Top 11 Best Helmet Enchantments In Minecraft

In this guide, we have listed the top 11 best helmet enchantments in Minecraft. We have also added an enchantment guide for the helmet.

Today’s guide will look at the best Enchantments for the helmet in Minecraft. Enchantments, in general, can give you amazing benefits and help you in many ways. A helmet is part of the armor, and combining it with the best enchantments will help you a lot in different situations. It will increase your defenses and help you a lot when going underwater. Let’s get right into the Best Enchantments for Helmet without further ado.

Key Takeaways
  • Enchantments are things you can apply to armor, helmets, boots, etc which in return grants players a bunch of different perks and buffs.
  • A plethora of different enchantments are available for players to choose from. Here we have listed the top 11 best helmet enchantments that you can apply.
  • The top 11 enchantments are as follows:
    • Mending: Provides durability in expense for XP points.
    • Protection: Provides All damage protection.
    • Fire Protection: Provides Fire damage protection. 
    • Projectile Protection: Provides Projectile damage protection
    • Blast Protection: Provides blast damage protection.
    • Unbreaking: Increases the durability of an item.
    • Respiration: Increased breathing time underwater.
    • Aqua Affinity: Allows faster mining underwater.
    • Thorns: Damaging attackers if they land a hit on the player.
    • Curse Of Binding: Binds you to an item.
    • Curse Of Vanishing: The item vanishes after your death.
  • Each of these enchantments has max levels that are unique to each enchantment some can be upgraded up to Level 4.

Before we kick off our guide, make sure to check out the comparison table which summarizes each helmet enchantment in Minecraft:

Enchantment NameMax LevelEffectBuffs
MendingLevel 1Uses XP to restore durability pointsFor 2 XP points it grants 1 durability point.
ProtectionLevel 4Reduces the damage taken from enemy attacksAt level 4 it offers a 16% damage reduction.
Fire ProtectionLevel 4Reduces the damage taken from fire- Fire Protection I provides 15% protection
- Fire Protection 4 provides 60% protection.
Projectile ProtectionLevel 4Protects you from taking damage from projectiles- Projectile Protection I provides an 8% damage reduction
increase
- Projectile Protection 4 provides a 32% damage
reduction
Blast ProtectionLevel 4Protects you from taking blast damageAt Blast Protection level 4 it provides 60% damage reduction
UnbreakingLevel 3Increases the durability of your item- Unbreaking I provides 23% chance of not using any durability points
- Unbreaking III provides -30% chance of no durability point
usage
RespirationLevel 3Grants a longer time to breathe underwater- Respiration I gives an extra 15 seconds underwater
- Respiration III gives 45 seconds extra.
Aqua AffinityLevel 1Increases the speed of your mining underwater.Mining speed becomes the same as on the ground rather than
it being 25 times less.
ThornsLevel 3Deals damage to enemies that attack you.- Thorns I provides 15% chance of inflicting damage
- Thorns III provides 45% chance.
Curse Of BindingLevel 1The item gets attached to you and can not be taken off
even after one's death.
None
Curse Of VanishingLevel 1Allows the item to vanish and not be picked up by other
players after death.
None

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Minecraft: Best Helmet Enchantments

Best Minecraft Helmet Enchantments
The Best Enchantments for the Helmet

There are a total of 11 Enchantments available for the helmet in Minecraft, and we have listed them all from best to worst. Before getting into the best ones, let’s quickly go through the ones that are not so great on our list. The first is the Curse Of Vanishing, it is probably the worst enchantment in Minecraft, which causes your item to vanish upon death. The second is the Curse Of Binding, which binds your item to you, which is not practical.

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Now coming to the top one, but before that, It’s worth knowing that you can choose only one amongst the protection enchantments. Now, all that out of the way, let’s list the nine best Enchantments for the Helmet in Minecraft. 

  1. Mending I: The Enchantment helps your helmet be more durable with XP gained.
  2. Protection IV: It Protects you from all damage.
    OR
  3. Fire Protection IV: You get protected from fire damage
    OR
  4. Projectile Protection IV: The one here protects you from projectile damage
    OR
  5. Blast Protection IV: Now, this one protects you from blast damage
  6. Unbreaking III: It Helps your helmet last longer by reducing the chances for durability to be used.
  7. Respiration III: This Enhancement will let you stay underwater longer.
  8. Aqua Affinity I: With Aqua Affinity, you will be able to mine normally underwater.
  9. Thorns III: Using Thorns grants you a chance to deal damage back to the attacker but at the cost of durability.

