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With the ability to make everything from weapons to tools and even recipes for lanterns, you’d think the crafting table would be all you need to experience the best of Minecraft gameplay–but now, more and more spotlight is being cast on enchantments like quick charge to guide you to enhanced combat and exciting gameplay.
Last year’s Minecraft update added exciting pillaging features, allowing players to attack and raid towns, and adding crossbows to the Java edition. With the new pillaging, features came pillager patrols, who can now station at their own posts or wander. Alongside these raids, banners appeared to alert a raiding party. Bad omens and distance from villages add to the challenge.
But as exciting as those additions were, much of the attention also went to the updates for additional crossbow capabilities. Crossbows, of course, fire arrows, but they became especially popular for the greater damage they can inflict and bonuses with the help of both the multishot and quick charge enchantments.
With unique reloading abilities, a distinct style, and even more possibilities for fighting off hostile mobs, the update lives on, but even now, some players may not be aware of how to use it to its full potential.
Consider this your guide to how to get a quick charge enchantment, how to use it, and some alternative enchantments and mods for crossbows in Minecraft.
What is the quick charge enchantment for in Minecraft?
Minecraft enchantments are a way to enhance and extend the use of different tools and items, from the respiration enchantment to allow you to breathe underwater for long periods of time, to other enchantments, like the quick charge enchantment, that is meant to make weapons more useful or powerful.
Purpose of the quick charge enchantment
The purpose of the quick charge enchantment is to reduce the time it takes to load a crossbow. Doing so means you’ll be able to shoot incoming mobs more quickly and can make a meaningful difference when taking on an especially challenging boss mob. Combined with other Minecraft enchantments, it’s quite useful and one of my favorite weapon-related enchantments.
Normally, it takes 1.25 seconds to load an arrow for a crossbow. That may not seem like a lot of time, but that hesitation can make a difference. As you level up in enchantment levels, you’ll continue to reduce that loading time.
Enchantment Levels
| Charging Time | None | One | Two | Three |
| Quick Charge Enchantment Level | 1.25 seconds | 1 second | 0.75 seconds | 0.5 seconds |
There are three levels of the enchantment of quick charge. With each level, you’ll cut loading time by 0.25 seconds. That means, as you can see in the table above, that, at quick charge level three, your required time to charge a crossbow will be mere half a second. Compared with a second and a quarter, it really can make a difference in the context of incoming mobs.
You can rank up in enchantment levels by gaining experience orbs. Experience orbs are gained (and dropped) by defeating mobs. This is true of all enchantment types that have more than one enchantment level and is important to get the most out of enchantments for the best Minecraft recipes.
How do you get a quick charge enchantment?
Using an enchantment table
A quick charge enchantment in Minecraft, like most enchantment, is not too difficult to obtain. Starting with the basics, you’ll need an enchantment table. Enchantment tables may be crafted using a book (find them in villages, strongholds, loot, or trade), obsidian, and diamonds. You’ll need one book in the top row, the middle column of a crafting table, a diamond in the first and last slot in the middle row, and obsidian in the remaining slots in the second and third row.
Now you can start enchanting. You’ll need a crossbow (I’ll discuss this in the next section) and place the crossbow in the first available slot. I recommend making sure the crossbow isn’t broken and checking to see what enchantments the crossbow may already have.
Keep in mind that the more experience you have, the more enchantment levels you’ll have.
Finding a quick charge enchantment
Granted, you don’t find the enchantment itself, but, rather, a crossbow that’s been enchanted with quick charge. In my next section, I’ll explain where you can find an enchanted crossbow. I still recommend relying on enchanting yourself: it’s difficult to find enchanted crossbows, even in the best Minecraft worlds, and more times than not, you’ll end up having to repair a broken crossbow.
How rare is the quick charge enchantment?
The quick charge enchantment is not the rarest nor the most common Minecraft enchantment. Most players have the greatest level of success acquiring it, however, through the enchantment table. The probability of finding it in chests or loot is fairly low, even with a high looting skill.
What can you use a quick charge enchantment on?
