Thorns

{
    "title": "Thorns",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "III",
            "label": "Maximum level"
        },
        {
            "field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
            "label": "<span  class=\"explain \" title=\"Items that can receive the enchantment from an enchanting table\">Primary items</span>"
        },
        {
            "field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
            "label": "<span  class=\"explain \" title=\"Items that cannot receive the enchantment from an enchanting table but can receive it from an enchanted book on an anvil.\">Secondary items</span>"
        },
        {
            "field": "1",
            "label": "<span  class=\"explain \" title=\"Relative chance of the enchantment being offered.\">Enchantment weight</span>"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [],
    "images": []
}

Thorns is an armor enchantment that gives a random chance to damage entities that attack the user, at the cost of increasing incurred durability damage.

Guardians and elder guardians have a Thorns-like effect that inflicts damage when their spikes are out. However, this affects only melee damage, whereas Thorns the enchantment applies to all direct attacks, including ranged.

Obtaining

In addition to normal enchanting, Thorns I and II can be obtained naturally from drops, fishing, trading with a villager or as loot from generated structures. Thorns cannot be directly obtained on helmets, leggings, or boots through an enchanting table on Java Edition, requiring an anvil to be used instead.

Thorns III cannot be directly obtained using an enchanting table, but it can be obtained by using an anvil to combine two Thorns II enchantments, by trading with villagers, or by finding an item enchanted with it from the loot chest as below.

The enchanted book with Thorns III can be found within the following structures:

Underground structures

• Mineshaft
• Stronghold

Underwater structures

• Ocean Ruins

Aboveground structures

• Desert Pyramid
• Jungle Pyramid
• Pillager Outpost
• Woodland Mansion

Miscellaneous structures

• Monster Room

Pieces of armor enchanted with Thorns III can be found within the following structures:

Underwater structures

• Shipwreck

Small structures

• Ruined Portal

The Nether

• Bastion Remnant

• Ruined Portal

The End

• End City

Usage

This section needs to be updated.

 

Please update this section to reflect recent updates or newly available information.
Reason: Table needs updating to reflect new damage values for Thorns enchantment in 1.21

While wearing any piece of armor with the Thorns enchantment, the wearer has a Level × 15% chance of inflicting 1HP–5HP damage on anyone who attacks them, regardless of whether they were hit by a melee attack, arrow, or other projectile. The entity also gets knocked back when being attacked by the enchantment.

If the player dies as a result of Thorns damage, the death message <player> was killed trying to hurt <entity> is displayed.

Multiple worn armor items with the Thorns enchantment do stack. Each piece confers an independent chance to deal damage to the attacker as described above. The total amount of damage that can be dealt this way is capped at 5HP.

Probabilities of inflicting maximum damage and average damage dealt depending on the number of items with Thorns III worn are as follows:

Items with Thorns III	Probability of max. damage 5HP	Average damage dealt
1	11.25%	1.125HP × 0.5625
2	28.83%	1.997HP × 0.9985
3	46.33%	2.637HP × 1.3185
4	61.18%	3.09HP × 1.545

Thorns applies a durability penalty to the armor. It reduces durability by an additional 2 points when inflicting damage. If multiple armor pieces are enchanted with Thorns, the durability penalty is applied to one piece chosen at random, regardless of what level of Thorns that piece has. If the item is also enchanted with Unbreaking, the damage penalty has a chance of being ignored.

If a projectile is launched toward an opponent equipped with Thorns, using a shield damages the shield instead of the player when the projectile hits the opponent.

In Java Edition although horse armor cannot be enchanted in Survival, the Thorns enchantment can be applied to horse armor in Creative and it works.

Armor enchanted with Thorns also damages the enemy if the player is holding it in one of their hands.^[1]

Unaffected mobs

Wardens^[2] using sonic boom attacks are not affected by this enchantment.

Sounds

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Video

History

Issues

Issues relating to "Thorns" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

References

Navigation

v t e Enchantments
Durability	Mending Unbreaking
Block breaking	Efficiency Fortune Silk Touch
Armor	Blast Protection Fire Protection Projectile Protection Protection Helmet Aqua Affinity Respiration Leggings Swift Sneak Boots Depth Strider Feather Falling Frost Walker Soul Speed
Melee weapons	Bane of Arthropods Smite Sword Fire Aspect Knockback Looting Sharpness Sweeping Edge‌ Axe Cleaving​ Sharpness Mace Breach Density Fire Aspect Wind Burst
Trident	Channeling Impaling Loyalty Riptide
Bow	Flame Infinity Power Punch
Crossbow	Multishot Piercing Quick Charge
Fishing Rod	Luck of the Sea Lure
Curse	Curse of Binding Curse of Vanishing
Joke	Potatofication