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

_Published October 16, 2026_

Punch adds extra horizontal knockback per arrow hit — a crowd-control pick, not a damage one, and free to combine with anything.

Punch adds extra horizontal knockback to whatever an enchanted bow's arrow hits — a crowd-control option, not a damage one.

## What Punch actually does

An unenchanted arrow already knocks a target back about 1.985 blocks. Punch I adds roughly 3.507 blocks of horizontal knockback on top of that, and Punch II adds a further ~3.3 blocks (for a combined ~8.792 blocks at level II). Vertical knockback barely changes with level — it rises only slightly, from about 0.8125 to 1.25 blocks.

## How to use it

Punch is purely situational: it's useful for knocking a hostile mob off a ledge, away from you, or into lava/a hole in a trap build — but it doesn't add damage, and knocking a target away can actually work against you if you're trying to keep something in melee range or line up a follow-up shot. It never conflicts with anything else a bow can take, so there's no cost to including it if you want the effect; it's just not a default pick the way Power is.

## Well-known builds that use it

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

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Punch increase arrow damage?**

No. Punch only adds horizontal knockback to whatever the arrow hits — it doesn't change the arrow's damage at all. For more damage, you want Power instead.

**Does Punch stack with Power?**

Yes. Punch doesn't conflict with Power, Flame, Infinity, Mending, or Unbreaking — it's a free addition to any bow build if you want the knockback effect.

**What's the maximum level of Punch?**

Level II. Punch I adds about 3.5 blocks of extra horizontal knockback over an unenchanted arrow; Punch II adds roughly 3.3 more blocks on top of that.