Minecraft Forums

Since I created my first anvil in this game I have always wondered: What use do one have for it in the game? Well, it can be used as an expensive piece of decoration, if you can afford the cost of 31 iron ingots to create it. And you can change the name of certain equipment, which I myself have yet to do.

I have still to see any further practical use. I understand that the main use is to repair equipment. But really... why would you spend 3 or 4 diamonds and several levels to repair your diamond sword when you get a brand new sword for just 2 diamonds and some wood? Is there any equipment at all that is cheaper to repair than to create? Or is there something I've missed about the anvil's true purpose?

I use them to repair diamond tools with very good enchantments. I've also used them to put looting books on my sword, and rename it too. I think it's a fantastic piece of equipment and easily easily affordable.

I also use this all the time in creative

The anvil is incredibly useful; repairing enchanted equipment so that you don't have to enchant new items and hope that you get the enchantments you want, combining enchanted items so that you can make an item that has enchantments that would be difficult/impossible to achieve otherwise.

Repairs can be fairly inexpensive as well: collect wheat and/or sugar cane from your farms, trade for emeralds, trade emeralds for equipment, use this equipment to repair your already enchanted equipment, rule the world!

For dropping on people's heads, from 100 blocks up.

the anvil is useful for making enchantments. if you get enchantment books in dungeons or you make them yourself and you can enchant your items like a diamond sword. Also you can have a lot of enchantments on a item.

Typically tools that require lots of diamonds (like a diamond chest plate) or tools that have high value enchantments (like diamond pic with for3, eff 4, and unbre 3) are good candidates for repair.

I use them to gain Effeciency V / Power V items in Survival and name things like mad in Creative.

Tell ya what, finding moldy bread, dust, a recipe book, and tree branches really adds a nice level of depth to an adventure map.

You can also make an iron golem farm to have unlimited iron as a resource. They are great for rails, tools, armor, anvils and so you can use iron practically as a building block. You can make an iron golem farm about 20 blocks in the air with an interior of 16x16 blocks. 4 villagers on each side and use water source blocks to wash golems to the center area so they can drop to the kill area. I use golem farms in combination with villager trading to have a dual purpose building. I play hard survival so it's nice to have all those iron doors that zombies can't break down. Here is the golem farm/villager trading build specs.

????? For instance, if you had a diamond pickaxe and it was about to break, you don't need to waste a lot of diamonds and make a whole new one, you can use one diamond and repair it. You can use enchanted books to enchant stuff. You can name your weapons and tools. You don't need to use 4 diamonds to repair it, you can use to repair it.