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Smite

Increases damage dealt to undead mobs (zombies, skeletons, wither, phantoms, etc.).

Overview

Smite is an uncommon melee enchantment in Minecraft. Smite is a specialist damage enchantment that only fires against undead mobs, adding a large flat bonus on top of your weapon's normal hit whenever the target is in that family.

Its opening level already delivers a noticeable boost (+2.5 damage (+1.25 hearts) vs undead), and it climbs from there to a maximum of level 5 (V) on your sword.

Max Level
5 (V)
Applicable To
Sword, Axe
Rarity
Uncommon
Category
Melee
Added In
1.0

Effects Per Level

ILevel 1: +2.5 damage (+1.25 hearts) vs undead
IILevel 2: +5 damage (+2.5 hearts) vs undead
IIILevel 3: +7.5 damage (+3.75 hearts) vs undead
IVLevel 4: +10 damage (+5 hearts) vs undead
VLevel 5: +12.5 damage (+6.25 hearts) vs undead

Max Level & Effect Scaling

Smite 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.

Each level is worth a full +2.5 damage against undead (there is no diminishing curve here), so the climb is linear all the way to +12.5 at Smite V. That makes a maxed Smite weapon hit undead for roughly six and a quarter extra hearts every swing.

Compatible Items

Incompatible With

These enchantments cannot be combined with Smite on the same item.

Compatibility & Conflicts

Smite can be placed on sword and axe, giving you two choices for where it does the most good depending on how you play.

Smite cannot share an item with Sharpness, Bane of Arthropods, Density and Breach. All of these sit in the same mutually-exclusive group as Smite, so an item can wear only one of them at once and you choose which playstyle to commit to.

How to Obtain

Enchanting TableAnvilLoot ChestVillager Trading

How to Get It

Smite can be rolled directly at an enchanting table, where the level you pay and the enchantability of a sword together decide which level of it you can be offered, up to V. Should the table prove stingy with Smite, you can instead source the book from loot chest and villager trading and anvil it on.

Its selection weight of 5 makes Smite an uncommon roll: it appears with middling frequency when enchanting a sword: common enough to plan around, but not guaranteed on any given roll.

What the Table Has to Roll

The numbers below are for a golden sword: of everything that accepts Smite it has the highest enchantability (22), worth up to 10 extra points of power on top of your experience level.

Roll the level 30 slot and the power falls inside the Smite V window 43% of the time.

LevelEnchanting powerAt a level 30 slot
I5 to 12never
II13 to 20never
III21 to 281%
IV29 to 3656%
V37 to 5743%

Applying the book on an anvil costs 2 levels per enchantment level, before the anvil adds its own charge for the work you have already done to the item.

Tips & Best Combinations

Worth it only if you spend real time near undead: wither fights, skeleton or zombie XP farms, and Nether travel through hordes of zombified piglins. For everyday survival a Sharpness weapon is the more flexible choice because Smite is dead weight against creepers, spiders and players.

For the strongest setup, pair Smite with Unbreaking, Mending, Looting and Fire Aspect: the durability enchantments in particular keep the item alive long enough to make the investment worthwhile.

Keep in mind: deals 2.5 extra damage per level to undead mobs. More damage than Sharpness against undead but useless against other mobs.

Related Enchantments

Smite FAQ

What is the maximum level of Smite in Minecraft?
Smite reaches a maximum of level 5 (V) on a sword, which is the highest you can get legitimately without commands or external tools.
How do you get Smite in survival?
The easiest source of Smite is the enchanting table. Which level it may offer depends on the power the table rolls, which is the experience level you spend plus a bonus drawn from the item's own enchantability. If the rolls go against you, look for the Smite book among loot chest and villager trading, then apply it with an anvil.
Which items can Smite go on?
Smite can be applied to sword and axe: those are the only items that accept it.
Which mobs count as undead for Smite?
Zombies, husks, drowned, zombie villagers, skeletons, strays, wither skeletons, the wither, zombified piglins, zoglins, phantoms and the skeleton horse all take the bonus. Notably the Warden does not: it is not undead.
Is Smite good against the wither boss?
Extremely. The wither is undead, so a Smite V netherite sword or axe shreds its health far faster than Sharpness, which is why Smite is the standard recommendation for melee wither kills.

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