For coal, diamond, emerald, nether quartz and lapis lazuli, level I gives a 33% chance to multiply drops by 2 (averaging 33% increase), level II gives a chance to multiply drops by 2 or 3 (25% chance each, averaging 75% increase), and level III gives a chance to multiply drops by 2, 3 or 4 (20% chance each, averaging 120% increase). 1 drop has a weight of 2, each number of extra drops has a weight of 1.
So, on average you will get 220 diamonds out of 100 ore with Fortune III, plus or minus a few due to the random nature (as you mine more the averages will get closer to 2.2 times increase; by a similar metric, Unbreaking III simply reduces the chance of durability lost to 25% so may not exactly increase lifetime by 4 times but it will be always very close for diamond tools, as opposed to gold tools, or anvils, which have a 12% chance of being damage per use and three "durability", so have a wide variation in lifetime).
The only difference between iron and diamond is mining speed and durability, which only really matters if, as I used to, you use a Fortune pickaxe for all mining (which is actually practical to do if you are caving and mining mostly ore, even with the 37 level cost (pre 1.8) for a one unit repair of an Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III diamond pickaxe; the increased durability reduces the XP costs of repairing even as diamond costs more to repair and iron can be fully repaired at once).
Thank you both! I can rest easy now. I had read somewhere that mining lapis is better with an iron pick than with a stone pick and was wondering if diamond ore was similar.
I tried to enchant a bunch of iron pickaxes hoping for just unbreaking and efficiency to use for chunk mining (fewer levels to repair) but I got a two fortune III picks. I wanted to take them with me caving since it wouldn't be as big a deal to lose them if I died but I was worried they wouldn't yield as many diamonds as my diamond fortune III pick.
I tried to enchant a bunch of iron pickaxes hoping for just unbreaking and efficiency to use for chunk mining (fewer levels to repair)...
It is true that iron is cheaper to repair (assuming you are playing on a version before 1.8) but diamond has six times the durability - which blows away iron in terms of long-term repair costs; in fact, I've never needed XP farms because while my Efficiency V Unbrekaing III diamodn pickaxe costs 33 levels to repair each repair restores over 6,000 uses and since I mostly mine ore (caving) I very easily get enough XP to repair it again (I commonly reach 60 levels before having to spend any on repairing something); in fact, I was even able to repair an Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III diamond pickaxe, even with a cost of 37 levels for a single diamond at a time (restoring about 1,560 uses) without problems as on average I get more than 1 XP per ore mined (the first pickaxe requires 0.17 XP per block and the second 0.9 XP per block). (I stopped using Fortune because I just don't need it and it fills up my inventory way too fast even with an Ender chest and making blocks with resources, I even used a backpack mod at one point); the last time I played I mined 3,000 ore, including 2,000 coal and 30 diamonds - this is typical of what I get every single day)
Note that I specifically said a version before 1.8; in 1.8 repair costs don't depend on durability or enchantments, only on how many times you've worked on it in the anvil (renaming doesn't keep the cost down), so a diamond pickaxe costs six times less to repair - plus you need to enchant a new one six times less often (too expensive after six repairs), using a sixth of the XP and lapis (a bit more since diamond has lower enchantability but not significant if you just want Efficiency and Unbreaking). Yes, enchantments don't matter either, which is pretty dumb - an unenchanted wooden pickaxe costs as much to repair and has as many possible repairs as a maxed-out Fortune diamond pickaxe!
If you can get Fortune III on diamond it is far better of a pick in terms of durability and total repair costs. Esp. with the changes to 1.8 as diamond is now the same lvl cost to repair as iron and has 6 times the durability.
One thing to note though:
- Iron has a higher enchantability which means you are about 40% likelier to get Fortune III on iron picks then diamond. For this reason If I want a fortune III pick ASAP I'll start using lvl 30's on iron not diamond. I tend to get one quite quickly. Then I work on scoring my diamond fortune III which takes more tries. Make sense?
Gold blows away both diamond AND iron in terms of enchantability but breaks so quickly I wouldn't recommend it. It is an easy way to get fortune though, using a gold pick.
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Gold blows away both diamond AND iron in terms of enchantability but breaks so quickly I wouldn't recommend it. It is an easy way to get fortune though, using a gold pick.
Don't forget - gold can't mine diamond ore; in fact, the only ores it can mine are coal and nether quartz!
Ironically, it will mine blocks that it can't harvest faster than by hand but you don't get anything from them; the speed benefit is also only better than diamond when used on the proper blocks, otherwise, worse than stone.
If you can get Fortune III on diamond it is far better of a pick in terms of durability and total repair costs. Esp. with the changes to 1.8 as diamond is now the same lvl cost to repair as iron and has 6 times the durability.
