# Minecraft Mace: Recipe, Smash Attack & Enchantments

_Published October 23, 2026_

How to make a mace in Minecraft: the mace recipe (heavy core + breeze rod), how to get a heavy core, how the smash attack works, repair and mace enchantments.

The Minecraft mace is a heavy melee weapon built around the smash attack: the farther you fall before you hit something, the more damage it deals. To make a mace, craft **one heavy core with one breeze rod**. The breeze rod drops from breezes, and the heavy core only comes from ominous vaults in trial chambers (a 7.5% chance), so the mace is a late-game prize rather than a craftable-at-will tool. This guide covers the mace recipe, how to get both parts, how the smash attack works, durability and repair, and the mace enchantments (checked against the Minecraft Wiki on 2026-10-23).

## How to make a mace in Minecraft

Craft the mace at a crafting table with a heavy core directly above a breeze rod:

| Slot | Item |
|---|---|
| Top-middle | Heavy core |
| Centre | Breeze rod |

You need exactly one of each, and the recipe is the same on Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Both ingredients are hard to find, which is why the next section matters more than the recipe itself.

## How to get a mace: heavy core and breeze rod

You cannot craft a mace without these two ingredients, and neither is common:

| Ingredient | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Heavy core | Only from ominous vaults in trial chambers, at a 7.5% chance per the Mace page |
| Breeze rod | Dropped by breezes (1 to 2 per breeze), hostile mobs spawned by certain trial spawners in trial chambers |

**Getting a heavy core.** Ominous vaults are found in trial chambers, and each combat chamber always contains one (a trial chambers structure usually has 6 to 8). To open one you need an ominous trial key while you have the Trial Omen effect. Drinking an ominous bottle inside a trial chamber triggers an ominous trial, which turns trial spawners into ominous trial spawners. Clearing an ominous trial spawner has a 30% chance of dropping the ominous trial key, and the key is consumed when you unlock the vault. A heavy core cannot be crafted or found any other way, so it is not renewable except through ominous vaults. If you do get one, it can be mined with any tool and always drops itself.

**Getting a breeze rod.** Breezes are the only source. They leap around and shoot wind charges, deflect most projectiles, and drop 1 to 2 breeze rods when killed.
The mace is available on Java Edition 1.21 and later and on Bedrock Edition 1.21.0 and later (earlier it was behind the Update 1.21 experimental data pack or toggle, from Java 1.20.5 and Bedrock 1.20.80).

## How the mace smash attack works

A mace performs a smash attack when you attack after falling **1.5 blocks or more** and you are not on the ground. This works regardless of the attack cooldown, and the fall distance is simply your start height minus your end height. A successful smash attack deals extra damage and resets your fall height, so you land without taking the fall damage you accumulated before the hit. Nearby entities (within 2.5 blocks) are knocked back like by a wind charge, but you are not.

The extra damage grows with every block fallen: **+4 per block for the first 3 blocks, +2 per block for the next 5 blocks, and +1 per block after that**. Smash attacks are usually critical hits, which raises both the mace's base damage and the smash damage by 50%. The wiki states the damage is theoretically unlimited. The table below is plain arithmetic from those rules, before the critical-hit bonus:

| Blocks fallen | Extra smash damage | Density V bonus on top (+2.5 per block) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 12 | 7.5 |
| 8 | 22 | 20 |
| 20 | 34 | 50 |

A few rules decide whether the smash attack fires at all:

- **Slow Falling** prevents smash attacks.
- **Elytra:** descending with an elytra counts as blocks fallen, but on Java Edition you must unequip the elytra before the hit, because being in elytra flight does not trigger the smash. On Bedrock Edition the elytra does not need to be unequipped.
- If you take damage while falling, the fall height counted for the smash is not reset.
- Smash attacks work on any entity: mobs, players and armor stands.

A normal attack from the ground deals 6 damage with a fully charged cooldown. On Java Edition the mace has the slowest attack speed in the game (0.6), while Bedrock Edition has no attack cooldown.

## Mace durability and repair

The mace has **500 durability on Java Edition and 501 on Bedrock Edition**, and every attack costs 1 durability, whether it is a normal hit or a smash attack. To repair it:

- In an anvil, add a breeze rod (each one restores 25% of the mace's durability) or another mace. Both methods keep the enchantments.
- Combining two damaged maces in a crafting grid or a grindstone adds their durability together plus an extra 5%.

Mending and Unbreaking also work on the mace. For how anvil repair costs add up, see [How to Use an Anvil](/guides/how-to-use-an-anvil).

