It’s true – the incredibly popular sandbox video game Minecraft involves a lot more crafting, building, and exploration than melee fighting. Still, you’re always in danger of being attacked by a mob or creeper. Having a powerful weapon ready is great for combat in Minecraft, particularly if you’ve set the game’s difficulty level to ‘Hardcore.’
There are several weapons to choose from in Minecraft and plenty of enchantments that can make the weapon more powerful. It’s tough to decide the most powerful weapon in Minecraft, but after careful consideration, the Netherite Sword is a clear winner. However, it can be slightly tricky to craft this weapon, and adding the right enchantments can be an ordeal.
In earlier versions of Minecraft, swords were a clear-cut choice for powerful weapons, but after Minecraft’s 1.9 release, axes can do a lot more damage. Especially paired with enchantments, your axe isn’t just for chopping wood and can be a great weapon for combat. Stay tuned to the end of the article to find out how you can enchant your Netherite Sword so that it is the most powerful weapon in Minecraft.
The Most Powerful Weapon in Minecraft – The Netherite Sword
Netherite is one of the most recent materials released in Minecraft in the Java 1.16 version. Diamond was previously considered to be the most powerful material for weapons, but Netherite is tougher with much better knockback resistance. This means that players don’t move back if arrows hit them. Netherite was introduced as a material for players to upgrade their diamond weapons.
The Netherite Sword is currently the most powerful weapon in Minecraft, with an 8 in damage. Using enchantments will increase the damage even further.
The attack speed is 1.6, the same as the regular wooden sword in the game. However, the DPS (Damage per second) is higher than before, at 12.8. By contrast, the Diamond sword was only 11.2.
The Netherite Sword is only highly durable, with a durability of 2031. Clearly, you’ll be using Netherite for a long time once you have it. Until Minecraft rolls out an even tougher material, that is.
How to Craft a Netherite Sword
Crafting a Netherite sword is easy if you have a Diamond Sword and a Netherite ingot at the ready. Combining these two materials using the ‘Upgrade Weapon’ option in the Smithing Table will instantly give you a Netherite sword.
Most materials can be made into weapons on the crafting table from scratch using a recipe. Netherite is an exception to this rule. You cannot craft a Netherite weapon on its own. Instead, you’ll have to upgrade an old weapon with a Netherite ingot in order to turn it into a Netherite weapon.
If you don’t have a Netherite ingot, you will have to mine it. Here’s how to go about it:
- Netherite is found in the Nether region in Minecraft. This hell-like dimension is where you will be able to mine Ancient Debris. Nether is 127 blocks high, and players will have the best luck finding Ancient Debris on level 15. However, Ancient Debris can spawn anywhere between level 8 and level 119. Ancient Debris floats on lava and has a high resistance to explosions.
- It’s recommended that you reach the correct level and mine in any direction you wish. There’s no way to tell when the rare Ancient Debris will spawn, but it’s still relatively easy if you have a bit of patience. Use a Diamond pickaxe when mining Ancient Debris; otherwise, the Ancient Debris will not drop. It’s a good practice to be careful when mining in the Nether since it’s very easy to fall into the lava.
- Four blocks of Ancient Debris can be smelted into Netherite Scrap in a Furnace or Blast Furnace. You will need to have four Netherite Scraps in order to make one Netherite ingot.
- Place four netherite scraps and four gold ingots on the crafting table. You can place the scraps and gold ingots in any order since this is a shapeless recipe and will have the same result regardless of the placement. You will get one Netherite ingot from this recipe.
How to make an Enchanted Netherite Sword?
Netherite Swords is undoubtedly the most powerful weapon in Minecraft. However, you can increase the effectiveness of this weapon by adding powers through enchantments.
To bind an enchantment to a weapon, you’ll need to use an enchantment table. Alternatively, you can use an anvil or an in-game command (for certain enchantments only).
Here’s a list of all the enchantments in Minecraft you can use on your Netherite Sword:
| Enchantment | What does it do? | Incompatible with |
| Bane of Arthropods | This enchantment will increase the damage on your Netherite Sword when you encounter Arthoprod mobs (spiders, bees, silverfish) | The Bane of Arthropods enchantment is incompatible with the Sharpness, and Smite enchantments. |
| Curse of Vanishing | With this enchantment, you can curse your Netherite Sword to disappear if your player is killed. This way, no one gets to pick up your precious Netherite sword! | All sword enchantments are compatible with Curse of Vanishing. |
| Fire Aspect | A Netherite Sword enchanted with Fire Aspect will set enemies on fire. | All sword enchantments are compatible with Fire Aspect. |
| Knockback | Once you’ve enchanted Knockback on your Netherite Sword, enemies will repel backward (even more than before) | All sword enchantments are compatible with Knockback. |
| Loot | Netherite Swords can be enchanted with loot so that more loot drops when enemy mobs are killed. | All sword enchantments are compatible with Loot. |
| Mending | You can mend your Netherite Sword much faster with the Mending enchantment. It uses XP to perform this action. | All sword enchantments are compatible with Mending. |
| Sharpness | Netherite Swords enchanted with Sharpness have more attack damage in combat. | The Sharpness enchantment is incompatible with Bane of Arthropods and Smite enchantments. |
| Smite | You’ll need Smite on your Netherite Sword when fighting undead mobs – zombies, skeletons and wither bosses. | The Smite enchantment is incompatible with the Bane of Arthropods and Sharpness enchantments. |
| Sweeping Edge | A sweep attack gets much more powerful when Sweeping Edge is enchanted to a Netherite Sword. | All sword enchantments are compatible with Sweeping Edge. |
| Unbreaking | The Unbreaking enchantment increases the durability of your Netherite sword. | All sword enchantments are compatible with Unbreaking. |
Enchanting Netherite Sword
Now that you know of all the sword enchantments in Minecraft, it’s time to take a look at how to go about enchanting your Netherite Sword.
- Open your Enchanting table to the Enchanting menu. Place your Netherite sword in the first box and three Lapis Lazuli in the second box. Lapis Lazuli cannot be mined or crafted and has to be collected during your travels in the game. Luckily, it’s an easy stone to find.
- You will now see enchantments in the three enchantment slots. You will be able to choose enchantments based on your level of experience in the game. Some enchantments cannot be unlocked if you have insufficient experience. The fastest way to gain experience in Minecraft is through killing mobs.
- Select the enchantment for your Netherite Sword. Your Lapis Lazuli and experience points are now spent in exchange for the enchantment. The Netherite Sword glows purple. Hovering over the sword will show you the attack damage level and enchantments on it.
Equipping your Netherite Sword to its ultimate capabilities is fun since it allows you to use this powerful weapon while killing mobs, both alive and undead! If you’re looking for more enchantment guides, check out how to use Respiration in Minecraft.
