Why Does Minecraft Say “Too Expensive” When Repairing Your Enchanted Bow?

Understanding the “Too Expensive” Message

When trying to repair or modify your enchanted bow in Minecraft, you may encounter the frustrating “Too Expensive” message. This occurs due to the game’s mechanics for balancing powerful items and preventing them from becoming overpowered.

The Cumulative Cost of Enchantments

Each enchantment on your bow adds to its base repair cost. For example:

Power III: 3 levels
Punch II: 8 levels
Infinity: 8 levels
Flame: 4 levels

These enchantments alone result in a base cost of 23 levels for any anvil work on your bow.

Prior Work Penalty

Every time you use an anvil to modify or repair an item, it increases the item’s “prior work penalty.” This penalty adds to the base cost of future modifications. For instance, if you’ve combined enchantments multiple times, the prior work penalty could easily push the total cost beyond the game’s limit of 39 levels.

The 39-Level Limit

Minecraft imposes a hard cap of 39 levels for any single anvil operation. When the combined cost of enchantments, repairs, and prior work penalties exceeds this limit, you’ll see the “Too Expensive” message.

Strategies to Avoid “Too Expensive” Issues

Plan your enchantments carefully from the start.
Combine books before applying them to items.
Rename items early to reset the prior work penalty.
Use the Mending enchantment to repair items with experience orbs.

Alternative Repair Methods

If your bow becomes unrepairable through conventional means:

Create a new bow and transfer some enchantments.
Use a grindstone to remove enchantments and repair the bow (losing the enchantments in the process).
Save the bow for display and craft a new one.

Remember, while powerful enchanted items are desirable, balancing their creation and maintenance is part of Minecraft’s challenge and strategy.