Curses
Cursed enchantments. For trolling, anti-theft, and the occasional dark lore item.
Curses are enchantments that harm or restrict the wearer. Vanilla has Curse of Vanishing and Curse of Binding; Sunday Market adds a few more. They're useful for:
- Trolling — gift a cursed item to someone, watch them try to use it
- Anti-theft — a Permanence Curse item can't be dropped or traded, so a thief can't take it from you
- Lore items — a "cursed sword from the depths" feels more cursed when it actually punishes the wielder
- Trading currency — some players collect curses for completionist reasons
You'll see them in the enchanting table sometimes (rare). They appear in structure loot. Anvil-combine like any other enchanted book.
The custom curses
Breaklessness Curse
The item breaks faster — durability drains at a much higher rate. Useless for actually using the item; great for trolling.
Harmlessness Curse
The item deals drastically reduced damage. A cursed sword swings for a fraction of normal damage. A cursed bow fires arrows that barely hurt.
Hunger Curse
The item drains your hunger faster while equipped. Wearing a cursed armor piece means you're hungry constantly.
Misfortune Curse
Worse drops when mining or fighting. Reduced loot quality, reduced rare-drop chances. The opposite of vanilla Looting / Fortune.
Permanence Curse
The item can't be dropped. Not in trade, not in chest deposit, not on death. Once it's in your inventory, it's there forever (until you break the item completely, which the curse may also prevent).
This one is interesting — useful for items you genuinely want to keep (your favorite enchanted sword that absolutely shouldn't get traded away by accident), terrible if you change your mind. Combined with Soulbound, an item with both curses is permanently yours.
The vanilla curses
Curse of Vanishing
The item disappears on death — doesn't drop to your recovery chest, doesn't drop on the ground. Just gone.
Curse of Binding
You can't remove the cursed armor piece while alive. Useful for theme; annoying when you want to swap.
Why anyone would use a curse
As a trade currency
Some players collect cursed books for variety. Trading a Permanence Curse book for something is a real (if niche) market.
As anti-theft
A Permanence Curse + Soulbound combination on your favorite item makes it functionally yours forever — can't be stolen, can't be lost on death.
As a troll gift
Hand a friend a "free" enchanted sword that's actually been cursed with Harmlessness. Watch them swing at a zombie and do nothing.
As lore
A Cursed Sword of [Whatever] in your collection. Mostly decorative, with the curse providing the "cursed" theme.
As a build constraint challenge
"Survive a week wearing only cursed armor" is a real self-imposed challenge some players run.
How to remove a curse
You can't, in vanilla. The curse stays until the item is destroyed.
The custom enchantment layer doesn't add a "remove curse" feature either. If you put a curse on an item, that item is cursed. Period.
If the item is gear you want to keep, the curse is permanent. Pick a different item if it bothers you.
How to acquire curses
- Enchant table rolls — curses can appear at low odds when enchanting
- Structure loot — cursed books occasionally drop from chests
- Anvil-combine — combine two of the same curse to push it to a higher level (most curses don't have meaningful levels though)
- Trading — some players sell curses as collectibles
A note on accidental cursing
The enchant table will show you what enchants are possible on a roll, but not guaranteed. If you see a curse listed in the preview, rolling that enchant means you might get the curse. Don't enchant your prized netherite sword if there's a curse in the preview list — use a different sacrificial item to "consume" the curse roll if it's something you don't want.
See also
- Tools — Soulbound combines well with Permanence Curse for unstealable items
- How to get them — full acquisition paths
- Weapons — for items you actually want to use