Craft enchantment table

"Enchantment Table" redirects here. For the book variant, see Enchanted Book. For the mechanic that augments powers on tools, armor, weapons, and books, see Enchant.

An enchanting table[a] is a block that allows players to spend their experience point levels to enchant tools, weapons, books, armor, and certain other items.

Obtaining[]

Breaking[]

In Java Edition, an enchanting table requires a pickaxe to be mined, in which case it drops itself. If mined without a pickaxe, then the mining is slower and it drops nothing. In Bedrock Edition, a pickaxe is not required.

Block Enchanting Table
Hardness 5
Tool
Breaking time[A]
Default 25
Wooden3.75
Stone1.9
Iron1.25
Diamond0.95
Netherite0.85
Golden0.65

  1. Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

Crafting[]

IngredientsCrafting recipe
Book +
Diamond +
Obsidian

Usage[]

Craft enchantment table

One-block tall maximal enchanting library

An item can be enchanted by using an enchanting table and placing the item in the input slots and 1–3 Lapis Lazuli in its dedicated Slot. Upon placing the item, three (pseudo)randomized options appear on the right of the GUI. The glyphs here do not affect the enchantment, but hovering over a presented enchantment shows one enchantment to be applied (on mobile devices, the player can tap an enchantment before putting in the Lapis Lazuli or hold the enchantment before release). The only choices available have a level requirement equal to or below the player's current level and a Lapis Lazuli requirement equal to or below the number of lapis lazuli placed in the table. Each option imbues the item with a randomized set of enchantments that are dependent on the number of experience levels required (e.g. a level 10 enchantment can give a pickaxe the "Efficiency II" enchantment); the actual level cost and the number of Lapis Lazuli required have no effect.

Although the player must have at least the level requirement to get an enchantment, the number of levels that the player is charged is the same as the Lapis Lazuli requirement. For example, if the third enchantment listed is a level 30-50 enchantment, the player must have at least 30 levels, pays only 3 levels and 3 Lapis Lazuli.

The level requirement influences the quantity, type, and level of enchantments instilled in the item, with a higher experience level generally resulting in more and/or higher-level enchantments. Nevertheless, there is a significant random factor, and even a level 30 enchantment (the maximum) doesn't guarantee more than one enchantment, or even that enchantments are "maximum strength" — a level 30 enchantment can still yield Fortune II or Efficiency III alone, for example.

To increase the enchantment level, bookshelves should be placed next to the enchanting table while keeping one block of air between them. Placing any block between the enchantment table and the bookshelves - even a transparent one like a torch - prevents the table from connecting with the shelves. To gain access to the previously mentioned level 30 enchantments, a total of 15 bookshelves need to be placed around the enchanting table. See the enchantment mechanics page for more detailed information on this.

Enchanting a book produces an enchanted book, which does nothing on its own, but effectively "saves" the enchantment for later application to another item with an anvil.

The enchanting table is 3⁄4 blocks high.

If an enchanting table is placed on ice, the player slides on it as though it is an ice block, just like with slabs.‌[Java Edition only][verify]

Despite comprising largely of obsidian, they are not immune to destruction by the ender dragon, which Mojang Studios has confirmed to be intentional.[1]

Enchanting[]

Craft enchantment table

Enchanting interface.

The enchanting table's main purpose is to enchant items. The table can enchant all tools, armor and gear except‌[Bedrock Edition only] shears, flint and steel, carrot on a stick, warped fungus on a stick, shield, carved pumpkin, mob head, lead, compass, recovery compass, and horse armor; all of these (excluding leads and horse armor) can instead be enchanted using an anvil and an appropriate enchanted book.

When a bookshelf is placed next to an enchanting table (with one block of air in between) it increases the maximum enchantment level. There must be 15 bookshelves around the enchanting table in order to obtain the maximum enchantment level of 30. See enchantment mechanics for more specific details.

Light source[]

Enchanting tables emit a light level of 7.

Standard Galactic Alphabet[]

Craft enchantment table

Glyphs flowing from the bookshelves animation.

The arcane glyphs that float from bookshelves to the enchanting table and the cryptic runes in the enchanting table's interface are written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet, which is a simple alphabet substitution cipher used in the Commander Keen series of computer games.

Craft enchantment table

The arcane glyphs cannot be seen if "particles" in the video settings is set to "minimal".

