The Bane of Arthropods is a new enchantment in Minecraft 1.19 that may be applied to both the sword and the axe. It makes the weapons more effective against certain creatures, such as spiders, silverfish, and bees. It is a unique fighting powerup that only affects a specific creature in the game. Many novice players may not understand how to use this enchantment, yet it can be very effective in some fights. Here’s everything players need to know about the enchantment Bane of Arthropods, including what it is and how it works.
What is the Bane of Arthropods?
Enchantments allow players to specialize against specific dangers, which can be highly advantageous for the experts. The Bane of Arthropods enchantment is one such example, as it only works under incredibly restricted circumstances, but it is extremely potent when they do. In Minecraft, players can get by with a wooden blade if they are smart and cautious enough. It is in the player’s best interests to spend money on more advanced gear when they play.
How to Get the Bane of Arthropods?
You must first create an enchanting table to receive the Bane of Arthropods Minecraft enchantment on a weapon. With four Obsidian, two Diamonds, and a Book, Minecraft players can create an enchanting table.
Players’ ability to enchant weapons is very limited without an enchanting table. Players will want to surround the enchanting table with bookshelves after placing it, as this improves the level of enchantments that it can produce.
What does Bane of Arthropods Do?
Bane of Arthropods is an enchantment for weapons, such as swords and axes. It increases the damage by 2.5 (or 1.25 hearts) per level, but only against Arthropod mobs. It also slows them down, making them easier to deal with or run away. However, there are not many Arthropod mobs in the game, so this enchantment has a limited use.
For comparison, the Sharpness enchantment adds 1.5 damage per level to any mob, so it is more versatile than the Bane of Arthropods. This enchantment works on spiders, cave spiders, bees, silverfish, and endermis.
When using a weapon with this enchantment, bees are the ones that first come to mind, as they can come at you with a swarm and make it easier to kill. The 2nd better use of this resource is pesky cave spiders; they are a nuisance in early levels and will help you kill them faster.
How to Level Up Bane of Arthropods?
A weapon with the Bane of Arthropods Minecraft enchantment can inflict up to 12.25 extra damage to Arthropod creatures when it reaches level 5. This means an Arthropod will suffer more from a Wooden Sword with Bane of arthropods 5 than from a Netherite Sword without any enchantments and will also be slowed down.
However, Bane of arthropods and Sharpness are incompatible, so players cannot have both on the same sword or axe. Players need to use the enchanting table with a sword or axe, some Lapis Lazuli, and some levels to obtain the Bane of arthropods Minecraft. The enchantments offered are random, but placing bookshelves around the enchanting table can increase the chance of getting Bane of arthropods 5 directly from the table.
You also need to at least have a librarian villager so that he can help you find the required enchantment and apply them when needed.
Damage per hit
Swords | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weapon | Base damage | BoA I | BoA II | BoA III | BoA IV | BoA V |
Wooden sword | 4 (6) | 6.5 (8.5) | 9 (11) | 11.5 (13.5) | 14 (16) | 16.5 (18.5) |
Gold sword | 4 (6) | 6.5 (8.5) | 9 (11) | 11.5 (13.5) | 14 (16) | 16.5 (18.5) |
Stone sword | 5 (7.5) | 7.5 (10) | 10 (12.5) | 12.5 (15) | 15 (17.5) | 17.5 (20) |
Iron sword | 6 (9) | 8.5 (11.5) | 11 (14) | 13.5 (16.5) | 16 (19) | 18.5 (21.5) |
Diamond sword | 7 (10.5) | 9.5 (13) | 12 (15.5) | 14.5 (18) | 17 (20.5) | 19.5 (23) |
Netherite sword | 8 (12) | 10.5 (14.5) | 13 (17) | 15.5 (19.5) | 18 (22) | 20.5 (24.5) |
Axes | ||||||
Weapon | Base damage | BoA I | BoA II | BoA III | BoA IV | BoA V |
Wooden axe | 7 (10.5) | 9.5 (13) | 12 (15.5) | 14.5 (18) | 17 (20.5) | 19.5 (23) |
