Enchanting Table Odds
Place bookshelves, pick an item, and see which enchantments each slot gives and how likely they are. The numbers are exact: worked out from the game's code, not from hearsay.
Bookshelves
15of 15 bookshelves
A bookshelf counts when it stands one block away from the table, level with it or one block higher, with air in between. Click a spot to place or remove a bookshelf.
Enchanting table window
3The roll follows the game's algorithm: slot level, power, then the enchantments. It costs 3 levels and 3 lapis and needs the level shown in the slot.
Press Enchant or double-click a slot — the table rolls the dice just like the game.
Slot 3: what you get
15 bookshelves- 132%
- 244.4%
- 323.6%
- Efficiency80.5%IV 68.9%III 11.6%
- Unbreaking62.7%III 62.7%
- Fortune32.3%III 19.4%II 12.9%
- Silk Touch16.1%I 16.1%
- Efficiency IV + Unbreaking III21.4%
- Efficiency IV14.5%
- Efficiency IV + Fortune III + Unbreaking III9.88%
- Unbreaking III8.89%
- Efficiency IV + Silk Touch I + Unbreaking III6.91%
- Efficiency IV + Fortune III5.58%
Chance of getting what you want
Mark the enchantments you want together and the minimum level of each.
How the table picks enchantments
First the table assigns each slot a level: a random number from 1 to 8, plus half the bookshelves, plus another random number up to the bookshelf count. The top slot takes a third of that, the middle two thirds, and the bottom at least twice the bookshelf count, which is why it is always 30 with 15 bookshelves. The level then becomes power: two rolls of the item's enchantability are added, and the total is multiplied by a random factor from 0.85 to 1.15.
Power decides which enchantments and levels are possible at all: every enchantment has its own power range per level. The table picks the first enchantment by weight — Efficiency and Sharpness are common, Silk Touch is rare. Then it rolls for more: the chance to continue grows with power, and power is halved after each new enchantment. A book then loses one random enchantment, which is why table books almost always carry a single enchantment.
Frequently asked questions
How many bookshelves do you need for level 30?
Fifteen. A bookshelf counts when it stands one block away from the table — level with it or one block higher — with air in between: a torch or carpet in the gap switches it off. With 15 bookshelves the bottom slot always shows 30; a sixteenth and beyond add nothing.
Why doesn't the table give Sharpness to an axe?
In Java the table only offers enchantments for which the item is a primary item. Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods list the sword and spear as primary, while the axe is only supported. So the table gives an axe Efficiency, Fortune or Silk Touch, and Unbreaking, and Sharpness only comes from a book on an anvil.
How do I reroll the enchanting table options?
The options depend on the player's personal enchantment seed, and it only changes after an enchantment. Taking the item out and putting it back shows the same options. The cheapest reroll is to enchant a book in the first slot: it costs one level and one lapis, and every slot then offers something new.
Can you get Efficiency V from the table?
Yes, but not on every pickaxe. Efficiency V needs a power of 41, and power is the slot level plus a bonus from the item's enchantability and ±15%. Wooden, copper, iron, golden, and netherite pickaxes can reach it, but diamond (enchantability 10) and stone cannot: they top out at Efficiency IV.
Can Mending come from the enchanting table?
No. Mending is a treasure enchantment, like Frost Walker, Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, Wind Burst, and the curses: the table never offers them. Mending comes from librarians, structure chests, and fishing.