ENCHANTMENT Present since 1.14 or earlier

Looting enchantment in Minecraft

Looting makes mobs you kill drop more items and raises the chance of their rare drops. It goes on swords and spears only, not on axes. It works only when you land the killing blow yourself, and it does not change the experience you get.

Open this build in the planner How to get Looting

Looting at a glance

Max level: III
Works on: Spear and Sword
Enchanting table: Yes
Incompatible with: None
Rarity: Rare (weight 2)
Anvil cost: ×4 on an item, ×2 on a book

What does Looting do?

Mobs drop more loot when you kill them, and rare drops become more likely.

Looting I

Looting II

Looting III

How to get Looting

Best wayEnchanting table

Appears on the table for spear and sword. The level depends on the XP you spend and your bookshelves.

RandomLibrarian villagers

Librarians can sell a Looting book. Reset an unemployed villager’s lectern until the trade appears.

RandomChests and fishing

Enchanted books in structure chests, and fishing treasure, can carry Looting.

CombineAnvil

Combine a Looting book with the item on an anvil.

Items that take Looting

Primary items show up on the enchanting table; the others only get it through an anvil.

Spear

Sword

Combining Looting

No incompatibility: it combines with every other enchantment its item can take.

Commands

Enchant the item in your hand/enchant →

/enchant @s minecraft:looting 3

Get a Looting book/give →

/give @s minecraft:enchanted_book[stored_enchantments={"minecraft:looting":3}]

What Looting changes

Common drops: each level adds to how many items a mob can drop, such as rotten flesh, bones, gunpowder, ender pearls or blaze rods.
Rare drops: the chance rises with each level. A Wither Skeleton Skull drops 2.5% of the time without Looting and 5.5% with Looting III, which matters a lot when you need three skulls for the Wither.
Equipment: mobs drop the gear they wear or hold 1% more often per level.

Best mobs to farm with Looting

Wither skeletons for skulls.
Endermen for ender pearls.
Blazes for blaze rods.
Any mob farm: Looting III raises the output of every kill.

Things to know

Looting needs a direct kill by a player: mobs killed by fall damage, lava or another mob do not get the bonus. It does nothing on the axe, which cannot carry it. On a sword it combines with Sharpness, Sweeping Edge, Unbreaking and Mending. Fire Aspect cooks the meat that animals drop, which you may or may not want.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 31 October 2026