When it comes to a typical day in Minecraft, players often find themselves on a never-ending cycle of hunting for resources to craft tools or using their current tools to obtain the items they need. But this cycle can become tiresome when those tools inevitably lose their durability. Luckily, an anvil may be just the solution you need. With an anvil, players can repair their tools, prolong their lifespan, and even add personalized names or enchantments to them. It's a must-have for players that want to maximize their efficiency on the best Minecraft prison servers. So, let's jump right in and learn how to make an anvil in Minecraft!

How to Make an Anvil in Minecraft (2023)

Our guide covers everything about the anvil in separate sections, from its crafting recipe to its usage. Please check them out in sequence to avoid confusion.

What is an Anvil in Minecraft

The anvil is a unique and versatile utility block in Minecraft. It enables players to rename blocks, merge enchantments, and repair equipment. This multitude of functionalities makes it more powerful than most other utility blocks that often only have one ability.

However, what makes the anvil truly unique are its weaknesses. Unlike most blocks, anvils are gravity affected and fall down there's no supporting block beneath them. Furthermore, each anvil has limited durability, just like tools. Overusing or damaging the anvil can cause it to disappear, but we'll discuss this in more detail later on.

Where to Find Anvils

Naturally, anvils only spawn in the forge rooms of the Woodland Mansions of Minecraft. You can't find them in villages, chest loot, or even through mob loot. So, the best option for you is to learn how to make an anvil in Minecraft and create a bunch of its copies.

Items Required to Make an Anvil

Here are all the items you need to craft an anvil in Minecraft:

• 3 Blocks of Iron
• 4 Iron Ingots
• Crafting Table

As you can notice, iron is a major element when it comes to the creation of an anvil. So, you first have to use our Minecraft ore distribution guide to find a bunch of iron ores in your world. Once you find the ore, you have to use a stone pickaxe or stronger to break the ore and obtain raw iron.

Later, you will even have to smelt the raw iron within a furnace and turn it into an iron ingot. Crafting an anvil requires only 4 iron ingots, but you need a total of 31 iron ingots to make the three required blocks of iron. Each block of iron requires 9 iron ingots to create.

How to Make an Anvil in Minecraft (Crafting Recipe)

Once you have collected all the required ingredients, follow these simple steps to create an anvil in Minecraft:

1. To begin, right-click or use your secondary action key to open a crafting table in Minecraft.

2. Then, completely fill up the first row of the crafting grid by placing three blocks of iron in it.

3. Next, place three iron ingots in the bottommost row of the crafting grid.

4. Finally, put one iron ingot in the middle slot of the second row of the crafting table. With that, your anvil is ready to use.

Uses of Anvils

Now that you know how to make an anvil in Minecraft, let's put this item to the test. Here are all the ways you can use an anvil in the game:

• Repairing: The anvil allows players to repair any damaged tool or armor piece quite easily. You just have to combine the damaged item with the material that it's made of or a damaged copy of itself.
• Naming: You can use an anvil to give a custom name to any item in the game. Furthermore, with the help of a name tag, you can even use it to give a name to any mob within Minecraft.
• Enchanting: If you combine an enchanted book with an item on an anvil, the enchantment from the book is transferred to the item.
• Map Editing: The anvil allows players to expand and edit a map.
• Attacking: Since the anvil is affected by gravity, it is also capable of falling on top of other blocks. The weight of the iron-based block means that any mob or item underneath it will take heavy damage.

How to Use an Anvil in Minecraft

The anvil has a very simple two-slot UI which is all you need to combine, repair and modify items. To modify an item, you need to place it in the left-side slot, while the material you want to use for repair goes in the right-side slot. If you place an enchanted book in the middle slot, it will transfer the enchantment to the item.

Moreover, there is also a title slot at the top part of the anvil in Minecraft where you can put the name you want to give to that item. This feature works on all items in the game including tools like Elytra, and you can even use it when the middle slot is empty.

Cost of Using an Anvil in Minecraft

If you had the option to use an anvil whenever an item in your kit took damage, it would completely eliminate the new to create new items. While it sounds convenient, such a mechanic would be overpowered and game-bringing. The developers recognize this, which is why every action you perform on an anvil comes with an "enchantment cost."

This cost is paid for by your in-game experience or XP level. and it increases exponentially with each new action. But once an item reaches level 40, it becomes "too expensive" for an anvil to take action on. Then, you can't repair, rename or enchant that item any further.

Damaged Anvil

Unlike most blocks in the world of Minecraft, the anvil comes with limited durability. As you use it more and more, its durability decreases, which is visually represented by the anvil's appearance. In addition to that, the anvil also takes fall damage from certain heights which decreases its durability. And once an anvil runs out of durability, it breaks and disappears.

But, you don't have to worry a lot as, on average, one anvil lasts through 25 actions and that's more than enough for most players. Just make sure to not drop it from a high place. Plus, now that you know how to make an anvil in Minecraft, you can replace the damaged ones in no time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the anvil be broken?

Whether it is through overuse or fall damage, an anvil can break whenever it runs out of durability.

Can you heal an anvil?

Unfortunately, there is no way to repair an anvil in Minecraft. But, you can use our guide to learn how to make an anvil in Minecraft whenever it breaks.

Do damaged anvils work?

The level of durability or damage taken by an anvil doesn't affect its functionality. You can use a damaged anvil to do all the tasks that you would use a brand-new anvil for.

Make and Use an Anvil in Minecraft

Just like that, you now know everything there is to know about how to make an anvil in Minecraft. It will make your armor and weapons like a diamond sword last way longer than usual. However, you will still need to get a bunch of experience orbs to get the job done. One of the simplest ways to do so is by breeding villagers or other similar mobs. Alternatively, you can also grab a Potion of Strength and hunt a bunch of mobs to make them drop XP orbs. With that out of the gate, do you think the anvil is an overpowered item, or does its cost level it down? Share your opinion on our Discord server!