Minecraft - How to make an Enchanting Table and enchant items

Enchanting is an important element of Minecraft, enabling you to strengthen weapons, armor and much more. To perform crucial enchantments you’ll need an Enchanting Table, which can only be crafted with specific items. The Enchanting Table is exactly the same thing as an Enchantment Table, which was the previous name of this all-important tool.

If you are aiming to conquer the most difficult and deadly challenges within Minecraft, then lots of enchanting is most certainly the way to go.

All of the details can be found below, where we will cover the materials used, the instructions to enchant items, and also the way to level up your Enchanting Table for even more powerful enchantments.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to make an Enchanting Table in Minecraft.

What materials are needed for a Minecraft Enchanting Table?

There are three materials required to craft an Enchanting Table in Minecraft.

1 Book

2 Diamonds
4 Obsidian

Books are obtained by mining bookshelves or destroying them with an explosion. Alternatively, you can craft them with 3 pieces of Paper and 1 Leather.

Diamonds can be mined by using a pickaxe (at least Iron) on Diamond Ore in underground levels. You can also find them in chests with a relatively low spawn rate, or crafted from Blocks of Diamond.

Obsidian is found in caves containing lava and water. You can create Obsidian yourself by pouring water into a lava pool, but you will need a Diamond or Netherite Pickaxe to actually mine it. It’s also found in chests, and sometimes within woodland mansions or ocean ruins.

To actually use the Enchanting Table later down the line, you’ll need as many Lapis Lazuli as possible so whilst you are on the hunt for the materials above, try and find these as well.

How to make an Enchanting Table in Minecraft

Once you have all of the required items above, the Enchanting Table is made by opening the Crafting menu and arranging the items in the following way within the 3 x 3 grid:

Place the book in the middle of the top row
The middle row should have a diamond, an obsidian, and another diamond in that order

The bottom row should be filled with three obsidian

A screenshot of the correct combination is also found here.

You’ll know you have got it right as you will see the Enchanting Table appear in the right-hand box. Craft the Enchanting Table, and it will be yours to use.

How to Enchant items in Minecraft

Crafting your Enchanting Table is just the beginning. To actually enchant an item, interact with the newly-created table and you will open a menu with two slots.

Place the item you wish to enchant in the first slot, and Lapis Lazuli into the second slot. You can place up to 3 Lapis Lazuli at a time, which will strengthen the level of the enchantment. The maximum Enchantment level is level 30, which also depends on the number of character levels spent and your Enchanting Table’s level (which we’ll cover in more detail below).

The different enchantment possibilities will appear on the right-hand side, which you can look through before selecting one that you want. Bear in mind that the specific enchantment you want may not appear. There will be a maximum of three possible enchantments to choose from.

Generally, the higher the enchantment level, the more powerful the enchantment. Using multiple Lapis Lazuli, spending more character levels and a maximum-strength Enchanting Table will produce the strongest enchantments. However, this isn’t actually guaranteed and the results are also randomized to some extent. It’s possible to gain strong enchantments with lower enchantment levels and vice versa.

Where to find Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli can be found in several places. However, the most reliable way of getting high volumes is to mine them from Lapis Lazuli ore with a pickaxe that is made from stone or stronger. It’s best to search caves and ravines which will often have plenty of these blocks, denoted by a blue speckled design shown in the above picture. Once you have the Fortune Enchantment, the quantity obtained will increase.

They are also found as chest loot, and have the best odds in Shipwreck treasure chests, coming in at over 60%.

You won’t get far without these, so pick up as many as possible during your explorations.

How to increase Enchanting Level in Minecraft

The power of Enchanting Tables can be significantly enhanced by placing bookshelves around them.

An Enchanting Table will increase its level by 2 for each nearby bookshelf, up to a maximum of 15 Bookshelves which will increase the Enchanting Table to level 30. The higher than level, the more powerful the Enchantments you will unlock.

Each bookshelf must be placed one block away from the Enchanting Table for it to take effect. You may end up with a fence-like Bookshelf structure that surrounds the Enchanting Table. Alternatively, there are other combinations you can create by stacking some of the bookshelves on top of each other. If you stack them too high, like in the picture above, then they won’t all take effect as the one-block buffer factors in height.

Bookshelves can be crafted with 3 Books and 6 Planks. It doesn’t matter which type of planks you use, and you can mix and match as many different Plank types as you want.

In the Crafting Menu, arrange the materials so the Planks fill the top and bottom rows, and the Books fill the middle row of the 3 x 3 grid. See the image below for reference.

To maximise to level of your Enchanting Table you’ll therefore need a grand total of 45 Books and 90 Planks overall, so stock up on these whenever you can.

What can you enchant in Minecraft?

An Enchanting Table can be used to enchant many things in Minecraft such as weapons, armor, tools, fishing rods and books.

Enchantments can be used for a wide range of different things. For instance, the Looting Enchantment on a Sword can result in more resources being gathered. Armor enchantments can reduce damage taken from certain attack types like fire or projectiles. Furthermore, tools can be bolstered with things like Unbreaking enchantments that make them more durable.

There are so many possibilities that you will definitely find enchantments to be a crucial component of your Minecraft adventure.

However, you shouldn’t enchant things for the sake of it. Always consider the enchantments you want in advance. These cost hard-earned levels and precious Lapis Lazuli, so it’s best not to waste your enchantments on things you won’t utilise.

How to give items specific enchantments in Minecraft

Given the random element of the Enchantment system, it can be frustrating to try and enchant specific skills onto certain items, only to repeatedly fail.

There is a better and more reliable way, by utilising books and an Anvil that can mix items together and bestow the enchantment. For instance, if you want your Sword to gain the strongest Sharpness Enchantment:

Keep enchanting books until you get Sharpness Enchantments
Use the anvil to mix lower-level Sharpness Enchantments together to get a book with stronger Sharpness Enchantment
Use the anvil and mix the strongest Enchanted Book with your Sword

Why is this better? In this scenario, you have more control won’t end up with a bunch of items with undesirable enchantments you’ll never use. Instead, you can keep the unneeded Enchanted Books for later, when you can give those enchantments to other items that will find them more helpful. It also allows you to strengthen your enchantments as you go, but on the downside will potentially cost you some more levels in the long run. However, once you’ve finally got the powerful enchanted item you want, it will all be worth it.

That’s our full Minecraft Enchanting guide, explaining how to craft an Enchanting Table in Minecraft and how to level up your Enchanting Table. For more Minecraft tips, check out some of the content below.