PiercingEnchantmentMinecraft
Piercing Enchantment Minecraft | Java Edition (JE) & Bedrock Edition (BE)
Piercing allows crossbow arrows to pass through multiple entities, with higher levels increasing the number of additional targets hit. It excels against grouped mobs and is mutually exclusive with Multishot.
Items You Can Enchant
Select an item to see how Piercing performs on it and explore the best enchantment combinations.
Max Level
1234
Piercing can be applied up to level 4.
Incompatible Enchantments
Best Enchantments to Pair with Piercing
• Always Pair With
These enchantments are almost always used together with Piercing:
• Situational Pairings
Useful combinations with Piercing depending on your playstyle:
PowerBow companion
Use a Power bow for unarmored targets while Piercing handles armored lines.
How to Get Piercing in Minecraft
• Enchanting Table
You can obtain Piercing by using an enchanting table. Surround it with up to 15 bookshelves to unlock higher enchantment levels. Place your item and lapis lazuli in the table, and Piercing may appear as one of the offered enchantments. The outcome is random, so you may need multiple attempts.
• Loot Chests
Enchanted books containing Piercing can be found inside loot chests throughout the world — in dungeons, mineshafts, desert temples, jungle temples, and strongholds. Some chests may also contain items pre-enchanted with Piercing. Loot chest drops are random, so exploration is key.
• Villager Trading
Librarian villagers can offer enchanted books including Piercing in exchange for emeralds. By resetting a librarian's trades (breaking and replacing their lectern), you can cycle through available enchantments until Piercing appears. This is one of the most reliable ways to target a specific enchantment in survival mode.
How to Apply Piercing
• Enchanting Table
Place your item and lapis lazuli in the enchanting table to apply Piercing directly. The enchantment is randomly selected, so results may vary.
• Anvil
Use an anvil to combine an enchanted book containing Piercing with your item. This gives you precise control over which enchantment is applied.
How to Apply Piercing with a Command in Minecraft
The /enchant command applies Piercing directly to the item held in the player's main hand. Best used in creative mode or with cheats enabled. The item must already be in your inventory. This is the fastest way to add a specific enchantment without needing an enchanting table or anvil.
Syntax
/enchant <player> piercing [level]
Label
/enchant @s piercing 4
@s targets yourself (the command executor)
@p targets the nearest player
Replace the player argument with a player name or target selector
The enchantment ID (shown in the command above)
A number from 1 to the maximum level for this enchantment