What Smite does in Minecraft
Smite is a damage enchantment for swords, axes, and the mace. It adds extra damage every time you hit an undead mob, on top of the weapon’s base damage. The bonus only applies to undead, so Smite is a specialist enchantment. It shines against zombies, skeletons, the Wither, and similar mobs, and does nothing extra against anything else.
If you fight a lot of undead, like nether trips, raids on bastions, the wither fight, or a long underground session, a Smite weapon kills these mobs in fewer hits than a Sharpness weapon of the same level. For general adventuring against creepers, spiders, and players, Sharpness wins. Most experienced players keep both around and switch depending on where they’re going.
This guide covers what Smite actually does, how much damage it adds per level, which mobs count as undead, where you find it, and the trade-offs against Sharpness and Bane of Arthropods.
How much extra damage Smite adds
Smite has five levels, written as Smite I through Smite V. Each level adds 2.5 extra damage against undead mobs. That math is the same on Java and Bedrock.
So the bonus at each level looks like this:
- Smite I: +2.5 damage
- Smite II: +5 damage
- Smite III: +7.5 damage
- Smite IV: +10 damage
- Smite V: +12.5 damage
That bonus is on top of the weapon’s normal hit damage. A diamond sword does 7 damage on its own. A diamond sword with Smite V hits an undead mob for 7 plus 12.5, which equals 19.5. That one-shots almost every common undead in the game. A netherite sword with Smite V hits for 8 plus 12.5, which equals 20.5.
The bonus does not apply to non-undead mobs. A Smite V sword does normal weapon damage against a creeper, a spider, or another player. There is no penalty for swinging it at the wrong mob, you just lose the bonus.
Which mobs Smite affects
Smite affects every mob in the “undead” category. In the current version of Minecraft, that includes:
- Zombie, Husk, Drowned
- Zombie Villager
- Skeleton, Stray, Wither Skeleton, Bogged
- Phantom
- Wither (the boss)
- Zoglin
- Zombified Piglin
- Zombie Horse, Skeleton Horse
If a mob is rotting, skeletal, or comes back from the dead in lore, it almost always counts as undead. The clean rule: the game has an internal “undead” tag, and every mob on that tag takes the Smite bonus.
Mobs that look spooky but are not undead include the Warden, the Ender Dragon, endermen, ghasts, blazes, vexes, and creepers. Smite does nothing extra to any of them. If you walk into a Stronghold or the End with only a Smite sword, you will hit normal weapon damage on most of what you find, so plan accordingly.
How to get Smite
You can get Smite four ways:
- Enchanting table. Place a sword (or axe, or mace) in the table along with lapis lazuli and one experience level per try. Smite is one of the possible rolls. The chance is influenced by the table’s bookshelves and your luck on the roll. Higher-level rolls (24 to 30) can give Smite IV or V directly.
- Enchanted books. You can also enchant a book at the table, then combine the book with a weapon on an anvil. This is often the cleanest path to Smite V because you can keep rerolling books cheaply without burning a good sword on bad rolls.
- Trading with villagers. Librarian villagers sell enchanted books, and Smite V books are a common offer. Curing a zombie villager into a librarian (which gives a permanent discount) and breaking and replacing its lectern lets you cycle the trades until a Smite book appears.
- Loot. Smite books show up in dungeon chests, mineshaft chests, stronghold chests, bastion remnant chests, ancient city chests, and several other loot tables. They are not common, but if you open a lot of chests, you will eventually find one.
For most players, the fastest route to Smite V is the librarian villager method. A few emeralds and one book per attempt beats grinding experience levels at the enchanting table over and over.
Which weapons can have Smite
Smite works on swords, axes, and the mace. The damage rules are the same on each: +2.5 per level against undead.
Swords are the default home for Smite because they swing fast and have a sweep attack that hits multiple grouped mobs. In a zombie farm or a bastion fight, sweep damage with Smite V clears whole rooms.
Axes deal more base damage per hit and can disable a piglin’s shield, but they swing slower and use more durability. A Smite V axe one-shots almost any undead, but you lose the speed advantage and the sweep. If you have one Smite weapon, make it a sword.
The mace, added in 1.21, interacts with Smite in a useful way. A mace’s damage stacks with how far you fell before hitting, and Smite adds on top of that. A high fall plus Smite V can produce damage numbers high enough to one-shot the Wither in a single swing, which is the basis of most modern Wither-killing setups.
