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Minecraft 1.21: Best Shovel Enchantments

The current latest game version is 1.21, "Tricky Trials," bringing new blocks and challenges. As you go into building and exploring, you will need the right tools to gather resources efficiently. No shovel is complete without the right enchantments, especially if you want to clear sand, dirt, or gravel at warp speed.

A poorly enchanted shovel can turn a simple task like clearing out a large area into a miserable grind, slowing down your entire progression in the game. With the latest game version and the tougher trials it brings, maximizing the efficiency of all your tools is more important than ever.

This minecraft tutorial will break down the best enchantments for your shovel, explaining what each one does and how to combine them for ultimate resource gathering power. We will cover the core enchantments like Mending and Unbreaking and the resource-modifying enchantments like Fortune and Silk Touch.

Efficiency

Efficiency is perhaps the most important enchantment for your shovel, as its main purpose is to increase the speed at which you break blocks.

The Efficiency enchantment increases your mining speed when you are using the shovel to mine blocks mineable with the tool, such as dirt, sand, gravel, and snow. This enchantment goes up to level V, meaning Efficiency V is the highest level you can get.

At its highest level, Efficiency V, when combined with the Haste effect from a Beacon or Conduit, allows for instant mining. This is incredibly useful when you need to clear out a huge area of sand or gravel without stopping to wait for the block to break. When you add Efficiency to your netherite shovel, it becomes one of the fastest tools in the game. This level V is often compared to level IV or other high-tier enchantments labeled iii v.

Unbreaking

The Unbreaking enchantment is a must-have for all your tools and weapons, especially if you plan on using your shovel for an extended period.

Unbreaking III increases the durability of your shovel, giving it a chance to avoid taking damage when you break a block. The unbreaking enchantment has three levels, with Unbreaking III being the maximum. This enchantment effectively multiplies the life of your shovel, meaning you have to repair it far less often. This iii similar protection is also used on armor to protect the player.

A netherite shovel with Unbreaking III is virtually impossible to break if it is combined with the Mending enchantment for automatic repair. Most players consider Unbreaking III to be one of the best enchantments because it saves you time and materials on repairs. For example, this protection is used on diamond boots and other pieces of armor to increase their life span under more circumstances.

Mending

Mending is another core enchantment that you should always add to your favorite tools and armor.

The Mending enchantment uses Experience Points (XP) you collect from killing mobs or mining to automatically repair your shovel. This means that every time you collect an XP orb while holding the shovel, the mending enchantment will repair it before adding the XP to your experience bar. This process is critical for efficiency at XP farms.

A shovel with Mending and Unbreaking III has infinite durability in normal gameplay, as it is constantly being repaired as you mine or collect mob drops. The mending enchantment is only obtainable from enchanted books found by fishing, looting, or trading with a Librarian villager. This enchantment is also highly valued on weapons and armor used in skeleton farms or wither skeleton farms, where you fight multiple mobs.

Silk Touch

Silk Touch is a resource-modifying enchantment that completely changes how certain blocks drop when they are broken.

A shovel with Silk Touch will cause blocks to drop their actual form instead of their normal dropped item. For example, mining a Grass Block with a normal shovel will drop Dirt, but with Silk Touch, it will drop the Grass Block itself. This is essential for gathering many blocks like Mycelium or mushroom blocks. You can also enchant shears with Silk Touch to collect cobwebs and leaves.

The Silk Touch enchantment is also mutually exclusive with Fortune, meaning you cannot have both enchantments on the same shovel. If you need to move blocks like Glowstone, Ice, or Grass Blocks for building, Silk Touch is the best enchantment to use. This enchantment is also useful on other tools to get a specific type of block that would normally break down.

Fortune

Fortune is another resource-modifying enchantment that will increase the quantity of certain items dropped when you break a block.

The Fortune enchantment goes up to level III, with Fortune III being the highest. When used on a shovel, Fortune will increase the amount of Flint you get from Gravel Blocks and will increase the amount of Nether Wart and Warped Fungus you harvest in the Nether. The fortune shovel is incredibly useful for gathering hard-to-find Nether resources in bulk.

