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Minecraft Curse Guide: All Curses & Effects
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Key Takeaways: Minecraft Curse Guide
- Curses are negative enchantments in Minecraft that apply penalties instead of bonuses, creating unique gameplay challenges and risks.
- The game currently includes two main curses — Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing, both found through loot, trades, or fishing, not regular enchanting.
- Curse of Binding locks armor to your character until it breaks or you die, often used for PvP tricks, map challenges, or team uniforms in multiplayer.
- Curse of Vanishing causes items to disappear upon death, preventing enemies from looting valuable gear—especially useful in competitive or hardcore play.
- Curses cannot be removed using grindstones or anvils; the only solutions are breaking the item or using creative commands.
- Players can strategically use curses for roleplay, PvP defense, or challenge runs, turning negative enchantments into tactical advantages.
- To avoid being cursed, always inspect enchanted loot and books before use, and grindstone suspicious items early to strip unwanted enchantments.
On survival or PvP servers, admins can turn curses into rare rewards or nasty traps, which works best on a reliable Minecraft hosting platform where players are not losing gear to server issues on top of red-text enchantments.
What Are Minecraft Curses?
Curses are a special category of enchantments that generally inflict some form of restriction or penalty on the item they’re applied to. Unlike beneficial enchantments like Protection or Efficiency, curses don't boost your stats - they make gameplay harder.
You won’t see either curse as a random enchantment on the enchanting table at all – they are treasure enchantments, which means you find them on loot from End Cities, bastions, strongholds and other structures, from fishing, or in librarian villager trades, then move them onto gear with an anvil.
Currently, the game features two official curses in both Java and Bedrock Editions:
- Curse of Binding
- Curse of Vanishing
NOTE
Some mods (like those used on CurseForge or in modpacks) expand the curse system with even more brutal effects, but we’ll focus here on the core vanilla mechanics
Curse of Binding in Minecraft
Ever worn a pumpkin on your head and couldn’t take it off? That’s Curse of Binding at work.
What It Does:
Curse of Vanishing is a level I treasure enchantment that makes an enchanted item disappear completely when the player dies. Normally, your gear drops on the ground and can be picked up again, but with this curse the enchanted item is removed from the world instead of being dropped as loot.
The cursed item does not have to be worn or held for the curse to trigger. As long as it sits anywhere in your inventory when you die, it vanishes. By contrast, the curse does nothing if you drop the item manually or store it in a container before death. Items with Curse of Vanishing kept inside a chest, barrel, or shulker box behave like normal – the container will drop and you can recover the contents later.
Because of this, the curse is mostly a threat in regular Survival where you expect to respawn and reclaim your gear. In singleplayer Hardcore the effect is technically present but irrelevant: once you die the entire world is finished anyway, so it makes no difference whether a sword or helmet would have dropped. There is only one level of Curse of Vanishing, so you will only ever see it as Curse of Vanishing I.
Modded Minecraft often introduces custom curses, debuffed items, and high-risk loot tables, so a good modded server host is essential if you want those mechanics without constant lag or crashes.
How to Get Curse of Binding
Curse of Vanishing is flagged as a treasure enchantment, which means you cannot roll it directly on the enchanting table. Instead, you have to find it already applied to an enchanted book or item and then move it onto your gear with an anvil.
The most common sources are structure loot and fishing. Enchanted books with Curse of Vanishing can appear in loot chests from strongholds, jungle temples, End Cities, ruined portals, ancient cities and other high-tier structures, with a low but noticeable chance. Fishing with an enchanted rod also has a rare chance to pull up a vanishing enchanted book as treasure loot.
In both Java and Bedrock editions you can also obtain Curse of Vanishing from librarian villager trades at any villager level. On Bedrock, raid rewards are an extra source, as some enchanted books obtained after a successful raid can carry the curse. However you find it, the maximum level is always Curse of Vanishing I.
Because many cursed items and books come from librarian trades, understanding villager professions, price scaling, and restock rules helps you control when curses appear and avoid accidentally buying dangerous gear.
