What Enchantments Can Be Put on a Crossbow in Minecraft?

Every Enchantment You Can Put on a Crossbow

Minecraft crossbows accept six total enchantments in standard survival mode. Three of these enchantments are built specifically for crossbow mechanics, two are general equipment protections, and one is a negative curse. Knowing what each upgrade does helps you plan your weapon build before you spend valuable lapis lazuli and experience levels at an enchanting table.

The three weapon-specific enchantments change how you shoot:

• Quick Charge (Levels I to III): This upgrade cuts your reload time. Each level trims 0.25 seconds off the reloading animation. At level III, your crossbow reloads in just 0.75 seconds, which is faster than pulling back a standard bow. It makes the weapon feel fast and responsive in crowded combat.
• Multishot (Level I): When you fire, the crossbow shoots three separate projectiles in a horizontal spread. It uses only one arrow or firework rocket from your inventory, but it drains weapon durability faster. It helps you control swarms of close enemies.
• Piercing (Levels I to IV): Your arrows pass straight through targets and keep traveling. At level IV, a single shot can pass through five mobs in a row. It shoots straight through player and mob shields, and you can pick up arrows off the ground after they pass through enemies.

The other three enchantments affect weapon maintenance and durability:

• Unbreaking (Levels I to III): Every time you shoot, the weapon has a chance to avoid losing durability (weapon health before it breaks). At level III, your crossbow lasts about four times longer before needing repairs.
• Mending (Level I): Any experience orbs you collect while holding the crossbow restore its weapon health. This keeps your weapon from ever breaking as long as you earn experience regularly.
• Curse of Vanishing (Level I): If you die while carrying the crossbow, it disappears forever instead of dropping on the ground. Most players avoid this curse unless they want to keep other players from looting their gear on multiplayer servers.

Multishot Versus Piercing: Which Upgrade Should You Choose?

You cannot combine Multishot and Piercing on the same crossbow in survival mode. The game treats them as incompatible, meaning they cannot be used together on the same item. If you place both on an anvil (the in-game repair and upgrade station), the anvil will reject the combination. That means you must choose which playstyle fits your needs.

Multishot works best for close-range crowd control. Firing three projectiles in an arc creates a wall of damage that pushes back swarms of cave spiders, silverfish, or zombie piglins. When you load firework rockets into your offhand slot, Multishot launches three explosive rockets at the same time. That explosion can wipe out an entire village raid group in seconds. But keep in mind that each shot takes three points of weapon health, so the weapon wears down quickly.

Piercing is the better choice for saving arrows and handling armored enemies. Because arrows pass through targets, you can walk forward and pick them back up from the ground or walls. That means a single stack of regular arrows can last through hours of adventuring. Piercing also works with tipped arrows, like Arrows of Harming or Poison. You apply the potion effect to every mob in a line and still collect the tipped arrow after the battle.

If you have extra resources, build two separate crossbows. Keep a Piercing crossbow for regular exploration and boss fights to save ammunition and pierce through shields. Keep a Multishot crossbow loaded with firework rockets on your hot-bar for emergency crowd control when you get cornered.

Standard Bow Enchantments That Do Not Work on Crossbows

Many players waste hard-earned books because they expect standard bow upgrades to work on a crossbow. Regular bows and crossbows belong to different weapon classes in the game code. An anvil will reject standard bow books, leaving you with wasted attempts if you do not know the limits beforehand.

These common bow enchantments never work on a crossbow:

• Infinity: You cannot get unlimited arrows on a crossbow. The developers excluded Infinity because crossbows can shoot explosive firework rockets and tipped potion arrows. Unlimited explosive rockets would break the combat balance of the game.
• Power: Crossbows deal a flat base damage of around 9 to 11 points (roughly 4.5 to 5.5 hearts of health) with standard arrows. You cannot boost this base hit damage with Power books. If you want more damage, you must load fireworks with multiple firework stars or use tipped arrows of harming.
• Flame: Crossbows cannot ignite arrows natively. If you want to light targets on fire from long range, you still need a standard bow with Flame.
• Punch: There is no knockback upgrade for crossbows. Crossbow shots push enemies back slightly on impact, but you cannot launch them backward like you can with a Punch II bow.

