Enchanting is the fastest way to multiply your gear’s power. The key: your enchanting-table level (the lapis number) doesn’t equal the enchantment’s strength — it sets the pool of possible enchantments, and level 30 gives you access to the top rows.
How the table works
- Place 15 bookshelves one block away (leave the middle aisle open) to unlock level 30.
- Cost is 3 lapis + XP levels. Three choices appear; reroll by enchanting a cheap item (or a book) to shuffle.
- Each choice has a hidden enchantment-level value that decides which enchants and how strong.
Best weapon & tool combos
| Item | Top combos |
|---|---|
| Sword | Sharpness V + Looting III + Unbreaking III + Mending (+ Sweeping Edge) |
| Pickaxe | Efficiency V + Fortune III + Unbreaking III + Mending (+ Silk Touch variant) |
| Bow | Power V + Infinity OR Mending + Unbreaking (Infinity & Mending don’t stack) |
| Armor | Protection IV + Unbreaking III + Mending; Boots add Feather Falling IV + Depth Strider |
| Trident | Loyalty III / Riptide + Channeling + Unbreaking |
Note: Mending and Infinity conflict; Mending and Fortune/Silk Touch are fine together.
XP sources that scale
- Zombie/other mob farms (see the creeper and iron farm guides) — reliable AFK XP.
- Villager trading with librarians: buying enchanted books and trading XP is the sustainable mid-game path.
- Breeding + trading farmers for emeralds then converting via librarians.
Librarians: the exact-enchant shortcut
A librarian villager offers enchanted books you can choose from by cycling trades until the one you want appears. Every refresh costs a couple of emeralds. Once you lock a good one (e.g. Mending), don’t break and re-place the lectern unless you want to re-roll — a traded librarian keeps its book.
Common mistakes
- Missing the 15 bookshelves — you cap at weak tiers without them.
- Mending on a bow with Infinity — they can’t coexist.
- Wasting lapis on random 30-cost rolls when you only need one enchant — re-roll cheap instead.