Are you tired of watching your favorite diamond pickaxe slowly crumble into dust after hours of mining? Do you long for that mythical armor set that seems perpetually invincible? The answer, my friend, lies in the enchantment known as Mending. This magical property allows your tools and armor to repair themselves using experience orbs you collect while playing. It’s the key to durability management in Minecraft, turning fragile items into long-lasting companions.
However, the path to acquiring Mending books can be frustrating. The in-game methods aren’t always obvious, and the randomness involved can leave you feeling helpless. This comprehensive guide will explore the most effective methods of obtaining Mending books in Minecraft, helping you say goodbye to broken tools forever. We’ll delve into fishing, villager trading, and a brief consideration of dungeon and structure loot. Let’s dive in!
The Relaxing Afk Fishing Technique
One popular method for obtaining valuable loot, including the coveted Mending book, is through automated fishing. An AFK (Away From Keyboard) fish farm is a clever contraption that allows you to fish passively while you’re doing other things, like watching videos or, well, being away from your keyboard.
Setting up an AFK fish farm requires some basic resources and a relatively simple design. You’ll need a water source, a fence post, a pressure plate, a note block, and a fishing rod. While an auto-clicker isn’t strictly necessary, it’s highly recommended to automate the process fully and save your fingers from repetitive clicking.
The basic principle involves casting your fishing rod towards a body of water, and when a fish bites, the pressure plate triggers, breaking the line and automatically recasting. The items caught are collected, and you can continue fishing indefinitely.
Here’s a simplified version of how to build one:
- Dig a small hole (typically a 2×2 block area and one block deep).
- Fill one block of the hole with water.
- Place a fence post next to the water block.
- Place a pressure plate on top of the fence post.
- Place a note block directly in front of the pressure plate (next to the water).
- Stand in front of the setup, aim your fishing rod towards the water, and cast. When a fish bites, the pressure plate should trigger, breaking the line and automatically recasting.
Advantages of Fish Farming
This technique is relatively easy to set up, requiring minimal resources and technical expertise. You can easily find tutorials online for various AFK farm designs, catering to different levels of building skill. It’s also potentially fully automated with an auto-clicker. Once set up, you can leave it running and collect the loot later. Beyond Mending books, AFK fishing provides a variety of useful items, including enchanted bows, name tags, saddles, lily pads, and fish for food.
Disadvantages of Fish Farming
The biggest drawback is the time it takes. The appearance of Mending books is entirely dependent on Random Number Generation (RNG), meaning you could fish for hours without finding one. This can be frustrating for players seeking a quick solution. While you can automate it, some players may consider using an auto-clicker as a grey area, and it might be against the rules of some servers. Even with optimizations, the yield of Mending books can be inconsistent, and you might end up with piles of junk items instead. The repetitive nature of watching a fishing rod bob up and down can also lead to boredom for some players.
Maximize Your Fishing Efficiency
To improve your chances of catching Mending books and reduce the tedium, enchant your fishing rod. Luck of the Sea significantly increases the chances of catching treasure items, which includes enchanted books like Mending. Lure decreases the wait time for fish to bite, speeding up the fishing process. Unbreaking increases the durability of your fishing rod, allowing you to fish for longer before needing to repair it. You may also want to invest in mending rods to not have to worry about the rod ever breaking.
Experiment with different AFK farm designs to optimize for efficiency. Some designs are more compact or have better collection systems. Consider implementing a system to filter out the “junk” items you catch, such as rotten flesh and worn-out leather boots. This will keep your inventory clean and make it easier to find the valuable loot. Consider smelting the fish you get to make it easier to eat.
Villager Trading: A More Targeted Approach
A more reliable, albeit slightly more involved, method of acquiring Mending books is through villager trading. Specifically, you’ll want to find a Librarian villager who offers Mending books as one of their trades.
Villager trading works by exchanging emeralds (the villager currency) for goods and services. Each villager profession offers a different set of trades, and Librarians are the ones who sell enchanted books. The trade a villager will offer is randomized upon them getting their job.
The process involves locating an unemployed villager (one without a profession) and placing a lectern (the Librarian’s workstation) near them. This will transform the villager into a Librarian. However, the trades they offer are random. If they don’t offer a Mending book, you can break the lectern to remove their profession, and then replace it to give them a new set of trades. You can repeat this process until you find a Librarian offering the Mending book. To get unemployed villagers, you can breed villagers by giving them beds and food, then placing down a workstation near them.
The Advantages of Villager Trading
Once you’ve found a Librarian offering Mending books, it becomes a highly reliable source. You can purchase multiple Mending books from the same villager, as long as you have enough emeralds. With discounts, the price of Mending books can be significantly reduced, making it a more cost-effective method in the long run.
The Disadvantages of Villager Trading
Finding a Librarian with the desired Mending trade can be time-consuming. You might have to cycle through many different Librarians before you find the right one. Villagers are vulnerable to zombie attacks, and if they get infected, their trades can become much more expensive. This makes protecting your villagers a priority. Early game emeralds are hard to come by so prices can be expensive.
Villager Trading Tips and Tricks
Curing Zombie Villagers is a powerful way to obtain permanent discounts on trades. When you cure a Zombie Villager, they offer significantly lower prices for their goods. The more times you cure a villager, the cheaper their trades become. You can further reduce their prices through raiding, a mechanic implemented in more recent versions of Minecraft.
Consider building a dedicated Villager trading hall to keep your Librarians organized and protected. This will make it easier to find the villager you need and prevent them from wandering off or getting attacked.
If you’re willing to invest the time, building a raid farm can provide a continuous supply of raid events, which further reduces villager prices. This requires some advanced knowledge of Minecraft mechanics but can be extremely rewarding.
Structure and Dungeon Loot: A Last Resort Option
While not a primary method, Mending books can occasionally be found as loot in certain structures and dungeons throughout the Minecraft world. For example, you may rarely find Mending books in Mineshafts, Strongholds, or Desert Temples.
The Advantages
Finding a Mending book in a chest requires no setup. It’s purely based on exploration and luck.
The Disadvantages
The chances of finding a Mending book in a chest are incredibly low, making it an unreliable method for acquiring them. Time spent searching for structures with the potential to contain Mending books could be better spent on fishing or villager trading.
So, Which Method Reigns Supreme?
Here’s a quick overview of our methods:
| Method | Difficulty | Time Investment | Reliability | Resource Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFK Fishing | Easy | Medium to High | Low | Low |
| Villager Trading | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
| Structure Loot | Easy | Low to Medium | Very Low | Low |
Ultimately, the “best” method for obtaining Mending books depends on your individual preferences and playstyle.
If you prefer a passive approach and don’t mind waiting, AFK fishing can be a good option. However, be prepared for the potential of long stretches without finding a Mending book.
If you’re looking for a more reliable method and are willing to invest the time in finding and protecting villagers, Villager Trading is the way to go. The discounts you can obtain make it the most cost-effective method in the long run.
Structure and dungeon loot should be considered a bonus, not a primary strategy.
No matter which method you choose, the rewards of acquiring Mending books are well worth the effort. They will transform your experience in Minecraft, allowing you to use your favorite tools and armor indefinitely. So, go forth and start your Mending book hunt! Good luck, and may your tools never break again!
