Why Can’t I Enchant Mending in Minecraft? Understanding Mending’s Unique Status
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You’re scratching your head, ready to make your favorite diamond pickaxe practically immortal, but the mending enchantment remains stubbornly out of reach. Why can’t you just slap it on at the enchanting table like all the others? The short answer: Mending is a Treasure Enchantment, meaning it cannot be obtained directly through the enchanting table. It’s a special case, a coveted prize that requires a different approach.
The heart of the matter lies in how Minecraft classifies enchantments. While the enchanting table generates a range of enchantments through the random application of experience levels and lapis lazuli, Mending is exclusively obtained through alternative methods. Think of it as a reward for exploration, trading, and a little bit of luck. You have to earn it!
But don’t despair, aspiring immortal tool owner. The good news is that there are several reliable ways to acquire a mending book. Understanding these methods is the key to unlocking the power of endless durability. Let’s delve into the details of each.
Sources of Mending Enchantments
1. Trading with Villagers: The Librarian’s Secret
Villager trading is arguably the most consistent and reliable method for obtaining mending. Specifically, you need to find a Librarian villager. Librarian villagers sell enchanted books, and a small percentage of these books will contain the coveted mending enchantment.
- Finding a Librarian: Librarians are identifiable by their white robes. If you don’t have one in your village, you can create one by placing a Lectern near an unemployed villager. The unemployed villager will then claim the lectern as its workstation and become a Librarian.
- Refreshing Trades: If the Librarian isn’t offering mending, don’t fret. You can break the Lectern and replace it to reset their trades. Keep repeating this process until the mending book appears. This may take some time, so patience is key.
- Trading Discounts: Beating and curing zombie villagers will provide discounts. This will make the trades lower and save you emeralds.
2. Fishing: Casting Your Line for Enchantments
Believe it or not, fishing can yield more than just cod and salmon. There’s a small chance (around 0.8% without Luck of the Sea) to reel in an enchanted book, and one of those books could be the holy grail: mending.
- Luck of the Sea: This enchantment significantly increases your chances of finding treasure items while fishing. Applying Luck of the Sea III to your fishing rod makes the fishing method more effective.
- AFK Fishing Farms: Many players create automated fishing farms that allow them to passively fish for hours, increasing their chances of obtaining rare loot, including mending books.
3. Dungeon and Structure Loot: Exploration Rewards
Minecraft’s world is filled with structures, each containing chests filled with various items. Some of these chests, particularly in strongholds, mineshafts, desert temples, and jungle temples, have a chance to contain enchanted books, including mending.
- Strongholds: These underground fortresses offer some of the highest chances for finding valuable loot, making them a prime target for mending book hunts.
- Looting Enchantment: Applying the looting enchantment to your sword will increase the amount of items in chests.
4. Raids: A Risky Reward
Successfully defending a village from a raid can reward you with valuable items, including enchanted books. The higher the difficulty of the raid, the better the rewards, increasing the chances of finding mending. However, this method can be quite dangerous.
Applying the Mending Enchantment
Once you’ve acquired a mending book, you’ll need an anvil to apply it to your desired tool, weapon, or armor.
- Place the anvil in the world.
- Right-click the anvil to open its interface.
- Place the item you want to enchant in the first slot and the mending book in the second slot.
- If you have enough experience levels, the anvil will display the enchanted item in the output slot. Take the enchanted item to apply the mending enchantment.
Keep in mind that applying enchantments costs experience levels. If the anvil displays “Too Expensive!”, it means you don’t have enough levels, or the item has been enchanted too many times, and you’ll need to find a new item or reduce the prior enchantment cost before applying mending.
Mending: The Key to Sustainable Gear
The mending enchantment is exceptionally valuable because it repairs the item’s durability using experience orbs you collect while playing. Whenever you gain XP, the mending enchantment will prioritize repairing the item you’re holding in your main hand (or wearing as armor) before contributing to your experience level. This makes your tools virtually indestructible as long as you continue to earn XP.
Knowing how to obtain mending is a game-changer for any Minecraft player. It removes the constant worry about tool durability and allows you to focus on exploration, building, and adventure. Embrace the hunt, and soon you’ll wield tools that last a lifetime! Learn more about Minecraft and other games at the GamesLearningSociety.org.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Mending in Minecraft
1. Why can’t I put mending on my bow?
The Infinity and Mending enchantments are mutually exclusive. You can only have one or the other on a bow, not both. The choice depends on your play style: Infinity for unlimited arrows or Mending for unlimited durability.
2. Why won’t my mending enchantment work?
Make sure you are holding the enchanted item in your hand (or wearing it if it’s armor) when you gain XP. If you aren’t holding or wearing the item, the mending enchantment won’t activate. Also, if you have multiple mending items equipped the game will pick one randomly to mend, potentially making it seem like it isn’t working.
3. Can you put both mending and Unbreaking on an item?
Yes! Unbreaking reduces the rate at which the item loses durability, while Mending repairs it using XP. Having both significantly extends the lifespan of your tools and armor.
4. Is Mending I a good enchantment?
Yes, absolutely! Mending only has one level (Mending I), and it’s incredibly powerful. It effectively makes your items self-repairing as long as you gain XP.
5. Why is my anvil saying “Too Expensive!” when I try to apply mending?
Anvils have a limit on how many times an item can be worked on. After a certain number of enchantments or repairs, the cost becomes “Too Expensive!”. Try combining the item with another similar item to reset the anvil uses.
6. How rare is mending from fishing?
The base chance of getting an enchanted book while fishing is around 0.8%. The chance of that enchanted book being mending is low, making it a relatively rare find. Using Luck of the Sea increases your odds.
7. Can you put mending on armor?
Yes, mending can be applied to all types of armor (helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots). This is highly recommended, especially for valuable armor pieces.
8. How do I increase my chances of getting mending from a Librarian villager?
Continuously break and replace the Librarian’s lectern until they offer a trade for a mending book. Trading with the librarian will raise its level and the odds of a better enchantment. Curing the librarian from the zombie status will give you significant discounts in his prices.
9. Is mending or Infinity better for a bow?
It depends on your circumstances. Mending offers infinite durability but requires XP to repair. Infinity provides infinite arrows but requires you to repair the bow traditionally. If you have a good XP farm, mending is generally preferred.
10. Can you enchant an item after applying mending?
Yes, you can add other enchantments to an item after applying mending, as long as the anvil doesn’t deem it “Too Expensive!”.
11. Does mending not work on tridents?
Mending does work on tridents. However, tridents have specific enchantments that are incompatible with each other. Make sure you aren’t trying to combine conflicting enchantments.
12. How many bookshelves do I need for level 30 enchantments (besides mending)?
You need 15 bookshelves placed one block away from the enchanting table, with a one-block gap between them and the table, to achieve level 30 enchantments.
13. Can I repair an Infinity bow infinitely?
No. An Infinity bow can only be repaired a limited number of times on an anvil before becoming “Too Expensive!”. Mending bypasses this limitation by repairing the bow with XP instead of using anvil repairs.
14. If I have multiple tools with mending, which one gets repaired first?
The game randomly chooses one of the equipped items with mending to repair. If the tool isn’t in your hand, it could still be getting the XP, but it is less likely.
15. Why am I not getting level 30 enchants with 15 bookshelves?
Ensure there are no blocks (torches, carpets, etc.) between the bookshelves and the enchanting table. Also, make sure the bookshelves are positioned correctly, one block away from the table.