Best Enchantments for Armor in Minecraft

Besides upgrading diamond armor into Netherite, enchantments are the best way to make your armor more powerful. Below, you'll find all the strongest enchantments for armor in Minecraft worth spending your XP on.

Strongest Armor Enchantments in Minecraft

When it comes to armor, the best enchantments mitigate damage, offer protective buffs, or maintain your armor's usability. Though armor enchantments are incredibly useful, they do have one major downside: certain enchantments are incompatible with each other and cannot be put on the same item. This means you'll need to spread incompatible enchantments across multiple armor pieces in order to use them.

The following are the best armor enchantments in Minecraft. Keep in mind that some enchantments, like Mending, cannot be obtained through an enchanting table; you'll need to track down an enchanted book first.

Protection

• Armor types: Helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots
• Incompatible enchantments: Blast Protection, Fire Protection, Projectile Protection
• Maximum level: IV

Protection is the bread and butter of Minecraft armor, reducing all incoming damage (except hunger) depending on the enchantment level. This includes status effects and fall damage, making it highly versatile. What's more, it stacks with other Protection-type enchantments, allowing you to shrug off even the most devastating attacks from hostile mobs.

Mending

• Armor types: Helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots
• Incompatible enchantments: Infinity
• Maximum level: I

Mending is one of the most valuable enchantments in Minecraft; it restores the durability of the enchanted item at the cost of the wearer's XP. This saves you precious resources you'd otherwise have to spend repairing the armor. However, I recommend putting Mending on your armor last so you have more XP available for other enchantments.

Respiration

• Armor types: Helmet
• Incompatible enchantments: None
• Maximum level: III

Respiration is a helmet-specific enchantment that increases your underwater breathing time by 15 seconds per enchantment level. This is particularly useful when digging for buried treasure, exploring a shipwreck, or taking on an ocean monument. In addition, you can put Respiration on a turtle shell, which grants you an extra 10 seconds while underwater.

Related: Best Minecraft Helmet Enchantments

Fire Protection

• Armor types: Helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots
• Incompatible enchantments: Protection, Blast Protection, Projectile Protection
• Maximum level: IV

As the name suggests, Fire Protection reduces damage taken from fire, including lava, mob attacks, and magma blocks. It also reduces the time you burn, though this effect does not stack with multiple armor pieces. This enchantment is absolutely vital for exploring the Nether, where fire is commonplace and can permanently destroy any items dropped upon death.

Feather Falling

• Armor types: Boots
• Incompatible enchantments: None
• Maximum level: IV

If you've ever fallen into a ravine, then you know how devastating fall damage can be in Minecraft. This is where Feather Falling comes in handy; it reduces all fall damage, even from throwing an Ender Pearl or crashing with an Elytra. I recommend using Feather Falling for traveling long distances, as it allows you to get across mountains faster and jump down trees without losing any health.

Related: Best Minecraft Boot Enchantments

Unbreaking

• Armor types: Helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots
• Incompatible enchantments: None
• Maximum level: III

Unbreaking gives an item the chance to avoid losing durability upon use, indirectly increasing its durability. I recommend combining it with Mending to reduce the XP cost of repairing your armor and making it practically indestructible. Keep in mind, however, that Unbreaking only has a chance to reduce durability loss, meaning an armor piece can still break despite having the enchantment.

Projectile Protection

• Armor types: Helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots
• Incompatible enchantments: Protection, Blast Protection, Fire Protection
• Maximum level: IV

Projectile Protection reduces damage taken from any projectile, including arrows fired from dispensers. From skeletons to blazes and even llamas, projectiles are one of the most common ways you'll take damage from mobs. As such, I recommend having Projectile Protection on at least one of your armor pieces, especially if you're traveling somewhere with a low light level.

For more Minecraft enchanting guides, check out Best Enchantments in Minecraft – Best Armor, Sword, Pickaxe, Trident Enchantments & More! and Best Minecraft Shield Enchantments here on Pro Game Guides.