Enchanting in Minecraft- A Quick Guide

Once you have become settled into the world of Minecraft, it may be time to consider enchanting. Minecraft enchantments provide the player with a bit more power and can help make certain tasks easier. Minecraft enhancements can be crafted using an enchanting table and things that can be enchanted include armour, weapons and books. Here, we delve a bit deeper into what enchantments are available and how to get started with our guide to Enchanting.

WHAT IS MINECRAFT ENCHANTING?

Enchanting is a way to become more powerful. However, it isn't an exact science. To start enchanting, the player will need to craft an enchanting table. The difficult part is that there is no way of knowing what the enchanting table will actually create. An enchanting table can bring powerful and magical abilities to your weapons and armour, however, there is no guarantee on what effect a player will end up with, so it is a bit of a gamble.

Although enchantments can be applied to a huge range of Minecraft items, they can broadly be split into the following categories: Tools, Weapons, Armour and Books.

WHAT YOU NEED TO START ENCHANTING

Enchanting is a relatively easy process, however, it takes some preparation to get started. In order to commence enchanting, each player will need the following:

> Experience points- Enchanting uses up experience levels and players will have access to better enchantments the more experience points they have to make the trade. Therefore, players should initially concentrate on building these experience points up which can be done by defeating mobs and more

> An enchanting table- To start enchanting items, you will need to craft an enchanting table. This is simple to do and we example in more detail later on

> Lapis Lazuli

> Something to enchant- Finally, you will need to decide which item you will want to enchant.

HOW TO ENCHANT ITEMS IN MINECRAFT

There are few ways to start enchanting in Minecraft which are as follows:

·         Use an enchanting table and exchange XP and lapis lazuli in order to enchant your chosen item

·         Go to a Minecraft anvil and combine an enchanted book with your choice of unenchanted item

·         Go to a Minecraft anvil and combine 2 enchanted items. This will create a single item which two enchantments

·         You can sometimes trade emeralds with villagers in exchange for enchanted items

·         If a player is lucky, they can even stumble across enchanted items whilst fishing or if they are dropped by certain mobs. For example, by a zombie, stray or skeleton

HOW TO BUILD AND UPGRADE YOUR ENCHANTING TABLE

To get crafting an enchanting table, a player will need four obsidian, two diamonds and a book.  Place 3 obsidian on the bottom row, with the 4^th in the middle of the grid. Then place the diamonds either side of the obsidian and finally place the book in the middle of the top row. Once this is done, the enchanting table should appear on the right, which the player can then drag and drop into their inventory.

When building your enchanting table, always try and leave room around it. This will give you the space required to upgrade it at a later date as you progress in the game.

The initial enchanting table that is crafted is able to provide enchantments up to Level 8. Seeing as enchantments can go up to level 30, at some point it will be best for players to carry out an upgrade on the enchanting table.

To do this, craft a bookcase from 6 planks of wood and 3 books. Building these helps feed the enchanting table knowledge and in turn provides the player with a more sophisticated range of enchantments. To reach the maximum level 30, the player will need at least 15 bookcases.

TOP TIPS FOR ENCHANTING

·         Minecraft enchantments will be much higher and better, the higher the players experience level is. Therefore, it is important not to expect the best enchantments straight away. It is something to work towards.

·         If you do not have a specific item, you want to enchant then you can craft an enchanted book. This basically saves the enchantments for later use. Keep enchanting books with the highest enchantment available until you have a selection of max level enchantments. You will then have more choice later in the game.

·         Make sure you have everything on you- Pick what you want to enchant, have a decent amount of lapis lazuli and enough experience points saved up. Having these things ready to hand will leave you in the best position.

·         To use your enchanting table, place the item you wish to enchant in the left box and place the lapis lazuli in the box to the right of the item. You will always be given 3 options to choose from, ranging in levels. The more upgraded the enchanting table is, the more advanced and higher quality the enchantments on offer will be.

·         Enchanting actually uses up levels for the player which is not like other games. Therefore, if you are about to embark on a new journey that is potentially dangerous, ensure that you have enough experience saved up.

·         You can also gift enchantments which is useful when playing the game with friends. You can enchant a book and give it to them to help them on their adventure.

WHAT ENCHANTMENTS ARE THERE?

There is an extremely long list of enchantments available in Minecraft. Most items have their own specific enchantments, and some are not compatible with others. Here are just some of the most popular enchantments that can be found in Minecraft

·         Unbreaking- increases durability. Can be used on almost all items with a few exceptions.

·         Loyalty-returns the trident after throwing it.

·         Lure- increases the rate of fish and massively reduces the fishing time.

·         Sharpness- increases damage which is great for swords and axes when defeating mobs.

·         Looting- increases the items dropped by mobs and can be a great way to obtain rare resources.

·         Protection-reduces almost all damage types and can be used on all types of armour.

Knowledge will only get you so far in Minecraft. There will come a point when you crave that extra boost of power. This is where Enchanting comes in. It can help the player survive the toughest parts of the game. Enchanting in Minecraft can help the player fight off hordes of mobs and help them right at the End.  Although there are sometimes no guarantees which enchantments you will end up with, Minecraft players will always have to take some risks in order to truly excel at the game.