Minecraft: Best Crossbow Enchantments [300+ Hours Experience]
Although the list is extremely limited, this is eXputer's definitive guide on the absolute Best Crossbow Enchantments.
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The full list of the Best Crossbow Enchantments in Minecraft is not too long at this point, partly because this piece of equipment doesn’t have a lot of enchanting options. Many previous enchantments that already apply to the bow, an incredibly similar weapon, do not carry over to the Crossbow.
- Crossbow in Minecraft is another category of weapon other than swords, axes, and bows.
- Although bows are faster to load and fire, they lack in damage, while crossbows deal greater damage than a bow.
- Crafting a crossbow also needs more materials; the materials are as follows:
- 3x sticks.
- 1x iron ingot.
- 2x strings.
- 1x tripwire hook.
- They can also be given buffs with enchantments, which can provide a variety of useful advantages like increasing your crossbow’s durability, damage, or even reloading speed.
- Author’s Note: You can trust and rely on my expertise since I’ve gone through Minecraft for well over 200 hours.
Minecraft Crossbow Enchantments Comparison
I’ve made this listed by ordering them according to their usefulness:
| Rank | Enchantment Name | Max Level | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quick Charge | 3.0 | This enchantment allows a faster reload time for your crossbow. | Reliability |
| 2 | Multishot | 1.0 | Allows you to shoot 3 arrows instead of 1. | Damage Output |
| 3 | Mending | 1.0 | Uses the XP you have gained in order to increase the durability of your crossbow. | Durability |
| 4 | Piercing | 4.0 | Allows your arrow to go through multiple enemies. | Arrow-Conserving |
| 5 | Unbreaking | 3.0 | Increases the durability of your crossbow. | Early-game Durability |
5. Unbreaking
| Max Level | Description | How To Acquire/Apply |
| 3 |
|
|
- Why I Chose This: Unbreaking is one of the easiest enchantments to get, but it doesn’t provide any game-changing buffs, so it’s just shy of the last spot on my list.
Unbreaking basically increases an item’s health by giving it a chance to avoid consuming durability when it is used. So when you fire a shot with your crossbow, there is a chance that it will not be damaged as a result. And the enchantment can be applied up to level three, with each level increasing the chances of the durability not being used.
- This buff is especially useful in multiplayer games where you may have to shoot at multiple fast-moving enemies.
- And unlike NPC mobs that mostly have established patterns and behaviors, real players can be quite unpredictable.
- You’re likely to miss a lot of shots, and in a situation like that, you’ll be glad to have Unbreaking by your side.
- Easy to get.
- Noticeable improvement in durability.
- Beginner alternative to Mending.
- Gets overshadowed by Mending.
- Acquiring higher levels of Unbreaking requires intense grinding.
4. Piercing
| Max Level | Description | How To Acquire/Apply |
| 4 |
|
|
- Why I Chose This: If you find yourself in a challenging raid during an expedition with limited ammo, I believe no other crossbow enchantment is as important in that life-or-death scenario as Piercing.
This enchantment is an excellent way to conserve your arrows and allow you to damage the maximum amount of enemies possible with a single shot, so you need to hit your targets for the enchantment to work. You can only get better at aiming with practice, but luckily mobs in the game tend to stick close to each other by default, so you shouldn’t have too many problems with getting them to line up.
- Great for conserving arrows.
- Clears mobs with ease.
- Enchantment levels directly translate into number of enemies pierced.
- Requires precision and positioning to be effective.
- Doesn’t affect the Crossbow’s lifespan.
3. Mending
| Max Level | Description | How To Acquire/Apply |
| 1 | Uses the XP you have gained to increase the durability of your crossbow. |
|
- Why I Chose This: Mending, although tough to get, is one of the best enchantments you can get to prevent clogging your inventory with weak crossbows.
Now I don’t think I have to explain why this is an incredible durability-focused enchantment. Because what you have here is a self-sufficient Crossbow that repairs itself as it gets damaged. And if you pair this buff with another enchantment that drains durability faster, you get a weapon that can potentially keep on going for an extended period, or even forever.
You also keep gaining experience after the item is fully repaired, So your level can keep increasing, and you can still put those towards unlocking newer enchantments at the Enchanting Table.
- Strongest durability enchantment.
- Potentially makes your crossbow last forever.
- Prevents cluttering in chests and inventory.
- Requires constant XP grinding.
- Extremely challenging to get.
2. Multishot
| Max Level | Description | How To Acquire/Apply |
| 1 | The enchantment allows players to shoot 3 arrows instead of one at the expense of only one arrow from their inventory. | Enchantment Table |
- Why I Chose This: In my experience, the Multishot enchantment gives a massive damage buff and makes the crossbow as lethal as a Diamond Sword.
As the name implies, the Multishot enchantment allows your Crossbow to fire three arrows per shot instead of one. Now the advantages of such a buff are pretty obvious. You’re essentially dealing triple the damage within the same amount of time and with the same action. You only consume one arrow per shot as well, so the enchantment is even more economical in terms of damage output.
The spread of the three projectiles is also fairly tight, so this isn’t a situation where each arrow is flying in a different direction. They all stick to the same trajectory and are even able to hit a single target multiple times if it is close enough. The Crossbow is now capable of clearing out small clusters of mobs quickly and efficiently. At his point, think of the weapon more as a shotgun.
- Huge bonus to damage output.
- Great against stronger mobs and bosses.
- Weakens the crossbow’s durability.
- Cannot be upgraded.
1. Quick Charge
| Max Level | Description | How To Acquire |
| 3 |
|
Can be acquired by using the enchantment table. |
- Why I Chose This: I found Quick Charge to be the most game-changing enchantment for my crossbow in PvP and PvE, since its improvement in reloading speed gave me an edge over enemy hit-frames.
As it stands right now, this entry on my Best Crossbow Enchantments list is among the most popular and reliable buffs for the weapon. After all, decreasing the time to fire by more than half is nothing to laugh at, as you’re overcoming one of the Crossbow’s greatest weaknesses. This one power-up makes this weapon faster and more powerful than a regular Bow, and that makes it worth it for me.
- Effective in PvP and PvE.
- Extremely popular among the community.
- Helpful against nimble enemies.
- Reliable and versatile.
- Requires a plethora of arrows.
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