## Mace enchantments

A mace can take these enchantments, and three of them (Density, Breach and Wind Burst) exist only for the mace:

| Enchantment | Max level | What it does on a mace | Obtained via |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | V | +0.5 smash damage per block fallen per level | Enchanting table, anvil |
| Breach | IV | Ignores 15% of the target's armor per level | Enchanting table, anvil |
| Wind Burst | III | Launches you upward after a smash attack, about 8 blocks per level | Anvil (enchanted books from ominous vaults) |
| Smite | V | More damage to undead | Anvil (Bedrock also enchanting table) |
| Bane of Arthropods | V | More damage to arthropods | Anvil (Bedrock also enchanting table) |
| Fire Aspect | II | Sets targets on fire | Anvil (Bedrock also enchanting table) |
| Unbreaking | III | Chance to save durability | Enchanting table, anvil |
| Mending | I | Repairs the mace with experience | Anvil |

**Density, Breach, Smite and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive**, so a mace carries only one of the four. Density raises smash damage only (normal attacks are unchanged), so it rewards height. [Density](/guides/enchantment-density) is the choice for raw smash damage; [Breach](/guides/enchantment-breach) is the choice against armored targets, as it cuts armor effectiveness by 15% per level. [Wind Burst](/guides/enchantment-wind-burst) can chain smash attacks because it launches you back up, and unlike a wind charge it does not cancel fall damage. [Fire Aspect](/guides/enchantment-fire-aspect) and Wind Burst conflict with none of the four, and [Smite](/guides/enchantment-smite) is the usual damage pick for a combat build against undead.

For the finished builds, see [The Ideal Mace Enchantments](/guides/ideal-mace), and for every item at a glance see [Best Enchantments in Minecraft](/guides/best-enchantments-minecraft). To put the books on the mace in the cheapest order, use the calculator:

[Build the Density Mace →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoibWFjZSIsImUiOltdLCJwIjowLCJuIjoiIiwidCI6W1siZGVuc2l0eSIsNV0sWyJ3aW5kX2J1cnN0IiwzXSxbInVuYnJlYWtpbmciLDNdLFsibWVuZGluZyIsMV1dfQ)

[Build the Breach Mace →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoibWFjZSIsImUiOltdLCJwIjowLCJuIjoiIiwidCI6W1siYnJlYWNoIiw0XSxbIndpbmRfYnVyc3QiLDNdLFsidW5icmVha2luZyIsM10sWyJtZW5kaW5nIiwxXV19)

## Java vs. Bedrock

The mace behaves the same on both editions in the ways that matter: the recipe, the 1.5-block smash threshold and the damage scaling are identical. The differences the wiki lists are small: Java's mace has 500 durability and an attack cooldown (attack speed 0.6), while Bedrock's has 501 durability and no attack cooldown; Java needs the elytra unequipped for a smash attack while Bedrock does not; and Bedrock's enchanting table can also roll Smite, Bane of Arthropods and Fire Aspect on a mace, which Java's cannot (the anvil takes them on both). See [Java vs. Bedrock Anvil Cost](/guides/java-vs-bedrock-anvil-cost) for how the anvil itself differs.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do you make a mace in Minecraft?**

Craft one heavy core with one breeze rod at a crafting table, with the heavy core directly above the breeze rod. The recipe is the same on Java Edition and Bedrock Edition.

**How do you get a heavy core?**

Only from ominous vaults in trial chambers, at a 7.5% chance. You open an ominous vault with an ominous trial key, which can drop when you clear an ominous trial spawner (30% chance), while you have the Trial Omen effect.

**Where do you get a breeze rod?**

Breezes drop 1 to 2 breeze rods when killed. Breezes are hostile mobs spawned by certain trial spawners in trial chambers.

**How does the mace smash attack work?**

Attack after falling at least 1.5 blocks while not on the ground. The mace deals extra damage of 4 per block for the first 3 blocks fallen, 2 per block for the next 5 and 1 per block after that, and your fall damage is cancelled. Smash attacks are usually critical hits.

**What enchantments can a mace have?**

Density, Breach, Wind Burst, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fire Aspect, Unbreaking and Mending. Density, Breach, Smite and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive, so only one of those four fits on a mace.

**How do you repair a mace?**

In an anvil with breeze rods (each restores 25% of its durability) or another mace, which keeps the enchantments. Two damaged maces can also be combined in a crafting grid or grindstone for their durability plus 5%.

**Does the mace work in Bedrock Edition?**

Yes. The mace is in Bedrock Edition 1.21.0 and later with the same recipe and smash attack. Bedrock's mace has 501 durability instead of 500 and no attack cooldown.