You’ve spent hours branch mining at Y-level 16. Your inventory is a mess of cobblestone, deepslate, and maybe a few stray coal chunks. Then, you see it—the glimmer of an iron vein tucked into the wall. You pull out that shiny Diamond Pickaxe, the one with the glowing purple sheen of Fortune III. Does fortune work on iron? You swing. You hope for a shower of raw iron.
The short answer is a resounding yes. But it wasn’t always this way.
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If you haven't played since the 1.17 "Caves & Cliffs" update, your brain is probably still stuck in the old ways. Back then, mining iron ore gave you... well, a block of iron ore. You threw the block in a furnace. You got one ingot. Boring. Predictable. Mathematically static. Today, things are wilder. Minecraft changed the fundamental way metals work to bring them in line with diamonds and lapis lazuli.
Why the 1.17 Update Changed Everything
Before the 1.17 update, Fortune was basically useless for iron and gold. You’d mine the block, it would drop itself, and you’d move on. If you wanted more iron, you had to find more veins or build a massive iron golem farm that looks like a floating nightmare in the sky.
Mojang shifted the mechanics so that iron ore blocks now drop Raw Iron. This tiny change is the reason Fortune now works. Because the game isn't dropping a "block" anymore—it's dropping an "item"—the Fortune enchantment can trigger its multiplier.
Think about it like this: Fortune is a "looting" modifier for blocks. When you break a block that yields an item, the enchantment rolls a metaphorical die to see how many items you actually get. Since iron now drops Raw Iron, the die roll applies. Honestly, it’s one of the best quality-of-life changes the game has ever seen. It makes cave exploration feel rewarding again instead of just being a hunt for the next diamond vein.
How the Fortune Multiplier Actually Math-s Out
Let's get into the weeds of the numbers because "more" isn't a specific enough answer when you're trying to calculate if you have enough materials for a full set of Hoppers.
The Fortune enchantment has three levels. Each level increases the potential yield, but it isn't a flat "2x" or "3x" multiplier. It’s a probability game. When you use Fortune I, you have a chance to get 2 items instead of 1. By the time you reach Fortune III, the ceiling rises significantly.
With Fortune III, you can get up to 4 Raw Iron from a single ore block.
It averages out to about a 120% increase in total yield. In plain English? You’re basically doubling your iron output over the long run. If you mine a stack of 64 iron ore blocks with a regular pickaxe, you get 64 iron. If you mine them with Fortune III, you’re looking at somewhere between 120 and 150 Raw Iron. That’s a massive difference when you’re trying to build rail systems or massive storage arrays.
Silk Touch vs. Fortune: The Great Debate
Some people still swear by Silk Touch. They’ll tell you it’s better to bring the ore blocks home and process them later. They’re mostly wrong, but they have one small point: inventory space.
Raw iron stacks just like ore does. However, because Fortune gives you more items, your inventory fills up twice as fast. If you’re on a long expedition and don't have Shulker Boxes yet, Silk Touch keeps your inventory tidy. You get exactly one block for every block mined.
But honestly? Just bring a Crafting Table.
You can turn that Raw Iron into Raw Iron Blocks. Nine raw chunks become one block. This is the ultimate inventory management hack. It’s actually more space-efficient to use Fortune and craft blocks than it is to use Silk Touch and carry the ore. Plus, you save the durability on your Silk Touch pickaxe for things that actually need it, like Blue Ice or Glowstone.
The Smelting Efficiency Factor
Does fortune work on iron in the furnace? No. Let's be clear about that.
Fortune only affects the drop rate. Once you have the Raw Iron in your hand, the multiplier's job is done. When you put that Raw Iron into a Furnace or a Blast Furnace, one Raw Iron chunk will always equal one Iron Ingot.
However, the "meta" of the game has shifted. Because you are getting so much more iron from the ground, your fuel consumption is going to skyrocket. You’ll need more coal, more kelp blocks, or more lava buckets to keep up with the sheer volume of metal you’re bringing home. This is why I always recommend pairing a Fortune iron hunt with a decent fuel source.
What About Iron Golems?
It’s worth mentioning that Fortune does not work on Iron Golems. I see this question pop up in forums a lot. If you’re killing an Iron Golem, the Looting enchantment on your sword is what determines the drop rate, not the Fortune on your pickaxe. And even then, Looting’s effect on Golems is somewhat limited compared to its effect on mobs like Blazes or Spiders.