Now, let’s talk about all the helmet Enchantments in detail. After that, we have included an enchantment guide for the helmet.

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Mending I

Mending
Mending Enchantment

Helmet or not, Mending is probably one of the best Enchantments in Minecraft. Some players go as far as to say that Mending is the best Enchantment in Minecraft. If you don’t know what Mending does, then it basically helps your item last longer. Every item, which includes helmets, has a set amount of durability. When it runs out, the item then is destroyed. Mending prevents that from happening, hence becoming a great Enchantment. 

Sometimes, you would have important Enchantments attached to items, and you would not want to lose those items, so Mending comes in handy in various such situations. Let’s look at how exactly mending works. It’s very simple. It restores an item’s durability depending on the XP orbs you collect. The exact number is one durability point per 2 XP orbs collected. So, if you gain 100 XP orbs, the item that has Mending on it will get 50 durability points. 

Overall, it is a very useful enchantment in Minecraft. When it comes to using it with a helmet, it’s 100% recommended. A helmet in Minecraft is often used a lot, so having such enchantment for protection is a great thing.

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Protection IV

Protection IV
Protection IV Enchantment

Protection is an armor (armor also includes helmets) enchantment in Minecraft, which increases the damage reduction. If you don’t know what that is, then it’s simply going to lessen the amount of damage you will take. Another thing to keep in mind about this enchantment is that it is incompatible with Projectile Protection, Blast Protection, and Fire Protection. 

So you will have to choose only one of these enchantments. Incompatibility is pretty much the only con it has as an Enchantment. Still, you can always wear different enchantments on different pieces of your armor, like boots or chest plates. To be exact, it offers you a 16% damage reduction rate at level IV. The damage reduction rate does not sound impressive, but it will all make sense as we explain ahead. 

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See, when we talk about the other Protection Enchantment, like Fire Protection, they only save you from fire damage or the burning duration. But this, on the other hand, is very generalized, and it will protect you from everything but with lower rates. So those other protection enchantments have their own situational uses. But, you can wear this one everywhere in order to be safer. That’s why we have ranked Protection Helmet Enchantment in Minecraft higher than the rest. 

Fire Protection IV

Fire Protection IV

It is another armor enchantment in Minecraft, which again includes helmets as well. The Fire Protection Enchantment in Minecraft is a protection enchantment that, as the name suggests, protects against fire. The protection also includes the time and damage of damage overtime attacks with fire reduced. At max, the fire enchantment is situational because when you are going to need it, it will be with lava. In the Nether, you will find more lava the most than in any other world in Minecraft. So having the Fire Protection enchantment in the Nether to protect you from lava is great. 

The enchantment will also protect you from the monsters that use fire, and most of them are in the nether. The prime example is Blazers. Fire Protection offers a 15% increased protection at every level. So if we do the math, then at the max level, which is IV, you will get 60% fire protection with this enchantment. Like all the other protection enchantments, this is not compatible with any other protection enchantments, including Projectile Protection, Blast Protection, and Protection Enchantment. 

Another thing worth noting is that if you use the enchantment on multiple armor pieces, then the system will select the one with the most protection. Meaning if you think that with two 60% fire protection enchantments, you will be completely fire resistant, then it’s not going to work. The enchantment is worth considering seeing the number of times players die with fire. Unless you are exceptionally good at avoiding fire in Minecraft, this enchantment is definitely a must for the helmet in fiery areas.

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Projectile Protection IV

Projectile Protection IV

The Projectile Protection is the second last protection enchantment for the helmet in Minecraft on our list. Projectile Protection is an enchantment in Minecraft that basically protects you from taking damage from most types of projectiles. Minecraft has several projectile attacks, including arrows, thrown tridents, shulker bullets, llama spit, blaze fireballs, ghast fireballs, and wither skulls. Now, these are all the attacks that it protects you from. But there are some projectile attacks that this enchantment does not protect you against. 

There are three attacks that you should watch out for when using this enchantment: splash potions of harming, dragon fireballs, and firework rockets. With each level increase, you get an 8% increase in the damage reduction with the Projectile Protection. The max level for the enchantment is IV, so you will be getting 32% protection max. 

But that is a good number, especially when considering the Nether, where there are a lot of surprise projectile attacks coming. But realistically speaking, this protection enchantment for helmets in Minecraft is very situational, and unlike fire protection, this one is even more situational. It is recommended for players who suffer from the problem of being weak against projectile attacks. Otherwise, you have way better options with more significant percentages of protection.

