What Does the Density Enchantment Do in Minecraft?

The Mace already rewards you for attacking from above, since its smash attack grows stronger the further you fall. Density is the enchantment that takes that idea and runs with it, turning high drops into absurd damage numbers. Here is exactly how it works and every way to get it.

What Density Does

Density applies only to the Mace — it has no effect on any other weapon. For every block you fall before connecting with a smash attack, Density adds a fixed amount of bonus damage on top of the Mace's normal fall damage. The Mace itself starts at 6 damage (3 hearts), and Density adds the following per block fallen:

The numbers add up fast. Drop from a platform 10 blocks up with a Density V Mace and you gain 25 bonus damage before the Mace's own smash calculation is even added — roughly 85 total damage from that single hit. Push the fall to around 100 blocks and a Density V Mace can kill a Warden in one hit; an unenchanted Mace needs a fall of over 200 blocks to do the same.

How to Get the Density Enchantment

Enchanting Table

Put the Mace and some lapis lazuli in an enchanting table and hope Density appears. Surround the table with the full 15 bookshelves to unlock the highest-level offers — Density V can show up there, though it is rare.

Looting Structures

Any structure that generates enchanted books can hold Density, but the most reliable source is the ominous vault inside trial chambers, which can pay out Density books. If you already have a Mace from a regular vault, there is a good chance a Density book is waiting nearby.

Trading with Villagers

Librarians can stock enchanted books, including Density. A beginner librarian's trades are rarely useful, so level them up through trading — Journeyman and Master librarians are where the good books appear, if luck is on your side.

Commands

With cheats enabled, you can apply it directly: /enchant @s minecraft:density 5 (replace @s with a player name if needed).

The Best Mace Build Around Density

Density is a damage enchantment, so it conflicts with Breach, Sharpness, Smite and Bane of Arthropods — you pick one. Everything else stacks, so a maxed-out Density Mace usually carries Unbreaking, Mending, Fire Aspect and Wind Burst. Wind Burst is the fun one: it bounces you back into the air after a smash, lining up the next falling hit. Pair it with an elytra for altitude on demand and there is very little in the game you cannot delete in a single dive.

Tips for Getting Density V Faster

The enchanting table is a lottery, so treat it like one. If Density refuses to appear, enchant a throwaway book or another item to refresh the offers, or strip a bad result with a grindstone and try again. Enchanting books directly is often smarter than enchanting the Mace itself: a Density V book in your chest can wait until you have the perfect Mace to put it on, and books stack neatly for combining. Librarian trading rewards patience, too — a fresh librarian's stock rerolls if you break and replace their lectern before making any trades, so you can cycle offers until a Density book shows up and then lock it in with a first trade. And since the ominous vault is the most reliable book source, it pays to run trial chambers with ominous bottles active: the same expedition that earns you the heavy core for a Mace can also hand you the enchantment that makes it terrifying.