Smite vs Sharpness in Minecraft: Which enchantment is better for your sword?

Smite and Sharpness are two Minecraft enchantments that can be placed on swords. Players can apply these enchantments by using an enchanting table or an anvil. Enchanting tables can be crafted using four blocks of obsidian, two diamonds, and one unenchanted book.

Anvils are crafted using four iron ingots and three iron blocks. Swords are already one of the best weapons to use in the game. Adding enchantments to the swords makes them stronger.

Smite and Sharpness are both good enchantments to add to the sword in Minecraft. Since these two enchantments are incompatible (they cannot be placed on the same sword), players will have to choose one.

This can be a tough choice if players are unaware of what these enchantments do and which might work better for them. Hence, it's always advisable to learn about one's weaponry and its myriad uses.

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A deep dive into two Minecraft sword enchantments

What does Sharpness do?

Sharpness V enchanted book (Image via Minecraft)

It increases the overall melee damage of the player's sword. The max level of enchantment for Sharpness is level V, and each level of enchantment adds 1.25% more damage per melee hit (0.5% on Java.)

This enchantment will work on other players and all other mobs in the game. Sharpness is not limited to just one group of mobs or one mob.

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What does Smite do?

Smite V enchantment on an enchanting table (Image via Minecraft)

The amount of damage that Minecraft players deal to undead mobs increases. Mobs affected by this enchantment include zombies, wither skeletons, skeletons, zombie pigmen, and the boss wither mob.

Smite's maximum enchantment level is level V, and each level adds an extra 2.5 damage to each melee hit.

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Which is better?

Smite vs Sharpness Which is better? (Image via TheMrwright1 on Youtube)

Although Sharpness is not as effective as Smite, as it does less damage, it is still the better enchantment out of the two. Smite is only useful when dealing with undead mobs.

This enchantment will not work on other players, the Ender dragon, spiders, or other non-undead mobs. Sharpness is effective against all mobs, not just undead ones.

Sharpness would be the best enchantment to use out of the two since Smite would be useless when fighting other players or other mobs besides the undead. Since players can only choose one, Sharpness is the best choice.

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This article reflects the opinions of the writer.