{"id":21792,"date":"2026-06-09T13:10:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/minecraft-mending-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:10:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:10:55","slug":"minecraft-mending-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/minecraft-mending-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Minecraft Mending: How to Get It and Repair Gear with XP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mending is the enchantment that turns your favourite diamond pickaxe, netherite sword or trusty fishing rod into gear you never have to replace. Instead of slowly breaking down with use, a Mending item drinks in the experience orbs you collect and repairs itself. Once you understand how it works and where to find it, you can keep a single set of tools running effectively forever. This guide covers exactly what Mending does, the precise repair maths, every way to obtain it, and the one enchantment it refuses to share a bow with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Mending actually does<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Any item with Mending that you are holding in your main hand or offhand, or wearing in an armour slot, and that is not at maximum durability, gets repaired by experience orbs you collect from any source. The repair rate is fixed: two durability points per point of experience<\/strong> contained in the orb. So an orb worth 3 XP can restore up to 6 durability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The order of operations matters. Mending takes priority over your XP bar. Experience won’t be added to your level gauge if any equipped Mending item still has durability to restore. Only the leftover experience, after the item is topped up (or if nothing needs repairing), flows into your normal XP total. In other words, while you have damaged Mending gear equipped, your XP bar effectively pauses and your gear heals first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How XP is split between multiple items<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have several equipped items with Mending that all need repair, the game does not heal them all at once. For each experience orb you collect, it randomly selects one of those items to repair. Only one item is repaired per orb. The selection is random and does not favour the most damaged piece, so a nearly-broken pickaxe has the same chance of being picked as a sword that needs just one point. Items already at full durability are skipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One important limitation: this only applies to items you are actively holding or wearing. A Mending tool sitting loose in your inventory or a chest will not repair itself. To top up a backup pickaxe, you need to hold it (or wear the armour) while gaining XP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mending at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Property<\/th>Detail<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Maximum level<\/td>I (single level only)<\/td><\/tr>
Repair rate<\/td>2 durability per 1 XP point<\/td><\/tr>
Enchanting table<\/td>Not available (treasure enchantment)<\/td><\/tr>
Applies to<\/td>Armour, tools, weapons, shields, fishing rods, elytra and more (18+ item types)<\/td><\/tr>
Repaired items<\/td>Only those held or worn (main hand, offhand, armour slots)<\/td><\/tr>
Items per orb<\/td>One, chosen at random among damaged Mending items<\/td><\/tr>
Incompatible with<\/td>Infinity (on bows)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why you can’t get Mending from the enchanting table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mending is a treasure enchantment. Treasure enchantments cannot appear at the enchanting table no matter how many bookshelves you stack or how many levels you spend. You can only obtain Mending by finding it as an enchanted book or pre-enchanted item. Once you have a Mending book, you apply it through an anvil<\/a>, which is also how you combine it with other enchantments already on your gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every way to obtain Mending<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Villager trades (most reliable)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trading with a librarian villager is the steadiest source of Mending. Librarians can offer Mending books at any of their trade levels, so even a novice can sell you one. A common technique is to place a lectern, check the villager’s offered enchanted book, and if it isn’t Mending, break and replace the lectern to re-roll the trade. Once a villager has a job-site block and a trade locked in, that trade stays available, giving you a renewable supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fishing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mending books can be reeled in as part of the treasure category when fishing. It is a slower, luck-based route, but it requires no villagers at all, and a Luck of the Sea rod improves your treasure odds. See our fishing guide<\/a> for the best rod enchantments and AFK farm setups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chest loot and raids<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mending books generate in treasure chests across a wide range of structures, including desert pyramids, mineshafts, jungle temples, bastion remnants, strongholds, End cities and ancient cities. On Bedrock Edition, Mending can also drop as a raid reward, which gives Bedrock players an extra renewable source that Java lacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mending vs Infinity: the bow conflict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On bows, Mending and Infinity are incompatible. Infinity lets you fire arrows endlessly from a single arrow without consuming it, while Mending keeps the bow repaired. You cannot have both on the same bow through normal play, so you must choose. Many players prefer Mending because a Mending bow only needs a stack of arrows but never breaks, whereas an Infinity bow eventually wears out and is harder to repair without losing enchantments. If you really want both effects in your arsenal, the simplest answer is to carry two separate bows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips for using Mending efficiently<\/h2>\n\n\n\n