Blast Protection IV

Blast Protection IV

Now on to our last protection enchantment for the Helmet in Minecraft is the Blast Protection. It does what it says, which is protecting you against blast damage. The protection includes TNT explosions, creeper explosions, ender crystals, initial wither boss explosions, and ghast fireballs. Now, these are the types of attacks that don’t happen as often, or at least you will be able to avoid them. 

So Blast Protection is another situational enchantment that you will only need if you are a certain type of player. It’s definitely not recommended for normal players but go right ahead if you are a special case that always finds themselves in blast situations. Since it’s one of the protection enchantment protections, it is not compatible with any other listed above, including Protection, Fire Protection, and Projectile Protection. 

Other than that, it can be at level IV max, which grants you a max of 60% protection. And the protection gets capped at a set number, so it doesn’t go over or at 100%. This is one of the worst protection enchantments, if not the worst. It is just because of how awfully the amount of time you get involved in situations where you will need this enchantment for the helmet in Minecraft.

Unbreaking III

Unbreaking III

Unbreaking is a wondrous enchantment for the helmet in Minecraft. Even in general, unbreaking has been one of the most favorite and useful enchantments in the entire game. Like Mending, it also increases the durability of armor (including helmets) or item, but it works slightly differently. Mending gives durability points depending on the XP orbs you collect during your play in Minecraft. On the other hand, Unbreaking increases the chances of an item’s durability being used.  

This enchantment may sound more impressive than the Mending, or it can be vice versa, but both of them are equally useful, or at least with items. See, when you use Unbreaking with any items, it increases the chances by a lot and sometimes even quadruples the amount, but armors, on the hand, get way fewer chances. Unbreaking at the level I will grant an armor or helmet a 23% chance of not using the durability. The exact formula at which Unbreaking works with armors is as follows: 60+(4 / level + 1). 

With that calculation at max with Unbreaking III, your helmet will get a -30% chance of ignoring the usage durability. On average, it will help your helmet last 43% more, which is a great number. Plus, you can always combine that with mending to help your helmet last even longer. All in all, it’s still a great enchantment for the helmet in Minecraft, but it works better with other items where it increases the chances by -300%. 

Respiration III

Respiration III

Coming to our first helmet-exclusive enchantment, Respiration. This enchantment is an amazing addition to your helmet, and it can very well be considered the best helmet Enchantment in Minecraft. It helps you breathe underwater longer. The usefulness of this enchantment is endless since there are a lot of things you need to do underwater. With this, you won’t need to keep popping out of the water and then breathe. 

It gets really annoying to go underwater and then come out for 5 seconds to let your breath be refilled, only to keep repeating the same process. So the enchantment is going to make your overall underwater working process much smoother, faster, and less annoying. Respiration increases your breathing time underwater by 15 seconds at each level, and it has a maximum of III levels. So in total, you can have a massive 45 extra seconds to spend underwater, in addition to your 10 seconds default time. 

You can always use a turtle shell to increase the duration even further by 10 seconds. Having these two combined, you will be able to do a lot of things underwater and won’t have to surface as often. On top of that, this enchantment has another effect. That reduces your chances of taking drowning damage by every second. In short, with Respiration Helmet Enchantment in Minecraft, you will be able to stay longer underwater and be safer when drowning. 

Aqua Affinity I

Aqua Affinity I

Aqua Affinity is another helmet-exclusive enchantment in Minecraft, which is amazing, just like the Respiration. Amongst all the enchantments available for the helmet, this one is the coolest, and even the name sounds cool “Aqua Affinity.” Suppose you are not familiar with this enchantment. Then it helps you mine blocks underwater faster than the normal speed you get underwater. Underwater can get awfully annoying when mining, even if you have Respiration for an increased amount of time to stay underwater. 

So having this enchantment along with the Respiration is a must to increase your overall effectiveness underwater. When you are mining underwater, you mine five times slower than what you would normally do on the surface. But once you wear Aqua Affinity with the helmet or turtle shell, then that penalty is gone. It’s worth knowing that the enchantment doesn’t have any additional levels, meaning you only get Aqua Affinity I. 

In Minecraft, a penalty applies when you are floating. Your mining speed decreases five times further with the underwater penalty. Meaning your mining speed gets reduced by 25 times while floating. But the Aqua Affinity does not affect that penalty in any way at all. That said, it is still worth having the enchantment for the helmet because the need to mine when floating in Minecraft is rare.

