Guides / Enchantments / Sweeping Edge Enchantment: Exact Sweep Damage Formula
Sweeping Edge Enchantment: Exact Sweep Damage Formula
Published October 16, 2026
- Max level
- III
- Applies to
- Sword
- Incompatible with
- Nothing
- Obtained via
- Enchanting table, anvil, villager trade
Sweeping Edge boosts the damage of a sword's sweep attack — the small-area hit landed on nearby mobs alongside your main swing — turning group combat into genuine crowd control instead of single-target chipping. Java Edition only.
What Sweeping Edge actually does
The sweep attack's damage is 1 + base damage × (level ÷ (level + 1)) + enchantment damage, where "enchantment damage" is whatever Sharpness, Smite, or Bane of Arthropods bonus is also active. In plain terms, that ratio works out to 50% of the sword's base damage at Level I, 67% at Level II, and 75% at Level III — climbing toward (but never quite reaching) 100% of a full hit.
How to use it
Sweeping Edge has no conflicts with anything, so it's never a real tradeoff decision — only whether it's worth the anvil levels for a sword you actually expect to fight groups of mobs with. It's sword-exclusive: axes have their own separate moveset and don't have access to this enchantment at all, regardless of edition.
Well-known builds that use it
Sweeping Edge is one of the five enchantments on the "God Sword" build — it has no exclusions with Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Looting, Unbreaking, or Mending, so it's included on that build no matter which damage type you pick.
Build the Sweeping Edge Sword →
Frequently asked questions
What does Sweeping Edge do in Minecraft?
It increases the damage of a sword's sweep attack — the small-area hit that lands on nearby mobs alongside your main swing — up to 75% of the sword's base damage at Level III, versus a much smaller sweep hit with no enchantment at all.
Does Sweeping Edge work on an axe?
No — it's sword-exclusive. Axes have an entirely separate attack moveset and don't have access to this enchantment, in either edition.
Is Sweeping Edge available in Bedrock Edition?
No — Sweeping Edge is confirmed Java Edition only.
Does Sweeping Edge conflict with Sharpness or Smite?
No — it has no exclusions with any enchantment, including every damage-type pick, so it's always a free addition.
What's the maximum level of Sweeping Edge?
III, obtainable from the enchanting table, an anvil, or a villager trade (Java Edition only).