Home News Efficiency in Minecraft: Everything You Need to Know

Efficiency in Minecraft: Everything You Need to Know

by Noah Apr 19,2025

Minecraft is a game that offers players endless opportunities for creativity and exploration. A significant part of the gameplay, as the name suggests, involves mining various valuable resources. While mining can be engaging, repetitive tasks can sometimes become monotonous. That's why optimizing your actions is essential—to spend less time on routine tasks and have more fun playing the game.

If you're looking to reduce the time spent on mining, the solution lies in the Efficiency enchantment. In this article, we'll explore how this enchantment can benefit you and guide you on how to apply it to your tools.

Also, don't miss our article about the best mini-games in Minecraft.

Minecraft character with pickaxeImage: rockpapershotgun.com

Table of Contents

  • What Does Efficiency Do in Minecraft?
  • How to Enchant Your Tools with Efficiency in Minecraft?
  • How to Obtain Tools with Efficiency V?
  • Efficiency and the Chance of Stunning Shields in Minecraft

What Does Efficiency Do in Minecraft?

There are five types of tools that can be enchanted with Efficiency: Shears, Pickaxe, Shovel, Axe, and Hoe. This enchantment allows each of these tools to mine blocks faster than usual, but only for the materials they are designed for. For instance, an Axe will chop trees more efficiently but won't be effective on stone.

The Efficiency enchantment comes in five levels:

  • Level I: Increases block-breaking speed by 25%.
  • Level II: Speed increases to 30%, though mining still requires effort.
  • Level III: Mining at this level speeds up significantly compared to a regular tool, reaching 35%.
  • Level IV: It only takes a few strikes to break a block, as this attribute now speeds up the process by 40%.
  • Level V: A fully upgraded item receives a 45% bonus; however, compared to the previous stage, the 5% difference may be barely noticeable. Therefore, only enchant items to the maximum level when you can afford to do so.

Minecraft diamond toolsImage: minecraftforum.net

How to Enchant Your Tools with Efficiency in Minecraft?

To obtain the Efficiency enchantment, you'll need an enchantment table. This special block allows you to grant new properties to your tools, including applying Efficiency to the desired item. If you don't have one yet, you'll need the following ingredients to craft it:

  • 2 Diamonds
  • 4 Obsidian
  • 1 Book

Enchantment Table MinecraftImage: reddit.com

How to Obtain Tools with Efficiency V?

The enchantment table does not allow Stone and Diamond tools to be upgraded to the maximum level. To grant them Efficiency V, you will need to combine two identical items with the previous level of enchantment on an Anvil.

Additionally, experienced players can find Diamond tools with Efficiency V in cities in The End dimension.

Enchantment Table MinecraftImage: reddit.com

Efficiency and the Chance of Stunning Shields in Minecraft

Efficiency in Minecraft not only impacts block-breaking speed but also increases the chances of stunning a shield when applied to an Axe. Level I grants a 25% chance to stun a shield, and each subsequent level increases the probability by 5%.

Minecraft enchanted ShovelImage: destructoid.com

Overall, Efficiency in Minecraft is an extremely useful enchantment if you want to make the most of your time in the game. Try to upgrade your tools as soon as possible so that the process of mining and resource gathering brings you joy rather than boredom!