Impaling Enchantment: Why Java and Bedrock Differ

Impaling adds 2.5 damage per level to trident hits, up to +12.5 at Impaling V. It applies to both thrown and melee hits. The big question is who takes that damage, and Java and Bedrock answer it completely differently.

Java: aquatic mobs only

On Java, Impaling only hurts aquatic mobs: guardians, elder guardians, squid and glow squid, dolphins, turtles, axolotls, fish, tadpoles and nautiluses. Drowned don’t count, because the game classes them as undead. A drowned on land or in water takes no Impaling bonus.

That makes Java Impaling a specialist enchantment. It’s very good at clearing an ocean monument: an Impaling V trident kills an elder guardian in four thrown hits.

Bedrock: anything that’s wet

On Bedrock, Impaling adds its damage to any mob or player that’s in water, in flowing water, or standing in rain. Drowned, zombies in a storm, players in a river: all take the bonus. That turns it into a strong all-round damage enchantment whenever water is involved.

Damage per level

Level	Java (aquatic mobs)	Bedrock (wet targets)
I	+2.5	+2
II	+5	+5
III	+7.5	+7
IV	+10	+10
V	+12.5	+12

Bedrock rounds down, like it does for Smite and Bane of Arthropods.

Getting it

Impaling rolls on the enchanting table for tridents; it’s common enough that most enchanted tridents have some level of it. Books come from fishing, monster rooms and other chests, and librarians sell it in the default trades. The experimental Villager Trade Rebalance takes trident books out of trading.

On paper Impaling conflicts with Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Density and Breach, but no item can get both in survival, so it never comes up except when combining books.

Should you take it?

Yes on Bedrock, and yes on Java if you have a spare trident slot, since it doesn’t conflict with anything else a trident can have. Pair it with Loyalty and Channeling. The trident enchantment guide lays out the full build, and how to get a trident covers farming drowned for one.