Density vs Breach: Which exclusive Minecraft 1.21 mace enchantment should you use?

With Minecraft 1.21 adding two mutually exclusive mace enchantments to the game, players might be wondering which of them is better. The truth is that there's not a simple answer to whether Density or Breach is better. Those who prefer playing alone will be much better off using the Density enchantment, while fans of multiplayer will have much more success with Breach.

Everything players need to know about these mutually exclusive mace enchantments can be found detailed below, along with why the better option depends on whether it's singleplayer or not.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer

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Density vs Breach: Which Minecraft 1.21 mace enchantment to use?

The Density enchantment

Density is the easiest mace enchantment to get via enchanting table (Image via Mojang)

Density is the most common of the three new Minecraft mace enchantments. This means it's the easiest to find, both via the enchanting table and from ominous vaults. It's also the simplest of the mace enchantments. It increases the extra damage that players get from falls while using the weapon.

This bonus damage is equal to a quarter of a heart per level. This means that at the Minecraft weapon enchantment's max level of five, players will deal an extra 1.25 hearts of damage per block fallen.

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The Breach enchantment

A player using breach against a zombie with diamond armor (Image via Mojang)

The Breach enchantment is slightly more uncommon than Density. It can also be found both via enchanting tables and ominous vaults.

Breach reduces the effects of the target's armor on the mace's damage by 15% per level. Since the enchantment goes up to level four, this means that armor can be reduced by a total of 60%.

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Which one is better?

Breach would be a better solo mace enchantment if it was useful against more than just shulkers (Image via Mojang)

On the surface, Minecraft's Breach enchantment might seem more useful. It makes players deal more damage no matter what. Meanwhile, the Density enchantment requires higher falls to make a difference in damage.

However, in reality, Breach is a very niche enchantment. In fact, there's only a single mob in the entire game with enough natural armor to make Breach better for maces. These mobs are shulkers, but only when they are closed.

The fact that Breach is especially useful against a certain mob that's only found in Minecraft's end dimension and only when they are temporarily hiding from damage means that Density is a more useful enchantment. It might only increase damage by one or two extra hearts per attack, but that's a bonus to damage for every attack. This is why Density is better for solo players.

Multiplayer, however, is the exact opposite. Any players that regularly hop on any of the game's most popular servers will be fighting other players with fully enchanted armor. This makes the Breach enchantment a much better option for those who prefer multiplayer.