You've probably seen the clips. A player jumps off a 200-block pillar, falls like a comet, and deletes a Warden in a single hit. It looks broken. It looks like a cheat code. But honestly, figuring out how to craft mace Minecraft is a whole different beast compared to just slapping some diamonds on a stick. It’s a grind. If you’re coming back to the game after a break, you might be looking at your crafting table wondering why there’s no recipe showing up. That’s because the Mace isn't just about the recipe; it’s about surviving the Trial Chambers.
Trial Chambers are these sprawling, copper-and-tuff labyrinths buried deep underground. They are the only place where the components for the Mace exist. You can’t mine them. You can’t trade for them with a villager who’s had too much coffee. You have to fight for them.
The two pieces you actually need
To make this thing, you need exactly two items: a Heavy Core and a Breeze Rod. That’s it. No wood, no iron ingots, no netherite. But getting those two items to exist in your inventory at the same time is the real challenge.
The Breeze Rod is the "easy" part, relatively speaking. You get these by killing Breezes. If you haven't fought one yet, imagine a Blaze but made of wind and annoying parkour energy. They hop around, shoot wind charges that knock you back, and generally try to make your life miserable. When they die, they drop the rods. You’ll probably end up with a chest full of these before you ever see the second ingredient.
The Heavy Core is the real gatekeeper. It’s a rare drop from an Ominous Vault. Notice I didn't say a regular Vault. Regular Vaults are fine for some emeralds or enchanted books, but they won't give you a Heavy Core. You have to go "Ominous." This means drinking a Trial Omen bottle (usually dropped by Raid Captains or found in regular Vaults) and then triggering the harder version of the Trial Spawners.
Why the Heavy Core is a nightmare to find
The drop rate for a Heavy Core from an Ominous Vault is roughly 7.5%.
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Think about that for a second. That means you could clear out ten Trial Chambers and still come up empty-handed. It’s pure RNG. You have to find an Ominous Trial Key, find an Ominous Vault, and pray to the Minecraft gods. Because each Vault can only be opened once per player, you’ll eventually run out of Vaults in a single chamber and have to trek across the world to find a brand new one. It’s tedious. It’s frustrating. But when that heavy, blocky item finally pops out of the Vault, the rush is better than finding your first ancient debris.
Putting it together on the crafting table
Once you have both, the actual process of how to craft mace Minecraft is dead simple. Open your crafting table. Put the Heavy Core in the top-middle slot. Put the Breeze Rod directly underneath it in the center slot.
Basically, you’re just putting a heavy rock on a stick.
The result is a weapon that looks like a concrete block on a pole, which is basically what it is. But the physics of this thing are what make it special. Unlike a sword or an axe, the Mace does more damage the further you fall before hitting your target.
The "Smash" mechanic is the whole point
If you hit a mob while falling, the Mace negates all your fall damage. You could fall from the height limit, hit a sheep, and walk away without a scratch while the sheep ceases to exist. But if you miss? You’re dead. You hit the ground at terminal velocity and lose all your gear. It’s a high-stakes gambling mechanic disguised as a melee weapon.
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There’s a specific nuance here that people miss: the knockback. When you land a successful "smash" attack, it creates a localized shockwave. This knocks back nearby mobs, giving you breathing room if you’ve just dived into the middle of a horde. It feels heavy. It feels impactful.
Enchantments change everything
A vanilla Mace is cool, but an enchanted one is terrifying. You can’t just put Sharpness on it. It has its own unique set of enchantments:
- Density: This is your bread and butter. It increases the damage dealt per block fallen. With Density V, the scaling becomes truly ridiculous.
- Breach: This reduces the effectiveness of the target's armor. If you’re playing on a PvP server, this is how you crack through someone’s full Netherite kit.
- Wind Burst: This is the most fun, but also the hardest to find (it’s another Ominous Vault reward). When you hit an enemy, it launches you back up into the air. If you time it right, you can "pogo" on enemies, staying airborne and dealing massive damage over and over.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
A lot of players think they can just craft the Breeze Rods into Wind Charges and somehow use those to make the Mace. Nope. Wind Charges are great for jumping higher to setup your Mace attacks, but they aren't part of the recipe.
Another big one: you can't use a regular Vault Key on an Ominous Vault. I’ve seen people spend hours wondering why their keys won't turn. You specifically need the Ominous Trial Key, which only drops from Trial Spawners while you have the Trial Omen effect active. It’s a multi-step process of pain.
Also, don't try to use the Mace as a primary weapon for ground combat. It’s slow. Its base damage is okay, but without the fall height, a Diamond Sword will out-DPS it every time. The Mace is a situational tool—a tactical nuke in your hotbar that you pull out when you have the high ground.
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How to actually get it done today
If you want to stop reading and actually get the weapon, here is your path:
First, gear up. Don’t go into a Trial Chamber with iron armor unless you’re a pro. Bring at least full Diamond, a good shield, and plenty of food. Find a Trial Chamber (they usually spawn in the deepslate layers, so look around Y-level -20 to -40).
Second, hunt the Raid Captains. You need those Bad Omen bottles. Drink one before you enter the Trial Chamber to trigger the Ominous trials.
Third, focus on the Breezes. Get those rods first so you have the "handle" ready. Then, start grinding the Ominous Vaults. It might take you three chambers. It might take you twenty. Just keep a bed nearby so you don't have to run 5,000 blocks every time a stray skeleton gets a lucky shot.
Once you have the items, use a crafting table, not an anvil. People get confused because it’s a powerful weapon and they assume it needs an anvil like a Smithing Template. It doesn’t. It’s just a basic 2-item vertical recipe.
Go find a high ledge. Find a stray zombie. Jump. Don't miss.
Actionable Next Steps
- Locate a Trial Chamber: Use a Map from a Cartographer villager (the Trial Map) if you don't want to strip-mine aimlessly.
- Stock up on Ominous Bottles: Don't enter the chamber until you have at least 3-4 bottles to ensure you can keep the Ominous state active for the Vaults.
- Prioritize Breeze Rods: Clear the spawners that produce Breezes first; they are easier to farm than the Vault RNG.
- Practice the "Smash" Hit: Before you take your new Mace into a boss fight, practice the landing timing on low-stakes mobs like cows or zombies to get the "negate fall damage" window down perfectly.