Enchantment comparison
Mending and Infinity cannot normally stay together on the same bow, so the choice has to be made before the final combine. The better enchantment depends on how you get arrows, how you repair gear, and whether the bow is a daily tool or a special weapon. The right answer can change between an early survival world, a trading hall world, a raid setup, and an exploration kit.
Mending repairs the bow with experience. If you use the bow constantly and have access to XP, Mending protects the investment. It is especially attractive when the bow also has Power, Punch, Flame, or other valuable enchantments. Instead of rebuilding or repairing through the anvil, you can keep the bow alive through normal play.
The tradeoff is arrow supply. A Mending bow still consumes arrows, so it fits players with skeleton farms, trading, Fletcher access, tipped arrow plans, or enough inventory discipline to carry ammunition. If arrows are already solved, Mending is often the safer long-term enchantment.
Infinity lets one normal arrow support continuous shooting. This is convenient for exploration, early survival, and players who do not want to manage stacks of arrows. It also keeps inventory space cleaner. For many casual overworld situations, that convenience is the entire reason to choose Infinity.
The tradeoff is durability. Without Mending, the bow eventually needs repair or replacement. Anvil repairs add prior work and can become expensive, especially if the bow already has several enchantments. Infinity is comfortable, but it asks you to accept that the bow may not be permanent.
Choose Mending when the bow is expensive, when XP is easy to collect, and when arrows are easy to supply. Choose Infinity when arrow management is the bigger annoyance and the bow does not need to last forever. If you play with tipped arrows, remember that Infinity does not remove every ammunition concern in the same way for every arrow type.
A useful way to decide is to ask which resource is truly scarce. If arrows come from farms or trades but the bow has rare enchantments, protect the bow with Mending. If XP is limited and arrow management keeps interrupting exploration, Infinity may create a better everyday experience even though the bow is less permanent.
Also consider where the bow is used. A base-defense bow near farms can work well with Mending because supplies are nearby. An exploration bow can feel better with Infinity because it reduces packing. A boss or raid bow may favor Mending if it already carries high-value enchantments and you do not want to rebuild it.
After the Mending or Infinity decision, plan Power, Unbreaking, Punch, and Flame. Power is usually the main damage upgrade. Unbreaking is valuable for either route, but it is especially important with Infinity because the bow cannot repair itself through XP. Punch and Flame are preference choices that can change combat behavior.
Do not add Mending or Infinity late without checking cost. If the bow already has Power, Flame, Punch, and several repairs, the final conflict choice may be expensive. Stage books cleanly and test the route before applying the final bow combine.
For a long-term main bow in a world with good arrow supply, Mending is usually easier to justify. For early survival, travel, or players who dislike carrying arrows, Infinity may feel better. Neither answer is universal because the conflict is about play style, not only math.
If you are unsure, plan two bows instead of forcing one bow to cover every use case. A Mending bow can stay near farms, raids, or long-term combat kits, while an Infinity bow can live in an exploration kit. Separate roles often cost fewer levels than repeatedly repairing or replacing one overloaded bow.
Use the calculator to compare the bow you actually have. Enter the chosen conflict enchantment, add the support books, and check both XP and prior work. If the route is already costly, use cleaner source books or simplify optional enchantments before committing rare books to the final bow.