# Sharpness vs. Smite vs. Bane of Arthropods

_Published October 9, 2026_

These three melee damage enchantments are mutually exclusive — the tradeoff between the generalist and the undead/arthropod specialists. Price any of them free.

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](/guides/god-sword) 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

**Diamond Sword:** Sharpness V, Looting III, Sweeping Edge III, Unbreaking III, Mending I

[Build the Generalist Sword →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoiZGlhbW9uZF9zd29yZCIsImUiOltdLCJwIjowLCJuIjoiIiwidCI6W1sic2hhcnBuZXNzIiw1XSxbImxvb3RpbmciLDNdLFsic3dlZXBpbmdfZWRnZSIsM10sWyJ1bmJyZWFraW5nIiwzXSxbIm1lbmRpbmciLDFdXX0)

## The Undead Farm Sword

**Diamond Sword:** Smite V, Looting III, Unbreaking III, Mending I

[Build the Undead Farm Sword →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoiZGlhbW9uZF9zd29yZCIsImUiOltdLCJwIjowLCJuIjoiIiwidCI6W1sic21pdGUiLDVdLFsibG9vdGluZyIsM10sWyJ1bmJyZWFraW5nIiwzXSxbIm1lbmRpbmciLDFdXX0)

See also [Best Sword Enchantments](/guides/best-sword-enchantments), which compares every sword enchantment side by side with the Java and Bedrock differences, and [Best Enchantments in Minecraft](/guides/best-enchantments-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.