Minecraft 1.21: Best pickaxe enchantments to use

The pickaxe remains the most useful tool in Minecraft 1.21. When players first enter the world, they try to quickly craft a pickaxe and mine stone and iron to progress forward in the game. The majority of the blocks that generate in a world can be mined with this tool, making it an integral part of the entire gameplay experience. The game has enchantments for various tools, and the pickaxe is no exception. These enchantments can unleash its full potential.

Here is a list of some of the best pickaxe enchantments players should apply in Minecraft 1.21.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion. the entries are arranged in no particular order.

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5 best pickaxe enchantments in Minecraft 1.21

1) Mending

Mending enchantment in Minecraft 1.21 (Image via Mojang Studios)

One of the most well-known enchantments in Minecraft is Mending. Whenever players use weapons, armor, or tools, a green bar appears underneath the item. This suggests that they have a finite durability and will eventually break. This is where the Mending enchantment comes in handy.

By absorbing the XP points collected by players, it enables that specific piece of gear to mend itself. It's to be noted that players need to hold the item for Mending to function.

The Mending enchantment only has one level and can only repair a pickaxe at a fixed rate.

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2) Efficiency

Efficiency enchantment in Minecraft 1.21 (Image via Mojang Studios)

In Minecraft, mining can be a rather tedious task. Players must mine for hours on end to locate a few diamonds. Additionally, they can only enhance the pickaxe's material to a specific extent to speed up mining.

Apart from better materials for pickaxes, players can apply the Efficiency enchantment on the tool. This enchantment decreases the time a pickaxe takes to mine a block, helping players mine hundreds of blocks in a matter of minutes.

The Efficiency enchantment has five levels, each increasing the mining speed by 110 points.

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3) Fortune

Fortune enchantment in Minecraft 1.21 (Image via Mojang Studios)

When a pickaxe mines a block, it usually drops a fixed amount of items based on the block type. If a diamond ore block is mined using a standard pickaxe, for instance, it will only drop one diamond.

However, to obtain more items from a single block, players can apply the Fortune enchantment on their pickaxes. With the help of this powerup, mining becomes much more efficient as blocks drop a greater quantity of items. Users can obtain up to four diamonds from a single ore block with the maximum level of this enchantment.

The Fortune enchantment has three levels of power, each level increasing the chance of multiplying drops by 33%, 75%, and 120%, respectively.

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4) Silk Touch

Silk Touch enchantment in Minecraft 1.21 (Image via Mojang Studios)

When a block is mined, it typically breaks and drops another type of block or an item that was inside of it. By applying the Silk Touch enchantment on their pickaxes, players can mine the same block and obtain it as it is. For instance, when using a Silk Touch enchanted pickaxe, miners will receive stone blocks rather than cobblestones.

This can be useful to mine some delicate blocks that otherwise shatter or vanish whenever they are mined with a regular pickaxe.

The Silk Touch enchantment has only one level.

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5) Unbreaking

Unbreaking enchantment in Minecraft 1.21 (Image via Mojang Studios)

As previously mentioned, every piece of gear, including the pickaxe, has a limited lifespan and will shatter eventually. Though this issue can be permanently fixed by using the Mending enchantment, players who do not have it early in the game can instead rely on the Unbreaking enchantment.

With this powerup, a pickaxe may not be able to fix itself, but its longevity will increase. The Unbreaking enchantment essentially decreases the chance of a gear's durability taking a hit after it is used once. As a result, players can use a pickaxe for a very long time before it breaks.

The Unbreaking enchantment has three levels, each decreasing the chance of a gear's durability decreasing by 50%, 66%, and 75%, respectively.