Bane of Arthropods Vs. Sharpness Vs. Smite: Which Should You Choose?
Combat systems in Java Edition treat axes and swords with fundamentally different pacing. Axes execute massive single-target base hits balanced by long weapon cooldowns. A Netherite axe swings for 10 base damage at a 1.0 attack speed. Swords trade heavy single-strike power for speed and horizontal sweeps, hitting for 8 base damage at a 1.6 attack speed.
Applying Bane of Arthropods to an axe produces total numerical redundancy. A basic Netherite axe running a sprint-crit already one-shots spiders and silverfish outright. Adding +12.5 arthropod bonus damage to axe melee damage does not alter hit thresholds; dead is dead. On a sword, the modifier at least triggers via wide sweep attacks, inflicting the damage bump and slowness debuff across grouped swarms inside an abandoned mineshaft.