If you’re looking for the absolute fastest way to get iron, a farm is still king. But for the average player who just wants to play the game without building a giant mechanical monstrosity, Fortune III is the way to go. It makes the "early-to-mid" game transition so much smoother. You can go from leather armor to full iron in about five minutes of caving.
Don't Forget the Deepslate Factor
Iron doesn't just hang out in regular stone anymore. As you go deeper—specifically below Y-level 0—you’ll find Deepslate Iron Ore.
The good news? Fortune works exactly the same on Deepslate Iron Ore as it does on the regular stuff. The block is tougher to break, sure, but the loot table is identical. It drops Raw Iron.
Interestingly, iron is actually quite rare deep down. The 1.18 world generation changes pushed iron higher up into the mountains. If you’re looking to maximize your Fortune pickaxe, you should actually be heading up. Huge veins of iron—we’re talking hundreds of blocks mixed with Tuff—generate between Y-levels 80 and 320. If you find one of these "mega-veins" and hit it with Fortune III, you will literally have more iron than you know what to do with. You’ll be making iron beacons just because you can.
The Math Behind the Madness
If you want the gritty details of the Fortune III rolls, it looks like this:
The game chooses a random number between 1 and (Level + 1). For Fortune III, that’s a range of 1 to 4.
- 40% chance to drop 1 item.
- 20% chance to drop 2 items.
- 20% chance to drop 3 items.
- 20% chance to drop 4 items.
When you look at those percentages, you realize you're getting a bonus more than half the time. It’s a no-brainer.
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Common Mistakes to Avoid
One big mistake is using Fortune on iron ore blocks you’ve already placed. If you’re playing on a multiplayer server, sometimes players will "condense" their ores to save space and then Fortune them later. This is fine, but make sure you aren't accidentally using a Silk Touch tool to break them again. I've seen people lose out on stacks of extra iron because they forgot which pickaxe they were holding.
Another thing: don't waste Fortune on iron if your pickaxe is about to break. Iron is plentiful, but a Mending/Fortune III Diamond or Netherite pickaxe is expensive. If you’re low on durability and don't have an XP farm nearby, just use a regular iron pickaxe. The loss of a few extra raw iron chunks isn't worth the cost of losing a maxed-out tool.
Is it Worth Using Fortune II?
If you can't get Fortune III yet, is Fortune II worth it? Yeah, definitely.
While Fortune III is the gold standard, Fortune II still gives you a significant boost over the base rate. You won't get the 4-drop max, but you'll still see 2 or 3 chunks frequently. It’s a bridge to the endgame. Honestly, even Fortune I is better than nothing, though it feels a bit underwhelming once you've tasted the power of III.
Maximizing Your Iron Gains
To really make the most of this, you need to change how you mine. Gone are the days of just digging straight tunnels. With the new large cave generation, "surface mining" inside giant caverns is way more effective. You can spot iron veins from across a massive cavern, fly over with an Elytra, and hit them with your Fortune pickaxe.
Also, keep an eye out for those Tuff blocks. In the new generation rules, Tuff is a dead giveaway that a massive iron vein is nearby. These veins are structured like snakes, winding through the stone. If you find a patch of Tuff and start digging around it, you might find the motherlode. Apply Fortune to a motherlode, and you’re looking at 1,000+ ingots from a single site.
Actionable Next Steps for the Smart Miner
Stop smelting your ore blocks immediately. If you have been saving up iron ore blocks in a chest, now is the time to break them.
First, get yourself a Fortune III pickaxe. If you don't have one, start trading with Librarians. Villager trading is the most consistent way to get specific enchantments without gambling your levels away at the Enchanting Table.
Second, head to the mountains. Look for stony peaks or meadow biomes. Iron is incredibly common at high altitudes now.
Third, carry a Crafting Table. As you mine, turn your Raw Iron into Raw Iron Blocks. This lets you stay in the caves longer and gather thousands of units of iron before you ever have to head back to base.
Finally, set up a Blast Furnace array. Since Fortune is giving you double the material, you need double the smelting speed. A line of eight Blast Furnaces will process your Fortune-boosted haul in a fraction of the time a standard furnace would.
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Iron is the backbone of almost every technical build in Minecraft. Whether you’re making Hoppers, Pistons, or just a really long railway to your friend’s base, the "Fortune on iron" mechanic is your best friend. Use it, abuse it, and fill those chests.