One thing to note though:
- Iron has a higher enchantability which means you are about 40% likelier to get Fortune III on iron picks then diamond. For this reason If I want a fortune III pick ASAP I'll start using lvl 30's on iron not diamond. I tend to get one quite quickly. Then I work on scoring my diamond fortune III which takes more tries. Make sense?
Gold blows away both diamond AND iron in terms of enchantability but breaks so quickly I wouldn't recommend it. It is an easy way to get fortune though, using a gold pick.
wood and stone...0 chance.
I wish we had enchantment strippers in Vannila. It would be so helpful.
For some reason when I put an Iron pick in my enchanting table I can get fortune III with ease but when I switch the iron pick out for a diamond pick the fortune decreases to level II instead of it staying at fortune III. I am playing in 1.10.2 (the latest version) was there an update that changed the enchanting mechanics or am I just getting unlucky when it comes to diamond picks?
Ah, But I would say that it would make sense to have a fortune III iron pick to mine plenty of diamonds to get a diamond pick in the first place, but when you have access to that, diamond is still better, and yes I am including the reduced enchantability, because of how easily iron breaks, it probably isn't worth enchanting with fortune 3.
But unless you do a lot of exploring at the start of the game and you're lucky with the chest loot you're going to need that diamond pickaxe to get obsidian for the enchanting table anyway.
I don't bother keeping track of diamond veins to come back to later when I have a Fortune III pick anymore, I just mine them, I know I'll find plenty more later. I do try to get Fortune III as soon as possible of course.
This thread is a bit old but it was mentioned that iron is 40% more likely to get Fortune III than diamond, which is actually closer to the likelihood that gold will get it compared to diamond:
Output log: (This output was calculated 10,000 times, but results may still vary)
Possible enchants for gold pickaxe at level 30...
Efficiency IV: 40.8%
Unbreaking III: 30.7%
Fortune III: 12.6%
Silk Touch I: 6.9%
Efficiency V: 4.4%
Efficiency III: 1.9%
Fortune II: 1.7%
You have a 32% chance of getting a 2nd enchant.
You have a 17% chance of getting a 3rd enchant.
You have a 9.5% chance of getting a 4th enchant.
Possible enchants for iron pickaxe at level 30...
Efficiency IV: 42.7%
Unbreaking III: 30.8%
Fortune III: 10.2%
Silk Touch I: 6.9%
Efficiency III: 4.2%
Fortune II: 4.2%
Efficiency V: 0.3%
You have a 32% chance of getting a 2nd enchant.
You have a 17% chance of getting a 3rd enchant.
You have a 9.5% chance of getting a 4th enchant.
Possible enchants for diamond pickaxe at level 30...
Efficiency IV: 40.7%
Unbreaking III: 30.4%
Fortune III: 8.3%
Efficiency III: 7.4%
Silk Touch I: 6.9%
Fortune II: 5.5%
You have a 32% chance of getting a 2nd enchant.
You have a 17% chance of getting a 3rd enchant.
You have a 9.5% chance of getting a 4th enchant.
Compared to diamond, iron has a 23% higher chance of Fortune III and gold has a 52% higher chance. For other enchantments gold is not much better than or the same as diamond, and the probability of any level of Fortune is about the same. You are also no more likely to get multiple enchantments on iron or gold since it is only based on the enchantment level. In other words, the higher enchantability of gold doesn't mean much in most cases and it certainly doesn't "blow away" everything else.
That said, with the addition of Mending in 1.9 durability no longer really matters since it will repair itself with the XP ores drop (I have not tested but branch-mining should be sustainable provided that you do not have a full set of Mending gear). Of course, Mending also makes diamonds as obsolete as trading did before 1.8 once you get a couple for an enchantment table and/or a set of gear (over about a year I saved the equivalent of about a thousand diamonds by trading for gear; at the same time I mined about 5,000 diamond ore).
I mined 100 diamond ore with the Iron Fortune III pick and the other 100 diamond ore with the Diamond Fortune III pick.
The Iron pick mined 212 diamonds.
The Diamond pick mined 220 diamonds.
To me this means there is no real difference between the two. Does anyone else have different results?
So, on average you will get 220 diamonds out of 100 ore with Fortune III, plus or minus a few due to the random nature (as you mine more the averages will get closer to 2.2 times increase; by a similar metric, Unbreaking III simply reduces the chance of durability lost to 25% so may not exactly increase lifetime by 4 times but it will be always very close for diamond tools, as opposed to gold tools, or anvils, which have a 12% chance of being damage per use and three "durability", so have a wide variation in lifetime).