The cryptic runes seen in the interface are randomly constructed from the following list of words:

  • air
  • animal
  • baguette
  • ball
  • beast
  • berata
  • bless
  • cold
  • creature
  • cthulhu
  • cube
  • curse
  • darkness
  • demon
  • destroy
  • dry
  • earth
  • elder
  • elemental
  • embiggen
  • enchant
  • fhtagn
  • fiddle
  • fire
  • free
  • fresh
  • galvanize
  • grow
  • hot
  • humanoid
  • ignite
  • imbue
  • inside
  • klaatu
  • light
  • limited
  • mental
  • mglwnafh
  • niktu
  • of
  • other
  • phnglui
  • physical
  • range
  • rlyeh
  • scrolls
  • self
  • shorten
  • shrink
  • snuff
  • sphere
  • spirit
  • stale
  • stretch
  • the
  • towards
  • twist
  • undead
  • water
  • wet
  • wgahnagl
  • xyzzy

Three to five words are chosen from the list and appended to each other, then displayed in the Standard Galactic Alphabet. Although sometimes the words chosen accidentally refer to mobs like Blazes and Elder Guardians, the words chosen are random and purely cosmetic; they have no relation to the enchantments to be applied to the item and are not saved on the enchanted item (meaning they say nothing about the spell's identity), and they are displayed only in the enchanting table. Only the cost and one of the enchantments are known.

Custom name[]

By default, the GUI of an enchanting table is labeled "Enchant", but this name can be customized by naming the enchanting table in an anvil before placing it or by changing the CustomName tag using the /data command‌[Java Edition only].

Note Blocks[]

Enchanting tables can be placed under note blocks to produce "bass drum" sounds.

Piston interactivity[]

Enchanting tables cannot be pushed by pistons. They also cannot be pushed nor pulled by sticky pistons.

Sounds[]

Generic[]

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Block broken Blocks Once the block has broken block.stone.break subtitles.block.generic.break 1.0 0.8 16
None[sound 1] Entity-Dependent Falling on the block with fall damage block.stone.fall None[sound 1] 0.5 0.75 16
Block breaking Blocks While the block is in the process of being broken block.stone.hit subtitles.block.generic.hit 0.25 0.5 16
Block placed Blocks When the block is placed block.stone.place subtitles.block.generic.place 1.0 0.8 16
Footsteps Entity-Dependent Walking on the block block.stone.step subtitles.block.generic.footsteps 0.15 1.0 16

  1. ↑ a b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
Blocks Once the block has broken dig.stone 1.0 0.8
Blocks Falling on the block with fall damage fall.stone 0.4 1.0
Blocks While the block is in the process of being broken hit.stone 0.37 0.5
Blocks Jumping from the block jump.stone 0.12 1.0
Blocks Falling on the block without fall damage land.stone 0.22 1.0
Blocks Walking on the block step.stone 0.3 1.0
Blocks When the block is placed use.stone 1.0 0.8

Unique[]

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Enchanting Table used Blocks Plays when item is enchanted block.enchantment_table.use[sound 1] subtitles.block.enchantment_table.use[sound 1] 1.0 ? 16

  1. ↑ a b MC-218109

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormTranslation key
Enchanting Table enchanting_table Block & Item block.minecraft.enchanting_table
NameIdentifier
Block entity enchanting_table

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormItem ID[i 1]Translation key
Enchantment Table enchanting_table 116 Block & Giveable Item[i 2] Identical[i 3] tile.enchanting_table.name

  1. ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. Available with /give command.
  3. The block's direct item form has the same id with the block.

NameSavegame ID
Block entity EnchantTable

Block data[]

An enchanting table has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.

Java Edition:

  • Block entity data
    •  CustomName: Optional. The name of this container in JSON text component, which appears in its GUI where the default name ordinarily appears.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Block entity format.

Achievements[]

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS4)
PS4Other
Enchanter Construct an Enchantment Table. Pick up an enchantment table from a crafting table output. 20G Bronze

Advancements[]

Icon Advancement In-game description Parent Actual requirements (if different) Resource location
Craft enchantment table
Craft enchantment table
Enchanter
Enchant an item at an Enchantment Table Diamonds! Insert an item in an enchanting table, then apply an enchantment. story/enchant_item

History[]

