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Minecraft is a game of creativity, but gathering resources becomes tedious when you don’t play in Creative.
It can take hundreds of hours to clear areas for builds and get the additional blocks needed to make it look just right.
That is where the Efficiency enchantment comes in handy.
Efficiency increases the speed of your tools and is one of the best enchantments for the pickaxe.
Keep reading to learn about Efficiency and how it can be your new best friend in Minecraft.
What is Efficiency, and What Does it Do?
Efficiency is a Minecraft enchantment that increases the speed at which a tool mines blocks.
There are five levels of Efficiency, each providing a higher speed bonus. The speed bonuses provided are:
- Level I: +25% Mining Speed
- Level II: +30% Mining Speed
- Level III: +35% Mining Speed
- Level IV: +40% Mining Speed
- Level V: +45% Mining Speed
As you can see, having the highest level of Efficiency on your tools will make the mining process go by in a breeze.
While Efficiency will make breaking any block faster, you should still use the proper tools for mining each block.
While your iron pickaxe may have Efficiency V, it will not be as good as an iron Shovel with Efficiency II for digging in the dirt.
Mine smart, and not just with whatever tool happens to have the higher enchantment level.
In other words, bring the right mining tools for the job.
You might also like this guide to the best Minecraft Enchantments for swords.
How to Get the Efficiency Enchantment?
You can acquire the Efficiency enchantment the same way you would any enchantment, though there is a slight difference.
You can not naturally enchant tools with Efficiency V straight from the Enchanting Table. Even with max bookshelves, it just doesn’t happen, unfortunately.
So, how can you get it, then?
Well, there are three main ways that you can do so, and all of them require some work and effort.
Firstly, you can combine two enchanted tools with Efficiency IV on an anvil. This gives you one tool with Efficiency V.
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Next, you can combine two Efficiency IV enchanted books in an anvil like you would with two tools. This will give you an enchantment book with Efficiency V, which you can use to enchant a tool.
(Image credit: Mojang).
Once you have the Efficiency V book, you can place it on a tool by placing the tool to be enchanted and the enchanted book on an Anvil together.
Note: The game may not allow you to do this if the item already has too many enchantments. Typically this happens around enchantment number 5.
Finally, Efficiency V enchanted diamond tools can be found in Bastion Remnants, End cities, or Ancient cities.
That means you would have to visit the Nether and even slay the dragon to get to the end city.
You might also enjoy this guide to Minecraft crossbow enchantments.
What Tools Can Be Enchanted With Efficiency?
Efficiency can be applied to all the main tools in Minecraft, though you will likely want different levels on each tool.
The following tools can be enchanted:
- Shears
- Axe
- Pickaxe
- Shovel
- Hoe
Conclusion
Getting Efficiency on your tools is a big step in making the Minecraft experience easier and more enjoyable when you’re playing survival.
Efficiency speed up the process of mining building materials, and it is non-exclusive, meaning you can combine it with fx the unbreaking enchantment or the mending enchantment.
This will make that netherite pickaxe you’ve worked so hard for an efficient and almost unbreakable mining machine, which is why Efficiency is one of the best pickaxe enchantments in the game.
Just make sure you bring the right tool for the job – after all, enchanted items don’t come cheap.
If you found this article helpful, check out How to Get Spectral Arrows in Minecraft to light your enemies up. Until next time, happy gaming!
FAQ
What Level Do I Need to be to Get Efficiency IV?
To get Efficiency IV on your tools, you will want a full 15 bookshelf, enchantment table setup, and be between XP levels 31 – 81.
The higher your XP level, the higher chance you have of getting the enchantment you actually want. Don’t forget the Lapis Lazuli!
Can I Get Higher Than Level V Efficiency?
Without cheats, you can only get up to Level V Efficiency in vanilla Minecraft.
However, with cheats, you can give a tool Level 1000 Efficiency if you want to.
However, remember that after Level 5, the difference between levels is almost non-existent, so it serves no purpose.
Is Efficiency an Exclusive Enchantment?
No, you can place Efficiency on any tool that can accept it regardless of its other enchantments.
What Does Efficiency Do on Shears?
While enchanting shears with Efficiency may seem strange, it serves a useful purpose, namely, if you want to gather a ton of cobwebs or leaves.
Efficiency will decrease the time it takes to mine through those blocks, which is perfect for making your way through a mineshaft.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jan has played video games since the early 1980s. He loves getting immersed in video games as a way to take his mind off stuff when the outside world gets too scary. A lifelong gamer, the big interest led to a job as a lecturer on game sound at the University of Copenhagen and several written articles on video games for magazines.