Of course, there are limitations when it comes to both use and compatibility with the quick charge enchantment. One thing I don’t love about this enchantment is it’s not terribly versatile– its use, while handy, is rather limited. Here’s what you can–and can’t– use the quick charge enchantment with and for.
The quick charge enchantment may be used primarily on crossbows. Like the riptide enchantment, which can only be used on tridents, the quick charge is a helpful enchantment, yet rather limited in its use.
Obtaining a Crossbow
To obtain a crossbow, you have your usual two options: find one or craft one.
Finding a Crossbow- Loots, Pillagers, Piglins, and Trading
Crossbows are normally acquired from chest loots, pillagers, piglins, or through trading. Chests can contain regular, enchanted, and damaged crossbows.
Pillagers have anywhere from an 8.5 percent probability to an 11.5 percent chance (with a looting level three) of dropping a crossbow. Piglins do not always, but sometimes, spawn with crossbows; when they do, they have the same probability of dropping crossbows as pillagers do.
Your final option, trading for a crossbow, is a favorite for many. Journeyman villagers often have regular crossbows they will trade for these emeralds. In contrast, master villagers may have enhanced crossbows, which for eight to twenty-two emeralds, though this is far less common ( a little over a 6 percent chance).
As a final note, you can find crossbows, including enchanted crossbows, in more unusual ways, such as fishing or by searching unusual buildings and designs, like pyramids.
Crafting a Crossbow Recipe
| Stick | Iron Ingot | Stick |
| String | Tripwire Hook | String |
| Stick |
Of course, my favorite option is simply making a crossbow. Crafting a crossbow is a fairly simple recipe: all that is required is a stick, iron ingot, string, and tripwire hook.
Sticks may be found from fishing, mob loots, or from sometimes when dropped by leaves. They can also be fashioned from wood planks. Iron ingot can be made by smelting iron ore or found in chests. String, meanwhile, is found in cobwebs, bodies of water, or even cats. Your final ingredient, tripwire hook, may be found in temples situated in jungle biomes.
Now that you have all the materials you need, arrange in the following order in a three by three grid: stick, iron, and stick in the first row; string, tripwire hook, string in the second row; and stick in the middle column of the final row.
Repairing a Crossbow
Like all tools and weapons, crossbows eventually break– plus, many crossbows you obtain may be broken already. Instead of discarding and searching for or crafting a new crossbow, consider repairing the crossbow you already have instead.
To repair your crossbow, you’ll need either an anvil or a grindstone. Assuming you’ve been able to enchant a crossbow with a quick charge, you should have access to anvils or know how to obtain them.
To repair, simply take two crossbows and place them in either an anvil or crossbow. Do keep in mind that leftover arrows will be kept for the crossbow placed in the first slot, but lost from the crossbow set in the second slot.
Using Crossbows as Fuel
If you’re truly finished with your crossbow, an uncommon use is smelting it for fuel. Crossbows may be broken down in furnaces.
Using a Crossbow
Aside from the quick charge enchantment, of course, there are many other aspects to using a crossbow in Minecraft. You can use it in one of two ways: either as a weapon, quick is where the quick charge enchantment is helpful, or for creating fireworks.
Of course, the quick charge enchantment perfectly pairs with these applications, allowing you to load faster and enhancing the capabilities of your crossbow, both as a weapon and for setting off fireworks.
Using a Crossbow for Fireworks
You may not be aware of a less common– but interesting way. With a crossbow, you can fire rockets with an off-hand alone. Without enchantments, fireworks travel at 32 m/s, though their height and duration can vary depending on how they are shot. Any rockets with greater durability mean they travel further because the explosion is delayed. Do note that every time that you use a crossbow for fireworks, you’re doing so at a cost of three durability points.
Upon hitting any obstacle– whether that’s a regular block or a mob–it will explode, thus stopping its travel. Explosions can inflict anywhere from no damage to six points of damage without any enhancements. Explosions set off from a crossbow can impact around four surrounding blocks.
Using a Crossbow as a Weapon
Using a crossbow as a weapon, of course, is where the quick charge enchantment will be most helpful. Crossbows are more powerful than bows– with the ability to hit farther range targets and do so with increased accuracy. At the same time, they take longer to reload, hence why the quick charge enchantment can be quite helpful.
