From an armored wolf to the playful Breeze, there are a variety of dangers in the world of Minecraft. The only thing that stands between you and the damage is a trusty armor. So, it’s only natural to push it to its limits. Focusing exactly on that we are uncovering all the best Minecraft armor enchantments and how to get them.
Minecraft Armor Enchantments (2024)
The value of an enchantment in Minecraft depends upon your situation and needs. Keeping that in mind, feel free to explore our list in any order.
What Consists of an Armor in Minecraft
In Minecraft, four main elements make up your armor, including:
- Chestplate
- Helmet
- Leggings
- Boots
Moreover, the game also counts the Turtle Shell Helmet in the same category as other helmets. So, you can apply enchantments in Minecraft to upgrade any of these items irrespective of their base material.
1. Aqua Affinity
- Items: Helmet
- Max Level: 1
The oceans of Minecraft are a hub of resources including blocks, mobs, and even ores. But, mining underwater can be a major challenge. Compared to mining on land, your speed is five times slower beneath the water.
Luckily, you can use Aqua Affinity in Minecraft to easily cancel it. This simple yet powerful enchantment cancels the mining penalty and restores your mining speed. Though, you cannot use it to mine faster than on land.
2. Blast Protection
- Items: All armor pieces
- Max Level: 4
Whether you are looting structures like the desert temple or fighting players on Minecraft Bedwars, blasts are inevitable. Without proper protection, most of the time these explosions can be pretty fatal. That's where the Blast Protection enchantment comes into the picture.
At its highest level, it can cancel up to 32% of incoming damage from explosives. These include everything from a random Creeper to TNT and even firework rockets. The only drawback is that you cannot combine it with other variants of the protection enchantments.
3. Curse of Binding
- Items: All armor pieces
-
Max Level: 1
Titled as one of the most hated enchantments in the game, the Curse of Binding can be quite annoying. With it on, you cannot take off any piece of your armor until it breaks or you die. The only way this enchantment can be useful is when you are trying to prank your friends on Minecraft SMP servers.
4. Depth Strider
- Items: Boots
- Max Level: 3
Irrespective of how much you try, Minecraft never lets you swim as fast as you can walk on the land. But since most of its world is covered with an ocean, this simple mechanic can feel quite daunting.
To fix that, you need to apply the Depth Strider enchantment on your boots. It restores your on-land speed by 1/3 with every new level. But it never lets you swim faster than walking on land even using commands. Coincidentally, this enchantment is similar to the grace of the Penguins that lost 2023's mob vote.
5. Feather Falling
- Items: Boots
- Max Level: 4
In a world filled with tall structures and massive mountains, one wrong step can lead you right to your death. Luckily, you can counter all fall damage in Minecraft with the Feather falling enchantment. But, contrary to its name, it doesn't make you fall slower.
Instead, it reduces the amount of damage you get from a usual fall. At its highest level, you can avoid a fatal fall from the massive height of 41 blocks. If you want to go any higher, you need to add other protection enchantments to the mix.
6. Fire Protection
- Items: All armor pieces
- Max Level: 4
Have you ever taken a trip to the Nether dimension only to fall in lava and lose all your items? This tragic scenario is a common scenario for hundreds of Minecraft players. But, you can use the Fire Protection to counter not only lava but all fire-based damage in the game.
But, it isn't as reliable as a Potion of Fire Resistance. Instead, you can only eliminate a maximum of 32% damage with all four levels. Though, applying it to all your armor pieces can help you stack up protection and resist more damage.
7. Frost Walker
- Items: Boots
- Max Level: 2
Among all the best armor enchantments in Minecraft, the Frost Walker is probably the coolest. True to its name, it allows you to walk on top of water by turning it into ice. But, the ice you create is only temporary and slowly melts once you walk away.
So, while you can't use it to create a path for your boats, it is much faster than swimming. Moreover, you cannot combine Frost Walker with other water-based enchantments in the game. It cannot help you mine or move faster beneath the water's surface.
8. Projectile Protection
- Items: All armor pieces
- Max Level: 4
With Bogged, the new hostile mob walking around Minecraft, you are more susceptible to arrows than ever before. So, it's about time that you counter any projectiles with this armor enchantment. Similar to other protection types, this one also focuses on a particular type of damage and reduces it.
While you can still get hurt from projectiles, the damage is quite negligible. The attacks it affects include tridents, Shulker bullets, spit, arrows, and fireballs. Plus, in the next update, you might be able to cancel the wind charge as well.
9. Protection
- Items: All armor pieces
- Max Level: 4
Collecting various best armor enchantments in Minecraft to cancel different attacks can be tiring. That's why we have one enchantment to rule them all. With Protection, you can defy all types of damage at once.
Compared to other enchantments, the overall damage reduction can be lower in certain conditions. But, since you never know what attack is coming your way, Protection is still a better option.
10. Respiration
- Items: Helmet
- Max Level: 3
As you can guess by its name, the Respiration allows you to breathe underwater in Minecraft. When you dive into the water, the game only gives you 15 seconds of oxygen. With the highest level of Respiration, you can push this number to a total of one minute.
While it might not feel like much, it's enough time to collect ores or kill most mobs. Not to forget, you can also apply this enchantment on a turtle shell helmet to get an additional ten seconds.
11. Soul Speed
- Items: Boots
- Max Level: 3
While most players avoid this enchantment, Soul Speed can be a lifesaver within the Nether dimension. It lets you walk and run faster on top of soul soil and soul sandblocks. Both of these blocks are common in all Nether biomes.
Moreover, if you have the time, you can even create a road in the overworld using these blocks. Some players even use soil blocks around their bases to outrun hostile mobs and intruders.
12. Thorns
- Items: All armor pieces
- Max Level: 3
Putting tit for tat into action, Thorns is one of the most powerful Minecraft armor enchantments. It deals back some amount of damage that you receive from the attacker. At its maximum level, you can deal a total of 61.18% amount of the original damage.
But whenever your armor deals damage, it also loses 2 points of durability. This simple mechanic prevents you from creating indestructible armor stands. Though, you can still use Thorns to give your villagers to protect them from Pillagers.
13. Swift Sneak
- Items: All armor pieces
- Max Level: 3
Perfect to counter the Warden, the Swift Sneak helps you walk faster while sneaking. At its highest level, you can move at your regular walking speed without triggering any Sculk sensors.
As you might expect, most players use it while exploring the Ancient Cities. But, it can also help you cancel traps that use Sculk blocks for triggering. On servers, it offers a great solution to sneak up on your enemies without them noticing.
Top Armor Enchantments for Minecraft
As you might have noticed, a lot of these enchantments require Enchanted Books in Minecraft to unlock them. Luckily, our linked guide will help you get most of them in no time and then you can use an anvil to apply them. For the remaining, you have to rely upon an Enchantment Table instead. Good luck with your search!