When It’s Dangerous:
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Accidentally equip a cursed carved pumpkin or leather armor in hardcore mode? You’re stuck with it forever - no resets.
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PvP servers often see players troll one another with cursed gear as a practical joke (or psychological warfare).
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In minigames or adventure maps, mapmakers may use this to force players into specific roles or difficulties.
Can It Be Useful?
Oddly, yes. In multiplayer games, Curse of Binding can be used intentionally to ensure no one removes their team-colored armor. Some players also exploit it in challenge runs to force themselves into creative constraints.
Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft
This is the more subtle, but no less frustrating, curse in the game.
What It Does:
When the player dies, any item with Curse of Vanishing disappears permanently instead of dropping to the ground.
How to Get Curse of Vanishing
Same sources as Curse of Binding, dungeon loot, fishing, trades, or combining books.
Why It’s Risky:
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You find a god-tier sword with Sharpness V and Looting III… but it has Curse of Vanishing. Die once, and it’s gone for good.
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Makes death feel real in survival mode - there’s no going back.
Strategic Use Cases:
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PvP players sometimes apply this curse to prevent enemies from looting their custom gear if they’re killed.
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In roleplay or lore-heavy servers, it can be used to reinforce ideas of “legendary” items that vanish when lost in battle.
TIP
How to Remove Curses in Minecraft
Short answer: No, not through conventional means.
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Grindstones remove all non-curse enchantments.
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Combining with another item won’t erase a curse.
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Mods and commands can remove curses in creative or custom setups.
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Breaking the item (intentionally wearing it down) or dying (for Binding) is your only in-game path to freedom.
So, if you get cursed gear, weigh your options carefully. Sometimes it's better to use it until it breaks, or turn it into a twisted trophy on your wall.
How to Avoid Getting Cursed
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Don’t blindly equip loot, especially in high-tier structures like Bastions or End Cities.
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Use grindstones immediately to strip any surprise enchantments, but remember: curses stay!
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Check enchanted books before combining. That “Protection IV” might have a hidden cost.
Result
Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing are two rare Minecraft enchantments that you can find in loot chests, via fishing, or by trading with villagers. Curse of Binding locks armor on players until they die, and Curse of Vanishing makes stuff disappear when they die. Both can be used tactically in PvP or roleplay, but players should verify enchanted gear before using it and can manage them by breaking the item or using game rules like keepInventory.
FAQ
What are curses in Minecraft?
Curses in Minecraft are negative enchantments that add drawbacks to items instead of benefits. Unlike regular enchantments, curses cannot be removed with a grindstone, making them permanent unless the item breaks. They add an element of risk and strategy to using powerful gear found in chests, trades, or loot tables.
What does the Curse of Binding do in Minecraft?
The Curse of Binding prevents players from removing the cursed armor once it’s equipped. This means you’ll be stuck wearing it until it breaks or you die. It’s often used in traps or pranks, especially with items like carved pumpkins or cursed armor pieces found in structures like End Cities.
What is the Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft?
The Curse of Vanishing is a level I treasure enchantment that makes an item disappear when you die instead of dropping on the ground. It can appear on almost any enchanted gear and is usually found on books from loot chests, fishing, raid rewards, or librarian trades. The curse only triggers if the item is still in your inventory when you die, so dropping it or storing it in a chest or shulker box keeps it safe. On worlds or servers with the keepInventory gamerule turned on, the effect is effectively disabled.
Can you remove curses from items in Minecraft?
No, curses cannot be removed using a grindstone or anvil. The only way to get rid of a curse is by breaking the item or using commands in Creative Mode. Because of this, it’s important to double-check enchantments before applying them to valuable gear.
Result
Curse of Binding and Curse of Vanishing are treasure enchantments that you find through loot chests, fishing, raid rewards, or librarian trades rather than normal enchanting. Curse of Binding locks armor onto players until they die, while Curse of Vanishing makes cursed items disappear instead of dropping when the player dies. Both curses can be used tactically in PvP or roleplay, but you should always double-check enchanted gear before equipping it and think about safeguards like chests, shulker boxes, or the keepInventory gamerule if you plan to carry cursed items.
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