Smite vs. Sharpness vs. Bane of Arthropods
Smite, Sharpness, and Bane of Arthropods are the three damage enchantments on swords and axes. They do not stack. A single weapon can only have one of the three at a time. Trying to combine them on an anvil drops the older enchantment when you add the new one.
Here is the practical difference:
- Sharpness adds a smaller bonus (about +1.25 for level I, +0.5 per extra level on Java) but applies to every mob. Best general-purpose pick.
- Smite adds +2.5 per level against undead only. Best for nether trips, wither fights, mob farms full of zombies and skeletons, and big raids that spawn zombies.
- Bane of Arthropods adds +2.5 per level against spiders, cave spiders, bees, silverfish, and endermites. Rarely worth a slot unless you are doing something arthropod-heavy.
If you only have one good sword, put Sharpness on it. If you can afford a second, keep a dedicated Smite weapon for the nether and the Wither. Bane of Arthropods is a niche third pick. Most experienced players carry a Sharpness sword and a Smite sword, and skip Bane of Arthropods entirely.
Java vs. Bedrock differences
The core behavior of Smite is the same in both versions. Each level adds 2.5 extra damage against undead, the max level is V, and it goes on swords, axes, and the mace.
The main difference shows up in how Sharpness scales. On Java, Sharpness adds 1.25 for level I and 0.5 per extra level. On Bedrock, Sharpness adds 1.25 per level. That makes the gap between Smite and Sharpness against undead larger on Bedrock, so a Smite weapon is even more useful there.
Anvil incompatibility rules are the same in both. You still cannot stack Smite with Sharpness or Bane of Arthropods through normal play, and the anvil will block the combine.
Tips for using Smite
- Keep a Smite V sword in your hotbar before any wither fight. The Wither is undead, and a maxed Smite weapon can cut several seconds off the fight.
- Pair Smite with Looting III for nether trips. Wither skeletons drop skulls, and Looting raises the chance per kill.
- Add Fire Aspect to a Smite sword for zombie and drowned farms. Burning mobs cook their meat for you on death, so you get steaks and cooked fish straight out of the farm.
- Mob farms that target zombies, drowned, or skeletons run faster with a Smite sword than a Sharpness sword because of the bigger per-hit bonus.
- A mace with Smite V plus a tall drop is the standard modern way to beat the Wither without taking damage. Build the platform, summon the Wither below, and drop on it.
- Don’t waste a Smite weapon on the End fight. The Ender Dragon is not undead, and endermen are not undead. Sharpness is the right tool there.
Frequently asked questions
What is the max level of Smite?
Smite V is the highest level you can get in normal play. Smite VI and higher only exist through commands like /give or third-party mods, and they don’t generate in chests or appear at enchanting tables.
Can you have Smite and Sharpness on the same sword?
No. The two are mutually exclusive on swords and axes. An anvil will refuse to combine them, and if you force it with commands the older enchantment gets overwritten when you add the new one.
Does Smite work on the Ender Dragon?
No. The Ender Dragon is not classified as undead, so Smite adds no extra damage to it. Sharpness is the better pick for the dragon fight.
Does Smite work on the Wither?
Yes. The Wither is undead, so Smite V adds the full 12.5 bonus per hit. A Smite V mace with a high drop attack is the cleanest way to one-shot the boss.
Does Smite work on phantoms?
Yes. Phantoms are undead, so a Smite sword cuts them down faster than a Sharpness sword of the same level. Useful for players who sleep rarely.
Can you put Smite on a bow or crossbow?
No. Smite only goes on melee weapons: swords, axes, and the mace. Bows and crossbows use Power and other archery enchantments instead.
Is Smite worth using over Sharpness?
Only if you are focused on undead. For mixed combat, Sharpness wins because it applies to every mob. For nether trips, wither fights, and large undead mob farms, Smite is the better pick. The two-sword approach (one Sharpness, one Smite) is what most long-term players settle on.
The short version
Smite V is the strongest sword enchantment in the game against undead, and the cheapest path to it is a librarian villager with a lectern you can cycle. Keep one Smite weapon for the nether and boss fights, keep a Sharpness weapon for everything else, and use the mace plus Smite combo when you fight the Wither.