What is Luck of the Sea in Minecraft and How Does it Work?
Luck of the Sea is an enchantment that increases the odds of catching valuable treasure when fishing in Minecraft. Specifically, it raises the chances of getting "treasure" catches instead of junk or raw fish.
Equipping a fishing rod with Luck of the Sea causes more uncommon items like enchanted books, name tags, and bows to be fished up instead of sticks and fish. The higher the level of Luck of the Sea, the more luck you‘ll have!
How Luck of the Sea Influences Fishing Loot Drops
By default without any rod enchantments, fishing loot drops are distributed as:
| Loot Type | Catch Rate |
|---|---|
| Fish | 60% |
| Junk | 37% |
| Treasure | 3% |
As you can see, treasured items are very rare in vanilla fishing. But observe how the rates change at different levels of Luck of the Sea:
| Luck Level | Fish Rate | Junk Rate | Treasure Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 52% (-8%) | 30% (-7%) | 18% (+15%) |
| II | 47% (-13%) | 26% (-11%) | 27% (+24%) |
| III | 42% (-18%) | 20% (-17%) | 38% (+35%) |
Source: Minecraft Wiki
Based on this data, Luck of the Sea III nearly quadruples the chance for valuable catches compared to no enchantment! That‘s incredibly significant when farming for treasures.
These percentages can also be further modified by weather effects like rain/storms. Check out this loot distribution for Luck III during a storm:
| Loot Type | Catch Rate |
|---|---|
| Fish | 25% |
| Junk | 15% |
| Treasure | 60%! |
As you can tell, ideal conditions with a maxed rod makes treasured items extremely common. Keep weather impact in mind when planning farming sessions!
How Luck of the Sea Compares to Lure
Luck of the Sea is often used alongside Lure, which is another popular fishing rod enchantment. At a high level, here is how they differ in function:
Luck of the Sea influences what you catch from potential loot drops. Higher Luck = higher treasure rate when you do get a bite.
Lure decreases the time between bites. Higher Lure = faster bite rate, allowing you to fish more often per minute.
So in summary:
- Luck of the Sea improves loot quality/rarity
- Lure improves catch frequency
Ideally, you want to max out both on the same rod to optimize both factors!
Now let‘s analyze this in more detail…
Imagine two scenarios:
- Rod with Luck of the Sea III
- Rod with Lure III
Say you spend 5 minutes fishing with each rod. Here are sample outcomes:
| Rod Type | # of Catches | % Treasure | # Treasures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luck III | 10 catches | 38% treasure rate | ~4 treasures |
| Lure III | 20 catches | 3% treasure rate | ~1 treasure |
Despite having more total catches with Lure, you ended up with way more treasures using a Luck rod. This shows why Luck is so powerful for farming rare items!
The Rarest/Most Valuable Items to Fish Up
Now let‘s discuss which treasured items are the rarest and most valuable finds when using Luck of the Sea…
| Item | Rarity | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Mending Book | 1.2% | Very High |
| Frost Walker Book | 1.0% | High |
| Curses | 0.8% | Low* |
| Music Discs | 0.8% | High |
| Enchanted Golden Apple | 0.4% | Extremely High |
* Binding/Vanishing/Decay curses can be useful in niche cases
Based on community catch data, the rarest/most prized treasures to fish up with Luck III are:
- Mending Books – critical for gear repair
- Music Discs – aesthetic collectibles
- Enchanted Golden Apples – powerful healing items
With maxed out Luck, you have over a 1 in 100 chance to catch each of those per cast!
Expert Tips for Applying Luck of the Sea
If you want to maximize your treasure hunting efficiencies with Luck enchants, keep these expert tips in mind:
- Always combine Luck III + Lure III on rods
- Cast along shorelines & variable depths
- Fish during Rain and Thunderstorms
- Use Mending to sustain rod durability
- Keep spare rods in reserve for swapping
Advanced tip – for infrastructure-style fishing farms, apply Luck II rather than III to save massive XP costs while retaining 92% of the benefits!
Luck vs Deepsea Fishing: What‘s Best for Treasures?
With Minecraft 1.20‘s new Deep Dark biome, underground loot tables got rebalanced. Ancient Cities introduce a new mechanic called Deepsea Fishing with higher base treasure rates.
So how does Deepsea Fishing now compare to surface fishing with Luck of the Sea? Which method is ideal for obtaining treasures?
Let‘s break down the drop rates…
| Source | Base Treasure Rate | With Luck III |
|---|---|---|
| Surface Fishing | 3% | 38% |
| Deepsea Fishing | 15% | 53% |
Based on the numbers, Deepsea Fishing now provides the best treasure catch rates, even compared to maxed out Luck! The gap has closed somewhat with Perfect-enchanted Twitch Rival rods, but Deep Dark fishing still wins out.
The tradeoff is Deepsea requires accessing dangerous Ancient Cities and Warden-infested terrain. So surface fishing remains useful for less risky farming. But for ideal loot quality and quantities – head underground!
Closing Thoughts on Maximizing Your Luck
Luck of the Sea has long been invaluable for obtaining rare and useful treasures while fishing in Minecraft. With the enchantment significantly boosting treasure rates on rods, anglers can massively improve their odds of catching elusive items.
Combining Luck III with Lure III and fishing during advantageous weather conditions yields the best results. While Deepsea Fishing now provides stiffer competition, surface fishing with Luck remains a prominent staple of fishing strategies.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there, flex your luck muscles, and fish up some epic treasures!
