Learn to Use Enchanted Books in Minecraft (2022)
The methodology will remain the same on both Minecraft Bedrock and Java editions. We have tested the method detailed below on the new Minecraft 1.18 update. So, you can expect it to work on any new version of the game without any issues. We will first try to understand what are enchanted books in brief, but you can directly skip to their usage via the table below.
What are Enchanted Books in Minecraft?
Enchanted books are one of the rarest and most diverse types of books in the game. Unlike regular books, these aren’t used to record a text in the game. Instead, each enchanted book holds a different type of enchantment that you can transfer to other items. And not to forget, some special enchantments like curses can only be applied using these books.
In terms of levels, the enchanted books can have any level of enchantment. This special feature separates them from the Enchanting table, which gives out levels in a progressive order. Plus, to make them even more special, combining multiple enchantments is also much easier with the enchanted books. Some rare enchanted books even come with multiple enchantments that can be applied to objects all at once.
Where to Find Enchanted Books in Minecraft
Even though finding a specific enchantment is close to impossible, you can find an enchanted book much more easily. That is, as long as you know where to look for it. To keep things easier, we have divided the different ways to obtain these books into separate sections. So, you can quickly find them before learning how to use enchanted books in Minecraft.
Chest Loot
You can find chests containing random enchanted books in the following locations:
Jungle templesStrongholdsDungeonsMineshaftsDesert TemplesPillager OutpostsUnderwater RuinsWoodland MansionsBastion Remnant
Even among these, the books with level-30 enchantments are only found in Jungle temples or Strongholds in Minecraft. Plus, the books with soul speed enchantment are limited to the bastion remnants.
Fishing and Mob Drop
Even though it’s highly unlikely that these methods will work for you, it is possible to obtain enchanted books by fishing and killing mobs. If you are lucky enough, you can obtain enchanted books of up to level 30 as a rare item. Similarly, in the Minecraft Bedrock Edition, killing vindicators and pillagers in raids also have a small chance of dropping an enchanted book with a level 30 enchantment.
Trading and Bartering
If you quickly want to find enchanted books in Minecraft, you should use one of our best Minecraft village seeds. These might land you in a village with a librarian with whom you can trade for enchanted books. The cost of books will depend upon the level and rarity of the enchantment.
And if you don’t like the deals here, it’s time to create a Nether portal and head to the Nether dimension, which is home to piglins. You can then barter with them to get enchanted books that have soul speed enchantment.
How to Create an Anvil to Use Enchanted Books
As mentioned earlier, we need an anvil to use enchanted books in Minecraft. Beyond the enchanted books, the anvil also has the ability to combine enchantments, repair items, and rename items as well. And all you need is a crafting table and iron to make an anvil in Minecraft. Actually, you need a lot of iron. Let’s see how to craft an anvil.
- Crafting an anvil requires 3 iron blocks and 4 iron ingots. Since each iron block is made of 9 iron ingots, we need at least 31 iron ingots to make our anvil. Fortunately, iron ore is not hard to find, and you can use our Minecraft 1.18 ore distribution guide to make it even easier. Once you have the iron ore, you can heat it in a furnace to make iron ingots.
- After collecting enough iron ingots, it’s time to make iron blocks. To do so, completely fill the crafting area with iron ingots in every single cell. Doing so will give you a block of iron in Minecraft. We need 3 blocks of iron for an anvil, so you need to use 27 iron ingots in this step.
- Finally, to make an anvil in Minecraft, place the 3 blocks of iron in the top row of the crafting area. Then, you need to place 3 iron ingots in the bottommost row. Finally, to finish the recipe, place an iron ingot in the center cell of the middle row. And with this recipe, you now know how to make an anvil.
How to Use Enchanted Books in Minecraft
Now, place your newly created anvil on top of a surface. Unlike most in-game blocks, anvil follows gravity in Minecraft. So, you can’t keep it floating in the air. Also, before you use it, do make sure to collect some experience orbs to pay the cost of each enchantment. Doing so will fill up your experience bar, which is located right under your health and hunger bar at the bottom of the screen. Once you have enough experience points and enchanted books, it’s time to use enchanted books in Minecraft:
- Make sure that the enchantment you are trying to use and the equipment are compatible with each other. You can find the complete list of enchantments on the official Minecraft help page linked here. For our tutorial, we are trying to apply loyalty enchantment on a trident.
Note: At times, Minecraft also allows you to use incompatible enchantments on certain items, but doing so has no effect on the targetted item. - Once you are sure about the compatibility, open the anvil and place the enchanted book in the right cell. Then, place the item you want to enchant in the left cell. The reverse placement doesn’t function. Now, you will see the cost of enchantment on the anvil, for which you need enough experience points. You can also change the item’s name with the column on top.
How to Get Experience Points to Use Enchanted Books
Experience points or orbs or XP are the fuel to use enchanted books in Minecraft with an Anvil. Fortunately, you can get them through very basic in-game activities. That includes fishing, mining, fighting mobs, and other activities. But, to speed up the process, we have listed some of the best sources to gain experience in Minecraft:
Ender Dragon provides the highest amount of 12,000 experience on dying. Similarly, killing a Wither provides 50 experience points.Among the non-boss mobs, ravagers and piglin brute provide 20 experience points when killed.Within the common hostile mobs, baby zombie, chicken jocket, and baby zombified piglins provide 12 experience points on death.In terms of mining, diamond and emerald ores can provide up to 7 experience points, which is the highest among all ores. Meanwhile, mining a mob spawner can provide up to 43 experience points.Finally, trading with villagers, breeding animals, and fishing can get you a maximum of 7 experience points.
A Complete List of Minecraft Enchanted Books
Now that you know how to use an enchanted book in Minecraft, check out the complete list of enchanted books (along with their levels) you can find in-game:
Q. Why can’t I use enchanted books in Minecraft?
All Minecraft enchantments can be applied only to specific items. So, if the anvil is stopping you, you might be combining the wrong enchantment with the wrong item. Another reason can be the lack of experience points. You can’t use certain enchantments if you don’t have enough in-game experience. You can read the dedicated section in our guide to learn how to collect experience orbs.
Q. Why does anvil say my enchantment is ‘too expensive’ in Minecraft?
At times, an anvil can deny your enchantment by calling it “too expensive”. It simply means that you have reached the cap of enchanting. Anything costing more than 40 levels of experience is considered too expensive to enchant. Another reason behind this can be your usage of the anvil.
If you use an item six times on an anvil in survival mode, its enchantments become too expensive. Unfortunately, there is no workaround for this. You have to use another item.
Q. How do you put enchantments on books?
You can enchant a book in Minecraft by simply placing it on an enchanting table. Depending upon the number of bookshelves around the enchanting table, it will offer a variety of enchantments that you can apply to your book.
Easily Use Enchanted Books in Minecraft
Whether it’s to take on the boss mobs or level up your multiplayer score, enchantments are here to help. And with the answer for how to use enchanted books in Minecraft, you can practically use any enchantment in the game. And once you are done, you can try out the best Minecraft potions. Among them, the Potion of Night Vision pairs well with enchanted weapons. As for the enchantments, there’s a whole world waiting for you to kick off your exploration. So, feel free to share your favorite enchantments in the comments section below. Our team will test them out and share them with our readers.
