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Craft a bow with three sticks and three string, then keep arrows in your inventory as ammunition. For a strong general-purpose survival bow, aim for Power V, Unbreaking III, Flame, Punch II, and either Infinity or Mending. Infinity saves ordinary arrows; Mending restores durability with experience and is the better choice when you use tipped arrows.
What a bow does in Minecraft
A bow is a ranged weapon that fires arrows. Hold the use button to draw it, then release to fire. A longer draw produces a more useful shot, but the projectile still follows Minecraft’s normal gravity and aiming rules. The bow’s enchantments change damage, knockback, fire, durability, or repair behavior; they do not turn the arrow into a faster or flatter projectile.
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How to craft a bow
Materials
- 3 sticks
- 3 string
- A crafting table or the 3×3 crafting grid in a crafting table interface
Recipe layout
Place the materials in the bow pattern below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Stick | Empty | String |
| Empty | Stick | String |
| Stick | Empty | String |
Take the bow from the output slot. The recipe does not provide arrows, so craft or collect ammunition separately. A bow can be used unenchanted, but its durability is finite and each shot consumes durability.
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Arrows and ammunition choices
Ordinary arrows
Ordinary arrows are the practical default for exploration, hunting, and most hostile-mob fights. They are also the arrows affected by Infinity. With Infinity on the bow, you still need at least one ordinary arrow somewhere in your inventory; the enchantment prevents regular arrows from being consumed when you fire.
Tipped arrows
Tipped arrows carry status effects and are consumed normally. Infinity does not apply to them, so a bow dedicated to tipped-arrow use needs a renewable or sufficiently large ammunition supply. Mending pairs naturally with this play style because the bow can be repaired with experience rather than relying on Infinity’s ammunition economy.
Drawing and aiming
Draw before releasing instead of rapidly tapping the use button. Account for projectile gravity when shooting at distant or elevated targets. Since enchantments do not increase arrow speed or travel distance, better range comes from timing, elevation, and aim—not from adding another bow enchantment.
Bow enchantments explained
| Enchantment | Maximum level | What it changes | Important limitation or use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | V | Increases arrow damage. | The primary damage enchantment for a combat bow. |
| Punch | II | Increases knockback from a hit. | Useful for creating space; optional if knockback makes follow-up shots harder. |
| Flame | I | Sets targets hit by arrows on fire. | Adds burning damage and can alter how a target behaves after being hit. |
| Unbreaking | III | Reduces the chance that a shot consumes durability. | Extends useful life but does not make the bow indestructible. |
| Mending | I | Repairs the bow when you gain experience orbs. | Mutually exclusive with Infinity through normal survival enchanting. |
| Infinity | I | Prevents regular arrows from being consumed. | Requires one ordinary arrow in inventory and does not work with tipped arrows. |
| Curse of Vanishing | I | Causes the bow to disappear on death under the curse’s documented conditions. | Generally undesirable for a survival bow. |
Power: the damage choice
Power is available up to level V and directly increases arrow damage. If your goal is to defeat targets with fewer shots, Power is the first offensive enchantment to prioritize. It changes the damage of a hit, not how quickly the arrow travels or how far it can fly.
Punch: distance and control
Punch increases knockback up to level II. It can keep melee attackers away from you, protect a ledge or doorway, and create time to draw the next shot. The same displacement can be inconvenient when you need a target to remain in one place for follow-up attacks, so Punch II is a play-style choice rather than a universal requirement.
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Flame: fire on impact
Flame has a maximum level of I and sets targets hit by the arrow on fire. It is useful when burning damage or a fire-based opening attack fits the encounter. It does not increase arrow speed or range.
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Unbreaking: durability efficiency
Unbreaking III improves durability by reducing how often firing consumes durability. It is valuable on both Infinity and Mending bows because it lowers the rate at which the bow needs repair or replacement. Unbreaking changes durability consumption; it does not increase damage.
Mending: experience-powered repairs
Mending repairs the item when you gain experience orbs. The official Minecraft Help description is: “Mending – Repairs the item when gaining XP orbs.” This makes an XP-generating routine important: the bow must be available to receive the repair effect when the orbs are collected.
Infinity: ordinary-arrow economy
Infinity I preserves regular arrows while firing, provided at least one ordinary arrow remains in your inventory. It does not preserve tipped arrows. Infinity is therefore strongest for a normal-arrow combat bow when minimizing ammunition use matters more than repairing the bow with XP.
Curse of Vanishing
Curse of Vanishing is normally a poor choice for a survival bow because the item can disappear when you die under the curse’s conditions. Avoid adding it deliberately to a bow you intend to keep.
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Infinity or Mending?
