Best Sword Enchantments in Minecraft 2026, Ranked

The best sword enchantments are Sharpness V, Looting III, Unbreaking III and Mending, plus Sweeping Edge III on Java. That’s the sword most players end up with, and everything below explains the order and the optional extras.

The ranking

Rank	Enchantment	Why
1	Mending	A sword that never breaks. Treasure-only, so get it from a librarian.
2	Sharpness V	Damage against everything. +3 on Java, +6 on Bedrock.
3	Looting III	More drops from every kill, and better odds on rare ones like wither skulls.
4	Unbreaking III	Four times the lifespan; less XP spent on repair.
5	Sweeping Edge III (Java)	Big damage to mobs next to your target.
6	Fire Aspect II	Extra burn damage. Optional; see below.
7	Knockback	Situational. Most players leave it off.

Mending sits at the top because it makes every other enchantment permanent.

Sharpness, Smite or Bane?

You get one. Sharpness works on every mob and player, which is why it’s the main-sword pick. Smite V adds 12.5 damage against zombies, skeletons, phantoms and the Wither, so it’s worth a second sword for boss fights and undead farms. Bane of Arthropods only works on spiders, bees, silverfish and endermites. Skip it.

The optional slots

Fire Aspect adds about 7 damage over time at level II and cooks meat drops. Downsides: Nether mobs ignore it, burning zombies can set you on fire, and Looting doesn’t apply if the fire lands the killing blow. Fine on a hunting sword, optional on a main one.

Knockback keeps creepers off you, but it makes you chase every mob and pushes mobs out of farms. Most players skip it, though it has its fans in player-versus-player fights.

Combining it all on an anvil

The order you apply books changes the total cost because of the anvil’s prior work penalty. The cheap way:

1. Enchant the sword on a level-30 enchanting table first. Often you get Sharpness IV plus a bonus enchantment for 3 levels.
2. Combine books with each other first (Looting + Unbreaking, Mending + Sweeping Edge) so the sword itself goes through the anvil fewer times.
3. Apply the merged books to the sword, most expensive first.

How to use enchanted books has the full combining method.

Bedrock note

There’s no Sweeping Edge on Bedrock, and no attack cooldown either, so a Bedrock sword’s job is fast hits with Sharpness V, Looting III, Fire Aspect II, Unbreaking III and Mending. Axes can also take Sharpness straight from the table on Bedrock but have no real advantage over swords there.