How does the luck effect work in Minecraft?

In Minecraft's 1.9 update, Luck is a somewhat mysterious stat that isn't encountered often, if at all, in Survival Mode.

Bestowed on players via Potions of Luck and Arrows of Luck, the luck effect improves the chances of receiving better loot from loot chests within generated structures such as Mineshafts, temples, strongholds, and ruins.

Since Potions of Luck cannot be brewed and Arrows of Luck cannot be obtained in Survival Mode and require a console command or access to the Creative Mode inventory, players are left somewhat stuck.

Players will be notified via a status effect indicator on their inventory screen when the luck effect is active, signified by a lucky Four-Leaf Clover.

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Minecraft: Obtaining luck items via console commands

Potions of Luck are currently unavailable in Survival Mode without mods or console commands (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft players who still hope to get Potions and Arrows of Luck will need to rely on console commands entered through the in-game chat to obtain what they're after in Survival Mode. Mods also exist that reintroduce items to the game and can be sought out via many Minecraft community sites. For vanilla Minecraft, players will want to perform the following in Survival Mode to obtain the needed potions and/or arrows:

1. Ensure that cheats are enabled on a player's single-player world or multiplayer server. If they are not enabled, players in single-player seeds can select "open to LAN" in the pause menu and activate cheats from there. Server operators may also enable cheats on their multiplayer server by ensuring the right players have operator privileges by typing "/op <playername>," which should do the trick.
2. Once cheats are enabled, players that want a Potion of Luck should type "/give @s Minecraft: potion{Potion:luck}" in the game chat. Since Potions of Luck are exclusive to Minecraft: Java Edition, this command will not work in Bedrock Edition.
3. With Potions of Luck in hand, players can craft Arrows of Luck if they'd like using eight arrows and a Potion of Luck.
4. In the crafting grid of a Crafting Table, place the Potion of Luck in the center square of the grid, and surround it with one arrow per square on the rest of the crafting grid. This will create a total of eight Arrows of Luck.

It is also important to remember when it comes to the luck status in Minecraft that only players are affected. Mobs hit with Splash Potions or Arrows of luck will not be influenced by the status. They technically aren't immune to luck, but it simply does not alter them in any way.

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