Best Axe Enchantments In Minecraft [Our Expert Review]

With the Best Axe Enchantments in Minecraft guide, we'll attempt to explain the uses of the best buffs for the Axe in the entire game.

By Daniyal Sultan Malik

Most Played Games

2500+ Hours in Valorant.
1500+ Hours in Elden Ring.
800+ Hours in DOOM Eternal.
700+ Hours in Dragon Ball FighterZ.
500+ Hours in Forza Horizon 5.

August 21, 2023

Threads

Since the Axe has been an established tool in Minecraft since its early days, the list of Best Axe Enchantments Minecraft is a bit more diverse and fleshed out. Additionally, the developers have made an effort over the past couple of years to turn it into a more flexible item than it originally was. Nowadays, the Axe is as much a weapon as it is a tool for chopping down trees.

Key Takeaways

In Minecraft, there have been many tools since the beginning, one of them being the Axe.
In the earlier days, the main purpose of the Axe was to chop down trees simply, but now it is more of a weapon also.
Now, due to this change, the enchantments from the earlier days of the Axe and now differ a lot.
Some of the best enchantments are Smite, Unbreaking, Mending, Sharpness, and Efficiency.
There are many enchantments to choose from, and you can choose what playstyle you want.

Author’s Note: With more than dozens of hours of experience in Minecraft, I feel more than obliged to provide you with hands-on experience on the topic below.

Here’s the detailed stats for all of them:

Enchantment Name	Max Level	Damage Buffs
Smite	Level 5	- Deals 2.5 extra damage per hit. - With each level increase it does 2.5 more damage. - Max Damage Per Hit after reaching a max level which is level V is 12.5.
Bane Of Arthropods	Level 5	- Normal Iron Axe does 9 damage. - Deals 11.5 Damage with a single level of this enhancement. - With each level increase it does 2.5 more damage. - Max Damage after reaching a max level which is level V is a whopping 18.5 damage.
Efficiency	Level 5	- Increases the chances to stun an enemy carrying a shield by 25%. - 5% increase per level up. - Max Percentage Increase at the max level V is 45%.
Unbreaking	Level 3	- 100% Increase in the durability of your Axe per level. - At Max Level with is Level III it can increase the durability of your Axe by 300%. - 8000 Durability for the Netherite Axe if this enchantment is used on it.
Sharpness	Level 5	- At level 1 this enchantment increases the damage of the Axe by 1 point. - After each level increase it increases by 0.5 points. - At the max level which is level V it increases by 3 points.

1. Smite

The Best Damage Dealing Axe Enchantment In Minecraft.

Best Axe Enchantments — Smite [Image by eXputer]

Max Level	Description	Damage Buffs
Smite V	This enchantment allows you to deal extra damage to Undead Beings such as Zombies, Skeleton, Withers, Strays and Drowned.	Deals 2.5 extra damage per hit. With each level increase, it does 2.5 more damage. Max Damage Per Hit on Level V is 12.5.

Why I Chose This: An axe with the Smite enchantment is probably the best substitute to a sword, and Smite’s enhancements are very noticeable, helping me a ton during my playthrough.

Show Full Text

When Smite is applied to your Axe, it is able to inflict an extra 2.5 points of damage per hit to undead enemies specifically. And with each subsequent level, this value is increased by an additional 2.5 points. So by the time you get to ‘Smite V,’ which is the max level for this enchantment, you’re dealing a whopping 12.5 extra damage per hit.

If you’re using this in combination with a weapon that is already really strong, like a Netherite Axe, then you should be able to one-shot most regular mobs in the game with no problem.

Highly beneficial in dungeons.
Scales equally with every type of axe.

Max Damage could’ve been better.

2. Bane Of Arthropods

The Best Axe Enchantment For Hunting.

Max Level	Description	Damage Buffs
Bane Of Arthropods V	This enchantment allows you to deal extra damage to Arthropods, Spiders, Bees, and Silverfish.	Normal Iron Axe does 9 damage. Deal 11.5 Damage with a single level of this enhancement. With each level increase, it does 2.5 more damage. Max Damage at level V is 18.5 damage.

Why I Chose This: If you’re living anywhere close to the sea or plan to take an expedition underwater, Bane of Arthropods is definitely a must-have enchantment.

Show Full Text

With Bane of Arthropods, you can buff a weapon to deal an increased amount of damage to Arachnids, such as Spiders, Bees, and Silverfish.

For example, a regular Iron Axe deals 9 points of damage in the Java edition of the game. However, with a single level of this enchantment, that increases to a total of 11.5. Each level after that also increases this value by 2.5, so by the time you reach the max level of ‘Bane of Arthropods V,’ that same Iron Axe is dealing 18.5 damage instead.

Impressive damage figures.
Great for hunting wildlife.

Not useful in troublesome encounters.

