How to Make and Use a Mace in Minecraft (Complete Guide)

TL;DR

• The Mace is crafted from 1 Heavy Core + 1 Breeze Rod — no table needed, craft it in your inventory.
• Heavy Core comes from Ominous Vaults in Trial Chambers (7.5% chance). Breeze Rod drops from the Breeze.
• Base damage is 6 (3 hearts), rising to 9 (4.5 hearts) on a critical hit. Its Smash Attack adds massive bonus damage based on fall height and cancels all fall damage on a hit.
• It can theoretically one-shot anything — the Warden, the Wither, players in full Netherite armor.
• Three exclusive enchantments: Density (more smash damage), Breach (ignores armor), Wind Burst (launches you up to chain attacks).
• Density, Breach, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive — pick one.
• Durability: 500 (Java) / 501 (Bedrock). Repair with Breeze Rods at an Anvil — 1 rod = 25% durability restored.

The Mace is the most exciting weapon added to Minecraft in years. It does not follow the same rules as a sword or axe. Its damage scales with how far you fall before hitting. Fall 10 blocks before landing a hit and you deal devastating damage. Fall 30 blocks and you can one-shot a player in full Netherite armour. Fall far enough and you can one-shot the Warden. And when the hit lands, all your fall damage disappears. All mechanics described here are confirmed current as of May 2026 — the Mace has not changed since its release in 1.21 (Tricky Trials, June 2024).

The catch is that it takes skill and setup to use well. This guide covers everything from getting the materials to mastering the aerial combos that make this weapon terrifying.

What Is the Mace?

The Mace is a heavy melee weapon added in Minecraft 1.21 (Tricky Trials). It has two attack modes:

Regular attack: Deals 6 base damage (3 hearts) — or 9 damage (4.5 hearts) on a critical hit — with a 1.67 second cooldown on Java Edition. Bedrock Edition has no attack cooldown, so you can swing freely. By sword standards, the Mace is slow and its regular DPS is mediocre against enemies without armour.

Smash Attack: Triggered by attacking while falling at least 1.5 blocks. The smash deals the base 6 damage PLUS bonus damage for every block fallen before impact. The damage scales up fast. It also knocks back every mob within 2.5 blocks of the target. Most importantly — if the smash attack lands, your fall damage is completely cancelled. You can fall 100 blocks, smash a mob, and walk away without a scratch.

The Mace is purely situational. In flat-ground sword fights, it is worse than a sword. In vertical environments — Trial Chambers, mountain fights, Nether fortresses, or anywhere you can get elevation — it becomes the most powerful weapon in the game with no upper damage limit.

How to Get the Materials

Material 1 — Breeze Rod

Breeze Rods drop from the Breeze mob inside Trial Chambers. Every Breeze kill drops 1–2 rods (up to 8 with Looting III on your sword). You only need 1 rod to craft the Mace, so this part is straightforward.

Our Breeze defeat guide covers full strategy for fighting the Breeze. The short version: no arrows — it deflects them. Get close and use melee. The Breeze stops attacking when you are within 1–2 blocks of it.

Material 2 — Heavy Core

The Heavy Core is the rarest component. It only drops from Ominous Vaults inside Trial Chambers, at a 7.5% chance per vault opened.

Ominous Vaults require Ominous Trial Keys, which you get by completing Ominous Trials — the harder difficulty mode triggered by entering a Trial Chamber while under the Bad Omen effect from an Ominous Bottle.

This means getting the Heavy Core requires:

1. Finding a Trial Chamber (use a Trial Explorer Map from a Journeyman Cartographer)
2. Completing standard trials to earn Ominous Bottles from standard Vaults
3. Drinking an Ominous Bottle to get Bad Omen
4. Entering Ominous Trials and clearing Ominous Trial Spawners
5. Using the Ominous Trial Keys on Ominous Vaults (6–8 per chamber)
6. Getting lucky — 7.5% per vault opened

The Ominous Vault has a three-skulled face on the front and blue soul flames. You will recognise it immediately. At 7.5%, you may need to open 10–15 vaults before getting a Heavy Core. Our Ominous Trials guide covers the full process and farming strategy, and our Trial Chambers guide covers finding and navigating these structures.