Gold axe | 7 (10.5) | 9.5 (13) | 12 (15.5) | 14.5 (18) | 17 (20.5) | 19.5 (23) |
Stone axe | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16) | 14 (18.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
Iron axe | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16) | 14 (18.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
Diamond axe | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16) | 14 (18.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
Netherite axe | 10 (15) | 12.5 (17.5) | 15 (20) | 17.5 (22.5) | 20 (25) | 22.5 (27.5) |
Swords | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weapon | Base damage | BoA I | BoA II | BoA III | BoA IV | BoA V |
Wooden sword | 5 (7.5) | 7.5 (9.5) | 10 (12.5) | 12.5 (15) | 15 (17.5) | 17.5 (20) |
Gold sword | 5 (7.5) | 7.5 (9.5) | 10 (12.5) | 12.5 (15) | 15 (17.5) | 17.5 (20) |
Stone sword | 6 (9) | 8.5 (11.5) | 11 (14) | 13.5 (16.5) | 16 (19) | 18.5 (21.5) |
Iron sword | 7 (10.5) | 9.5 (12.5) | 12 (15.5) | 14.5 (18) | 17 (20.5) | 19.5 (23) |
Diamond sword | 8 (12) | 10.5 (14.5) | 13 (17) | 15.5 (19.5) | 18 (22) | 20.5 (24.5) |
Netherite sword | 9 (13.5) | 11.5 (16.5) | 14 (19.5) | 16.5 (21) | 19 (23.5) | 21.5 (26) |
Axes | ||||||
Weapon | Base damage | BoA I | BoA II | BoA III | BoA IV | BoA V |
Wooden axe | 4 (6) | 6.5 (8.5) | 9 (11) | 11.5 (13.5) | 14 (16) | 16.5 (18.5) |
Gold axe | 4 (6) | 6.5 (8.5) | 9 (11) | 11.5 (13.5) | 14 (16) | 16.5 (18.5) |
Stone axe | 5 (7) | 7.5 (9.5) | 10 (12) | 12.5 (14.5) | 15 (17) | 17.5 (19.5) |
Iron axe | 6 (9) | 8.5 (11.5) | 11 (14) | 13.5 (16.5) | 16 (19) | 18.5 (21.5) |
Diamond axe | 7 (10) | 9.5 (12.5) | 12 (15) | 14.5 (17.5) | 17 (20) | 19.5 (22.5) |
Netherite axe | 8 (11) | 10.5 (13.5) | 13 (16) | 15.5 (18.5) | 18 (21) | 20.5 (23.5) |

Bane of Arthropods or Sharpness?
If you are looking for the best enchantment for your sword or axe in Minecraft, you might wonder whether to choose Bane of arthropods or Sharpness. Both enchantments increase the damage to the enemies but have different effects and limitations. Here is a brief comparison of the two enchantments:
Bane of Arthropods
Bane of arthropods is an enchantment that increases the damage to arthropod mobs, such as spiders, silverfish, and bees.
- A sword or an axe can have the bane of arthropods enchantment, which is useful for combat.
- This enchantment boosts the damage of the melee weapon against arthropod mobs.
- These are specific mobs with exoskeletons, such as spiders, cave spiders, bees, silverfish, and endermite.
- It applies a slowness effect to them, making them easier to kill.
- The maximum level of this enchantment is V, which adds 12.5 extra damage to arthropods.
Sharpness
Sharpness is an enchantment that increases the damage dealt to any mob, regardless of their type.
- This enchantment is exclusive to combat and useon melee weapons such as swords and axes.
- It enhances the attack damage of the weapon, making it easier to kill mobs faster. It has five levels in total.
- The first level adds 1 HP (half heart) to the damage, while the subsequent levels add 0.5 HP each.
- This is on top of the base damage of the weapon. In Bedrock Edition, each level adds 1.25 HP instead.
- This enchantment can be obtained from an enchanting table or book at any level.
You can see that Bane of Arthropods enchantment is more effective against specific types of mobs, but Sharpness is more versatile and useful against any mob. Therefore, the best enchantment for your weapon depends on your preference and playstyle. If you want to specialize in hunting arthropods and enjoy the slowness effect, then Bane of arthropods is a good choice.
Conclusion
Bane of arthropods is a specialized enchantment that can help Minecraft players deal with spiders, silverfish, and other arthropod enemies. It increases the damage and the slowness effect inflicted by the player’s weapon on these creatures. However, it is not very useful against other mobs, so players should consider their situation and environment before applying it. Bane of arthropods is a niche but powerful enchantment that can make a difference in certain scenarios.