Bane of Arthropods
Increases damage dealt to arthropod mobs (spiders, cave spiders, bees, silverfish, endermites).
Overview
Bane of Arthropods is an uncommon melee enchantment in Minecraft 1.21. Bane of Arthropods deals bonus damage to the arthropod family and, on top of that, briefly slows whatever it hits, making it a crowd-control tool as much as a damage one.
Its opening level already delivers a noticeable boost — +2.5 damage (+1.25 hearts) vs arthropods — and it climbs from there to a maximum of level 5 (V) on your sword.
Max Level
Rarity
Category
Added InEffects Per Level
Max Level & Effect Scaling
Bane of Arthropods tops out at level 5, shown as V on the sword, and the gap between the levels is where the enchantment's character really lives.
Damage rises by +2.5 per level in a straight line to +12.5 at level V, mirroring Smite but aimed at a different mob group. The Slowness IV applied on hit also lengthens with level — starting around 1 to 1.5 seconds and growing by roughly half a second each level — which keeps fast pests pinned in place.
Compatible Items
Incompatible With
These enchantments cannot be combined with Bane of Arthropods on the same item.
Compatibility & Conflicts
Bane of Arthropods can be placed on sword and axe, giving you two choices for where it does the most good depending on how you play.
Bane of Arthropods cannot share an item with Sharpness, Smite, Density and Breach. All of these sit in the same mutually-exclusive group as Bane of Arthropods, so an item can wear only one of them at once and you choose which playstyle to commit to.
How to Obtain
How to Get It
Bane of Arthropods can be rolled directly at an enchanting table, where reaching its top level of V on a sword generally wants a fully bookshelf-powered table at roughly level 9. When the enchanting table refuses to offer Bane of Arthropods, the same enchantment is available as a book from loot chest and villager trading for anvil application.
Its selection weight of 5 makes Bane of Arthropods an uncommon roll: it appears with middling frequency when enchanting a sword — common enough to plan around, but not guaranteed on any given roll.
Tips & Best Combinations
A niche pick. It shines only in spider-heavy caves, on bee-farm mishaps, or against silverfish swarms in strongholds; the rest of the time Sharpness is more useful. Most players never craft a dedicated Bane weapon, treating it as situational insurance rather than a staple.
For the strongest setup, pair Bane of Arthropods with Unbreaking, Mending and Looting — the durability enchantments in particular keep the item alive long enough to make the investment worthwhile.
A practical note: also applies Slowness IV to arthropod mobs on hit for 1-1.5 seconds at level 1, increasing by 0.5 seconds per level.
Related Enchantments
Increases melee damage dealt to all mobs.
Increases damage dealt to undead mobs (zombies, skeletons, wither, phantoms, etc.).
Sets the target on fire when hit, dealing fire damage over time.
Increases the knockback dealt to mobs and players when hit.
Increases the amount and chance of mob drops when killing mobs.
Increases the damage of sweep attacks (Java Edition only).
Bane of Arthropods FAQ
What is the maximum level of Bane of Arthropods in Minecraft?
How do you get Bane of Arthropods in survival?
Which items can Bane of Arthropods go on?
What counts as an arthropod?
Why does Bane of Arthropods slow enemies?
Try these enchantments on Astroworld
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