Gear recommendation before attempting Ominous Trials: Full diamond or Netherite armour with Protection IV. Ominous Trials spawn armoured, buffed mobs alongside Breezes and all the usual Trial Chamber hazards simultaneously. Going in undergeared makes it very difficult.

How to Craft the Mace

The Mace has one of the simplest crafting recipes in the game given how powerful it is.

Recipe:

• 1 Heavy Core (top slot)
• 1 Breeze Rod (directly below it)

Place the Heavy Core in the top-centre slot and the Breeze Rod directly beneath it. The Mace appears in the output slot. This works in your personal 2×2 inventory grid — no crafting table needed.

The Mace has 500 durability on Java Edition and 501 on Bedrock Edition. Each attack costs 1 durability. With Unbreaking III and Mending, it effectively never breaks.

Understanding the Smash Attack — How Damage Works

This is the core mechanic. Everything about the Mace revolves around understanding it.

When a Smash Attack Triggers

A Smash Attack fires when you press attack while falling at least 1.5 blocks from your starting height. You do not need to be in freefall — jumping off a 1-block ledge counts. You do not need to reach the ground — you can smash a mob in mid-air and the attack resets your fall height to that point.

You also do not need the cooldown to be ready. The Smash Attack bypasses the weapon cooldown — it fires even during the cooldown period, which makes it unique among all Minecraft weapons.

Important Java Edition restriction: On Java Edition, you cannot perform a Smash Attack while in Elytra flight. Elytra gliding completely prevents the smash mechanic from activating on Java. See the Elytra section below for what you can do on each edition.

The Damage Formula

The extra damage scales in three tiers based on blocks fallen:

• First 3 blocks fallen: +4 damage per block (total +12 max from this tier)
• Next 5 blocks (blocks 4–8): +2 damage per block (total +10 max from this tier)
• Every block beyond that: +1 damage per block (unlimited)

On top of this, most Smash Attacks count as critical hits — multiplying total damage by 1.5×.

Some practical benchmarks using an unenchanted Mace (critical hit):

• Fall 5 blocks → roughly 28 damage (14 hearts)
• Fall 10 blocks → roughly 35 damage
• Fall 30 blocks → roughly 55 damage — enough to kill a player in full Protection IV Netherite armour
• Fall ~100 blocks → enough to one-shot the Warden

The damage has no upper limit. The more you fall, the harder you hit.

Fall Damage Cancellation

When the Smash Attack connects, all accumulated fall damage for that fall is cancelled. You land safely regardless of how far you fell. This is what makes the Mace a mobility tool as much as a weapon — jumping off cliffs to deal damage is also how you survive them.

Important: If you miss — if you swing and hit nothing — the fall damage cancellation does not trigger. You take the full fall damage. This is the Mace’s core risk. Miss the hit, die from the fall.

Step-By-Step: How to Execute a Smash Attack

Step 1 — Get elevation. Jump, climb a ledge, use a Wind Charge, or simply fall off something. Any starting height above 1.5 blocks works.

Step 2 — Face your target while falling. Aim directly at the mob or player below. The hit registers like a normal melee attack, so you need to be in melee range at the moment of impact.

Step 3 — Press attack as you fall. Swing your Mace while still in the air. You do not need to wait for the cooldown indicator. The smash triggers automatically when you are falling and make contact.

Step 4 — Land. The fall damage cancels the moment the hit connects. You land safely. Nearby mobs within 2.5 blocks get knocked back from the impact point.

Step 5 (optional) — Chain with Wind Burst. If your Mace has Wind Burst, the smash launches you back up into the air. Begin falling again and repeat. This is the core of advanced Mace combat.

