What the Infinity enchantment does
Infinity is a bow enchantment in Minecraft that lets you fire arrows without using them up. As long as you have at least one regular arrow somewhere in your inventory, every shot is free. The arrow count never goes down.
That sounds like a small thing. In practice it changes how you play. You stop hoarding arrows. You stop running back to your chests for ammo. Long mob fights and skeleton clears get cheaper to run, and exploring far from base stops costing you a stack of arrows per trip.
Infinity has one rank, Infinity I, and it only goes on bows. It does not work on crossbows, and it does not save tipped or spectral arrows. The rest of this guide walks through how to get it, how it interacts with other enchantments, and the choice you have to make between Infinity and Mending.
How to get Infinity
Infinity is a standard enchantment, not a treasure enchantment. You can roll it directly from an enchanting table, which is not the case for things like Mending or Soul Speed.
The main sources are:
- An enchanting table. Place a bow on the left, lapis lazuli on the right, and check the slot list. Infinity often shows up at higher level costs, so set up bookshelves around the table to push your enchanting level toward 30.
- A librarian villager. Librarians offer enchanted books, and Infinity I is one of the possible book trades. The price is usually 5 to 20 emeralds plus a book.
- Chest loot. Enchanted books with Infinity show up in dungeon, mineshaft, stronghold library, and end city chests on occasion.
- Fishing. With a fishing rod enchanted with Luck of the Sea, enchanted books are part of the loot pool, and Infinity is a possible roll.
- Anvil combination. If you already have an Infinity enchanted book, combine it with a bow on an anvil to apply the enchantment.
If you are bookshelf-stacking around an enchanting table, the maximum cost the table will offer is 30 levels. Infinity has only Infinity I, so once it appears in the slot list, the level cost does not affect its strength. Higher costs just mean more enchantments rolled onto the same bow.
How to use it
Equip the Infinity bow, make sure at least one regular arrow is anywhere in your inventory or off-hand slot, and fire normally. The arrow count does not drop. You can keep shooting until the bow itself runs out of durability.
That last detail matters. Infinity does not make the bow indestructible. The bow still loses one durability per shot, exactly the way a plain bow does. A bow with Unbreaking III on top of Infinity lasts much longer, but it will eventually need repair.
The required arrow does not have to be in any specific slot. The hotbar, the main inventory, and the off-hand all count as valid arrow sources. The arrow can even be one you picked up from a skeleton drop seconds ago.
Which arrows Infinity does not work with
Infinity only protects regular arrows. Any arrow with a status effect attached to it is consumed every shot. The full list of exceptions:
- Tipped arrows. Any potion-tipped arrow, from Slowness to Healing to Poison, is consumed normally when you fire it.
- Spectral arrows. Java Edition only. Spectral arrows give the Glowing effect, and they too are consumed.
- Arrows with custom NBT data created by commands. Treat these like tipped arrows. They are consumed.
The simple rule: if the arrow has an effect baked in, Infinity does not save it. Only the standard, undecorated arrow gets the free-shot treatment.
Infinity vs. Mending: the one big choice
You cannot have both Infinity and Mending on the same bow. The game treats them as conflicting enchantments. The anvil rejects the second one if you try to combine them, and the enchanting table will not roll both onto the same item.
This is the biggest decision you will make about your bow. Infinity means you never need arrows again. It works best if you have a lot of spare XP and you do not mind repairing the bow on an anvil when its durability gets low. Mending heals the bow from any XP you pick up. It works best if you have a skeleton farm or use tipped arrows often, because Mending lets you carry stacks of arrows freely without worrying about the bow wearing out.
In practice, most players who run a skeleton farm pick Mending. They end up with stacks of arrows anyway, so the unlimited-arrow benefit is wasted, and the self-repair on the bow is huge. Most players who explore, do PvE in caves, or fight in the Nether pick Infinity, because the value of “leave home with one arrow and never run out” goes up the further you are from your storage.
Combining Infinity with other bow enchantments
Infinity stacks with every other bow enchantment except Mending. The most common combinations:
- Power I to V. Adds damage per arrow. Power V is the standard endgame pick.
- Punch I or II. Adds knockback. Useful in PvP and for keeping ranged mobs off you.
- Flame I. Sets targets on fire on hit. Stacks with Infinity nicely because the fire effect comes from the bow, not the arrow type.
- Unbreaking I to III. Adds durability. Critical for Infinity because you cannot use Mending to repair.
A bow with Power V, Infinity, Flame I, and Unbreaking III is the standard survival loadout. You hit hard, set targets on fire, and never run out of arrows. The bow lasts thousands of shots before it needs an anvil pass.
Repairing an Infinity bow without Mending
Because Mending is off the table, the only way to repair an Infinity bow is the anvil. Two ways to do it:
- Combine the damaged Infinity bow with a plain bow on the anvil. This is cheap in materials, but every anvil use costs XP and adds to the “prior work” penalty that makes future repairs more expensive.
