Whether you’re chopping down trees, breaking through barriers, or engaging in combat, the right enchantments can transform a simple axe into a multifaceted powerhouse.
While the Netherite Axe is the strongest axe you can craft, it can still be improved using enchantments. Enchanting your tools gives you a huge boost and some even offer new abilities. Some enchantments are only available for weapons, while others are restricted to tools.
For this guide, we’ll highlight the best axe enchantments in Minecraft as of 2024, showcasing the must-have enhancements for your toolset.
Efficiency
Levels: V
Incompatibilities: None
We feel that efficiency remains one of the best enchantments not only for an axe but also for other tools in Minecraft.
Applying efficiency enchantment to a tool makes it quicker at performing its action. This means an axe enchanted with efficiency can cut or chop wood faster than a regular one.
However, the enchantment won’t work on stones and other blocks that are not meant to be mined by an axe.
Efficiency also increases the chance of an axe to stun a shield. Its base chance is 25% and a 5% increase for each level of Efficiency (Java Edition). The effect also only applies when you are not sprinting.
| Enchantment Level | Stun Chance Increase |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | +25% |
| Level 2 | +30% |
| Level 3 | +35% |
| Level 4 | +40% |
| Level 5 | +45% |
Unbreaking
Levels: III
Incompatibilities: None
Unbreaking gives an item the chance to avoid durability reduction when being used. It can be applied to almost any piece of gear in Minecraft and is the most versatile axe enchantment available.
Applying the unbreaking enchantment on your axe will increase its overall durability. This enchantment has three levels and Unbreaking III can increase the lifespan of your tools by 300%.
In return, you can gather more resources with a single unbreaking enchanted axe than a normal one.
| No Enchanting | Unbreaking I | Unbreaking II | Unbreaking III | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Durability Increase | 0% | 100% | 200% | 300% |
| Wood | 60 | 120 | 180 | 240 |
Mending
Levels: I
Incompatibilities: None
Mending is a great enchantment that works well with unbreaking. Combining mending with unbreaking will ensure that your tools will never break.
This enchantment only has one level but restores the durability of your tools by performing actions that grant experience. Mending restores two durability per experience points to obtain from an XP orb.
The best thing about this enchantment is that the enchanted tool doesn’t need to be in your active hand. Mending repairs any enchanted tool that is in your main hand, offhand, and armor slots.
Sharpness
Levels: V
Incompatibilities: Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Cleaving
Sharpness is one of the best axe enchantments in Minecraft for players who often use their axe for combat rather than resource gathering. As its name suggests, the sharpness enchantment increases the sharpness of your axe, allowing it to deal more damage.
| Axe Type | Base Damage | Sharpness I | Sharpness II | Sharpness III | Sharpness IV | Sharpness V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood/Gold | 7 (10.5) | 8 (11.5) | 8.5 (12) | 9 (12.5) | 9.5 (13) | 10 (13.5) |
| Stone/Iron/Diamond | 9 (13.5) | 10 (14.5) | 10.5 (15) | 11 (15.5) | 11.5 (16) | 12 (16.5) |
| Netherite | 10 (15) | 11 (16) | 11.5 (16.5) | 12 (17) | 12.5 (17.5) | 13 (18) |
Smite
Levels: V
Incompatibilities: Sharpness, Cleaving, Bane of Arthropods
Smite is another excellent enchantment that you can add to your tool if you want to utilize it for combat. However, it doesn’t go with the sharpness enchantment which is somewhat unfortunate.
This enchantment increases the damage dealt to undead mobs such as skeletons, zombies, and phantoms. Smite has five levels and each provides around 4-5 damage increases depending on the type of axe.
| Weapon | Base Damage | Smite I | Smite II | Smite III | Smite IV | Smite V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden Axe | 7 (10.5) | 9.5 (13) | 12 (15.5) | 14.5 (18) | 17 (20.5) | 19.5 (23) |
| Gold Axe | 7 (10.5) | 9.5 (13) | 12 (15.5) | 14.5 (18) | 17 (20.5) | 19.5 (23) |
| Stone Axe | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16) | 14 (18.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
| Iron Axe | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16) | 14 (18.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
| Diamond Axe | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16) | 14 (18.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
| Netherite Axe | 10 (15) | 12.5 (17.5) | 15 (20) | 17.5 (22.5) | 20 (25) | 22.5 (27.5) |
Fortune
Levels: III
Incompatibilities: Silk Touch
If you use the axe for its purpose, fortune is another enchantment that you can consider. This enchantment increases the number of items dropped from a single block. This should allow you to loot faster, giving you more time to focus on other things.
While the fortune enchantment works better with a pickaxe, it’s still a handy option to have for certain situations.
Silk of Touch
Levels: I
Incompatibilities: Fortune
This enchantment only has one level and causes certain blocks to drop themselves as items rather than their usual drops when mined.
For instance, you’ll be able to get glass when you mine it instead of nothing. This is also the case for mushroom blocks. Instead of getting the decorative block, you can get two mushrooms when using an axe enchanted with silk touch.
While the silk touch enchantment is handy for mining certain blocks, it can also be an inconvenience when you don’t want it to be applied while mining.
Conclusion
Enchantments mentioned on our list are ranked based on what they can do and offer. However, the best axe enchantments are the ones that will provide what you currently need in the game.
Combining the enchantments mentioned above, given they are compatible, will give you the ultimate axe in Minecraft.