Wind Charges + Mace Combo

This is the technique that makes the Mace truly fearsome in any situation — not just when you happen to have height.

Hold Wind Charges in your off-hand and the Mace in your main hand.

Use a Wind Charge (right-click) to launch yourself upward. You immediately gain significant height — enough for a smash attack. As you begin falling, aim at your target and swing. The smash hits, cancels your fall damage, and if you have Wind Burst on the Mace, you get launched up again to repeat.

This creates an aerial loop: launch up → fall → smash → launch up → fall → smash. Each cycle deals heavy smash damage. Against the Warden or other very high-health bosses, chain 3–4 of these and they die without touching you.

Wind Charges are crafted from Breeze Rods — 1 rod = 4 Wind Charges. Farm Breezes with Looting III to keep your supply topped up.

Elytra + Mace — Different Behaviour on Java vs Bedrock

The Elytra + Mace interaction works very differently between editions, so this section is worth reading carefully before experimenting.

Java Edition — Elytra Blocks Smash Attacks

On Java Edition, you cannot perform a Smash Attack while wearing and actively gliding with an Elytra. The game checks whether you are in “elytra flight” mode, and if you are, the smash mechanic is disabled entirely. Swinging the Mace during a glide delivers only a regular attack — no bonus damage, no fall damage cancellation.

On Java, the correct Elytra + Mace approach is to glide to a position above your target, then stop gliding (fold the wings by pressing jump or hitting something that breaks glide), and fall the remaining distance before swinging. Once you exit elytra flight, you immediately begin accumulating fall height for the smash.

Bedrock Edition — Elytra Works With Smash Attacks

On Bedrock Edition, the smash attack restriction does not apply. Height accumulated during Elytra gliding counts toward smash attack bonus damage. You can dive from altitude with Elytra active and swing at the bottom of the dive for the full fall height multiplier. This makes Elytra a genuine long-range ambush tool for the Mace on Bedrock.

All Mace Enchantments

The Mace has 8 possible enchantments: 3 exclusive to the Mace, plus 5 standard enchantments. Crucially, Density, Breach, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive — you can only have one of the four on any given Mace.

Density (Mace Exclusive, Max Level V)

Increases Smash Attack damage per block fallen. At each level, adds 0.5HP × 0.25 extra damage per block fallen.

At Density V, a player in full Protection IV Netherite armour can be killed with a critical smash from just 10 blocks of fall height (vs 30 blocks without it). This is the standard PvE enchantment — more damage per shorter falls means you do not need ridiculous heights to deal serious damage.

Choose Density if you fight mobs in Trial Chambers, against the Warden or Wither, or in any environment where you use Wind Charges or Wind Burst to chain smashes from moderate heights.

Breach (Mace Exclusive, Max Level IV)

Ignores 15% of the target’s armour and armour toughness per level. At Breach IV, 60% of armour protection is bypassed on every hit. This applies to both regular hits and smash attacks.

With Breach IV, a Mace has the highest damage-per-hit of any weapon in the game against targets in full diamond or Netherite armour, even on regular swings. This is the PvP enchantment — it tears through well-geared players.

Choose Breach if you primarily fight players or Ominous Trial mobs that spawn with armour. For regular mobs without armour, Breach gives no benefit since there is nothing to bypass.

Wind Burst (Mace Exclusive, Max Level III)

After a successful Smash Attack, launches you upward. The height gain is 8 blocks per level:

• Wind Burst I: 8 blocks up
• Wind Burst II: 16 blocks up
• Wind Burst III: 24 blocks up

Wind Burst is what enables the chained aerial combat loop described above. Every time you successfully smash, you get launched back up to smash again. With Wind Burst III, you bounce 24 blocks into the air after each smash — giving you massive fall height for the next chain.

Important: Wind Burst does NOT cancel fall damage on the upward launch. After the burst launches you up, you start falling again and accumulate new fall distance. If you miss the next smash attack, you take that fall damage. Feather Falling IV boots are strongly recommended when using Wind Burst.

