Guides / Enchantments / Piercing Enchantment in Minecraft: What It Does and How to Use It
Piercing Enchantment in Minecraft: What It Does and How to Use It
Published October 16, 2026
- Max level
- IV
- Applies to
- Crossbow
- Incompatible with
- Multishot
- Obtained via
- Enchanting table, anvil, villager trade
Piercing lets a single crossbow bolt pass through multiple targets lined up in its path, instead of stopping at the first one hit.
What Piercing actually does
Each level of Piercing lets the arrow pass through that many extra entities beyond the first one it hits — so the total number of entities damaged is level + 1:
- Piercing I: hits 2 entities total
- Piercing II: hits 3 entities total
- Piercing III: hits 4 entities total
- Piercing IV: hits 5 entities total
This only matters when targets are actually lined up in the arrow's path — against a single target, Piercing behaves the same as an unenchanted shot.
How to use it
Piercing is built for precision and conservation: lined-up single targets, sniping down a corridor, or situations where you want to make fewer arrows go further rather than spreading damage across a wide arc. It directly trades off against Multishot (a 3-way spread from one consumed arrow); you can only ever have one of the two on a given crossbow.
Well-known builds that use it
Piercing is one half of the central fork in The Ideal Crossbow Enchantments — the "Piercing Crossbow," paired with Quick Charge III and Unbreaking III + Mending, versus the alternative Multishot build.
Quick Charge III- Piercing IV
- Unbreaking III
- Mending I
Frequently asked questions
How many targets can a Piercing IV arrow hit?
Up to 5 entities total — the original target plus 4 more it passes through afterward, as long as they're lined up in the arrow's path.
Can Piercing and Multishot go on the same crossbow?
No, they're mutually exclusive — the game treats them as directly conflicting enchantments, so you have to pick one.
Does Piercing help if I'm only ever fighting one target at a time?
Not really — against a single target, a Piercing arrow behaves the same as an unenchanted one. Its value comes specifically from targets lined up in the arrow's path.