How to Get Mending in Minecraft
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How to Get Mending in Minecraft
How to Get Mending — Step by StepMending TipsMending is widely considered the most powerful enchantment in Minecraft because it fundamentally changes how you interact with equipment — instead of constantly crafting replacements or stocking repair materials, Mending items self-sustain through normal gameplay XP. Getting your first Mending book is the transition point from early-game resource management to mid-game efficiency. The Librarian method is almost always the fastest path to your first book because it requires only a village (or one unemployed villager and a Lectern), no exploration, and can be completed within the first few in-game days of a new world. Once you have one confirmed Mending Librarian, the enchantment becomes essentially free and infinite. For the complete enchanting strategy — which enchantments pair best with Mending and in what order to apply them — see the guides on best pickaxe enchantments and best sword enchantments for the full optimal setups.
FAQ
⚡ Quick Answer
All Ways to Get Mending — Ranked by SpeedMending cannot be obtained from an Enchanting Table — it only comes from treasure loot. The fastest sources: fishing (Luck of the Sea III rod gives ~5% chance per catch), trading with a Librarian villager (level up any Librarian until they offer it — restock by breaking and replacing their lectern), or looting chests in Ancient Cities, End Cities, and Dungeons. Once you have a Mending book, apply it at an Anvil — not the Enchanting Table.
| Method | Speed | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Librarian villager trade | Fast (controllable) | Lectern + any village |
| ⭐ Fishing with Luck of the Sea III | Medium (~20–40 min) | Fishing rod + AFK pond |
| Ancient City chests | Fast (one trip) | Deep Dark biome access |
| End City chests | Fast (if post-End) | Defeat Ender Dragon first |
| Dungeon / Mineshaft chests | Slow (rare) | Cave exploration |
| Jungle Temple chests | Slow (very rare) | Find Jungle biome |
1
Librarian villager method — fastest and most reliable. This is the most consistent way to get Mending in any world. Find or create a Librarian villager (place a Lectern near any unemployed villager — they become a Librarian). Trade paper for Emeralds to level them up, then check their Level 1 trade. Each Librarian has a random book trade at Level 1 — it might be Mending or something else. If it’s not Mending: break the Lectern and replace it. This resets their trade completely. Repeat until their Level 1 trade is a Mending book. In practice this takes 3–10 resets. Once you get a Librarian offering Mending, trade with them to level up and lock the trade permanently. Buy as many Mending books as you need.
2
Fishing method — AFK-friendly but slower. Fishing has a small chance of catching enchanted books including Mending. To maximise this: craft a rod enchanted with Luck of the Sea III and Lure III (from an Enchanting Table). Luck of the Sea III reduces junk catches and increases treasure probability to about 6.5% per catch. Lure III speeds up the bite rate. Build a simple AFK fishing pond (a 1×1 water pool, cast your rod, hold the button or use a weight) and let it run. Expect to fish 30–90 minutes before catching a Mending book. This method works in all biomes and requires no village nearby.
3
Ancient City chests — best guaranteed loot source. Ancient Cities in the Deep Dark biome (Y=-52 or lower, under large mountain biomes) contain chests with the highest Mending book drop rate of any structure — approximately 23% per chest. Each Ancient City has many chests. The challenge: Ancient Cities are guarded by the Warden, a near-unkillable mob that detects vibrations and sound. Strategy: sneak slowly, avoid sprinting or placing blocks loudly, and collect chests systematically. Wool blocks placed on the floor silence your footsteps completely. Bring Potions of Night Vision and Silence Arrows (craft arrows with wool) for the safest approach. If the Warden spawns: sprint to the surface immediately — you cannot fight it.
4
End City chests — best post-Dragon source. After defeating the Ender Dragon and accessing the End’s outer islands via an End Gateway, End Cities contain chests with approximately 11% Mending book chance per chest. End Cities also contain Elytra (wings) and high-level enchanted gear — easily the best loot structure in the game. Each End City has 3–8 chests, meaning each city visit gives multiple Mending chances. Fast travel between End Cities using End Gateways and Ender Pearls. This method requires Dragon defeat first but provides many Mending books per exploration session once accessible.