Wind Burst books are a treasure enchantment — only found in Ominous Vaults. You cannot get this enchantment from an enchanting table.

Unbreaking (Max Level III)

Reduces durability loss per use. At Unbreaking III, the Mace lasts roughly 4× as long per use. Essential for keeping it in working condition during extended fights.

Mending

Repairs the Mace using XP orbs collected while holding or wearing it. Combined with Unbreaking III, your Mace becomes essentially indestructible in normal gameplay. Pair with an XP mob farm for constant passive repair. Get Mending books from a Librarian in your villager trading hall.

Fire Aspect (Max Level II)

Sets targets on fire on hit. The burn damage stacks with smash attack bonus damage, making kills faster on mobs. Less useful in the Nether where fire-immune mobs are common. A solid bonus enchantment for PvE.

Smite (Max Level V)

Deals extra damage specifically to undead mobs: Skeletons, Zombies, Wither Skeletons, the Wither, Phantoms, Drowned, and similar. Smite V adds 12.5 extra damage per hit against undead. With a Mace smash, this becomes enormous — especially for one-shotting the Wither. Mutually exclusive with Density, Breach, and Bane of Arthropods.

Bane of Arthropods (Max Level V)

Extra damage against spiders, cave spiders, silverfish, endermites, and bees. Less universally useful than Smite, but useful in a Trial Chamber context where cave spiders and silverfish appear frequently. Mutually exclusive with the other three.

Best Enchantment Builds

PvE / Boss Fighting Build

Density V + Wind Burst III + Unbreaking III + Mending

This is the strongest general-purpose combat build. Density V means shorter falls deal enormous damage. Wind Burst III launches you 24 blocks after each smash, giving you constant reset height for chaining. With Wind Charges in your off-hand, you never need to find external height — you create your own.

This build can one-shot the Warden with Wind Burst chains and kill the Wither in a handful of dives. It is the most fun build and the most effective for any high-HP mob.

PvP Build

Breach IV + Wind Burst III + Unbreaking III + Mending

Against players in full Netherite armour, Breach IV cuts through 60% of their protection on every hit. A smash from height with Breach IV kills a full Netherite player after falling only 19 blocks. Add Wind Burst for aerial pressure and Strength II potions to reduce that to 13 blocks.

In PvP, the Mace rewards unpredictability. Use Wind Charges to suddenly launch yourself above an opponent, then dive in for the smash. One miss means danger, but one hit from significant height is almost always a one-shot.

Wither Slaying Build

Smite V + Wind Burst III + Unbreaking III + Mending

Smite V’s bonus damage against undead stacks with smash damage. Against the Wither, a few aerial chains with Smite V and moderate fall heights finish the fight faster than any sword can. The Warden and Wither are the two bosses where the Mace most decisively outperforms every other weapon.

How to Repair the Mace

The Mace is repaired at an Anvil using Breeze Rods. One Breeze Rod restores 25% of the Mace’s total durability. Both the rod and another Mace can be used for repair, and enchantments are preserved through all repair methods.

You can also combine two damaged Maces in a crafting grid or on a Grindstone to merge their durability — but combining on a Grindstone removes enchantments, so use an Anvil if you want to keep them.

If you have Mending, all of this becomes secondary. XP orbs passively repair your Mace as you play. Farm extra Breeze Rods by fighting Breezes with Looting III — up to 8 rods per kill. The same rods also craft Wind Charges (1 rod = 4 Wind Charges), so farming Breezes feeds both your repair supply and your combat ammo.

The Mace vs Sword vs Axe vs Spear — When to Use Each

The Mace is not a replacement for your sword. It fills a different role. The Spear (added in Mounts of Mayhem, December 2025) also offers a new option for mounted combat with speed-scaled damage.

The ideal loadout carries both a sword and a Mace. Use your sword for most standard combat. Switch to the Mace when you have elevation, are fighting a boss, or need the area knockback to control multiple mobs at once.