Java Edition
September 30, 2011First mentions of the enchantment table.[2][3]
September 30, 2011
Craft enchantment table
Notch posted first picture of the enchantment table, they were originally made with cobblestone instead of obsidian.
September 30, 2011
Craft enchantment table
Notch posted second picture of the updated enchantment table.
October 1, 2011The first image of the enchantment screen are revealed, with enchantments written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The first enchantment translates into "Well Played Internets You Are Good", the second translated into "These Names Will Be Random And Confusing", and the third translates to "Each Spell Costs Experience Levels". The Standard Galactic Alphabet or SGA was originally created by Tom Hall for use in the Commander Keen series of computer games.
1.0.0Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3
Craft enchantment table
Added enchantment tables.
Enchantment tables require bookshelves to get maximum enchantments.
Enchantments are to be labeled in the enchantment table as random words written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet.
Craft enchantment table
Texture of the blank slot for lapis lazuli.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4A bug where all enchantments would show up as Feather Falling I has been fixed.
Enchanting has been now properly enabled in multiplayer. Previously, if a player attempted to enchant an item, it appeared enchanted for the client, but updated with the un-enchanted status once the player logged out and then back in again.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6Enchantment tables now take time to mine [more information needed].
1.2.112w05aEnchanting no longer requires experience in creative mode.
1.3.112w15a⇧ Shift + clicking can now be used to put items in enchantment tables.
12w22aThe maximum enchantment power has been lowered from 50 to 30.
1.4.612w49aThe player can now enchant books to then be used to enchant a tool.
1.7.213w36aThe fishing rod can now be enchanted without the use of books.
1.814w02aEnchanting has received a major overhaul where there is now a secondary cost, which is lapis lazuli.
When enchanting an item, one enchantment now appears in the tooltip when selecting an enchantment (e.g Looting III?...).
Level 5 enchants (Sharpness, Power, Smite and Bane of Arthropods) can now be applied without the use of an anvil.
14w18aEnchanting tables with numerical metadata variants 1 through 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay, now have no model
Craft enchantment table
Craft enchantment table
rather than appearing identical to enchanting tables.
14w26aBlock metadata has been completely removed from this snapshot onwards with the introduction of block states. As this block never used block metadata at all prior to this version, fifteen unused, inaccessible metadata variants of it have been completely removed from the game:
DVDescription
0 Enchanting Table
1-15 Inaccessible "boring" variants of enchanting tables
1.1016w20aAdded a sound for enchanting an item in the enchantment table.
1.1116w32aThe block entity ID for the enchantment table has been changed from EnchantTable to enchanting_table.
1.1317w47a"Enchantment Table" has been renamed to "Enchanting Table".
Hoes can now be enchanted.
Prior to The Flattening, the enchanting table's numeral ID was 116.
1.1418w43a
Craft enchantment table
The texture of enchanting tables has been changed.
18w44a
Craft enchantment table
The texture of enchanting tables has been changed, as the texture of obsidian has been changed.
18w46aEnchanting tables are no longer transparent from the bottom.
18w50a
Craft enchantment table
The texture of enchanting tables has been changed, as the texture of obsidian has been changed, once again.
The enchanting table's bottom texture has now been made identical to that of obsidian - previously it had a defined border.[4]
1.1821w37aEnchanting tables now provide a light level of 7, to match Bedrock Edition.
21w41a
Craft enchantment table
The texture of the blank slot for lapis lazuli has been changed.
Pre-release 5
Craft enchantment table
The texture of the blank slot for lapis lazuli has been changed, once again.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1build 1
Craft enchantment table
Added enchantment tables.
Enchantment tables now emit a light level of 12.
Enchantment tables can now be crafted in the stonecutter.
Added enchantment tables to the Creative mode inventory.
build 11Enchanting tables are now craftable in the crafting table, instead of the stonecutter.
Bedrock Edition
?Hoes can no longer be enchanted in enchanting tables.
1.4.0beta 1.2.13.11When Experimental Gameplay is enabled, tridents can now be enchanted.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3
Craft enchantment table
The texture of enchanting tables has been changed.
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.57Hoes can now be enchanted with Efficiency, Fortune and Silk Touch.
1.17.30beta 1.17.20.20Enchantment tables now emit a light level of 7, instead of 12.
1.19.30beta 1.19.30.20Added a sound for enchanting an item in the enchantment table.
Legacy Console Edition
TU7CU1 1.0 Patch 11.0.1
Craft enchantment table
Added enchanting tables.
TU31CU19 1.22 Patch 3Enchanting now consumes lapis lazuli.
Enchanting has been re-balanced.
Enchanted books can now receive multiple enchantments at once.
1.90
Craft enchantment table
The texture of enchanting tables has been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0
Craft enchantment table
Added enchanting tables.
  • Craft enchantment table

    The first image of an Enchanting Table.

  • Craft enchantment table

    The second image of an Enchanting Table.

  • Craft enchantment table

    The first image of an Enchanting Table's interface.

  • Craft enchantment table

    The first image of Enchanted equipment.

