Knockback Enchantment: Distance per Level, When to Skip

Knockback makes your melee hits push targets farther. A normal hit shoves a mob about 1.55 blocks; each level of Knockback adds about 2.59 blocks, so Knockback II sends it roughly 6.7 blocks. It goes on swords and spears and has two levels.

Level	Horizontal knockback
None	~1.55 blocks
I	~4.14 blocks
II	~6.72 blocks

Sprint-hitting adds its own knockback on top. Knockback also lifts targets a little higher off the ground than a normal hit.

Who ignores it

• Iron golems, wardens and shulkers don’t get knocked back at all.
• Squid and glow squid resist it out of water.
• On Java, a raised shield blocks the extra knockback. On Bedrock it still applies.

The case for and against

Knockback is one of those enchantments people argue about. Here’s where it helps:

• Creepers. Hit one once and it’s out of blast range before it finishes hissing.
• Crowds. Spreading out a group of zombies or illagers gives you breathing room.
• PvP and edges. Knocking players into lava, off bridges or into the void is the classic use.

And where it hurts:

• Killing speed. Every hit sends the mob out of reach, so you have to chase it to land the next hit.
• Mob farms. You’ll knock drops and mobs out of your kill chamber.
• Caves and cliffs. Knocking a skeleton away just lets it shoot you from range, and knocking mobs off a ledge loses their drops.

Our advice: leave it off your main sword, or keep a second Knockback sword for creepers and PvP. Sharpness, Looting and Mending matter more day to day. See best sword enchantments.

Getting it

Knockback is common from the enchanting table and shows up on fished and looted books. Librarians sell it; under the experimental Villager Trade Rebalance only savanna librarians do. If you get it by accident and don’t want it, a grindstone strips it, along with every other enchantment on the item.

For bows, the equivalent is Punch.