# Flame Enchantment in Minecraft: What It Does and How to Use It

_Published October 16, 2026_

Flame ignites a bow's target for 5 seconds of burn damage — a damage-over-time add-on, separate from the arrow's own hit.

Flame sets whatever a bow's arrow hits on fire — a damage-over-time effect, separate from the arrow's own direct hit.

## What Flame actually does

A Flame arrow ignites its target for 5 seconds, dealing fire damage over that time (the very first tick of burn damage is ignored, so the effective damage window is the remaining ticks). Flame only has one level — there's no II or III to reach for, and forcing a higher level via commands doesn't make the fire last longer or burn harder.

## How to use it

Flame is a damage-over-time add-on, not a replacement for Power's direct hit damage — the burn ticks happen after the arrow lands, so it doesn't make the initial shot itself hit harder. It's most useful against mobs/players without fire resistance where the extra few seconds of burning meaningfully adds up, and it has the side effect of lighting TNT, campfires, and other fire-triggered blocks from range. It never conflicts with anything else a bow can take.

## Well-known builds that use it

Flame isn't part of the standard "God Bow" build on this site — see [The Ideal Bow Enchantments](/guides/god-bow), which notes Flame is free to add alongside Power/Punch/Infinity-or-Mending without excluding anything, if you want the burn effect.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Flame add extra hit damage, or does it just set the target on fire?**

Flame's direct effect is igniting the target on impact — that burn then deals its own damage over the next 5 seconds. It isn't a flat damage boost added to the arrow's initial hit the way Power is; the extra damage comes from the fire ticking afterward.

**Can Flame be enchanted past level I?**

No. Flame's maximum level is I — there's no higher tier, and even forcing a higher level through commands or an NBT editor doesn't change the fire's duration or strength.

**Does Flame work on mobs and players that are immune to fire?**

No — fire-immune targets (like a Blaze, a player with Fire Resistance, or anything already fireproof) take no extra damage from Flame's burn, the same as any other fire source in the game.