Normal survival enchanting does not let you combine Infinity and Mending on the same bow. Decide which resource you want the bow to conserve: arrows or durability.
| Decision factor | Infinity | Mending |
|---|---|---|
| Best ammunition | Ordinary arrows | Ordinary or tipped arrows |
| What it saves | Regular arrows, as long as one remains in inventory | Bow durability, by using experience orbs |
| Tipped-arrow compatibility | Does not apply to tipped arrows | Works with a bow firing tipped arrows |
| Resource priority | Choose when arrow supply is the problem | Choose when XP repair is convenient or arrows have special effects |
| Can it be paired with the other enchantment? | Not through normal survival enchanting | |
For a standard exploration bow that fires ordinary arrows, Infinity is convenient because a single reserve arrow supports continued firing. For a mixed-purpose bow, a tipped-arrow loadout, or a world where XP is easy to obtain, Mending is more flexible.
Best bow builds for different play styles
General-purpose survival bow
The broadly useful high-end target is Power V, Unbreaking III, Flame, Punch II, plus either Infinity or Mending. Select Infinity if ordinary-arrow economy is your priority; select Mending if you value XP repairs or tipped arrows.
Arrow-conservation build
- Power V for damage
- Unbreaking III for slower durability loss
- Flame for burning hits
- Punch II if you want maximum spacing
- Infinity for ordinary-arrow use
This setup is convenient for long trips where carrying large stacks of ordinary arrows is undesirable. Carry at least one ordinary arrow even when the bow has Infinity.
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XP-and-status-effect build
- Power V for damage
- Unbreaking III for durability efficiency
- Flame when fire fits the encounter
- Punch II or no Punch, depending on whether knockback helps your follow-up shots
- Mending for XP-based repairs
Use this configuration when you regularly collect XP or rely on tipped arrows. Mending avoids Infinity’s tipped-arrow restriction, but it does not remove the need to manage the bow’s durability and XP access.
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Control-focused build
Some players prefer Power V, Unbreaking III, Flame, and Mending without Punch. Removing Punch keeps targets closer to their original position, which can make repeated shots easier to place. This is a preference choice, not a damage upgrade.
How to enchant and combine a bow
- Start with a clean bow. Craft one or obtain one, then check its durability before investing levels or books.
- Use an enchanting table or enchanted books. The listed bow enchantments can come from either route, subject to the normal enchantment options available in your world.
- Plan the mutually exclusive choice first. Decide between Infinity and Mending before spending resources on the final bow, because normal survival enchanting cannot combine them.
- Combine compatible books or bows in an anvil. Equal-level copies can combine into the next level, up to each enchantment’s survival maximum. For example, two equal Power levels can produce the next Power level until Power V.
- Check the result after every operation. Confirm that the anvil retained the enchantments you wanted and that the level cost is acceptable before taking the output.
An anvil-order guide gives a worked example totaling 29 levels for one Infinity-or-Mending bow path. Treat that figure as that guide’s example, not as a universal cost for every bow: the exact cost depends on the items and sequence you combine.
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How the enchantments affect combat
Damage
Power is the enchantment that increases arrow damage. Flame can add a burning effect, but it is not a substitute for Power. Neither Infinity nor Mending increases the damage of a shot.
Knockback
Punch changes where the target ends up after the hit. Use it to maintain distance from dangerous melee targets or to interrupt an approach. If displacement causes your next arrow to miss, use a lower Punch choice or omit it.
Range and projectile speed
No bow enchantment in this guide makes arrows fly faster or travel farther. A distant shot still requires compensation for gravity. Draw timing, elevation, and aiming technique determine practical range.
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Durability and repair
Every bow eventually needs durability management. Unbreaking slows consumption, while Mending restores durability from XP orbs. Infinity solves a different problem: it reduces ordinary-arrow consumption but does not repair the bow.
Practical tips and troubleshooting
The bow will not fire
Check that an arrow is in your inventory. Infinity still requires at least one ordinary arrow, and a bow without Infinity needs usable ammunition for every shot. Also check that you are holding the bow and have completed the draw before releasing.
Infinity is consuming or failing to preserve arrows
Infinity applies to ordinary arrows only. Tipped arrows are excluded, so their consumption is expected. If you are using ordinary arrows, keep at least one in the inventory rather than storing every arrow in a container.
The bow breaks too quickly
Add Unbreaking when possible, reduce unnecessary firing, and choose Mending if you have a reliable way to collect XP orbs. Infinity does not extend durability, and Mending does not provide free ammunition.
Targets are being pushed too far away
Punch is doing exactly what it is designed to do: increasing knockback. Use Punch only when the spacing benefit outweighs the difficulty of landing the next shot.
The bow feels weak at long distance
Check draw timing and aim rather than searching for a range enchantment. Enchantments do not increase arrow speed or travel distance, so elevation and compensation for projectile gravity remain necessary.
Recommended decision checklist
- Choose Power V when damage is the priority.
- Add Unbreaking III for a bow used regularly.
- Choose Flame when burning targets is useful.
- Choose Punch II for spacing, or omit it for tighter target control.
- Choose Infinity for ordinary-arrow conservation.
- Choose Mending for XP repairs or tipped-arrow use.
- Avoid Curse of Vanishing on a survival bow you want to keep.
The Bottom Line
The strongest all-around survival pattern is Power V, Unbreaking III, Flame, Punch II, and one final choice: Infinity for ordinary-arrow economy or Mending for XP repairs and tipped arrows.
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