Mending vs Infinity: Which Is Better for a Bow?
Infinity saves normal arrows; Mending repairs your bow with XP. Choose based on your arrow supply and access to experience.
Infinity saves normal arrows; Mending repairs your bow with XP. Choose based on your arrow supply and access to experience.
When to choose Infinity
Infinity suits long trips with normal arrows: it saves inventory space and repeated ammunition runs. You must still carry at least one normal arrow. The bow continues to lose durability, so Unbreaking III remains useful. Choose it when arrows run out more often than the bow wears out, and you are willing to replace the weapon or pay for repairs eventually.
When to choose Mending
Mending suits a long-term bow when you have a steady XP source and an arrow supply. Hold the bow while collecting XP so that it is eligible for repair. Mending does not make arrows infinite, but restores durability without another anvil operation. It does not erase an existing prior-work penalty: durability restoration and resetting an item's history are different mechanics.
Special arrows and editions
Infinity does not save tipped arrows; Java spectral arrows are also consumed. If these are your main ammunition, Infinity loses its main advantage. The conflict with Mending applies in normal Java and Bedrock Survival. The prices and combination plans below are Java-only, so Bedrock players should use the mechanical comparison rather than treating the costs as exact.
Can you switch between them?
A normal anvil cannot replace Infinity by adding Mending on top. A grindstone removes the bow's other ordinary enchantments too, not just the conflicting one; curses remain. Compare a fresh bow with rebuilding the old one before stripping enchantments. The ready builds below differ only in Mending versus Infinity so the comparison is not distorted by different levels of the other enchantments.
Ready builds and anvil costs
Java 26.2. Fresh item and one fresh book at the required level per enchantment. No renaming or repairs. Costs are levels, not XP points.
Infinity bow
- Power V
- Punch II
- Flame I
- Unbreaking III
- Infinity I
Total: 29 levels
Highest step: 10 levels · Operations: 5
Mending bow
- Power V
- Punch II
- Flame I
- Unbreaking III
- Mending I
Total: 26 levels
Highest step: 9 levels · Operations: 5
Frequently asked questions
Can Mending and Infinity go together?
No. They conflict in normal Survival. Commands and modified server rules are outside ordinary enchanting.
Does Infinity preserve bow durability?
No. It only saves normal arrows. Unbreaking III reduces durability consumption, but does not replace repairs.
Related articles
Best Bow EnchantmentsA complete bow setup and the choice between Mending and Infinity.
MendingRepairs item durability using collected experience orbs.InfinityAllows normal arrows to be fired without consuming them when at least one is carried.
Anvil Too Expensive: Causes and FixesCheck the per-operation limit, prior-work penalty and book history. More player levels or a new anvil alone will not solve the problem.