| Total cost | The prior work penalty of both items added together, plus the cost of everything done: repair, enchantments, conflicts and renaming. |
| Prior work penalty | Every item starts at 0. After each Anvil use the result's penalty becomes twice the higher penalty of the two items, plus 1. Renaming alone does not raise it. |
| Repair with material | Each unit of the repair material restores a quarter of the item's full durability (rounded down) and costs 1 level. Only as many units as needed are used. |
| Combining two items | The second item must be the same item, or an Enchanted Book. Two items: the result keeps the durability left on both plus 12% of the full durability (rounded down), up to full, for 2 levels if it repairs anything. |
| Enchantment cost | For each enchantment taken from the second item: its cost per level times the level it ends up with. From an Enchanted Book the cost per level is halved (rounded down, at least 1). |
| Same level | Two equal levels of the same enchantment become one level higher, up to the enchantment's highest level. Different levels keep the higher one. |
| Conflicting enchantments | Each enchantment on the first item that conflicts with an incoming one adds 1 level, and the incoming enchantment is not added. If no incoming enchantment can be added, there is no result. |
| Stacked items | Adding an enchantment to a stack of more than one item makes the cost at least 40, which is Too Expensive!. |
| Rename cost | 1 level, also for removing a name. Names can be up to 50 characters. |
| Too Expensive! | A total of 40 levels or more gives no result. Renaming alone is capped at 39 levels, so it is never Too Expensive!. |
| Creative mode | Players in Creative mode can take results costing 40 levels or more, pay no levels, can put any enchantment on any item (conflicts still apply), and never wear down the Anvil. |
| Anvil wear | Each use has a 12% chance to damage the Anvil: an Anvil becomes a Chipped Anvil, a Chipped Anvil becomes a Damaged Anvil, and a Damaged Anvil breaks. On average a new Anvil lasts 25 uses. |
| Falling Anvil damage | 2 damage for each block fallen after the first, up to 40 (20 hearts), to every living mob and player it lands on, except players in Creative or Spectator mode. |
| Helmets | A worn helmet cuts falling Anvil damage by 25% and loses durability. |
| Falling Anvil wear | If the fall is long enough to deal damage, the Anvil has a 5% chance plus 5% for each block fallen after the first to land one stage more damaged. A Damaged Anvil that gets damaged this way breaks. |
