Piercing or multishot : A comparison

01. 12. 2023

One of the best ways to improve an item in Minecraft is to enchant it. Multiple enchantments can all be applied to one tool so players can improve different aspects of their items.

Two unique weapon enchantments can only be used on crossbows: Multishot and Piercing. These enchantments were added to the game by the Minecraft1.14 Village & Pillage updates released 23 April 2019.

Minecraft enchantment comparison: Multishot Vs. Piercing

Maximum levels and maximum enchantment weights

Most enchantments in Minecraft have different levels. Some can even reach level five.

Multishot, like Silk Touch, does not offer multiple levels. Piercing however, offers four.

Five times the enchantment weight of Piercing is also available. The chances of a player getting a free Piercing magic enchantment are much higher than the chance of getting a Multishot.

Influence on crossbow's endurance

A crossbow equipped with the Piercing Enchantment will decrease its durability by one per shot. The Multishot enchantment does not reduce its durability points in this way. Three durability points are required for each arrow shot from a multishot crossbow.

Multishot and Piercing share a lot, but their shooting techniques are very different. Multishot is a crossbow that shoots three different types of arrows, each shot slightly horizontally.

Piercing crossbows are able to shoot arrows that can penetrate mobs. The level of Piercing used on the crossbow determines how many mobs an arrow can pass through. An arrow that is level 4 in Piercing can pass through five mobs.

Which enchantment works best for crossbows:

Multishot and Piercing cannot be combined, so players can't use them both on the same crossbow. Players often disagree on which one is best because they can't be combined.

Because their purposes are so different, neither can be considered superior to the other. Multishot is more efficient than Piercing when the player must fight multiple mobs from different angles.

In situations where multiple mobs are moving in straight lines towards the player, piercing may prove more useful.