The only difference between iron and diamond is mining speed and durability, which only really matters if, as I used to, you use a Fortune pickaxe for all mining (which is actually practical to do if you are caving and mining mostly ore, even with the 37 level cost (pre 1.8) for a one unit repair of an Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III diamond pickaxe; the increased durability reduces the XP costs of repairing even as diamond costs more to repair and iron can be fully repaired at once).
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I tried to enchant a bunch of iron pickaxes hoping for just unbreaking and efficiency to use for chunk mining (fewer levels to repair) but I got a two fortune III picks. I wanted to take them with me caving since it wouldn't be as big a deal to lose them if I died but I was worried they wouldn't yield as many diamonds as my diamond fortune III pick.
It is true that iron is cheaper to repair (assuming you are playing on a version before 1.8) but diamond has six times the durability - which blows away iron in terms of long-term repair costs; in fact, I've never needed XP farms because while my Efficiency V Unbrekaing III diamodn pickaxe costs 33 levels to repair each repair restores over 6,000 uses and since I mostly mine ore (caving) I very easily get enough XP to repair it again (I commonly reach 60 levels before having to spend any on repairing something); in fact, I was even able to repair an Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III diamond pickaxe, even with a cost of 37 levels for a single diamond at a time (restoring about 1,560 uses) without problems as on average I get more than 1 XP per ore mined (the first pickaxe requires 0.17 XP per block and the second 0.9 XP per block). (I stopped using Fortune because I just don't need it and it fills up my inventory way too fast even with an Ender chest and making blocks with resources, I even used a backpack mod at one point); the last time I played I mined 3,000 ore, including 2,000 coal and 30 diamonds - this is typical of what I get every single day)
Note that I specifically said a version before 1.8; in 1.8 repair costs don't depend on durability or enchantments, only on how many times you've worked on it in the anvil (renaming doesn't keep the cost down), so a diamond pickaxe costs six times less to repair - plus you need to enchant a new one six times less often (too expensive after six repairs), using a sixth of the XP and lapis (a bit more since diamond has lower enchantability but not significant if you just want Efficiency and Unbreaking). Yes, enchantments don't matter either, which is pretty dumb - an unenchanted wooden pickaxe costs as much to repair and has as many possible repairs as a maxed-out Fortune diamond pickaxe!
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
One thing to note though:
- Iron has a higher enchantability which means you are about 40% likelier to get Fortune III on iron picks then diamond. For this reason If I want a fortune III pick ASAP I'll start using lvl 30's on iron not diamond. I tend to get one quite quickly. Then I work on scoring my diamond fortune III which takes more tries. Make sense?
Gold blows away both diamond AND iron in terms of enchantability but breaks so quickly I wouldn't recommend it. It is an easy way to get fortune though, using a gold pick.
wood and stone...0 chance.
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Don't forget - gold can't mine diamond ore; in fact, the only ores it can mine are coal and nether quartz!
Ironically, it will mine blocks that it can't harvest faster than by hand but you don't get anything from them; the speed benefit is also only better than diamond when used on the proper blocks, otherwise, worse than stone.
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
I wish we had enchantment strippers in Vannila. It would be so helpful.
For some reason when I put an Iron pick in my enchanting table I can get fortune III with ease but when I switch the iron pick out for a diamond pick the fortune decreases to level II instead of it staying at fortune III. I am playing in 1.10.2 (the latest version) was there an update that changed the enchanting mechanics or am I just getting unlucky when it comes to diamond picks?
But unless you do a lot of exploring at the start of the game and you're lucky with the chest loot you're going to need that diamond pickaxe to get obsidian for the enchanting table anyway.
I don't bother keeping track of diamond veins to come back to later when I have a Fortune III pick anymore, I just mine them, I know I'll find plenty more later. I do try to get Fortune III as soon as possible of course.
Just testing.
This thread is a bit old but it was mentioned that iron is 40% more likely to get Fortune III than diamond, which is actually closer to the likelihood that gold will get it compared to diamond:
Compared to diamond, iron has a 23% higher chance of Fortune III and gold has a 52% higher chance. For other enchantments gold is not much better than or the same as diamond, and the probability of any level of Fortune is about the same. You are also no more likely to get multiple enchantments on iron or gold since it is only based on the enchantment level. In other words, the higher enchantability of gold doesn't mean much in most cases and it certainly doesn't "blow away" everything else.
That said, with the addition of Mending in 1.9 durability no longer really matters since it will repair itself with the XP ores drop (I have not tested but branch-mining should be sustainable provided that you do not have a full set of Mending gear). Of course, Mending also makes diamonds as obsolete as trading did before 1.8 once you get a couple for an enchantment table and/or a set of gear (over about a year I saved the equivalent of about a thousand diamonds by trading for gear; at the same time I mined about 5,000 diamond ore).
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?