Bows are one of the most overlooked weapons in Minecraft as compared to other weapons like swords, tridents, and axes. One of the main reasons behind beginners avoiding making bows is because of the extra effort and time it takes to make arrows.
But bows can become a great weapon in the game for you once you know the right enchantments and a good aim.
You can use the sword enchantments if you are more into close-range fighting. You can also combine trident enchantments in short-range combat and long-range combat. Read on to learn more about some of the best enchantments Minecraft has to offer.
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Punch
Every target moves back a little whenever you attack it in the games, this is what we call a Knock back. If you want to maximize the effect of your knock back then you can use Punch. Punch can increase your knock backs by at least 3 extra blocks. You can push back your enemy up to 6 extra blocks if you upgrade it to Punch II.
Just keep in mind that, More Knock back doesn’t guarantee more damage. This however is still a great help to get you out of a tough situation or pushing your enemies into a specific spot. This enchantment is similar to the sword’s knock back enchantment. Here knock back is more effective because of the distance with a bow. It also gives you more time to craft items, escape, or hide.
Power
If you want to increase the damage dealt by arrows, then you can use the Power enchantment, a common bow enchantment in Minecraft. Power has up to 5 enchantments. You can anyway cause a damage of 1.5 hearts even if you shoot a 0 charge arrow at level V.
But if you decide to go for the maximum charge on the arrow then your arrow can deal with 12.5 hearts of deadly damage. This is especially useful in Minecraft multiplayer mode in one-on-one combat.
Flame
With Flame enchantment you can set things on fire. Every time you shoot something with the flame enchanted bow, it burns for 5 seconds with a 2.5 heart of damage. Even though you can use the Flame enchantment to light campfires, candles, and TNT, you can’t set other blocks on fire like you with a flint and steel or a fire charge. You’ll get cooked meat instead of row meat if you kill an animal with the Flame.
But keep in mind Flame enchantment doesn’t work on most mobs in the Nether, they only get the usual arrow damage. Also, the Flame effect doesn’t work if you shoot through rain or water.
Read: 17 Best Minecraft 1.20 Seeds
Unbreaking
Some tools and weapons like bows can break after being used for a long period of time in Minecraft. Unbreaking is one of the easiest bow enchantments to find in Minecraft. With the help of Unbreaking enchantment you can extend the lifespan of the bow.
The bows are less likely to wear out each time you use it with the help of Unbreaking enchantment. This enchantment has III levels, even in a long fight, these bows will last longer on each different level.
Mending
Mending enchantment is similar to Unbreaking which makes your bow last longer, the only difference is that it repairs your bow instead of just reducing the wear. Once you collect orbs by killing mobs, the Mending enchantment will repair your bow using those experience orbs. This means your bow will keep fixing as you keep fighting.
Your bow or any other items almost becomes indestructible with mending but you have to keep this in mind that you can’t increase your level until your bow is fully repaired by collecting experience. Also the game will automatically choose one to repair if you have multiple items that are in Mending which might not always be the one that needs it the most.
Infinity
Infinity is one of the best and most used bow enchantments in Minecraft. With Infinity enchantment your bow won’t use any arrow when you shoot, the only condition for this enchantment to work is that you need to have at least one arrow in your inventory.
Also keep in mind that the arrows you shoot through your bow are not in your inventory so you can’t pick them back up. This enchantment also doesn’t work with special arrows like spectral arrows or tipped and you can’t use Infinity and Mending on the same bow; you have to choose one.
Curse of Vanishing
Curse of Vanishing is one of those enchantments that you definitely don’t want, especially after all the amazing Minecraft bow enchantments. With this well-known and popular enchantment, your bow will vanish instead of just dropping it as an item. This means you can’t get this back once you respawn, and other thieves can steal it. You’ll have to make a new bow and enchant it again.
The only upside is in multiplayer mode, where it prevents other players from taking your bow if you die. To safeguard your bow from vanishing, you can store it in a chest or drop it manually.
Curse of Vanishing affects many items in the game once applied, and unfortunately, there’s no way to remove it once it’s there.