Looting is a Minecraft Java Edition enchantment in the melee weapon group, with a maximum level of III.
minecraft:looting
Mobs drop more loot: up to +1 extra common drop per level, and rare drops become about 1 percentage point more likely per level (Java).
Tip: Looting III is why players farm wither skeletons, endermen, and drowned with a sword in hand. Kills by your tamed wolf also benefit if you hold it.
Looting only affects mob drops — nothing else. Common drops (bones, rotten flesh, ender pearls, gunpowder) roll extra items; rare drops (wither skeleton skulls, mob heads, equipment) get a better chance. The kill must count as a player kill, and the sword only needs to be in your main hand when the mob dies. For ore blocks you want Fortune instead — that is the tool version.
Enchanting table (sword), Librarian villager trades, structure chest loot, and fishing treasure.
Hold a valid item in your main hand, then run (Java Edition 1.13+; the level is optional and defaults to 1):
This example applies the maximum level III. An anvil combines two matching levels only up to this maximum — higher levels exist only through commands.
Looting applies to swords, spears. Items from the reviewed catalog in this group:
Looting is for mob drops, Fortune is for block drops — same idea, different targets, and they never conflict because they go on different tools.
Sharpness kills faster, Looting makes each kill worth more. They stack, and the standard farming sword runs Sharpness V + Looting III together.
Bedrock Edition: Looting works the same in Bedrock Edition, increasing both common and rare mob drops.
The enchantment ID for Looting is minecraft:looting. Java Edition 1.13+ commands such as /enchant use this namespaced form. On Java 1.12.2 and earlier the numerical ID was 21.
Looting goes up to level III (level 3). Run /enchant @p minecraft:looting 3 while holding a valid item to apply the maximum level.
Boss drops like the nether star are fixed and unaffected. Looting shines on regular mobs — wither skeleton skulls, ender pearls, shulker shells, tridents from drowned.
Yes — kills by your tamed wolf count as player kills, so holding a Looting III sword while your wolf finishes mobs still improves the drops.
No. Looting only affects item drops, not experience.
They are not comparable — Looting goes on swords for mob drops, Fortune goes on tools for block drops. You want both.