What is the Curse of Binding in Minecraft?

Of all enchantments, the Curse of Binding is by far the trickiest to handle. You can use it to prank your friends, enemies, and even mobs (although they don't really get it). Before we get to that, though, we'd like to explain to you what it is.

What is the Curse of Binding in Minecraft?

To those of us that are married, you likely already know exactly what the Curse of Binding is in real life. Minecraft's Curse of Binding is similar, but it doesn't apply to more than one person. 'Til Death do us part is the idea, especially for those of you that like Hardcore mode. Let's get to the explanation!

The Basics

• It's an enchantment. The Curse of Binding is an enchantment that quite literally binds the enchanted item to the player once it is equipped. It cannot be removed via an Anvil. Currently, there are only three ways to remove it.
  • Creative Mode
  • Breaking the item (durability)
  • Death
• It can only be applied to certain items. It can only be applied to items that are worn in some way. If applied to weapons/tools, it does not affect the player. This list tells you what items can receive the Curse of Binding.
  • Hats (including the Turtle Shell)
  • Chestplates
  • Leggings
  • Boots
  • Carved Pumpkins
  • Player/mob heads
  • Elytra
• It can be permanent. As we said, there are only two ways to get rid of an item with this enchantment if you're in Survival mode: break it or die. Carved Pumpkins and Elytra do not have durability, so if you enchant one of them with Curse of Binding and put that item on your character, it is stuck there. If you're playing Hardcore mode (which does not allow you to respawn), then you're stuck with that item for good.
• It's not supposed to help you. It's supposed to be annoying. It's supposed to be a trick. You're supposed to get mad if it somehow gets applied. Why did Mojang do this to us?

Related: How to make an Enchanting Table in Minecraft - Pro Game Guides

Why and How to Use the Curse of Binding

• You can prank your friends and enemies. There are a couple ways to do this. Let's go over them.
  • The easiest way is to give your friends an item with this enchantment and hope that they don't read what is on it. Tell them you think the green leather chestplate will match their character's eyes. They'll undoubtedly be in a hurry to improve their character's self-esteem and rush to put it on.
  • The best and most fun way to prank them is to forcefully apply it. Set up a clever Redstone mechanism with a dispenser (such as the one shown above), and put the cursed item inside it. If you successfully trick them into engaging the dispenser, it will force the item onto their character. If you do this on a Hardcore server, though, they might hate you.

Related: Minecraft Best Enchantments - Armor, Sword, Pickaxe, Trident & More! - Pro Game Guides

• You have to always be careful now.
  • Again — Why did Mojang do this? Wearing a Carved Pumpkin used to be a fun party trick in Minecraft! Now we have to carefully inspect it every time we want to wear one, for fear of not getting stuck with the limited vision the Carved Pumpkin causes.
• How to get it:
  • World-generated chest loot
  • Fishing
  • Trading for Enchanted Books.
• Data values
  • Java Edition
    • Namespace_ID: binding_curse
    • Translation key: enchantment.minecraft.binding_curse
  • Bedrock Edition
    • Namespace_ID: binding
    • Translation key: enchantment.curse.binding

This is one of the more confusing additions to Minecraft, but we can only assume it is there for the developer's entertainment. As long as your friends forgive you, it's easy to see the humor in tricking them into wearing a cursed item. For the masochists, perhaps a new map challenge might be in order? Hardcore mode: only leather armor with Curse of Binding applied!

Pro Game Guides has so many other helpful guides for Minecraft items. Why not make your work more colorful with Stained Glass and Dyes?