Top 5 best enchantments for melee weapons in Minecraft 1.18

When Minecraft players battle in melee combat with a sword or an axe, having an enchanted weapon of choice will improve their odds of victory considerably.

Although there is a plethora of melee weapon enchantments in Minecraft, some are much better in quality than others. Universally helpful enchantments like Sharpness are much better than situational options such as Bane of Arthropods.

Despite each enchantment having its particular use, some are flat-out more beneficial and can perform niche roles. There's a solution to every melee combat problem, thanks to enchantments, and the top melee enchantment options can solve more than a few problems.

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Most helpful melee enchantments in Minecraft

#5 - Knockback

Knockback can buy players precious seconds to recover (Image via Mojang)

If a creeper is in explosion range or a heavy-hitting mob is too close for comfort, Knockback can provide Minecraft players with time to recover and figure out their next move. Each rank of Knockback increases the distance that a target can be knocked back with a sword strike.

This provides time for players to eat and recover their health, use a potion, or back up and switch to ranged combat. It also keeps creepers out of range of exploding without having to worry about the mob, which can be helpful for new players.

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#4 - Looting

Looting allows for more item drops (Image via Mojang)

Collecting items is a core activity in Minecraft, and Looting makes the acquisition of certain items much easier. Once enchanted to a sword, each rank of Looting can increase both the number of items mobs drop and the chance that rare items will appear.

For players hoping to get a few more items out of their mob farm, or landing more blaze rods and ender pearls from blazes or endermen, Looting can go a long way in assisting them stockpile the precious items they need.

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#3 - Unbreaking

Unbreaking lets players get more mileage out of their weapon (Image via Mojang)

There's nothing quite as exasperating in Minecraft as breaking a quality weapon or gear. This is especially true for weapons, as no player wants their sword or axe shatter in the middle of a fight. With Unbreaking, players will see the durability of their weapon increase.

Each rank increases the durability of a weapon by 100%, meaning Unbreaking III can make a weapon last three times as long as it normally would. This is great for Minecraft weapons made of a material like diamond and netherite, or those that have hard-to-get or expensive enchantments on them.

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#2 - Sharpness

Sharpness straightforwardly increases weapon damage (Image via Mojang)

Sharpness is a simple enchantment in Minecraft, but that doesn't mean it isn't a universally helpful one. Each rank of Sharpness increases the amount of damage a sword or axe strike will do, including critical hits.

Though it may seem somewhat unnecessary for players who are doing fine without it, the boost that Sharpness provides to damage, especially at higher levels, is immediately noticeable.

When taking on bosses such as the Wither or entering dangerous locales, Minecraft players will be glad that they're pumping out bonus damage.

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#1 - Fire Aspect

Fire Aspect provides excellent damage over time (Image via Mojang)

It's no secret to Minecraft players that most enemies aren't too fond of fire or sunlight. Thanks to Fire Aspect, hostile mobs can be set on fire even if the sun isn't out, providing great damage over time.

Often, hostile mobs can drop just from the constant damage that the fire deals to them. It should be noted, however, that certain mobs like blazes, striders, zombie piglins, magma cubes, ghasts, zoglins, wither skeletons, the wither, and the ender dragon are immune to fire.

Immunities aside, Fire Aspect is an excellent melee enchantment that makes nearly any fight easier in Minecraft. It can even roast animal mobs and make them drop cooked food instead of raw food.