The Mace looks like a clumsy stone hammer, but it’s the highest single-hit damage weapon in vanilla Minecraft — capable of one-shotting any mob in the game including the Warden if you do it right. It only exists because of the 1.21 Tricky Trials update, which added the Heavy Core drop required to craft it.
How to Craft a Mace
The recipe is simple but the materials are not:
Slot layout in Crafting Table:
[ ][Heavy Core][ ]
[ ][Breeze Rod][ ]
[ ][ None ][ ]- Heavy Core — drops only from Ominous Vaults inside Trial Chambers. Roughly 7-10% drop chance per Ominous Vault.
- Breeze Rod — drops from any Breeze. Plentiful once you’re farming chambers.
If you haven’t cleared an Ominous Trial yet, read our Trial Chambers guide first — you need the Ominous Bottle workflow to get Heavy Cores.
Base Damage vs Fall Damage
The Mace deals 6 base damage per hit, less than even an iron sword. The trick is its passive: when you hit a target during a fall, the Mace adds bonus damage scaled by the distance fallen.
| Fall distance | Bonus damage | Total (no enchants) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 blocks | +4 | 10 (5 hearts) |
| 3 blocks | +9 | 15 (7.5 hearts) |
| 5 blocks | +19 | 25 (12.5 hearts) |
| 10 blocks | +49 | 55 (27.5 hearts!) |
| 20 blocks | +99 | 105 hearts of damage |
The scaling is roughly +4 per block fallen past the first 1.5. And critically: landing on a target with a Mace cancels your own fall damage. You take zero fall damage if your hit connects. This is what makes Mace builds insane.
Mace-Specific Enchantments
The Mace can take three brand-new enchants that drop from Ominous Vaults:
Density V
Adds +0.5 damage per block fallen, per level. At Density V that’s +12.5 extra at 5 blocks fallen, +50 extra at 20 blocks. Stacks multiplicatively with the base fall scaling. This is the must-have offense enchant.
Breach IV
Reduces the target’s armor effectiveness by 15% per level (60% at IV). Brutal against armored players and the Warden, which has 8 armor points. Niche but devastating in PvP.
Wind Burst III
On a falling hit, ejects you back upward with a wind blast. Wind Burst III launches you about 12 blocks straight up — enough to set up another aerial hit on a neighboring target. The chain potential is huge in mob groups.
Density and Breach are mutually exclusive on the same Mace; you have to pick one. Wind Burst combines with either.
The Two Best Builds
The Glass Cannon (single-target deletion)
Density V
Breach IV -- (Java only, since they don't conflict in latest snapshots)
Mending
Unbreaking III
Smite V (against undead bosses)Use case: assassinate Wardens, instakill Withers, demolish raid captains.
The Chain Smasher (crowd control)
Density V
Wind Burst III
Mending
Unbreaking III
Fire Aspect IIUse case: clearing waves in Trial Chambers, raid defense. Each fall hit launches you back up to hit another mob.
The Standard Combat Combo
- Place a Riptide Trident in offhand, stand in rain or in shallow water.
- Equip Mace mainhand.
- Right-click the Trident to launch yourself ~30 blocks into the air.
- Aim at the target on the way down.
- Click attack at the last second to land on the mob.
- Result: one-shot kill, zero fall damage, ready to do it again immediately.
Without a Trident, ender pearls or even a tall jump-block setup work. Some PvP players use a slime block trampoline next to their base to launch upward, then aim downward at any approaching enemy.
When NOT to Use a Mace
- Flat-ground PvP: The Mace at ground level deals only 6 damage. Use an axe (9 damage) or sword (7 damage with Sharpness V).
- Crowd of zombies: No sweep attack. A sword with Sweeping Edge clears packs in 1-2 swings; a Mace requires individual aerial drops.
- Slow projectile enemies (Skeletons, Ghasts): A bow is just better.
The Mace is a specialist tool. Carry it for boss fights and elite mobs. For day-to-day combat, your enchanted sword is still the workhorse.
Mace vs Sword vs Axe Comparison
| Weapon | Base DMG | Attack Speed | DPS | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Sword + Sharp V | 10 | 1.6 | ~16 | Sweep, fast crit |
| Diamond Axe + Sharp V | 12 | 1.0 | ~12 | Disable shields, high single-hit |
| Mace (no fall) | 6 | 0.9 | ~5 | Useless without altitude |
| Mace + Density V (5-block fall) | ~35 | 1 strike | n/a | One-shot most mobs |
| Mace + Density V (20-block fall) | ~150 | 1 strike | n/a | One-shot Warden |
Final Thoughts
The Mace flipped Minecraft’s combat meta on release. Suddenly, bosses that took several minutes to grind down could die in a single strategic strike. It’s the only weapon worth the multi-hour grind for Heavy Cores, and the only one that makes Wardens fair fights.
If you’ve cleared a few Trial Chambers and have a stockpile of Breeze Rods, your next session should be 100% focused on Ominous Vaults until that Heavy Core drops. Pair it with a Riptide trident and you’ll never fear a mob again.