Trivia[]

Craft enchantment table

Black-textured particles are "fired" into the bookshelves, which later emit the corresponding particle to the enchanting table. (Visible on the red book on the top-left bookshelf, and above the green book on the bottom-left bookshelf, and in the animation farther up the page as a brief flicker).

  • The enchanting table actually produces the particles emitted from the bookshelves. These particles originate inside the enchanting table and are relocated to the bookshelf almost immediately, but travel slow enough to be briefly visible. The particle that enters and leaves the bookshelf is always the same "letter", but the ones traveling into the bookshelves are black.
  • Enchanting tables are mostly made of obsidian, and thus have a blast resistance of 1,200 and cannot be destroyed by TNT, although they can still be mined by any pickaxes.
  • Enchanting tables are midway between slabs and full blocks height-wise, so they could be potentially used as a TNT cannon's range-amplifier instead of slabs or trapdoors.
  • When the player is invisible, the enchanting table can still "see" the player and open up.
  • On the enchantment screen, captions in the Standard Galactic Alphabet includes several in-jokes:
    • On October 1, 2011, Notch tweeted an image of the enchantment screen, with enchantments.[5] The first enchantment translates into "Well Played Internets You Are Good", the second translated into "These Names Will Be Random And Confusing", and the third translates to "Each Spell Costs Experience Levels".
    • Three of the possible words for enchantments are "the elder scrolls," likely a joke at Bethesda, creator of "The Elder Scrolls" series and whose parent company, Zenimax, attempted to sue Mojang for the name of their game Scrolls.
    • The words "klaatu berata niktu" are a (misspelled) reference to "Klaatu barada nikto", a phrase that originates from the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still and has been since used as a reference in many other movies, cartoons and games.
    • Similarly, "Xyzzy" is a magic spell in the game "Colossal Cave Adventure" and has been used in several other games as an Easter Egg or cheat code.
    • The word "embiggen" is a fictional word coined by The Simpsons quote: "A Noble Spirit Embiggens the Smallest Man".
    • The words "phnglui mglwnafh cthulhu rlyeh wgahnagl fhtagn" are a quote from H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Call of Cthulhu." Said quote is a prayer in the Cthulhu mythos. The complete and correct quote is "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", which translates to "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."
  • Of the list of words that the enchanting table uses, none of the words contain the letters "J" or "Q". Although they are not used in the words, they do have a symbol attached to them, and can be seen moving from the bookshelf and the table.

Gallery[]

  • Craft enchantment table

    Some enchantments, as posted by Jeb.

  • Craft enchantment table

    The new enchantment table enchanting grid with extra slot for lapis lazuli.

  • Craft enchantment table

    The enchantment table receiving knowledge from nearby bookshelves.

  • Craft enchantment table

    Color coded texture for the book model.

  • Craft enchantment table

    Color code legend for book model texture guide.

  • Craft enchantment table

    The GUI of the enchantment table in Bedrock Edition (top = no item, bottom = with item hovering on the second line).

  • Craft enchantment table

    The book model, animated.

Notes[]

  1. Known as Enchanting Table in Java Edition and Enchantment Table in Bedrock Edition.

References[]

  1. MC-177521
  2. "How does enchanting work in Minecraft? Well, you open a magical book and pick a random spell, not quite sure knowing what it will do. MAGIC!" – @notch (Markus Persson) on Twitter, September 30, 2011
  3. "Working on Item Enchantments. It costs experience points. It's totally random. It has three tiers. What does an enchantment table look like?" – @notch (Markus Persson) on Twitter, September 30, 2011
  4. MC-183842
  5. "An enchantment table" – @notch (Markus Persson) on Twitter, October 1, 2011

How do you craft a Enchantment table?

To make an enchanting table, open the crafting menu and arrange (1) book, (2) diamonds, and (4) obsidian ores in the following order: One book in the second column of the first row. A diamond, obsidian ore, and then another diamond (in that order) in the columns of the second row.

How many bookshelves do you need for an enchantment table?

15 bookshelves will max out your enchanting table. The ideal position of the bookshelves is a square of 15 placed in a 5x5-block outline, with the enchantment table in the middle.

How many bookshelves do I need for a 30 enchantment?

To reach level 30, you'll need 15 bookshelves total.

How do you make a fully enchanted enchantment table?

To get a full level 30 enchant, the Enchantment Table must be placed in the middle of 15 Bookshelves. Next, you will notice 2 slots on the left side of the interface, the left slot is for your tool, while the right slot is where the Lapis Lazuli goes.