Mending in Minecraft [What It Does + How to Get One]

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Are you a fan of Minecraft? If yes, you’ve probably felt the frustration of having a weapon break when you need it the most. Fortunately, the Mending enchantment lets you quickly fix your weapons and tools.

But what exactly does Mending do in Minecraft? Read on to find out!

What Does Mending Do in Minecraft

How Does Mending Work in Minecraft?

Mending works by repairing Minecraft tools like armor and weapons that are near breaking point. You need experience points (XP) to use Mending. To get XP, you can trade with villagers, farm, mine, kill mobs, and catch fish.

The faster you gain the points, the quicker you can increase or repair the items’ durability. The Mending enchantment works on selected items, including armor and weapons held on your off- and main-hand and those amongst the first 4 armor positions. 

Important! Every XP you gain is equivalent to two durability points. The more damage your weapon has, the more XP you need to repair it. 

What Items Can You Use Mending For?

What Items Use Mending in Minecraft

Here are items you can use mending for: 

  • Armor Varieties.
    You can mend armor such as helmets, boots, leggings, turtle shells, tridents, chest plates, elytra, turtle shells, and shields.
  • Tool Types.
    Mending enchantments work on tools such as pickaxes, axes, fishing rods, shears, how, shovels, hoes, flint, steel, carrots, or wrapped fungus on a stick. 
  • Weapons.
    Minecraft mending does work on weapons like swords, bows, and crossbows.

Torn between using a Minecraft axe or sword? Check out this post!

However, you cannot combine mending on tools with other enchantments like Infinity. The two are exclusive enchantments; thus, only one can work on an item at a time. The Infinity enchantment works on crossbows, allowing you to shoot arrows without using your own. 

Note. Mending lasts depending on the tasks performed with a specific item. It depletes easily when doing activities that do not grant experience orbs. For instance, using a pickaxe to only mine stone can easily damage it, unlike when mining coal and other ores. 

How To Get Mending Enchantment on Minecraft

You’ll find Mending in Minecraft in enchanted books. Searching for an enchanted book all over your Minecraft world will help you find a Mending enchantment. However, it’s worth noting that not all enchanted books will have the enchantment.

Here’s how to get Mending enchantment on Minecraft: 

Method 1. Chest Loot

Getting Mending Enchantment Through Chest Loot

Performing a Chest Loot is the primary method of obtaining Mending enchantment in Minecraft within specific structures and regions, such as temples, dungeons, mineshafts, ancient cities, strongholds, and villages. 

Once you locate a chest, interact with it to open it and sift through its contents. Also, you might be lucky and encounter other valuable loot, such as a mix of enchantments, resources, and rare items. 

Important: Not all books contain the Minecraft Mending enchantment. Ensure that you prioritize the mentioned areas to have a better chance. 

Method 2. Fishing

Getting Mending Enchantment Through Fishing

Fishing is an ideal way of getting Mending books. You only need a fishing rod to fish in various water bodies around the Minecraft world. The process involves casting the rod into the water and reeling the treasures. However, getting an enchanted book in random water collections is rare. 

An alternative and better fishing method is to create an AFK fishing farm. Fishing in these zones involves taking the fishing rod in your hand by pressing and holding your cursor’s right button. 

Position the rod at a right angle for a more accurate reeling. The rod’s hopper will collect the chest, which might have a mending enchantment book. 

Method 3. Through Villager Trading

Getting Mending Enchantment Through Villager Trading

Trading with a villager is the best way to get Mending books because it’s quick and simple. All you need to do is find a village, isolate them, and assign them a librarian career. 

Making a lectern can turn a villager into a librarian. Add four wooden slabs and a bookshelf to the crafting table to make a lectern. Place the finished product next to the villager, and they will automatically take the librarian career. 

To trade with the librarian villager, open the trading menu and pick anything you want to trade. If the librarian didn’t offer Mending, pick the lectern back and turn another villager into a librarian.

How to Repair Gear With Mending

Here’s how to repair your gear with the Mending enchantment you acquired from villager trading:

  • Step 1. Select the gear you’ll repair. 
  • Step 3. Click on “Experience Orbs” to initiate the item repair.  

    Click Your Experience Orbs to Repair with Mending

After healing your weapons and tools, the remaining XP goes to your experience bar. However, the orbs will be unused or not added to the XP gauge if the items selected need no repair. 

Why Is Your Pickaxe Not Mending?

Your pickaxe isn’t mending because it’s not in the armor slot or you’re not holding it in your hand during the repair process. You might also have surpassed the maximum number of times to repair a tool. In survival mode, you can only mend an item 6 times.

Another reason your pickaxe is not mending is insufficient XP. A pickaxe is a tool used to mine ores and rocks, so it will not generate a lot of XP when used to kill mobs.

To mend your pickaxe, switch to a sword and kill mobs. Then, fast-switch back to the pickaxe and take the XP orbs. The orbs you collect will automatically repair your pickaxe.

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