enchantment
Looting in Minecraft | MinecraftBible
Looting is a level 1-3 sword enchantment in Minecraft 1.21.4. Boosts mob loot: +1 max drop per level and +1% rare-drop chance per level (base 2.5% → 5.5% at III).
What does Looting do?
Looting is a Minecraft enchantment in the Sword category with a Rare rarity. It scales up to level 3. It is available from the enchanting table with sufficient bookshelves. Villager librarians can trade enchanted books of this enchantment.
Effect: Boosts mob loot: +1 max drop per level and +1% rare-drop chance per level (base 2.5% → 5.5% at III).
Priority: S-tier on any farming sword. Doubles rare mob drops like wither skulls (mid-game gate).
How to get Looting
- Enchanting table
- Librarian villager trades
- Dungeon chests
Librarian trade: Cure or trap a villager, place a lectern to convert them to a librarian, then break and re-place the lectern to reroll trades until a Looting book appears. Expected price: 15–62 emeralds at profession level 3+.
XP cost by level for Looting
| Level | Min cost | Max cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 65 |
| 2 | 24 | 74 |
| 3 | 33 | 83 |
Items you can enchant with Looting
You can apply Looting at an enchanting table or anvil to any of these items:
Synergy enchantments with Looting
These enchantments stack productively on the same item:
Enchantment properties
- Category: Sword
- Rarity: Rare
- Max level: 3
- Weight: 2
- Min cost formula: 9 × level + 6
- Max cost formula: 9 × level + 56
- Anvil item cost / level: 4×
- Anvil book cost / level: 2×
- Treasure only: No
- Tradeable: Yes
- Discoverable via enchanting table: Yes
- Curse: No
Overview
Looting is an enchantment in Minecraft 1.21.4 with a maximum level of 3, usable on 6+ real item types. Boosts mob loot: +1 max drop per level and +1% rare-drop chance per level (base 2.5% → 5.5% at III).
Prerequisites and materials
- Obtainable from: Enchanting table; Librarian villager trades; Dungeon chests.
- Level 3 enchanting-table cost lands between 33 and 83 XP — budget your levels before committing.
Step-by-step walkthrough
- Effect: Boosts mob loot: +1 max drop per level and +1% rare-drop chance per level (base 2.5% → 5.5% at III).
- Apply to compatible gear such as Wooden Sword, Stone Sword, Golden Sword. See the Primary Items section for the full list.
- Librarian route: cure or trap a villager, place a lectern, and reroll trades by breaking + replacing the lectern until you see the book. Expect 15-62 emeralds at profession level 3+.
Pro tips
- Priority: S-tier on any farming sword. Doubles rare mob drops like wither skulls (mid-game gate).
- Use a grindstone to safely strip this enchantment and reclaim a small XP refund.
- Before an anvil merge, confirm the two enchantments aren't in each other's exclusive list — conflicts turn the merge red and waste XP.
Difficulty and time commitment
- Difficulty: Easy
- Estimated time per run: 5-20 min
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Looting do in Minecraft?
Boosts mob loot: +1 max drop per level and +1% rare-drop chance per level (base 2.5% → 5.5% at III). Max level is 3.
What is the max level of Looting?
Looting caps at level 3. At max level the enchanting-table cost formula lands between 33 and 83 XP.
How do I get Looting?
Looting can be obtained from: Enchanting table; Librarian villager trades; Dungeon chests. A librarian villager at profession level 3+ can sell an enchanted book of it for 15-62 emeralds.
Can I trade for Looting with a villager?
Yes — cure a zombie villager or trap a fresh villager, place a lectern to convert them to a librarian, then break and replace the lectern until they roll a Looting book. Expected price is 15-62 emeralds and requires villager level 3+.
Does Looting conflict with other enchantments?
Looting has no incompatible enchantments and can be freely combined with others.
What is the anvil cost for Looting?
Applying Looting to a target from an enchanted book costs 2× per level in anvil work units, or 4× per level when combining from another enchanted item. Every anvil use also doubles the prior-work penalty on the target.
What items can I put Looting on?
Looting belongs to the "Sword" enchantment category, covering items like Wooden Sword, Stone Sword, Golden Sword, Iron Sword, Diamond Sword, Netherite Sword.