16 Best Armor Enchantments in Minecraft You Should Use

Armor in Minecraft is more than just a shield against the hostile mob attacks; it’s a gateway to some powerful abilities that can change the way you play the game. The right set of enchantments can help you breathe longer underwater, sprint across the Nether, walk on water, or even reduce your fall damage. Whether you’re preparing for an intense boss fight or exploring the depths of the ocean, enchanted armor can give you the edge you need. So, in this guide, we’ll walk you through the best armor enchantments in Minecraft, explaining what they do and showing some of the best ones for each armor piece as well.

Best Armor Enchantments in Minecraft

We have tested each of these armor enchantments on Minecraft. Most enchantments on our list below can be applied using an Enchanting table. You can follow our detailed guide to learn how to make an Enchanting table in Minecraft. Alternatively, you can use enchanted books to apply all the enchantments on our list. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the best armor enchantments in the game:

1. Protection

• Maximum Level: 4
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: Blast Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection

Applicable to all pieces of your armor, protection is one of the most basic enchantments in Minecraft. As you can tell, it protects you against all types of attacks, including combat, lava, fire, and even falling. But before you apply for protection, do check out the other specific types of protection. Also, keep in mind that armor can’t protect you from damage caused by hunger. This enchantment has 4 levels, and you can get a maximum of 80% additional damage protection.

2. Blast Protection

• Maximum Level: 4
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection

Due to its limited use, people don’t use blast protection until the fight with the Ender Dragon towards the end of the game. It provides you protection from blast-based attacks, including mobs, TNT, and even fireworks. Also, as you might know, the blast pushes your character at a distance through what’s called knockback. So, at least in the Java edition, this enchantment also reduces knockback caused by any blast.

3. Projectile Protection

• Maximum Level: 4
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: Protection, Fire Protection, Blast Protection

As the name suggests, the Projectile Protection enchantment safeguards you from attacks thrown at you from a distance. These can include arrows, tridents, shulker bullets, llama spit, blaze fireballs, and ghast fireballs. However, keep in mind that it’s one of the least used best armor enchantments in Minecraft due to its limited functionality. Additionally, it doesn’t protect you from certain attacks, such as splash potions, dragon fireballs, and fireworks.

4. Fire Protection

• Maximum Level: 4
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: Protection, Blast Protection, Projectile Protection

The next armor enchantment on our list works the same way as Potion of Fire Resistance. It reduces the damage caused by any type of fire-based attack, including lava, magma blocks, fire charges, blaze fireballs, and, of course, fire. However, for some reason, this armor enchantment in Minecraft can’t protect you from damage caused by touching blazes or ghast fireballs.

5. Feather Falling

• Maximum Level: 4
• Can Be Applied To: Leggings
• Incompatible With: None

Our next entry in our long list of best armor enchantments in Minecraft focuses on reducing one of the most common types of damage in the game. Yeah, we are talking about fall damage. With up to 4 levels, this enchantment reduces the damage caused by falling. Well, your falling speed will still be the same, but the impact damage will be reduced. Unlike other protection enchantments, you can apply Feather Falling only on boots.

6. Respiration

• Maximum Level: 3
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

Respiration is a helmet-based enchantment that extends underwater breathing time by up to 60 seconds. You can get an additional 10 seconds when applied to a turtle shell helmet. But if you want something even better to explore the underwater world for a longer time, go for an 8-minute Potion of Water Breathing.

7. Thorns

• Maximum Level: 3
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

Going beyond protection, for now, our next enchantment focuses on combat. Playing on the concept of tit for tat, this enchantment causes damage to anyone who damages you in Minecraft. The damage can be caused by any projectile or melee attack. Although the damage isn’t dealt with each time.

At the 4th level of this enchantment, there is a 68% chance of reverse damage to the attacker. Yeah, you still receive damage from their attack, but at least you don’t have to be the only one. You can increase your chances by wearing multiple items with this enchantment. Thorns also cause a knockback to the enemy, giving you a chance to escape.

8. Depth Strider

• Maximum Level: 3
• Can Be Applied To: Leggings
• Incompatible With: Frost Walker

Depth Strider is a boot-exclusive enchantment in Minecraft. It allows you to move faster underwater. The way it works is by reducing the speed at which the water’s flow pushes you back. It has 3 levels of enchantment, and at level 3, you can swim as fast as you walk on land. Combined with an enchanted helmet, this can allow you to explore oceans easily in Minecraft.

There’s an additional status effect called Dolphin’s Grace attached to this armor enchantment in Minecraft. You can swim even faster than normal if there’s a dolphin nearby. This effect works on both editions of this sandbox game, but for some reason, its status indicator is only visible in the Java edition.

9. Aqua Affinity

• Maximum Level: 1
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

While we are concentrating on the oceans, you can also apply the Aqua Affinity enchantment on your helmets. When applied, it increases your mining speed underwater. Usually, it takes 5 times longer than regular mining while you are underwater. There is merely one level to this enchantment, and you cannot upgrade it any further. And since it’s a basic enchantment, you can combine it with other enchantments too.

