Minecraft is a game that pretty much everyone knows nowadays. Released in 2009, this title continues to enjoy immense popularity and recognition from players — both veterans who have been playing since the beginning and new fans, often still in school.
Minecraft offers players various forms of entertainment — from building towns and farms to battling mobs and bosses, and even limitless exploration. However, it’s worth knowing that Minecraft allows you to explore not just the world “on the surface”. There are just as many secrets hidden underwater!
To freely walk along the ocean floor, you’ll need something that helps your character breathe underwater. Today, we’ll share some underwater exploration tips and show you how to craft a Potion of Water Breathing!
Why Go Underwater?
As mentioned earlier, the waters of Minecraft hold plenty of interesting things to discover. By diving into bodies of water, you can encounter sea creatures, mobs that don’t appear on the surface — many of which drop unique loot — gather useful crafting materials (such as kelp), build underwater structures, and explore sunken ruins that often contain valuable items and artefacts!
If you’re an explorer type who enjoys Minecraft for its nearly limitless, rich, and dynamic world, then you should definitely try underwater adventures!
Why Do I Need a Water Breathing Potion Minecraft?
Just like in many other games, your character in Minecraft is essentially human — designed for walking on land and breathing air. Staying underwater too long results in oxygen depletion and, ultimately, drowning. When exploring lakes, rivers, and oceans, you’ll need something that allows for underwater survival. That’s where the Potion of Water Breathing comes in.
This potion is relatively easy to craft and allows your character to stay underwater for three minutes. In its enhanced version, this time is extended even further. However, before embarking on an underwater adventure, it’s best to prepare several of these potions. This way, your character can spend a good amount of time underwater — whether it’s gathering useful materials or simply admiring the underwater world.
Minecraft Potion Crafting – Brewing Guide
Crafting potions in Minecraft is relatively easy, similar to cooking food or smelting ores. However, to start brewing potions, you’ll need the right equipment (hence the comparison to cooking and smelting, which require a Furnace). First, you’ll need to craft a Brewing Stand.
How to Make a Brewing Stand?
To start, you’ll need:
- 1 Blaze Rod
- 4 Planks of Wood
- 3 Cobblestones
Then, follow these steps:
- Using the crafting menu in your inventory, create a Crafting Table using four Planks of Wood (they can be from any type of wood).
- Place the Crafting Table on the ground and right-click it to open the 3×3 Crafting Grid.
- Place three Cobblestones in the middle row of the grid and one Blaze Rod above them in the centre slot of the top row.
- Craft the Brewing Stand and place it on the ground.
Once you’re the proud owner of a Brewing Stand, you can start crafting various potions using different potion recipes! But how do you make the one required for underwater breathing?
How to Make a Potion of Water Breathing?
For this recipe, you’ll need:
- Blaze Powder
- Water Bottle
- Nether Wart
- Pufferfish
- (Optional) Redstone
Steps to Craft the Potion:
- Using Inventory Crafting Grid, create Blaze Powder from a Blaze Rod.
- Click on the Brewing Stand to open the Brewing Menu.
- Place the Blaze Powder in the fuel slot (top-left corner of the menu). This will “heat” the brewing process.
- Put a Water Bottle in one of the three bottom slots. Pro tip: You can brew up to three potions at once by placing three Water Bottles.
- Place Nether Wart in the top slot of the Brewing Menu and wait.
- The Water Bottle will turn into an Awkward Potion.
- In the same slot where you placed the Nether Wart, add a Pufferfish and wait again.
- Congratulations! The Awkward Potion has now turned into a Potion of Water Breathing!
How to Make the Potion Last Longer?
If you want to extend the potion’s duration, craft Redstone into Redstone Dust and add it to the potion. This will create a Water Breathing Potion that lasts 8 minutes!
Where to Find the Necessary Ingredients?
If you’re an explorer with at least a few hours of Minecraft experience, chances are you already have most, if not all, of the required ingredients. However, if you’ve primarily focused on farming or are a beginner, you might be wondering where to find them. Here’s where to look!
- Cobblestones – One of the most common blocks in the game. They are the cracked product of Mined Stone and can be easily obtained by digging into stone-like structures. You can also find them in mines, villages, strongholds, and dungeons.
- Planks of Wood – Another common and easy-to-get block. They can be crafted by converting blocks of Wood in the Crafting Table or even directly in the Inventory Crafting Grid. You can also find them in villages, pillager outposts, abandoned mine shafts, shipwrecks, woodland mansions, witches huts, and many other places.
- Blaze Rod – Dropped by Blazes, which spawn in Nether Fortresses.
- Water Bottle – Crafted by combining three Glass blocks in a Crafting Grid (Glass is made by smelting Sand in a Furnace). Then, fill the bottles with water by right-clicking a water source while holding them.
- Nether Wart – Also found in Nether Fortresses. These mushroom-like structures grow on Soul Sand.
- Pufferfish – A type of fish found in Warm Ocean and Lukewarm Ocean biomes.
Other Ways to Breathe Underwater
If potion brewing isn’t your thing or if you’re looking for alternative ways to explore underwater freely, there are other methods available.
Two Great Alternatives to the Potion of Water Breathing:
- Turtle Shell Helmet – Crafted from a Turtle Shell and enchanted with Respiration. When equipped, this helmet allows your character to stay underwater for extended periods.
- Conduit – Though difficult to craft, this structure allows for unlimited underwater breathing within its range. To make it, you’ll need Nautilus Shells, Heart of the Sea, and Prismarine or Sea Lantern blocks.
Short-Term Underwater Survival Tricks
For shorter underwater trips, you can use clever tricks to create small air pockets and regain oxygen:
- Ocean Monuments Strategy – If you’re near the edge of a body of water or a large structure (a vertical surface), try digging into its side 2–3 blocks deep. Before water fills the space, your character will have a brief moment to catch some air.
- Doors Trick – Bring a door underwater! Simply place it down, open it, and swim inside head-first. This creates a small air pocket where you can breathe. You can then pick up the door and repeat the trick as needed.
Final Thoughts
Exploring the underwater world in Minecraft can be an exciting and rewarding experience, filled with unique mobs, valuable loot, and hidden structures. Whether you choose to use a Potion of Water Breathing, a Turtle Shell Helmet, or a Conduit, there are multiple ways to extend your time beneath the surface. With the right preparation and a few handy tricks, you can dive into the depths without fear of drowning. So grab your gear, craft your potions, and set off on your next underwater adventure!