To use either arrows or fire rockets, you must ensure that the crossbow is fully loaded–something which honestly can be a nuisance at times. If not, your movements with the crossbow will be slowed considerably. Once fully loaded, you’ll be able to use the crossbow normally.
You’ll need a minimum of one arrow in your inventory. The game prioritizes arrows in the hotbar or the off-hand, then moves onto arrows in the nearest slot.
Are there any alternatives to the quick charge enchantment?
The good news is that you aren’t limited to just the quick charge enchantment when it comes to enchantments and other options. You can also use mods to enhance your use of either crossbows or enchanted crossbows.
Is quick charge or multishot better?
Multishot is one such popular alternative to the quick charge enchantment for a crossbow. The multishot enchantment is used not only on crossbows but any weapons that can shoot. The purpose is to increase damage by allowing you to shoot more than one arrow at once.
This powerful enchantment allows you to fire up to five arrows at once, but this is never guaranteed. Instead of each enchantment level increasing damage, each enchantment level improves your probability of firing up to five arrows: a 20 percent chance at level one, a 30 percent chance at level two, and a 40 percent chance at the highest enchantment level.
Since you can’t use both the multishot and quick charge enchantment on one crossbow, you have to decide. I recommend using multishot if the mob is far away– then, you can deal more damage and hopefully thin down your adversaries before they approach. This is also helpful if you build an outpost (hopefully well-lit with some great Minecraft lanterns).
In the case that the mob is close by, or you’re going on the attack, you may find that quick charge is as helpful– reducing that moment of hesitation means less time you yourself can be attacked, which has always been a downside to the slow loading time for a crossbow vs regular bow in Minecraft.
Can you have quick charge and piercing?
Another alternative enchantment to quick charge is piercing, but, once again, you’ll need to make a strategic decision, as these cannot be used together. Piercing allows arrows to pass through more than one mob at a time, allowing you to potentially reduce your enemies more quickly.
I personally find that piercing and quick charge are equally useful, but it’s a matter of preference. Think of it this way: while piercing allows you to potentially hit more mobs at once, quick charge allows you to hit them more quickly.
Mods for Crossbows with Quick Charge
Minecraft mods can also enhance your use of quick charge enchantment. I recommend downloading mods from Curse Forge or MinecraftMods, both of which tend to provide better tested, safer downloads– just make sure you have some form of antivirus protection installed.
Crossbows Mod
This mod adds five new crossbows to your game, as well as compatible bolts. Every new crossbow also includes additional storage for the new bolts. It can be upgraded to four different levels, each with a new capability, including scope, auto-reload, reinforced limbs, and tri-shot. Download Here.
Crossbows (1.11.2) Mod
A similar mod to get more out of the quick charge enchantment, this option will have wood, stone, iron, and gold crossbows, each with bolts with unique capabilities. New capabilities include new flaming arrows, as well as teleporting options, and additional upgrades. Download Here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How many bookshelves do you need for Level 30 Enchantments?
Answer: Bookshelves can help you scale up enchanting in Minecraft. To reach level thirty enchantments, you’ll want a minimum of fifteen bookshelves.
Question: Can crossbows have infinity?
Answer: Infinity is a popular enchantment that allows you to shoot ranged weapons without using any arrows, meaning that you won’t run out of arrows as you attack or defend. Unfortunately, infinity is considered incompatible with the crossbow.
Question: Are crossbows useless Minecraft?
Answer: Crossbows are far from useless in Minecraft. Compared with the traditional bow, crossbows can inflict more damage and also are more accurate. In addition, the drawback of crossbows taking longer to load can be mitigated by using the quick charge enchantment. Meanwhile, the multishot enchantment allows you to inflict even more damage. While crossbows can’t have infinity and are not the strongest weapon, they can be quite useful, no matter your gameplay style or what things you find best to do in Minecraft.
Final Thoughts
The quick charge enchantment is far from perfect and has some limitations, but it can make crossbows more effective and protect you both from mobs and other players when in a tight spot.
Searching for an enchanted crossbow or other special treasure by fishing but having no luck? Read our guide to the 5 best fishing rod enchantments in Minecraft.