3. Efficiency

The Best Axe Enchantment For PvP.

Max Level	Description	Damage Buffs
Efficiency V	This enchantment allows you to cut down trees and blocks much faster than normal.	Increases the chances to stun an enemy carrying a shield by 25%. 5% increase per level up. Max Percentage Increase at the max level V is 45%.

Why I Chose This: Since the main purpose of the axe is to chop wood, this enchantment is your best bet to amplify your axe in that regard.

Show Full Text

The Efficiency enchantment allows your tools to break down blocks much faster than they regularly would. So when applied to an Axe, you can cut down that forest in half the time you would regularly take. The higher the tier of the tool and the higher the level of the buff, the faster you get until you can chop down a wood block with a single click. The only downside to this is that since your Axe is not working faster, it will also break faster.

Now, this is great for moments when you have to gather a significant amount of resources for large builds quickly. I can personally attest that when you’re playing Minecraft with friends, the scope of your creations can get out of control extremely easily.

Really helpful in PvP.
Massive quality-of-life improvements.
Can also be used for combat.

Damage output is barely noticeable.

4. Unbreaking

The Best Durability-raising Axe Enchantment In Minecraft.

Max Level	Description	Damage Buffs
Unbreaking III	This enchantment allows you to increase the longevity, effectiveness, and usage of your Axe.	100% Increase in the durability of your Axe per level. At Max Level with is Level III it can increase the durability of your Axe by 300%.

Why I Chose This: Unbreaking encourages you to put enchantments on a single axe, making 1 insanely tool, and that reliability encouragement puts it on my list.

Show Full Text

The Unbreaking enchantment gives items a chance to consume less durability when they are used. This increases the number of times they can be used, allowing them to be effective for far longer than a regular weapon or tool of the same type. For Axes, in particular, this usually means that they can cut down far more trees and gather much more wood.

On average, this buff can increase the durability of your Axe by around +100% per level. The higher the level of the enchantment, the more the durability increases. And if you go up to the max level of ‘Unbreaking III,’ you’re almost tripling the number of blocks it can chop down before breaking with a +300% to the item’s health.

Helps make your axe reliable.
Great for long expeditions.
Prevents you from clogging your inventory.

No damage buff whatsoever.

5. Sharpness

The Easiest Axe Enchantment To Obtain.

Max Level	Description	Damage Buffs
Sharpness V	This enchantment allows you to deal extra damage to the melee damage of the Axe in small quantities.	At level 1, this enchantment increases the damage of the Axe by 1 point. After each level, it increases by 0.5 points. At Sharpness V, the total damage is increased by 3 points.

Why I Chose This: During my playthrough, I was getting Sharpness even after using minimal Lapis Lazulis, and for its given stats, I must say it’s a great starting enchantment for beginners.

Show Full Text

Unlike the sword, which focuses on speed and sweep attacks, the Axe is all about power. It deals way more damage per swing, but it is slower and takes more time to recover. Additionally, attacking with this lowers the durability of shields and armor you hit faster than any other tool in Minecraft.

Depending on the version of the game you’re playing, you can even disable the use of an enemy’s shield for 5 seconds. So, in keeping with that theme of high damage, let’s talk about the Sharpness buff. This is an enchantment that increases the melee damage dealt by the axe by small increments.

Easy to get.

Gets overshadowed by Smite and Efficiency.
Requires a lot of grind to be effective.

6. Mending

The Best Axe Enchantment For Hardcore Runs.

Max Level	Description	Durability Points Conversion Per Experience Points
Mending I	This enchantment allows you to convert Experience Points (XP) into Durability Points for your Axe, making it useful forever.	2 Durability Points are restored for 1 Experience (XP) Point.

Why I Chose This: With the proper setup, you can potentially have an axe last forever with Mending, so it’s certainly an overpowered buff.

Show Full Text

With the Mending buff applied to an Axe, some of the experience points you gain actually turn into durability for that item. So, as you fight or cut down trees, you’re restoring your Axe’s health as you use it. This is great because it increases the life of your gear, allowing it to stay useful forever potentially.

The rate of repair is set at two durabilities restored per 1 point of experience, and any excess earned after repairing goes to your level up. Unfortunately, there is only one level of this buff, so it cannot be enhanced in any way beyond this point. But even at ‘Mending I,’ this is still one of the Best Axe Enchantments in Minecraft.

Potentially makes an axe last forever.
Its effect can be exploited with a good XP farm.

Challenging to get.
Requires consistent grinding to get.
No enhancements are available.

Why We Didn’t Go For Others

While the top 6 options focus on the best, there are still some other options left that I didn’t include in the guide for specific reasons.

Silk Touch: It grants the players to mine a block without changing its shape, but is equally useless on an axe.
Fortune: A commendable choice, though it proves useless and does not work at all on an axe.