Understanding Mending in Minecraft
Mending is a powerful enchantment in Minecraft that allows tools, weapons, and armor to repair themselves using experience orbs. But does this mean items with Mending never break? Let’s explore this question in detail.
How Mending Works
When an item with Mending is equipped or held, experience orbs collected by the player are converted into durability points for the item. Each point of experience repairs 2 durability points on the item. This process continues until the item is fully repaired or all available experience is used.
Do Mending Tools Break?
In theory, tools with Mending should never break if used properly. However, there are some important caveats:
Fishing Rods: A fishing rod with Mending used exclusively for fishing should never break, as the experience gained from fishing typically outpaces the durability loss.
Other Tools: Tools like pickaxes, swords, and axes can still break if used extensively without collecting enough experience to offset the durability loss.
Proper Management: To prevent breakage, players must actively manage their Mending items, ensuring they collect enough experience to repair them regularly.
Maximizing Mending Effectiveness
To get the most out of Mending:
• Combine with Unbreaking: This enchantment significantly reduces durability loss, making Mending even more effective.
• Prioritize Repairs: When gaining experience, hold the item that needs repairing in your main or off-hand.
• Use XP Farms: For heavily used tools, consider using XP farms to quickly repair them.
Common Mending Misconceptions
• Mending doesn’t prevent all durability loss; it only provides a way to repair items using experience.
• Items with Mending can still break if not managed properly or if used extensively without repair opportunities.
• Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive on bows, forcing players to choose between repairable bows or infinite arrows.
When Mending Might Fail
There are situations where Mending might not work as expected:
• Multiple Mending Items: If you have several items with Mending, the experience may be distributed among them, potentially leaving some items under-repaired.
• Bugs: Some players have reported issues with Mending not working correctly, particularly with pickaxes in certain versions.
• Overlooked Damage: Players might not notice gradual durability loss, leading to unexpected breakages if not checked regularly.