What Is Simply Enchanting?
Minecraft’s vanilla enchanting system can feel like a gamble. You spend precious lapis lazuli and experience levels at an enchanting table, only to receive a random assortment of enchantments that rarely match your needs. The Simply Enchanting mod completely rewrites that experience, turning the chaotic lottery into a deliberate crafting process. Instead of relying on luck, you combine specific items, lapis, and experience points to create enchanted books with exactly the enchantments you want. It is a breath of fresh air for builders, adventurers, and modpack creators who value control over randomness.
How the Mod Transforms Enchanting
At its core, Simply Enchanting adds a set of shapeless crafting recipes that produce enchanted books. Each enchantment requires a unique catalyst item, a certain amount of lapis lazuli, and a fixed experience cost. You simply place the ingredients in a crafting grid (or use a mod like Just Enough Items to view the recipe) and craft the book. This eliminates the need for an enchanting table altogether for book creation, though you still use an anvil to apply the book to your gear.
The default costs are fully configurable, but out of the box the mod sets the lapis requirement at 8 lapis per enchantment level and the experience cost at 10 levels per enchantment level. For example, crafting a Protection IV book would consume 32 lapis and 40 experience levels. This creates a meaningful resource sink while rewarding careful planning.
Enchantment Recipes at a Glance
The mod covers every vanilla enchantment, each tied to a thematic item. Here are a few standout recipes that show the clever item–enchantment pairings:
- Protection – Obsidian, max level 4
- Mending – End Stone, max level 1
- Silk Touch – Diamond, max level 1
- Fortune – Gold Ingot, max level 3
- Efficiency – Emerald, max level 5
- Sharpness – Nether Quartz, max level 5
- Infinity – Ender Pearl, max level 1
- Frost Walker – Ice Block, max level 2
These recipes make intuitive sense: obsidian for protection, end stone for mending, and ice for frost walking. The full list includes everything from Thorns (cactus) to Luck of the Sea (ink sac), giving you a deterministic path to every enchantment in the game.
Full JEI Integration
Simply Enchanting ships with complete Just Enough Items (JEI) support. That means every recipe appears directly in the JEI interface when you look up an enchantment or the catalyst item. You can click through to see the exact ingredient layout and required levels, then transfer the recipe to a crafting terminal if you are using a storage mod. This seamless integration removes any guesswork and makes the mod feel like a natural part of the game, not an external add-on.
Adding Custom Enchants from Other Mods
One of the mod’s most powerful features is its extensibility. By editing a simple JSON configuration file, you can add recipes for enchantments from other mods. Want to craft a book for a modded enchantment like Soulbound or Vein Miner? Just define the item, lapis cost, experience cost, and maximum level in the JSON, and the recipe becomes available in-game with full JEI support. This flexibility makes Simply Enchanting a favorite in custom modpacks where balancing enchantment acquisition is crucial.
Why Choose Simply Enchanting Over Vanilla RNG?
The vanilla enchanting table is notorious for its unpredictability. You might cycle through dozens of level-30 rolls just to get a single Mending book, burning through lapis and time. Simply Enchanting replaces that frustration with a clear, grind-free system. It also encourages exploration and resource gathering, since many catalyst items require venturing into the Nether, the End, or deep caves. The mod respects your time and rewards preparation, making it ideal for players who prefer progression over gambling.
Getting Started with Simply Enchanting
Installing the mod is straightforward. Download the JAR file and place it in your mods folder, then make sure you have the required dependencies (like Forge or Fabric, depending on the version). For a truly hassle-free setup, many players turn to the foxygame.net launcher, a modern and flexible Minecraft launcher that lets you browse and install mods directly from its menu without ever opening a file explorer. After installation, you can dive into the config file to tweak lapis and experience costs, or add your own custom enchantment recipes to match your playstyle.
Conclusion
Simply Enchanting strips away the randomness of vanilla enchanting and replaces it with a transparent, resource-driven crafting system. With full JEI support, configurable costs, and the ability to integrate modded enchantments, it fits seamlessly into any world. Whether you are building a massive automated base or just want to stop wasting levels on unwanted enchants, this mod delivers a smarter, more satisfying way to enchant your gear. Give it a try, and you might never look at an enchanting table the same way again.