How to Make a Spear in Minecraft (All Tiers)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a spear with one material and two sticks in a diagonal (material top-right, sticks down the middle-left) - wooden, stone, copper, iron, golden, diamond, then upgrade diamond to netherite on a smithing table. Spears reach 4.5 blocks and have a velocity-based charge attack.

What you need

1 material (planks, stone, copper, iron, gold or diamond)
2 sticks
Smithing table + netherite upgrade + netherite ingot for netherite
Lunge books for the dash (optional)

Step by step

Learn the pattern: in the crafting grid, put your material in the top-right slot, a stick in the center, and a stick in the bottom-left - an upward diagonal. Planks, stone-tier blocks, copper, iron, gold or diamond all work.
Go netherite: smith a diamond spear with a netherite upgrade template and a netherite ingot - same process as every other netherite tool.
Skip crafting if you're lucky: zombies, husks, zombie villagers, zombie horsemen and camel husk jockeys can spawn with iron spears (8.5% drop, 11.5% with Looting III); piglins and zombified piglins carry golden spears. Curing a spear zombie villager drops its spear for free.
Understand the reach: spears hit at 4.5 blocks - half again as far as swords - but CAN'T hit anything closer than 2 blocks. Keep enemies at spear's length or you're swinging at air.
Jab attack (left click): tier-based damage - 1/2/3/4/5 in Java, one point more per tier in Bedrock. Warning: the copper spear's jab is strictly worse than stone (same damage, slower) - Mojang says that's intended.
Charge attack (hold right click): lower the spear and let enemies run onto it. If you and the target close at 4.6+ blocks per second it deals velocity-scaled damage (up to 1.2x with netherite); at 5.1+ it also knocks them back and can dismount riders.
Exploit the cooldown trick: jab and charge have separate cooldowns - alternate them to attack roughly twice as fast. Charge attacks also hit multiple entities and pierce cobwebs and tall grass.
Know the trade-offs: no critical hits, no sprint-knockback hits (both 'works as intended'), and spears take the spear-exclusive Lunge enchantment - a dash that costs hunger (1/2/3 drumsticks by level) and 1 durability per use.
Enchant it: spears accept Sharpness, Looting and the usual weapon enchants - a Sharpness V netherite spear with Lunge is the current endgame melee flex.

Java vs Bedrock

Jab damage is one point higher per tier in Bedrock ('works as intended'), and Bedrock uses a use-cooldown shared across ALL spear tiers in your inventory instead of Java's per-item attack cooldown. In Bedrock, switching to a spear doesn't trigger a fresh cooldown, but there's a short jab-to-charge delay (unresolved bug). Java-only: spear hits knock primed TNT horizontally.

Versions: Revealed at Minecraft LIVE in September 2025 and added in Java 1.21.11 (25w41a) and Bedrock 1.21.130. Balance patches followed fast: charge attacks got minimum 1 damage and a 0.5s re-hit delay, and Lunge moved from durability cost to hunger cost.

Frequently asked questions

How do you craft a spear in Minecraft?

One material plus two sticks in a rising diagonal: material in the top-right slot, stick in the center, stick in the bottom-left. Works with planks, stone, copper, iron, gold and diamond; netherite comes from the smithing table.

How does the spear charge attack work?

Hold right click to lower the spear. When you and a target move toward each other at 4.6+ blocks per second, the hit deals damage scaled by speed; at 5.1+ it also knocks the target back and can dismount it. It's devastating against charging mobs and mounted players - and useless against things standing still.

Is the spear better than the sword?

Different, not better. The spear wins on reach (4.5 vs 3 blocks) and anti-charge defense, but can't hit point-blank targets, can't crit, and jab damage is lower than a sword's. Carry both: sword for brawls, spear for spacing.