Table of Contents
Who this is for: Minecraft players wanting to understand crossbow enchantments and improve their combat effectiveness.
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How Piercing Works in Minecraft
The Piercing enchantment allows crossbow bolts to pass through multiple targets in a single shot. When you fire a crossbow with Piercing, the arrow continues traveling after hitting the first mob or player, potentially striking additional enemies lined up behind it.
Piercing Levels and Effects
Piercing has four levels (I through IV), and each level determines how many entities your crossbow bolt can pierce through:
- Piercing I: Arrow passes through 1 additional target (hits 2 total)
- Piercing II: Arrow passes through 2 additional targets (hits 3 total)
- Piercing III: Arrow passes through 3 additional targets (hits 4 total)
- Piercing IV: Arrow passes through 4 additional targets (hits 5 total)
What Can Be Pierced
Piercing works on most living entities including hostile mobs, passive animals, and other players in multiplayer. However, it won’t pierce through solid blocks, shields when actively blocking, or certain special entities. The arrow loses no damage when passing through targets, making it incredibly effective against groups of enemies.
Getting the Piercing Enchantment
You can obtain Piercing through several methods:
- Enchanting table (requires lapis lazuli and experience levels)
- Enchanted books found in loot chests
- Trading with librarian villagers
- Combining enchanted items on an anvil
Strategic Uses
Piercing shines in situations where enemies cluster together. It’s particularly useful in mob farms, defending against raids, or clearing out groups of hostile mobs in caves. The enchantment also works well with Multishot, though you can’t combine it with Infinity. For players who enjoy tactical combat and efficient mob clearing, Piercing transforms the crossbow into a formidable crowd-control weapon that maximizes your ammunition efficiency.
TL;DR
Piercing lets crossbow bolts pass through multiple enemies in one shot, with higher levels allowing more targets to be hit (up to 5 total with Piercing IV).
