Complete Minecraft PVP Guide For Version 1.19

PVP in Minecraft is actually not just two players spamming clicks at each other - there can be a lot of other factors involved. Enchantments, gears and utility items can change the course of the fight greatly, and pro-PVP players should be able to make use of that.

In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase a complete Minecraft PVP guide for version 1.19.

Should you use a sword or axe in Minecraft?

This actually comes down to personal preference and skill. Dreams and Technoblade, two of the best Minecraft players in the world, use Axe and Sword respectively. The Axe used to have lower damage than the sword, but that was changed in later patches.

To use the Axe as a weapon, you need to practice a lot with the hit and run tactic, smacking the enemy then dodging to wait for the next attack to be available. Sword's fast attack, on the other hand, allow players to chain combo much easier. This matters a lot in PVP where you have to fight other people.

With Technoblade beating Dream using a sword, it is pretty clear that the Sword is better in Minecraft PVP.

Best enchantments for Minecraft PVP

Sharpness

Sharpness is the obvious choice for sword enchantments in Minecraft. You need to have max level sharpness for the highest DPS possible.

In Java Edition, Sharpness adds 0.5 * level + 0.5 extra damage. In Bedrock Edition, each level of Sharpness adds 1.25 extra damage. At max level, players can get up to +3 damage to their weapon with this enchantment.

Sharpness Best Sword Enchantments Minecraft — Sharpness is the most important among all weapon enchantments in Minecraft PVP.

Piercing

This is an extremely useful enchantment if you are using a crossbow in PVP. Piercing allows arrows to deal more damage if it pierces through one opponent. This allows your shots to bypass shields and render them useless.

In combat, piercing is essential in dealing with heavily armed foes with shields. You would be able to shoot them with tipped arrows, inflicting damage and debuff even if they block the shot.

Fire Aspect

Fire Aspect is a sword enchantment that sets the target on fire. It is great for hit-and-run PVP, as opponents' HP would be whittled down gradually even if he back off. Targets receive 3 and 7 damage with levels I and II of Fire Aspect.

Furthermore, fire damage is not affected by armor. Enemies need to have either protection or fire protection enchantments to reduce damage taken. The fire effect can also be used to track targets in dark places.

Protection

Another all-rounder useful enchantment in Minecraft, the best part about protection is that it reduces all damage, from weapon to fire, lava and even fall damage. The protection enchantment is applied after the armor's damage reduction.

The formula for damage reduction is (4 × level)% for each armor piece. The max level is 4, which means for 4 pieces of armor with protection IV, players can get up to 64% damage reduction. All damage reduction has a hard cap of 80%.

With this remarkable feature, protection IV is considered Minecraft's best armor enchantment at the moment.

Utility items for Minecraft PVP

Shield

Shields can be used to block incoming attacks. Upon a successful block, shields negate damage and knockback from both melee attacks and ranged attacks. Arrows and tridents blocked by a shield may ricochet off onto nearby blocks or entities. Against inexperienced opponents, a good shield user is nearly impossible to defeat.

To deal with shields, it is best to use an Axe, as it disables shield for 5 seconds on hit. A piercing crossbow is useful as well - its shots penetrate shields.

Crossbow

The best part about the crossbow is that you can shoot instantly if pre-loaded. In melee combat, the crossbow can be used as an instant projectile attack to chip your opponent's health after disabling their shield with your axe. Afterward, you can switch back to your melee weapon to fight again.

Furthermore, players can turn the crossbow into a shotgun with the multishot enchantment, effectively tripling its damage at close range (with tipped arrow). By replacing normal arrows with fireworks, players can have a triple rocket launcher that deals massive splash damage.

Tipped Arrow

Instead of normal arrows, players can use special arrows alongside their bows and crossbows for deadly effects. For example, a multishot crossbow can hit all 3 arrows on the same target at close range, and if all three of them are Arrows of Harming II, the resulting damage can one-shot pretty much everyone.