5
Apply Mending using an Anvil — not the Enchanting Table. Once you have a Mending book, apply it to your tool, weapon, or armor at an Anvil. Open the Anvil interface, place your item in the left slot and the Mending book in the middle slot — the enchanted item appears on the right. Apply it. The XP cost scales with how many enchantments are already on the item — a heavily enchanted Diamond Pickaxe may cost 15–30 levels to add Mending. Note: Mending is incompatible with Infinity on bows — you cannot have both on the same bow. Choose Mending for bows you plan to repair, or Infinity for bows where you never want to manage arrow supply.
6
How Mending works — XP repairs your item automatically. Once Mending is on an item and that item is in your hand or armor slot, any XP orbs you collect are converted to durability repair instead of going toward your level. Each XP point repairs 2 durability. A Diamond Pickaxe has 1,561 durability — killing a few mobs or smelting ore replenishes mining damage passively. The key: hold the Mending item when collecting XP. XP only repairs the item that’s currently equipped (held in hand or worn as armor). If you want to repair your sword, hold it when killing mobs. If you want to repair your pickaxe, hold it when smelting or mining XP-producing ores like Nether Quartz or Diamond Ore.
→Mending + Unbreaking III = near-immortal tools: combining Mending with Unbreaking III makes tools effectively permanent. Unbreaking III gives each use a 75% chance of not consuming durability, so your tool degrades at 25% normal speed. With Mending converting ambient XP back to durability, a pickaxe with both enchantments essentially never needs replacing. This combination should be on every tool and weapon you intend to keep long-term.
→The Librarian reset trick works indefinitely — you can get infinite Mending books: once you’ve confirmed a Librarian sells Mending at Level 1, trade with them until they max out (they restock twice per in-game day when near a bed and workstation). Never break the Lectern of a confirmed Mending Librarian — keep them alive and in a safe structure. A single reliable Mending Librarian provides unlimited Mending books for every tool you ever make.
→Mending doesn’t work in your offhand or when you have full XP bar: two common Mending issues: it only repairs items in your main hand, offhand, or one of your four armor slots — not items in your inventory. Also, if your XP bar is full (Level 30+), excess XP still goes to repair but efficiently. Most players notice Mending «working slowly» — this is normal, it just means you need to keep collecting XP while holding the item.
→Nether Quartz is the best passive Mending XP source: Nether Quartz ore drops XP when mined (2–5 XP per ore) and the Nether has massive Quartz veins. Mining Quartz while holding a Mending pickaxe is the fastest way to repair it passively — the pickaxe mines Quartz, Quartz gives XP, XP repairs the pickaxe. A full Nether Quartz session keeps a Diamond Pickaxe at 100% durability indefinitely without any mob farming needed.
→Priority order for Mending: Elytra first, then tools, then armor: if you have limited Mending books, apply them in this order. Elytra is the hardest item to replace (requires End City) and the most used — it should get Mending immediately. Then your primary pickaxe (most used tool). Then weapons, then armor. Armor with Unbreaking III lasts long enough that Mending is a luxury on it; Elytra without Mending require constant Phantom Membrane repair which is tedious.
How do you get Mending in Minecraft?Mending cannot be obtained from an Enchanting Table — it only comes from treasure. The fastest method: reset a Librarian villager’s trades by breaking and replacing their Lectern until their Level 1 trade is a Mending book. Other sources: fishing with Luck of the Sea III, Ancient City chests (~23% chance), and End City chests (~11% chance).
Can you get Mending from an Enchanting Table in Minecraft?No — Mending cannot be obtained from an Enchanting Table. It is a «treasure enchantment» that only appears in loot chests, fishing, and villager trades. You must find a Mending book and apply it at an Anvil.
How does Mending work in Minecraft?When a Mending item is held in your main hand, offhand, or an armor slot, XP orbs you collect repair the item instead of adding to your XP bar. Each XP point repairs 2 durability. The item must be equipped (not in inventory) when you collect the XP for Mending to activate.
Is Mending compatible with Infinity in Minecraft?No — Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive on bows. You cannot combine them. Choose Mending if you want to repair the bow over time using XP, or Infinity if you want unlimited arrows from a single arrow in your inventory. Most players choose Mending for long-term use.