- Combine the damaged Infinity bow with a second enchanted bow that has overlapping enchantments. The second bow contributes its enchantments to the first, but the prior-work penalty stacks faster.
Players who like Infinity tend to keep one or two bow blanks on hand and treat any single bow as semi-disposable. When the prior-work cost on the anvil gets too steep, they craft a fresh bow and put the Infinity book back on with one cheap anvil step. Then they re-add Power, Flame, and Unbreaking from books or from the enchanting table.
Java Edition vs. Bedrock differences
The core Infinity behavior is identical on Java and Bedrock. A bow with Infinity in either edition fires plain arrows without consuming them as long as you have one arrow in inventory.
One Java-only note: spectral arrows do not exist on Bedrock, so the “spectral arrows are consumed” rule only applies to Java players. Tipped arrows behave the same on both editions and are always consumed regardless of Infinity.
Both editions allow Infinity on bows only. Both editions treat Infinity and Mending as mutually exclusive. The librarian trade pricing for Infinity books is roughly the same on both editions, though the random ranges differ slightly.
Tips for getting an Infinity bow fast
If you do not want to wait for the right enchanting table roll, the librarian villager loop is the fastest path. The steps:
- Place a lectern in your base. A nearby unemployed villager will claim it and become a librarian.
- Talk to the villager to see their first-tier trades.
- If their first-tier book offer is not Infinity, break the lectern. The villager loses the profession after a short delay.
- Place the lectern again. The same villager will reclaim it and roll new trades.
- Repeat until Infinity I shows up. Buy the book.
Once you have the book, anvil it onto any bow. A fresh bow costs three sticks and three string, so the only meaningful cost is the emeralds you paid the villager and the XP for the anvil step.
If you already have a bookshelf-rich enchanting table, you can also brute-force it with bows from a string and stick farm. Spend 30 levels per try, accept whatever the table offers, and disenchant the bow on a grindstone if Infinity is not in the mix. Spider farms and skeleton farms give you the string and bone meal you need to keep this loop running.
Common mistakes
A few patterns trip up new players. The first is trying to put Mending on an Infinity bow. The anvil will not allow it. If you want both effects, you need two separate bows.
The second is forgetting that you still need one arrow. Infinity does not let you fire with zero arrows. The bow will not draw at all. “Infinite arrows” means the count never decreases, not that no arrow is required.
The third is trying to put Infinity on a crossbow. Crossbows have their own enchantments, and Infinity is not one of them. The book will not apply.
The fourth is expecting Infinity to save tipped arrows. If you brewed a stack of Slowness IV arrows for the Wither fight, Infinity will not protect them. Every tipped arrow is consumed on fire, every time.
The fifth is letting the bow break. Once the durability hits zero, the bow is gone, and you lose the Infinity enchantment with it. Watch the durability bar, repair early, and keep a backup bow if you are heading into a long fight.
Frequently asked questions
Can Infinity go on a crossbow?
No. Infinity is bow-only. Crossbows use Multishot, Piercing, and Quick Charge instead. The two weapons do not share enchantment pools beyond Unbreaking, Mending, and Curse of Vanishing.
Does Infinity save tipped arrows?
No. Tipped arrows are always consumed when fired, no matter what enchantments are on the bow. The same goes for spectral arrows on Java Edition.
Can Infinity and Mending be on the same bow?
No. The game lists them as incompatible. You cannot combine them on an anvil, and an enchanting table will not roll both onto one bow.
What level is Infinity?
One. Infinity has only Infinity I. There is no Infinity II in either Java or Bedrock.
Does Infinity work in the off-hand?
Yes. The Infinity bow works whether you hold it in your main hand or off-hand. The required arrow can also be anywhere in your inventory, not just the hotbar.
How do I repair an Infinity bow?
Use an anvil. Combine the damaged bow with another bow, or in older versions with raw materials. Each anvil step costs XP and raises the prior-work penalty, so plan to retire and replace the bow eventually.
Is Infinity worth picking over Mending?
It depends on how you play. If you spend a lot of time exploring, fighting in the Nether, or grinding ranged mobs far from your base, Infinity is the better pick. If you have a skeleton farm or you use a lot of tipped arrows, Mending plus stockpiled arrows usually beats it.
Does Infinity affect the arrow you fired after it lands?
No. Arrows fired from an Infinity bow stick into blocks or mobs and behave like normal arrows. You can pick them up if you want, but they do not return to you automatically.
Bottom line
Infinity solves one problem completely: the arrow inventory. Take it if you want a bow you can leave home with and never resupply. Skip it if you want a self-repairing bow and have a steady arrow source like a skeleton farm. Either path is viable for the rest of the game, so pick the one that fits how you actually play and stick with it.