What does Curse of Vanishing do in Minecraft

Out of sight, out of mind.

Curse of Vanishing Enchanted Book in Minecraft

Screenshot by Gamepur

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While searching through a Treasure Chest in the Jungle Temple or Stronghold in Minecraft, you might have come across an Enchanted Book with the Curse of Vanishing. It is possible that this book had this Curse paired with an Enchantment you really needed, such as Fortune or Mending. Players unaware of what this Curse does might feel that enchanting their favorite weapon or tool with the Enchanted Book is still worth the risk. Let’s take a look at exactly what the Curse of Vanishing does in Minecraft and whether or not you can get rid of it.

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Can you get rid of Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft

Losing a Diamond Pickaxe with Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft
Screenshot by Gamepur

You are almost correct if you thought the term “Vanishing” in the Curse referred to some type of invisibility or an item disappearing. More specifically, the Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft erases an item from the world upon your death. For instance, we enchanted a Diamond Pickaxe using an Enchanted Book with Fortune III and the Curse of Vanishing. Next, we entered the Nether and angered an Enderman near our Nether Portal. After our fatal encounter, we returned to our death spot after respawning and only found our Turtle Shell helmet, with the pickaxe nowhere to be found. 

Unfortunately, removing the Curse of Vanishing is impossible without using console commands or other non-immersive means. Naturally, this Curse will not have any effect on those playing in Hardcore Mode since a single death results in the loss of the entire world. Likewise, falling into lava with a Curse of Vanishing item will make no difference since the enchanted object would have been incinerated regardless. 

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Does Curse of Vanishing work with Keep Inventory in Minecraft

Dying to Zombified Piglin in Minecraft
Screenshot by Gamepur

Some might be curious if the Curse of Vanishing’s effect still works with the console command “Keep Inventory” toggled to “true” in Minecraft. To test this, we enchanted an Iron Axe with the Curse and went into the Nether. We provoked a group of nearby Zombified Piglins, resulting in our demise. However, the axe did not drop upon death, nor did the Curse of Vanishing have any effect. As a result, we can confirm that this Curse does not work with the Keep Inventory mechanic in Minecraft.