Fortune III increases the drop rate for Flint to 100%, and it also increases the yield for Nether Wart by up to effectively quadrupling the amount you harvest. Since Fortune is mutually exclusive with Silk Touch, most players will craft two different shovels: one with Fortune and one with Silk Touch. This same principle applies to other tools like pickaxes.

All Shovel Enchantments Listed

The following enchantments are all the possible enchantments that can be applied to a shovel in the latest game version, Minecraft 1.21. You can get these enchantments from an enchanting table or by using enchanted books on an Anvil.

Enchantment Name Max Level Effect Mutually Exclusive With
Efficiency V Increases mining speed for blocks None
Unbreaking III Increases the durability of the shovel None
Mending I Repairs the shovel using XP orbs None
Silk Touch I Blocks drop themselves instead of items Fortune
Fortune III Increases the amount of certain block drops Silk Touch
Curse of Vanishing I Item vanishes upon player death None
Curse of Binding I Cannot be removed from certain slots (no effect on tools) None
These shovel enchantments provide a wide range of benefits, from speeding up your mining to increasing the amount of resources you collect. You can combine many of these different enchantments on the same shovel, but remember that Silk Touch and Fortune are mutually exclusive.

How To Enchant Shovel In Minecraft

There are two main ways to enchant a shovel in Minecraft: using an enchanting table or combining it with enchanted books on an Anvil. You will need Lapis Lazuli and Experience Levels for both methods.

Using an Enchanting Table

The Enchanting Table is the first method for applying shovel enchantments, and it is a cost-effective way to start in the early game. To begin the process, you need to place your shovel in the left slot and Lapis Lazuli in the right slot. The table will then display three random enhancements from a range of possible enchantment level options.

To ensure the best possible outcomes, you must maximize the power of the table by properly placing Bookshelves around it. This set-up is necessary to access the highest enchantment level options available for your shovel, such as Unbreaking III and Efficiency V.

The requirements for accessing high-tier enchants are as follows:

  • You must surround the enchanting table with fifteen Bookshelves.

  • You need to maintain a one-block air gap between the table and the Bookshelves.

  • The random options will always vary in XP cost and enchantment level.

Using Enchanted Books on an Anvil

Using the Anvil is the most reliable way to get the best shovel enchantments, as it provides absolute control over which enchants are applied. You initiate the transfer by placing the shovel in the first slot and an enchanted book in the second slot, allowing you to stack enchants like Mending.

The cost of combining items or books is paid in XP, and it increases with every enchantment added due to the prior work penalty. Be warned that applying too many other enchantments in sequence will eventually result in the Anvil displaying a "Too Expensive" message, making further enhancements impossible.

Key facts about Anvil enchanting:

  • The Anvil is the only place where you can apply Mending to your shovel.

  • You can always rename your shovel in the Anvil for a small XP fee.

  • The XP cost is determined by the enchantment level and the number of previous times the shovel has been modified.

Combining Enchantments

The most efficient use of the Anvil is to prepare your enchantments first to save on the total costs when building your ultimate late-game tool. You can combine two enchanted books to create one book that holds multiple enchantment orders, drastically reducing the XP cost of the final application.

Additionally, you can use the Anvil to increase the enchantment level of your tools and books by merging them. The process is simple, but it is a critical step for reaching the highest tiers like Unbreaking III and Efficiency V.

Methods for optimizing enchantment combination:

  • Merging Levels: Combine two shovels with the same enchantment level (e.g., Efficiency II) to get one shovel with a higher level (Efficiency III).

  • Cost Optimization: Always combine your enchanted books first before applying them to your final tool to ensure the lowest possible total costs.

  • Book Combining: Consolidate multiple enchants onto a single book to bypass multiple XP penalties when applying to the shovel.

Conclusion

Mastering shovel enchantments is key to maximizing your resource gathering in Minecraft 1.21. The best enchantments for your shovel are Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, and Mending, as this combination gives you instant mining speed and infinite durability. These enchantments are found on many tools and weapons, such as a sword that increases damage.

Since Silk Touch and Fortune are mutually exclusive, it is best to have two shovels: one with Silk Touch for collecting blocks like Grass and mushroom blocks, and one with Fortune III for collecting Nether resources like nether wart. Remember that other enchantments like protection iv on armor or quick charge iii on a crossbow are just as important for your overall survival. Always look for enchanted books to get the specific type of enhancement you need.