What Does Fortune Do in Minecraft and How to Activate it

Fortune is the one enchantment to look out for if you want to get more out of mining.

This guide will cover the ins and out of this power-up, including: 

• What does Fortune do in Minecraft, and what are its limits
• How to get it
• What’s the best way to use it.

By the end of it, you’ll be drowning in diamonds.

Ready? Let’s jump right in!

What Is Fortune Enchantment?

Fortune is one of the most valuable enchantments in Minecraft as it increases the drop rate for mining. That makes it great for improving overall productivity and getting more rare drops like diamonds. It can also save you a lot of time and effort if you’re hunting down specific items.

You can apply Fortune to tools like your pickaxe, shovel, axe, and hoe. Yup, that’s quite the variety! This enchantment can be universally practical, whether you’re chopping down trees or digging your way through.

However, it’s not almighty. You can accomplish a lot more with it, but it has its limits, as we’ll see in the next section.

What Does Fortune Do in Minecraft?

So, now that you know the basics of Fortune, let’s take a closer look at its capabilities.

This power-up maxes out at level three, a.k.a Fortune III. As the strongest Fortune enchantment level, it gives you the biggest increase in drops. 

Let’s take mining iron, for example.

With a vanilla pickaxe, you’d only get one piece of raw iron from an ore block. But, with an enchanted tool, you could mine two (Fortune I), three (Fortune II), or four  (Fortune III) pieces at once!

As you can see, this way, you could quickly stock up on certain ores. You can also accumulate:

• Flint, Coal, Diamond, Emerald, Iron, Copper, Gold, Nether Gold, Nether Quartz, Redstone, and Lapis Lazuli ore
• Amethyst cluster, Glowstone, and Sea lanterns
• Melons, Nether warts, Sweet berries, Wheat seeds, and Beetroot seeds
• Apples, Sticks, Saplings, and Vines.

Evidently, the Fortune enchantment in Minecraft doesn’t affect all drops. Many items — like wood and stone — can’t be multiplied this way.

It also doesn’t affect experience points, so you can’t speed up leveling.

Furthermore, this power-up is incompatible with Silk Touch. That means you can’t have them both on the same tool — you’ll have to pick one.

How To Activate It

At this point, you must be itching to know how to get the Fortune enchantment and activate it!

Generally speaking, there are three methods:

• Via enchanting table
• Via anvil
• Via command.

All of them are bound to work, so let’s get to business!

Use an Enchanting Table

It’s the classical, foolproof way of enchanting your items. It requires:

• a table (duh!)
• Lapis Lazuli
• EXP/levels
• the tool you want to imbue with Fortune.

When you have everything ready, approach your table and press Use on it. You’ll notice two slots in the menu — one for your item, the other for the Lapis Lazuli. 

So, let’s say you want to apply Fortune on an axe.

You’ll place your axe in the allotted space and the gems in the other one. Once you do that, randomized spells will appear on the right side of the menu.

You can mouse over them and see what the enchantments are. If you’re lucky, one of them will be Fortune. You can click it and get it.

But, if it’s not there, you’ll have to pick another power-up (preferably the cheapest one, to save your EXP) to reset the spells and try again.

Use an Anvil

If you find an enchanted Fortune book in Minecraft, you’ll have to use an anvil to get the power-up. Just like enchanting tables, anvils will also spend your experience points. But, you won’t need Lapis Lazuli — only the book and your tool of choice.

So, with everything prepared, press Use on the anvil. A gray menu with two slots will appear.

Simply place your enchanted book and the item you mean to empower with Fortune.

Your final item will appear on the right. Click on it, and it’s yours!

Use Commands

If everything else fails, you can type in the Fortune Minecraft command.

Technically, it’s a cheat command (no judgment here!), so you’ll need to have cheats enabled first.

To activate it, press T and type in: “/enchant @p fortune 1/2/3” (depending on the level you want).

You’ll need to hold the tool in your hand for it to work!

Usage Tips

If you want to get the most out of your Fortune enchantment, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are five tips that are guaranteed to make your life easier:

• Tip #1 — Use Fortune on an iron (or better) pickaxe to mine more diamonds, emeralds, and rare materials.
• Tip #2 — Use Fortune on an iron (or better) pickaxe to mine more iron and coal for your everyday crafting needs.
• Tip #3 — Use Fortune on an iron (or better) hoe to get more apples when breaking down leaves.
• Tip #4 — Use Fortune on an iron (or better) axe to get more melon slices.
• Tip #5 — Use Fortune on an iron (or better) shovel to mine more flint from gravel.

Wrap Up

By this point, you should be an expert on the Fortune enchantment in Minecraft! 

It’s one of the most convenient power-ups in the game, with wide applications in mining. The Usage Tips section is proof that you can really profit from Fortune if you put your mind to it.

And it’s pretty easy to get it — whether via an enchanting table, anvil, or commands.

In any case, don’t skip on Fortune. It can turn your game around!