What Power does in Minecraft
Power is the standard damage enchantment for bows in Minecraft. It boosts the damage of every arrow you fire, including arrows that don’t crit. If you fight at range often, Power is the first enchantment you want on a bow.
Most ranged combat in survival Minecraft runs through a bow, and most of the damage on that bow comes from Power. Without it, an arrow tickles. With Power V, an arrow becomes a real combat option, capable of one-shotting most unarmored mobs at range.
The max level is V (5). You can get it from an enchanting table, books, villager trades, or loot. It applies to regular bows only, not crossbows.
How Power damage works
The base damage of a fully drawn arrow in Java is around 9. Power adds extra damage on top of that base. The bonus is 25% per level plus a flat 25%, which works out to:
- Power I: +50% base arrow damage
- Power II: +75%
- Power III: +100%
- Power IV: +125%
- Power V: +150%
So a fully drawn Power V shot lands in the low 20s of damage against an unarmored target. A critical hit (the random crit on a fully drawn arrow) adds extra damage on top of that, and Power V plus a crit is the highest single-shot bow damage you can get in vanilla Minecraft.
Power does not change the status-effect part of tipped arrows. A Slowness II tipped arrow keeps its full slowness duration no matter what Power level the bow has. Only the impact damage scales.
One more thing to know: the bow has to be fully drawn for the multiplier to land at its highest. A half-drawn shot does less base damage, and Power scales off that smaller base. So Power V on a quick-tap shot won’t feel like Power V at all. The full draw matters.
How to get Power on a bow
Enchanting table
Build up to 15 bookshelves around an enchanting table and put a fresh bow in the slot. At level 30, you have a chance at Power V, often paired with a second enchantment like Flame or Punch. If only Power III or IV shows up, grindstone the bow, get more XP, and try again. The gap between Power IV and V is the biggest jump in the chain, so it’s worth rerolling for V rather than settling.
Villager trades
Librarian villagers sell enchanted books, and Power books are one of the more common rolls. Pricing runs 5 to 64 emeralds depending on the level of the book and the villager’s level. A librarian breeder with rerollable lecterns can land a cheap Power V book in an hour or two. If you’re starting fresh, getting one librarian zombified and cured drops his prices, which can make a Power V book cost 5 emeralds.
Loot and fishing
Power books also appear in chest loot in temples, dungeons, mineshafts, and stronghold libraries. Fishing with an unenchanted rod has a small chance at an enchanted book, with Power as one of the possible rolls. Two Power I books can be combined on an anvil into Power II, and so on up the chain to Power V. Combining higher-level books costs more XP each step.
What Power stacks with
Power has no conflicts on the bow, so you can build a fully maxed bow without losing anything:
- Flame I sets the target on fire for 5 seconds, adding fire damage on top of Power’s hit damage.
- Punch II knocks the target back. Useful for keeping mobs out of melee range.
- Infinity I lets you fire forever without consuming arrows (except tipped arrows). Conflicts only with Mending.
- Mending repairs the bow with XP orbs. Conflicts only with Infinity.
- Unbreaking III bumps durability so a high-Power bow lasts much longer.
- Curse of Vanishing destroys the bow on death. Skip unless a server forces it.
The classic Power V loadout is Power V, Flame I, Punch II, Unbreaking III, and either Infinity I or Mending. You have to pick one of those last two because they conflict on the same item.
Power vs other damage enchantments
Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are melee-weapon enchantments. They don’t apply to bows. Power is the bow-only equivalent and is comparable in strength to a maxed Sharpness V on a netherite sword for typical mobs.
Crossbows do not accept Power. Crossbow damage enchantments are Piercing (ignores armor on up to four targets in a line) and Multishot (fires three arrows from one shot, with two of the three scoring slightly less damage). A Power V bow consistently out-damages a maxed crossbow on a single-target shot. The crossbow trade-off is the loaded-fire mechanic and the multi-arrow spread, not raw per-arrow damage.
Best Power setups for different jobs
Long range, single targets
Power V plus Punch II works for hitting skeletons across a ravine or knocking pillagers off a tower. Punch adds the knockback so you don’t have to track flinching mobs as much. Combine with Flame I for a flat fire DoT on top.
