The pickaxe is an essential tool in Minecraft for survival. It allows players to mine stone, ores, and other blocks, which are crucial for building and crafting. While it can be used as a makeshift weapon, this is not recommended due to its inefficiency in combat.
In this updated 2025 guide, we'll explore these top enchantments, how they work, and why they're essential. We'll also cover how many enchantments a pickaxe can hold and add a new section with tips and tricks for maximum efficiency.
Table of Contents
Best Enchantments for Pickaxe in Minecraft
Enchantments are special upgrades applied to tools via an enchanting table, anvil, or books. The more enchantments you apply to a high-tier pickaxe (such as diamond or netherite—avoid gold due to its fragility despite fast mining speed), the more valuable it becomes. Aim for a netherite pickaxe for the best results in 2025.
1. Unbreaking
Unbreaking is one of the best enchantments for any pickaxe in Minecraft. It increases the tool's durability by giving it a chance (up to 75% at level III) to avoid losing durability when used. The maximum level is III.
While it doesn't boost mining speed, Unbreaking extends your pickaxe's lifespan, saving time on repairs—especially useful during long mining expeditions.
2. Efficiency
Efficiency is essential for any netherite or diamond pickaxe. It dramatically increases mining speed—at level V, it can make mining feel instantaneous for most blocks. This boosts productivity, letting you gather resources faster and freeing up time for other activities.
However, faster mining consumes durability quicker, so pair Efficiency with Unbreaking for balance.
3. Mending
Mending is invaluable for long-term tool use. It repairs your pickaxe automatically using collected experience orbs, restoring durability point-for-point. Combined with Unbreaking, your pickaxe becomes nearly indestructible.
This enchantment works during mob fights, exploration, or any activity that drops XP orbs. Note: XP used for repairs doesn't contribute to your level progression.
4. Fortune
Fortune enhances resource yields from certain ores like coal, diamond, lapis lazuli, redstone, emerald, and nether quartz. At level III, it increases the chance of multiple drops (up to 4 for most ores), based on a luck mechanic. This is perfect for farming rare materials efficiently.
Fortune doesn't affect mining speed—it's purely for better drops. It's incompatible with Silk Touch, so choose based on your needs (e.g., Fortune for diamonds, Silk Touch for grass blocks).
5. Silk Touch
Silk Touch lets you mine blocks in their exact form instead of their usual drops. For example, mining gold ore yields the ore block itself rather than raw gold nuggets.
This is less useful for ores (where you want processed drops) but invaluable for blocks like grass, mycelium, podzol, ice, glass, bookshelves, glowstone, and melons that don't drop themselves otherwise. It's great for decoration, farming, or relocating terrain features.
How Many Enchantments Can a Pickaxe Have?
In Minecraft (as of 1.21.5 in 2025), pickaxes can hold up to 6 enchantments, but practical limits depend on anvil costs and incompatibilities. The core ones are Efficiency, Unbreaking, Mending, Fortune, and Silk Touch (note: Fortune and Silk Touch are mutually exclusive). The sixth is Curse of Vanishing, which causes the item to disappear upon death—avoid this unless playing hardcore modes for challenge.
Optimal setup: Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, and either Fortune III or Silk Touch. Total anvil cost: Around 30-40 levels, but use books to minimize expenses.
Tips and Tricks for Enchanting and Using Your Pickaxe
Enchantment Application Tips
- Start with Books: Enchant books first via the table, then combine on an anvil. This avoids wasting levels on suboptimal tool enchants.
- Order Matters: Apply cheaper enchants first (e.g., Unbreaking before Mending) to keep anvil costs low. Use tools like the "Enchantment Calculator" mods or online simulators for planning.
- Librarian Trading: Set up a villager trading hall for enchanted books—reroll trades with cheap emeralds until you get Mending or Efficiency V.
- Netherite Upgrade: Enchant a diamond pickaxe first, then upgrade to netherite in a smithing table to transfer all enchants without re-enchanting.
Mining Efficiency Tricks
- Branch Mining: Use Efficiency V to strip-mine at Y=-59 for diamonds—Fortune III can yield 2-4 per ore.
- Beacon Boost: Place a Haste II beacon near your mining area to stack with Efficiency for ultra-fast mining.
- Two Pickaxes Setup: Carry one with Fortune for ores and one with Silk Touch for special blocks to avoid swapping enchants mid-mine.
- Repair with XP Farms: Build a simple mob grinder for endless XP to fuel Mending—your pickaxe will self-sustain indefinitely.
- Combat Hybrid: For rare dual-use, add Sharpness V (via anvil) if you occasionally fight with it, but prioritize mining enchants.
Bonus Enchantment Note: While not mining-focused, Sharpness (up to V) turns your pickaxe into a decent weapon against mobs, useful in emergencies. Combine sparingly to avoid high costs.
>>>> Read more: Best Realistic Texture Packs in Minecraft 2025
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