10. Unbreaking

• Maximum Level: 3
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

Unbreaking is one of the best armor enchantments in Minecraft, which is also common for any item in the game that has durability. This effectively increases the item’s durability. However, technically speaking, it reduces the chances of your armor’s durability going down. At unbreaking’s maximum level of 3, the armor has 30% lower chances of losing durability.

Comparatively, it is one of the easier enchantments to find in-game. But since you have to apply it to each armor piece and your tools individually, it doesn’t usually help. Most players reserve unbreaking for their shields or weapons.

11. Mending

• Maximum Level: 1
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: Infinity

If you don’t encounter unbreaking or choose not to apply it, you can put the mending enchantment to good use. As the name suggests, this enchantment allows you to repair your armor in Minecraft. In a sense, it restores the decreased durability of your armor. Like a few other enchantments, you can only apply it by using an anvil.

Whenever you get experience orbs, they automatically mend your broken armor pieces with mending applied to them. If you have multiple items with mending applied, Minecraft randomly chooses one to repair. It isn’t the most productive way to repair, but it is effective with a smaller batch of items.

12. Frost Walker

• Maximum Level: 2
• Can Be Applied To: Leggings
• Incompatible With: Depth Strider

A majority of the best armor enchantments in Minecraft are exclusive to boots. But worry not, as the Frost Walker is one of the most unique enchantments in Minecraft. When activated, it lets you create ice blocks while walking over water. So, any water block immediately under your feet will turn into ice, whether you are on the ground or in the ocean.

If that isn’t enough to impress you, it also provides immunity from damage caused by magma blocks and campfires. So keep in mind that you need to keep moving as the ice melts quickly. Although you can expect it to last longer in cold biomes and at night. The Minecraft mountain seeds are a good place to try this enchantment.

13. Soul Speed

• Maximum Level: 3
• Can Be Applied To: Leggings
• Incompatible With: None

Our next enchantment is a weird one. It’s exclusive to boots, as the name suggests, and it allows you to walk faster. But it only works while you are walking on soul sand or soul soil. Both of these are exclusive to the Nether dimension. Probably, because of that, you can only find this enchantment in the Nether dimension. So, if you want to travel faster in the Nether, it’s time to make a Nether portal. It has 3 levels of speed, and each of them is similar to the Potion of Swiftness.

14. Curse of Binding

• Maximum Level: 1
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

Among the two curses that you can apply to armor in Minecraft, the Curse of Binding is the less punishing one. But the worst part is that you can’t even remove it. With this curse, you can’t remove any armor piece after wearing it. The only way to remove your armor with the Curse of Binding is by death. Once you die, you can go back to that place to pick this item back up. Or, you can always wait for the item’s durability to run out.

15. Curse of Vanishing

• Maximum Level: 1
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

Even with a binding attached to it, you can die in survival gameplay and use your item normally. However, the Curse of Vanishing removes your item when you die. It means that instead of dropping at the place of your death, it despawns from the world. The only good use of this curse is if that other player can’t steal your items in multiplayer mode.

However, it’s still wise not to add other enchantments to anything with a Curse of Vanishing. And just like any other curse, you can’t remove it from your armor. Fortunately, neither the Curse of Vanishing nor binding is common in the game. So, you don’t have to worry too much.

16. Swift Sneak

• Maximum Level: 1
• Can Be Applied To: Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, Turtle Shell
• Incompatible With: None

The Swift Sneak is the only leggings-exclusive enchantment in the game. It allows players to walk at a higher pace while sneaking. Technically, there are 3 natural levels of this enchantment, each increasing your speed by 25%. The only way to obtain this enchantment is from the loot chests of ancient cities in the deep dark biome of Minecraft. 

Best Minecraft Enchantments For Each Armor Piece

With the power of the best armor enchantments in Minecraft, you are ready to take on the most dangerous in-game mobs. But try to mix things up a little. You don’t have to apply all enchantments to the same piece of armor in the game. For example, enabling different protection enchantments can reduce damage in various cases, even at a lower level. Moreover, boot-exclusive enchantments like Feather Falling can be a lifesaver against fall damage. So, check out the following list of the best enchantments you can apply to each armor piece in their decreasing priority:

Helmet

• Mending 1
• Unbreaking 3
• Protection 4
• Respiration 3
• Aqua Affinity 1
• Thorns 3

Chestplate

• Mending 1
• Unbreaking 3
• Protection 4
• Thorns 3

Leggings

• Mending 1
• Protection 4
• Unbreaking 3
• Thorns 3
• Swift Sneak 3

Boots

• Feather Falling 4
• Mending 1
• Protection 4
• Unbreaking 3
• Frost Walker 2 (or Depth Strider 3)
• Soul Speed 3
• Thorns 3

With that, the list of best enchantments for armor in Minecraft comes to an end. Most of them are not easy to find, so keep exploring. What are your favorite armor enchantment combinations from the list? Let us know in the comments below.