Sharpness vs. Smite vs. Bane of Arthropods

Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods all do the same job — more melee damage — which is exactly why you can only ever have one of them active on a weapon at a time.

The six-way exclusion group

These three sit inside a six-enchantment mutual-exclusion group, officially Mojang's #minecraft:exclusive_set/damage tag — confirmed directly in this site's own conflict data, where sharpness, smite, and bane_of_arthropods each list the other two (plus breach, density, and impaling) as conflicting. Every one of the six is a flavor of "deal more melee damage"; the game just enforces that you pick exactly one flavor per weapon instead of stacking them. The other three in that group — Impaling (bonus vs. aquatic mobs, trident-only), Density (bonus scaling with fall distance, mace-only), and Breach (ignores a fraction of armor, mace-only) — don't apply to a standard sword or axe, so for a melee weapon build the real decision is only ever between the three covered here.

Sharpness — the generalist

Sharpness adds flat bonus damage that scales with its level, applying equally against every mob and every player. It has no target restriction, which is exactly its advantage: there's no wrong situation to bring a Sharpness weapon into. At level V, it's the standard pick for a weapon you expect to use against a mix of targets — general exploration, PvP, mixed-mob combat — rather than one specific enemy type.

Smite — anti-undead specialist

Smite adds bonus damage specifically against undead mobs: zombies, skeletons, zombie villagers, husks, strays, drowned, phantoms, withers, and the wither skeleton. Against any of those, a given level of Smite out-damages the same level of Sharpness; against anything else, Smite does nothing extra at all. It's the correct choice for a dedicated weapon used at a zombie or skeleton XP farm, a wither fight, or a nether-heavy trip where husks and strays are the dominant threat — not as your everyday sword.

Bane of Arthropods — anti-arthropod specialist

Bane of Arthropods adds bonus damage against arthropod mobs — spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, and endermites — and additionally applies a short Slowness effect on hit, which Sharpness and Smite don't do at all. That Slowness is genuinely useful on its own merits: it's what makes a Bane of Arthropods sword effective for controlling a cave spider swarm in a mob grinder or clearing a silverfish-infested stronghold room without getting swarmed while you fight. Outside of spider/silverfish-heavy content, it's the weakest of the three — narrower target list than Smite, and no benefit at all against anything else.

Picking for your build

For a single main-hand weapon you carry everywhere, Sharpness V is the right default — it's never wrong, even if it's rarely the single best choice against any one target type. Keep a dedicated Smite sword for farming zombies/skeletons or fighting the wither, and a dedicated Bane of Arthropods sword if you're regularly dealing with spider spawners, cave spider farms, or stronghold silverfish rooms. See The Ideal Sword Enchantments for how Sharpness fits alongside Looting, Sweeping Edge, Unbreaking, and Mending on the full "God Sword" build — none of Looting, Sweeping Edge, Unbreaking, or Mending conflict with any of the three damage-type picks, so swapping Sharpness for Smite or Bane of Arthropods on that same build is a drop-in change.

The Generalist Sword

• Sharpness V
• Looting III
• Sweeping Edge III
• Unbreaking III
• Mending I

Build the Generalist Sword →

The Undead Farm Sword

• Smite V
• Looting III
• Unbreaking III
• Mending I

Build the Undead Farm Sword →

See also Best Sword Enchantments, which compares every sword enchantment side by side with the Java and Bedrock differences, and Best Enchantments in Minecraft for every other item.

Frequently asked questions

Can you have Sharpness and Smite on the same sword?

No. Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods all sit in the same six-way exclusion group (alongside Breach, Density, and Impaling) — confirmed directly in the game's enchantment conflict data. You can only have one damage-type enchantment active per weapon; combining two just drops whichever one you're sacrificing.

Is Sharpness or Smite better?

Against undead mobs specifically — zombies, skeletons, the wither — Smite at a given level out-damages the same level of Sharpness. Against everything else, Smite does nothing extra while Sharpness always applies. Sharpness is the better all-purpose pick; Smite is better only for a weapon dedicated to undead-heavy content.

What does Bane of Arthropods do besides damage?

It also applies a short Slowness effect to the arthropod mob it hits — spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, and endermites. That crowd-control effect is genuinely useful on its own, independent of the bonus damage, for fighting through a cave spider swarm or a silverfish-infested stronghold room.

Do Looting and Sweeping Edge conflict with Sharpness, Smite, or Bane of Arthropods?

No. Looting, Sweeping Edge, Unbreaking, and Mending have no exclusions with any of the three damage-type enchantments, so a full sword build keeps all four of those regardless of which single damage type you pick.

Which enchantment should I use against the wither?

Smite. The wither and the wither skeleton both count as undead mobs, so a Smite weapon out-damages an equivalent-level Sharpness weapon against them specifically.