- Breach is a Minecraft enchantment that allows the mace to reduce the effectiveness of the target's armor value by a certain percentage.
- There are two ways to get the breach enchantment. One is through the enchanting table and the other using the breach enchanted book.
- Breach is a lot more useful in the multiplayer PvP worlds than in single-player due to its effectiveness against armored mobs and players.
The Minecraft Mace has several unique mechanics along with a special set of enchantments designed specifically for adding a bunch of buffs to it. Among them, the Breach enchantment stands out due to its ability to counter armored enemies. So, you might be wondering: what does Breach do in Minecraft? So follow this guide to learn all about this enchantment, how to obtain it, and all of its abilities.
What Does Breach Do in Minecraft? Quick Answer
Breach is among the few Mace-exclusive enchantments in Minecraft that reduces the effectiveness of a target’s armor. Note that this enchantment doesn’t increase the damage of the Mace weapon but weakens the protection provided by your enemy’s armor.
If you’re still confused and asking what Breach does in Minecraft, the simple answer is that with every level of Breach, the armor effectiveness reduces by 15%. Keep reading to learn about the abilities of the Mace enchantment in detail.
How to Get the Breach Enchantment in Minecraft
Players can get the Breach enchantment for the Mace using two methods: using an enchanting table or an enchanting book. So, here are the detailed steps on unlocking this power-up.
Method 1: Enchanting Table
The first method is easier than the latter and requires you to use the enchanting table. Simply put the Mace in the left slot on the enchanting table and lapis lazuli next to it.
Breach enchantment might appear in one of three available slots. If there are 15 bookshelves around this block, providing the enchanting table maximum level capabilities, then you can get Breach 3 on the Mace at most. This means you’ll need to combine the enchantments to get the maximum Breach 4 enchantment. Our linked guide explains this process in depth.
Method 2: Enchanting Book
The second method to get the enchantment is to find it in enchanted book form in the world. All structures with enchanted books can generate the Breach enchantment in Minecraft. However, the most reliable place to visit is the trial chambers, where the Breach enchanted book can be obtained from the ominous vaults.
Having obtained the Breach enchanted book, you can put up a Minecraft Anvil on the ground and right-click on it to open its UI. Place the Mace in the leftmost slot and the enchanted book in the middle one. The result is given in the rightmost slot where the Mace gets the Breach enchantment in Minecraft.
Moreover, if you’re able to acquire multiple Breach enchanted books, you can combine them to create their stronger versions. The process of combining enchanted books is very similar to that of combining enchantments on the Mace.
How Does the Breach Enchantment Work in Minecraft?
After you apply the Breach enchantment to the Mace weapon, it’s time to learn how it works in Minecraft. Breach allows the Mace to ignore a percentage of the enemy’s armor value. Each level of Breach will add 15% to this percentage. So, Breach 1 will reduce the effectiveness of the target’s armor by 15%, but Breach 4 has a much greater advantage, as it disregards 60% of the armor value. Here’s how the enchantment scales:
| Breach Level | Armor Effectiveness Reduced By |
|---|---|
| Breach 1 | 15% |
| Breach 2 | 30% |
| Breach 3 | 45% |
| Breach 4 | 60% |
In practice, this means that Breach only has use against armored mobs and players. It does nothing in a fight with regular mobs. To put in perspective how powerful a Minecraft Breach is, here’s a little rundown of what it can do at the maximum Breach 4 level.
- Breach 4 Mace can kill a player with full Protection 4 enchanted netherite armor in 8 critical hits.
- Breach 4 Mace can kill a player with full Protection 4 enchanted leather armor in 7 critical hits.
- Breach 4 Mace can kill a player with Protection 4 enchanted netherite, iron, or leather armor in 4 critical hits with the combination of the Strength 2 status effect.
Minecraft Breach vs Density: Which is Better?
One of the biggest choices that players face is deciding which Minecraft enchantment they should use on the Mace weapon. The reason is that Breach and Density are incompatible enchantments, so you can apply them only one at a time.
Because of the special use cases, Breach enchantment is a lot more suited for multiplayer PvP battles than single-player survival mode in Minecraft. One more noteworthy thing to mention about the Breach is that it is incompatible with the other damage enchantments, such as Smite and Bane of Arthropods. So, if you are playing in your solo survival world, don’t bother obtaining Breach, as it’s not very useful.
On the other hand, Density increases the damage dealt by smash attacks based on the distance you fall before striking an enemy. This is excellent for single-player Minecraft worlds because it boosts the raw damage output against every target that you aim for from a high ground.
So, for most single-player worlds, Density is the stronger option; however, for competitive combat, you should always go with the Breach enchantment.
With that said, that is all you should know about the Breach enchantment in Minecraft. There are two more Mace enchantments available, and they are far better than Breach in the single-player worlds. While you’re here, do have a look at the best Minecraft seeds to generate some cool worlds for your first single-player adventure. So, what are your thoughts on using this enchantment in survival mode? Let us know in the comments below.
Breach 3 enchantment for the Mace reduces all armor effectiveness by 45%. At this level, players wearing diamond or netherite armor lose nearly half of the protection that they normally provide.
Breach 4 reduces the armor effectiveness by 60%. So, a player wearing full Protection 4 netherite armor can be defeated in roughly 8 critical hits.
Since most of the mobs do not spawn wearing any armor, the Breach enchantment is practically of no use. It only targets enemies with armor points and can be good against mobs like, zombies or skeletons wearing armor, Shulkers, the Wither boss, and Magma Cubes.
