How to Get Flame in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Flame is a bow enchantment (max level I) that sets your arrows on fire: targets burn for 5 fire damage over 5 seconds after the hit. Flaming arrows also light TNT, campfires and candles - but they cannot ignite blocks like trees, and rain or water puts them out mid-flight.

What you need

Bow (3 sticks + 3 string)
Enchanting table, or anvil + Flame enchanted book
XP levels
Arrows (or Infinity - Flame stacks with it)

Step by step

Get a bow. Three sticks plus three string, or take one from a skeleton.
Enchant it with Flame. The enchanting table can roll it directly, or use an anvil with a Flame book from a librarian, loot chest or fishing treasure. One level only - no grinding.
Let fire finish the job. A Flame arrow deals its normal damage, then sets the target alight for 5 seconds: 5 HP of fire damage ticked over that time. Against unarmored mobs that is often a free extra half-health bar.
Use it as a tool. Flaming arrows light TNT from a safe distance, light campfires and candles, and cook dropped meat from animals that die burning - cows and pigs killed by fire drop cooked beef and pork chops.
Know the limits. Flaming arrows ignite ONLY players, mobs, TNT, campfires and candles - no forest fires, no burning trees. Rain and water extinguish the arrow mid-flight, and mobs killed purely by fire drop no XP unless you dealt non-fire damage within the last 5 seconds.

Java vs Bedrock

Flame behaves the same in Java and Bedrock: 5 HP of fire over 5 seconds, single level, Infinity-compatible. The XP rule matters in both: a kill credited purely to fire grants no experience orbs.

Versions: Flame has been in the game since the enchantment system launched in Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3 (2011). Its burn duration and single level have never changed.

Frequently asked questions

Flame or Power?

Both - they stack. Power V multiplies the arrow hit itself, Flame adds the burn. A Power V + Flame + Infinity bow is the classic general-purpose build; add Punch II if you like spacing, or Unbreaking and Mending for upkeep.

Do Flame arrows cook food?

Yes - animals that die while burning drop the cooked version of their meat. Hunting cows with a Flame bow gives you steak directly, no furnace needed.

Why did my Flame arrow go out?

Water and rain extinguish flaming arrows mid-flight - shooting through rain, a waterfall or into water turns it back into a normal arrow. Under a roof or inside the Nether, fire away.