Mace in Trial Chambers — Natural Habitat

Trial Chambers are the best environment to learn and use the Mace because they provide everything you need: Breezes for Wind Charges, height from room structures, and multiple mobs that benefit from area knockback.

When entering a combat chamber, use a Wind Charge to instantly gain height. Smash into the Trial Spawner’s first wave of mobs. The area knockback from the smash sends everything nearby flying — excellent crowd control. Then Wind Burst sends you up for another chain.

This approach clears Trial Spawner mobs faster than sword combat and keeps you safer because you spend most of the fight airborne rather than in the mob’s melee range.

During Ominous Trials, the armoured mobs make Breach IV extremely valuable. Collect Wind Charges from defeated Breezes and use them to power your Mace chains throughout the run.

Tips for Using the Mace Effectively

Practice on chickens and passive mobs first. The timing of the smash attack — pressing attack at the right moment while falling — takes a few minutes to learn. A jump off a two-block ledge onto a chicken is the lowest-stakes way to get the feel for it before risking your life against the Warden.

Always have Wind Charges in your off-hand. Once you get used to launching yourself with Wind Charges, the Mace becomes usable anywhere — no external height needed. Keep your off-hand stocked.

Feather Falling IV boots are near-mandatory with Wind Burst. If you miss a smash during a Wind Burst chain, you take fall damage from whatever height you launched to. Feather Falling IV dramatically reduces those punishment falls.

The smash resets mid-air. You do not need to land on the ground. Smash a mob in the air, get launched by Wind Burst, smash again before hitting the ground. The fall height for each smash is calculated fresh from the point of the previous smash. This is what makes chaining possible.

Slow Falling disables smash attacks. The Slow Falling effect (from potions or the Slow Falling status) prevents the smash mechanic from triggering, since you are no longer accumulating fall damage. Avoid drinking Slow Falling potions in your Mace loadout.

Use Strength potions for hard targets. Strength II adds flat bonus damage to every hit including smash attacks. Combined with Density V or Breach IV, it dramatically reduces the fall height needed to one-shot difficult targets. Our potion brewing guide covers Strength potion setup.

The Mace does not reduce durability when breaking instant-break entities. On Java Edition, using the Mace on boats and minecarts (which break in one hit) does not consume durability. A minor but useful detail for creative use.

Common Mistakes

Swinging before you have enough fall distance. A fall of less than 1.5 blocks gives you a regular critical hit rather than a Smash Attack. Wait until you have 2–3 blocks of fall height for even a basic smash benefit.

Not having Wind Charges. Playing the Mace without Wind Charges in your off-hand is like having the Elytra but no firework rockets — you are underutilising the whole system.

Using Breach against mobs with no armour. Breach ignores armour that does not exist. Against regular unarmoured mobs, Breach does nothing extra. Density is the better choice for most PvE enemies. Use Breach specifically for armoured targets.

Forgetting that Wind Burst does not cancel fall damage. The smash attack cancels fall damage accumulated before the hit. Wind Burst launches you up, but the upward launch creates NEW fall distance. If you miss the next smash after a Wind Burst, you eat that new fall damage. Always be ready to place water or hit something else if you miss.

Trying to use Elytra smash attacks on Java Edition. This is the biggest new player mistake. Elytra flight blocks smash attacks on Java. Stop gliding first, then fall and swing.

Only using it as a regular weapon. Using the Mace like a slow sword wastes its potential entirely. Its regular DPS is poor. Its entire value is in the Smash Attack. Build every fight around creating fall height.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Mace rewards players who learn its mechanics and punishes those who treat it like a slow sword. Once you understand the Smash Attack, master Wind Charge launching, and get Wind Burst to chain aerial attacks, it becomes something no other weapon in Minecraft can match — a tool capable of ending any fight from above with a single hit.

Get into your Trial Chambers, defeat the Breezes, clear the Ominous Trials, and claim your Heavy Core. The Mace is waiting.