Mob farms and crowd control
Power V plus Flame I plus Infinity I is the standard grinder loadout. Flame sets every arrow alight, which finishes off groups of zombies and skeletons faster than raw damage alone. Infinity lets you fire for hours without restocking arrows, which matters when you’re plinking through a 30-stack of mobs in a dark room farm.
PvP servers
Power V plus Punch II plus Flame I plus Mending. Drop Infinity here because many PvP servers disable infinite arrows in their config. Carry a stack of arrows and use the XP from kills to keep the bow patched up.
Boss fights
For the Ender Dragon perch phase, Power V is the standard. Most Dragon fights use a Power V bow plus a stack of arrows to chip the dragon between melee swings on the fountain. For the Wither, a Power V bow with Flame is solid for the opening phase before you can get into melee range with a netherite sword.
Common mistakes with the Power enchantment
- Putting Power on a crossbow. It can’t be applied. The anvil rejects the enchantment outright.
- Settling for Power IV from an enchanting table. The jump from IV to V is bigger than any earlier step. Reroll if you can.
- Using Power on a half-drawn shot. Pulling the bow only partway does less base damage, and Power scales off the base. A quick tap doesn’t get the V multiplier you paid for.
- Assuming Power works on melee weapons. It only affects bow arrows.
- Anvil overpricing. Combining too many enchantments at once can push the cost past 39 levels, the “too expensive” cap. Combine books in increasing cost order, with the bow itself as the target item.
- Forgetting Mending and Infinity conflict. You can only have one, so build the bow around the choice early instead of trying to bolt the other on later.
Java vs Bedrock differences
Power works the same way on Java and Bedrock. The damage formula matches, the max level matches, and the enchantment conflicts match. The practical edge case is anvil cost math: combining many enchantments at once can hit the “too expensive” cap on Java more easily than on Bedrock, so plan the order you anvil books together. On Bedrock you can sometimes stack more enchantments in one go without hitting the limit.
Crit damage on arrows also rolls slightly differently between editions in some patches, but the difference is small and Power V plus a crit is still the strongest single arrow you can shoot on either edition.
Frequently asked questions
What is the max level of Power?
V (5). You can land Power V from an enchanting table at level 30, by combining books on an anvil up the chain, or by buying a Power V book from a librarian villager.
Does Power work on crossbows?
No. Power is bow-only. Crossbows use Quick Charge for reload speed, Multishot for triple arrows, and Piercing for armor pass-through.
Does Power affect tipped arrows?
Yes for the damage, no for the potion effect. The arrow hits harder, but the status effect (Slowness, Poison, Weakness, and so on) keeps its base duration and strength.
Can I one-shot a creeper with Power V?
Yes, with a fully drawn Power V bow. A creeper has 20 health, and a fully drawn Power V arrow lands in the 20-plus damage range against an unarmored target. A half-drawn shot won’t get there, and you’ll need a follow-up arrow.
Does Power increase critical arrow damage?
Crit is a separate random bonus on fully drawn shots. Power adds to the base damage, and crit adds to the new total on top. Power V plus a crit is the highest single-shot bow damage in vanilla Minecraft.
How many bookshelves do I need for Power V?
15 bookshelves around an enchanting table, with the usual one-block air gap between shelves and table. You also need at least 30 XP levels to unlock the top enchanting slot where Power V can roll.
Should I pick Power or Sharpness?
Different weapons. Power is for bows. Sharpness is for swords and axes. Most players keep one of each, one on a bow and one on a sword.
Can Power and Infinity be on the same bow?
Yes. Power and Infinity don’t conflict. Infinity’s only conflict is with Mending, since both involve the item economy of the bow.
Quick takeaway
Power V plus Flame I, Punch II, Unbreaking III, and either Infinity or Mending will carry a bow through everything in survival, including the Ender Dragon. Trade for the book early from a librarian if you have one set up. Once the bow is built, ranged combat stops being something you have to think about for the rest of that world.