Breach enchantment in Minecraft
Breach makes a mace hit ignore part of the target's armor: armor is 15% less effective per level, 60% less with Breach IV. It is the mace's answer to heavily armored targets, especially other players.
Breach at a glance
- Max level
- IV
- Works on
- Mace
- Enchanting table
- Yes
- Incompatible with
- Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Impaling, Density
- Rarity
- Rare (weight 2)
- Anvil cost
- ×4 on an item, ×2 on a book
What does Breach do?
Mace only: each level makes the target's armor 15% less effective against your hits.
Breach IBreach IIBreach IIIBreach IV How to get Breach
Best wayEnchanting tableAppears on the table for mace. The level depends on the XP you spend and your bookshelves.
RandomLibrarian villagersLibrarians can sell a Breach book. Reset an unemployed villager’s lectern until the trade appears.
RandomChests and fishingEnchanted books in structure chests, and fishing treasure, can carry Breach.
CombineAnvilCombine a Breach book with the item on an anvil.
Items that take Breach
Primary items show up on the enchanting table; the others only get it through an anvil.
Combining Breach
Can’t combine withSharpnessMutually exclusive: an item can only carry one of them.
Can’t combine withSmiteMutually exclusive: an item can only carry one of them.
Can’t combine withBane of ArthropodsMutually exclusive: an item can only carry one of them.
Can’t combine withImpalingMutually exclusive: an item can only carry one of them.
Can’t combine withDensityMutually exclusive: an item can only carry one of them.
Commands
/enchant @s minecraft:breach 4/give @s minecraft:enchanted_book[stored_enchantments={"minecraft:breach":4}]When Breach beats Density
Breach and Density sit in the same exclusive group, with Smite and Bane of Arthropods, so a mace carries only one of them. Breach only matters if the target wears armor. Most mobs have little or none, and against them Density deals more damage. Against players in diamond or netherite armor, or mobs that spawn wearing armor pieces, Breach keeps your smash attacks effective.
What Breach does not do
It weakens armor points, nothing else. Protection enchantments on the target's armor still reduce your damage as usual, and Breach adds no damage on its own against an unarmored target.
Getting Breach
Besides the enchanting table and librarians, the rare reward pool of an ominous vault in the Trial Chambers can give a book with Breach or Density. The mace itself comes from a heavy core, found in ominous vaults, and a breeze rod. The best mace enchantments page uses Density V and lists Breach IV as the swap; Wind Burst fits with either.
✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026
Breach — FAQ
Is Breach useful against mobs?
Rarely. Most mobs wear little or no armor, so Density does more damage against them.
Can a mace have both Breach and Density?
No. They are in the same exclusive group, with Smite and Bane of Arthropods.
Does Breach ignore Protection?
No. Breach only lowers the effect of armor points. Protection enchantments still apply.
Can you get Breach from an enchanting table?
Yes. Breach can appear on the enchanting table for mace.
What is the max level of Breach?
Breach goes up to level IV.