To make an Enchanting Table in Minecraft, you’re going to need some rare resources. However, crafting one is a great way to get enchantments—which you apply to your gear. You can even enhance your Enchanting Table for better ones.
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What You Need to Make an Enchanting Table
There are 3 different kinds of items you’ll need to make an Enchanting Table: Obsidian (4), Diamonds (2), and a Book (1). On a Crafting Table, start by filling the bottom row with 3 Obsidian blocks. After that, place the last block of Obsidian on the centermost slot and place a Diamond on either side of it. Finally, put a Book on the top-middle slot to get 1 Enchanting Table.
How to Get Obsidian
If you want to make some Obsidian, you’re going to need both water and lava. To get these fluid resources to interact in the way you want, you’ll need to use a Bucket. You must get flowing water to touch a lava source block to turn the latter into a block of Obsidian. It’s also important to remember that you can only mine Obsidian with a Diamond or Netherite Pickaxe. Trying to do so with any other tier of Pickaxe will cause Obsidian to break without dropping itself as an item.
Alternatively, you can also find Obsidian blocks that have been generated naturally in your world. Places where lava and water organically cross paths, such as in ravines, can be a great place to look. Furthermore, broken Nether Portals can sometimes be found in the overworld, which can be looted without any repercussions.
How to Get Diamonds
You can get 1 Diamond from each block of Diamond Ore that you mine. Though, only an Iron Pickaxe or better will let you do so successfully. It’s possible for you to find Diamond Ore deep underground, close to the lowest layer. However, not many generate per chunk, so you’ll have to rely a bit on luck.
There’s also a chance for you to find Diamonds in the Chests of various structures. Furthermore, multiple Diamonds can be found in each Chest, though at universally low odds. Here are all the structures that can spawn Diamonds in their Chests:
- Bastion Remnants
- Desert Temples
- End Cities
- Jungle Temples
- Nether Fortresses
- Mineshafts
- Shipwrecks
- Strongholds
- Villages
How to Get Books
In addition to needing at least 1 Book to make an Enchanting Table, you’ll need a bunch more for related reasons. Thankfully, Books have a simple crafting recipe; all you need is Paper and Leather—you won’t even need a Crafting Table. Place 3 Paper and 1 Leather in a square shape with the Leather in the bottom-right corner. This recipe will give you 1 Book each.
You can get Paper from Sugar Cane by converting it on a Crafting Table. To do so, place 3 Sugar Cane on any row and you’ll get 3 Paper as a result. Leather can be gathered from mobs, such as Cows and Llamas.
Is There A Difference Between an Enchanting Table and an Enchantment Table?
There is a bit of confusion when it comes to what an Enchanting Table is called. When you interact with an Enchanting Table, you’ll see text in the menu that clearly states “Enchantment Table.” However, “Enchantment Table” is referring to the table of 3 possible enchantments on the right of the menu—not the name of the block being used.
How to Use an Enchanting Table
To optimally use an Enchanting Table, you’ll need more than the block itself and an item. As such, you’ll likely want to enhance the area around your Enchanting Table before you begin using it.
Why You Need Lapis Lazuli to Enchant Items
In pretty much every kind of tool block you use (besides a Crafting Table), you’ll need some sort of fuel. To cook with Furnaces, you’ll need Coal, Charcoal, or wooden blocks, just as for Brewing Stands you’ll need Blaze Powder for potion-making. The equivalent for your Enchanting Table is Lapis Lazuli, which takes the role of fuel. The tier of enchantment determines how much of the blue stuff you’ll need per enchanting session.
Lapis Lazuli can be mined from Lapis Lazuli Ore blocks, which spawn deep underground. You’re most likely to find some on the same layers you’d find Diamonds.
What Level You Need to Be for the Highest-level Enchantments
There are 3 different tiers of enchantments that you can obtain for your gear. You’ll have access to Tier 1 enchantments at level 8, Tier 2 enchantments at level 17, and Tier 3 enchantments at level 30. This means to enchant multiple items with the best traits, you’ll need to keep gaining XP.
How to Get the Best Enchantments
There are many different kinds of enchantments in the game, though, many of them also have levels. You can increase the level—and the potency—of your enchantments by enhancing your Enchanting Table. It’s possible for you to do so by surrounding it with Bookshelves, though make sure to leave a 1-block gap in between. This gap is what allows for the power of the Bookshelves to seep into your Enchanting Table via floating white glyphs. You’ll need 15 Bookshelves surrounding your Enchanting Table to get the highest-tier enchantments, like Efficiency 5.
To make a Bookshelf, you’re going to need 6 Wood planks of any kind and 3 Books each. On a Crafting Table, place the 3 Books on the center row and then put the Wood Planks on the top and bottom rows.
Using Books to Store Enchantments
In addition to being able to enchant tools and armor, you can also enchant Books. The reason to do so is to reset the enchantments that are appearing on your Enchanting Table. By enchanting a Book, you’ll force the Enchanting Table to generate 3 new enchantments. Doing this costs XP and Lapis Lazuli, but can allow you to find better enchantment options for your best tools. On top of that, Enchanted Books created from this process can still be used to enchant items.
You can combine tools and armor with Enchanted Books on an Anvil to enchant them. This method will not cost XP or Lapis Lazuli, which is convenient. In this manner, you can potentially use Enchanted Books that you find as loot to enhance your gear without using resources. Enchanted Books have relatively low odds of spawning in the Chests of the following structures—some can even have level 30 enchantments:
- Desert Temples
- Dungeons
- Jungle Temples (can have level 30 Enchanted Books)
- Mineshafts
- Pillager Outposts
- Strongholds (can have level 30 Enchanted Books)
- Underwater Ruins
- Woodland Mansions