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Thorns III

Thorns III

The Thorns is probably the least favorite helmet enchantment in Minecraft. It deals damage to the enemies that attack you. The good thing about the enchantment is that it deflects all sorts of damage and is not situational. The attacks it can deflect are melee, projectile, arrows, or any other attack you can think of. When an enchantment is not situational, it’s the one we always recommend. Because then you can use it in all types of different situations and be equally effective. 

So, all in all, it’s great having such enchantment, but there is a problem that comes with Thorns. To see that, let’s look at exactly how thorns work in Minecraft. Thorns Enchantment has a total of III levels. With each level, you get a 15% chance of inflicting damage to the attacker, which means that you won’t always damage your enemies but have a chance to do it. 

Anyways at the maximum level, III, you will have a 45% chance of dealing damage to the attacker. But that comes with the price of durability. So every time Thorns deal damage, it will reduce your helmet’s or any other item’s durability by three. But only when it deals damage; otherwise, it won’t affect it. All in all, it is a personal preference.

Curse of Binding

Curse of Binding

The Curse of Binding is an enchantment that you can use on almost all the items in Minecraft, including the helmet. When it’s enchanted to the helmet, the helmet is bound to the player. It simply means that the helmet is inseparable from the player, and you can not take it off, no matter what. Even after you die, other players can not take it off. The enchantment’s name is really cool sounding, but the enchantment itself is not impressive in any form. 

If we practically talk about the Curse of Binding Enchantment for the helmet in Minecraft, it does nothing. But some players like to keep it on in case they die; others cannot take it off and keep their enchanted items or the helmet. All in all, it is situational at best and depends on the type of player playing the game. We do not recommend having a Curse of Binding since it serves no practically useful purpose.

Curse of Vanishing

Curse of Vanishing

Curse of Vanishing, similar to Curse of Binding, can be used to enchant any items, including the helmet in Minecraft. The Curse of Vanishing is very similar to the Curse of Vanishing, but it’s somewhat better. The Curse of Vanishing makes an item disappear after the death of the player. At first, it might sound way worse than the Curse of Binding, but in this case, you can take off an item to keep it safe.

But on the other hand, with Curse of Binding, you can not take it off, and if you die, it will be there, but just to add a grain of salt to your wounds. The usage of Curse of Vanishing is also limited to just rolling other players and nothing more than that. It will not benefit you in any form, and that’s why it is one of the least good helmet enchantments in Minecraft. It is also not recommended by us in any situation at all unless you are planning to troll others. 

Minecraft Helmet Enchantment Cost

Guide to enchant the Helmet
How to properly add Enchantments to a Helmet

Now we know what the best Enchantments for the helmet in Minecraft are, let’s look at how we can enchant the helmet in the best way possible. Applying enchantments in the wrong way on any item can cost you tons of XP levels. That is why we have made a way to add enchantments to your helmet the best way possible. So let’s get started with the steps for enchanting:

  1. Respiration III Book + Mending I Book (Cost 2)
  2. Protection IV Book + Aqua Affinity I Book (Cost 2)
  3. Respiration III, Mending I Book + Protection IV, Aqua Affinity I Book (Cost 8)
  4. Unbreaking III Book + Helmet (Cost 3)
  5. All Enchantments Book + Helmet with Unbreaking III (Cost 18)

Now you have your ultimate helmet in Minecraft with all the awesome Enchantments at just the cost of 33 levels. You can make some changes in this guide, for example, by adding the protection enchantment of your choice. Other than that, we have not added Thorn since it affects durability, but you can add it if you would prefer. 

Conclusion

Now you know the best enchantments to add to your helmet in Minecraft to get the ultimate results. Not only that but also the best way to enchant your helmet. That concludes today’s guide. If you found it to be helpful, let us know in the comments below. Or, if you have questions regarding the helmet enchantments in Minecraft, feel free to ask. 

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Saqib


Saqib is a veteran Guides Writer at eXputer who specializes in all sorts of articles. He found a deep interest in gaming at a young age and has been a huge RPG fan ever since. He has accumulated vast experience in writing and has crafted more than 100 Articles during his time at eXputer. Experience: 2+ Years || Education: Bachelor's in Journalism || Bylines: DualShockers & Gamepur || Written 100+ Articles || Mainly Covers Guides, Tier Lists, and News on eXputer

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