If you put an enchanted book with Power or Flame onto an anvil with a crossbow, a red cross appears over the arrow slot. The game will not take your experience points, but it will not upgrade your weapon either.

How to Assemble the Best Crossbow on an Anvil Step by Step

Every time you work on an item at an anvil, the game adds a hidden penalty that raises the experience cost for future upgrades. If you attach books one by one in a long line, the cost quickly climbs past 39 levels. Once that happens, the anvil shows a "Too Expensive" warning and blocks you completely. To avoid this, combine your books in pairs before putting them on your weapon.

1. Start with an un-enchanted crossbow at full durability.
   Reason: A fresh weapon starts with zero work penalty, keeping your total experience costs low throughout the process.
2. Choose between Piercing IV and Multishot before touching any tools.
   Reason: These two upgrades are incompatible, so choosing your path early prevents wasting rare enchanted books.
3. Combine an Unbreaking III book with a Mending book on your anvil.
   Reason: Merging these two utility books into one splits the anvil penalty evenly instead of piling it onto the weapon.
4. Combine a Quick Charge III book with your chosen combat book (Piercing IV or Multishot).
   Reason: Creating a combined combat book balances the penalty level of both book pairs before touching the crossbow.
5. Apply the utility book (Unbreaking III and Mending) to your crossbow on the anvil.
   Reason: Adding weapon health protections first gives your base crossbow solid durability for only a couple of experience levels.
6. Apply the combat book (Quick Charge III plus your combat upgrade) to the crossbow.
   Reason: Adding the final combat package finishes your build well under the 39-level cap, completely avoiding the "Too Expensive" error.
7. Rename your crossbow in the anvil menu during this final merge step.
   Reason: Renaming during the last step costs only one additional experience level and keeps your custom gear easy to identify.

Using Fireworks and Tipped Arrows for Maximum Damage

Crossbows have a unique trick that standard bows do not share: they can load and fire firework rockets directly from your offhand slot. When you put rockets in your shield hand, the crossbow automatically loads rockets instead of arrows from your inventory. This creates some of the highest burst damage available in the game.

Not every firework deals damage to enemies. Plain fireworks made with only paper and gunpowder create pretty sparks, but they cause zero damage. To make combat rockets, you must craft firework stars using gunpowder, dye, and extra ingredients like fire charges. Each firework star packed into a rocket raises its blast damage. A rocket crafted with seven firework stars can deal up to 18 points of damage (9 full hearts) in a single direct hit.

Pairing firework rockets with Multishot launches three explosive rockets at once for the cost of just one rocket from your offhand. If all three rockets detonate near a mob group, the overlapping blast damage can clear an entire pack of enemies instantly. Note that rockets do not work with the Piercing arrow recovery trick. Once a rocket explodes, it is gone for good, so keep a steady gunpowder farm running at your base.

FAQs

Can I put both Multishot and Piercing on the same crossbow?

No, standard survival mode does not allow both enchantments on one crossbow. The game treats them as incompatible, so an anvil will reject any attempt to merge them. You can only get both on one weapon by using creative mode inventory tabs or server commands.

Does Quick Charge make reloading faster than drawing a standard bow?

Yes, Quick Charge III drops reload time to 0.75 seconds, while drawing a standard bow fully takes about 1.0 second. That gives you faster sustained shooting during tight fights. You can also store a loaded crossbow in your hot-bar, allowing you to fire your first shot instantly without any draw time.

Why does an anvil say "Too Expensive" when adding enchantments?

An anvil displays this message whenever an upgrade requires 40 or more experience levels. Every time an item goes through an anvil, its hidden work penalty doubles. Combining your books into pairs before attaching them to the weapon keeps the cost low and prevents this lock.

Can you put Looting or Fortune on a crossbow?

No, Looting and Fortune only work on swords and mining tools. A crossbow will not accept them from an enchanting table or book. To get extra mob drops from distance, fire your projectile and switch to holding a Looting sword before the arrow hits the mob.