Loot & rewards
Levelling Tools
Your pickaxe, sword and bow get better the more you use them - past vanilla's enchant caps.
Tools and weapons gain XP from being used, level up, and unlock enchantments automatically as they go. A pickaxe you have mined with for weeks is genuinely a different item from a fresh one.
This is separate from both classes and enchantments. It is the item that levels, not you.
What levels
Pickaxes, axes, shovels, swords, bows, crossbows, fishing rods, tridents and hoes. All of them go to level 100.
Nothing needs to be done to start it. Use the tool and it gains XP.
Levelling speed
The XP needed rises sharply, so the last levels are a project:
| XP for the next level | |
|---|---|
| Formula | 100 + 100 × current level |
| Level 1 → 2 | 200 |
| Level 50 → 51 | 5,100 |
| Level 99 → 100 | 10,000 |
Combining two tools in an anvil adds both their XP together, so a partially-levelled tool is not wasted - it can be merged into another.
What gives XP
| Action | XP |
|---|---|
| Mining (pickaxe, axe, shovel) | 0.5-1.5 - but diamond ore gives 5-10 |
| Killing mobs (sword, bow, crossbow, trident) | 1-2.5 - but blazes give 5-7.5 |
| Fishing | 1-5 |
| Farming (hoe) | 1-2.5, best on nether wart |
Player-placed blocks give no XP. Only naturally generated blocks count, so you cannot place and re-break the same block to level a pickaxe. Killing other players gives no XP either.
The unlocks
The upgrades land at fixed levels - and they go well past vanilla's caps. Efficiency V is the maximum in vanilla; here you reach Efficiency X.
Tools (pickaxe, axe, shovel) and hoes
| Level | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| 1 · 3 · 5 · 8 · 10 | Efficiency I → V |
| 11 · 13 · 15 | Unbreaking I → III |
| 20 | Mending |
| 24 · 26 · 30 | Fortune I → III |
| 40 | Efficiency VI |
| 50 | Fortune IV |
| 65 | Efficiency VII + Unbreaking X |
| 80 · 90 | Efficiency VIII, IX |
| 100 | Efficiency X + Fortune V |
Swords
Same shape, with Sharpness in place of Efficiency and Looting in place of Fortune - ending at Sharpness X + Looting V at level 100, with Mending at 20.
Bows
Power instead of Sharpness, Punch instead of Fortune, Infinity at level 100 alongside Power X.
Crossbows, tridents, fishing rods
Crossbows run Piercing and Quick Charge up to Multishot at 100. Tridents run Impaling and Loyalty, ending at Impaling X + Loyalty V. Fishing rods are the shortest ladder - Lure III, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III and Mending at level 50.
Enchantments are never downgraded
Every unlock only applies if it would be an improvement. A level 80 tool with a better enchantment already on it keeps that one.
So there is no risk in levelling a tool you have already enchanted - the system will not overwrite something better with something worse.
Is it worth it?
Yes, but slowly. A level 100 pickaxe with Efficiency X, Fortune V, Unbreaking X and Mending is substantially better than anything you can make at an enchanting table - and it costs nothing but the time you were going to spend mining anyway.
The trick is to pick one tool per job and stick with it. XP is per item, so a chest full of half-levelled pickaxes is worth less than one that has been used for everything.