the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The words shown don't reliably tell you which enchantment you'll get, though – they're purely decorative.
Rerolling enchantment offers
If you don't like the three offers, briefly taking the item out won't help. Instead, enchant a cheap item or a book with the first option. After that, the offers are rerolled. This usually costs one lapis lazuli and one experience level.
The best enchantments for each piece of gear
This table shows sensible maximum tiers for your finished gear. The enchanting table doesn't always offer these directly – treasure enchantments like Mending, and some top tiers, you add afterwards with enchanted books at the anvil.
| Gear | Recommended endgame setup |
|---|---|
| Sword | Sharpness V, Looting III, Fire Aspect II, Sweeping Edge III, Unbreaking III, Mending |
| Pickaxe | Efficiency V, Fortune III or Silk Touch, Unbreaking III, Mending |
| Armour (general) | Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Mending |
| Boots | plus Feather Falling IV, Depth Strider III |
| Helmet | plus Respiration III, Aqua Affinity |
| Leggings | plus Swift Sneak III (from ancient cities only) |
| Bow | Power V, Flame, Punch II, and either Infinity or Mending |
A few rules that go with it:
- Unbreaking III and Mending are worth it on almost anything you use long-term.
- Fortune and Silk Touch are mutually exclusive on the pickaxe – best keep one tool for each.
- On the bow, Infinity and Mending can't be combined; pick one.
- Sweeping Edge only exists in the Java Edition.
Treasure enchantments: not available from the table
Some strong enchantments can never be obtained directly from the enchanting table, and where they come from varies from one to the next:
| Treasure enchantment | Effect | How you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Mending | Repairs gear with collected experience | among others via librarians, fishing and certain loot chests |
| Frost Walker | Creates ice under your feet as you walk | among others via librarians, fishing and loot chests |
| Soul Speed | Increases speed on soul sand and soul soil | mainly through piglin bartering and in bastion remnants |
| Swift Sneak | Increases movement speed while sneaking; applied to leggings | exclusively as loot in ancient city chests |
Why isn't my enchanting table working at level 30?
If the third slot doesn't show level 30, at least one bookshelf isn't being recognised as active. Common causes:
- Fewer than 15 normal bookshelves are within range.
- A torch, carpet, snow or another blocking object sits between table and shelf.
- The shelves stand right against the table instead of leaving one block of space.
- The shelves are too far away.
- The shelves are more than one level above the table.
- Chiseled bookshelves were used instead of normal ones.
- You don't have 30 experience levels yet.
Frequently asked questions about the enchanting table
How many bookshelves does an enchanting table need? For the maximum offer tier of 30, you need 15 active bookshelves.
How much space to the table is required? Exactly one block must stay free between the table and the bookshelf.
Is more than 15 bookshelves worth it? No. More than 15 active bookshelves won't raise the maximum enchantment level.
Why do I need level 30 when only three are deducted? For the top option you must have at least level 30. Enchanting itself only consumes three levels and three lapis lazuli.
Can you get Mending from the enchanting table? No. Mending is a treasure enchantment and isn't offered directly at the table.
Can enchantments be removed? Most enchantments can be removed with a grindstone. Curses stay on the item.
Do chiseled bookshelves work with the enchanting table? No. Powering the table requires normal bookshelves.
What does the script on the table mean? The characters are the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The words don't reliably tell you which enchantment you'll receive.
Next steps
- Enchantments are fully kept during the Netherite upgrade – so go ahead and enchant your diamond gear first.
- Mending books come from librarians: Minecraft villager jobs.
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