Overview
Resistance cuts every incoming damage type at once — melee, arrows, fire, explosions, drowning — and because it multiplies rather than subtracts, it compounds with armour instead of overlapping with it. That is what makes it the strongest defensive effect in the game and also the hardest to keep running. There is no Potion of Resistance in survival: a beacon supplies level I over an area, an enchanted golden apple supplies level I for five minutes wherever you are, and the Turtle Master brew trades most of your mobility for a heavy dose of it. Turtle Master is the interesting one, because it is genuinely a decision rather than a buff. You gain enormous damage reduction and lose the ability to run away, which is correct for holding a doorway against a raid and completely wrong for a Nether trip where retreat is the plan. Note that reduction is capped in practice, so stacking Resistance on top of Protection IV netherite reaches diminishing returns quickly — the last few percentage points cost far more than the first. Where it earns its keep is the fights you cannot armour against at all: creeper chains, ravager charges, a warden's sonic boom.
Surviving damage that armour handles poorly — creeper blasts, ravager charges, lava and the warden's sonic boom — during a fight you have decided to stand and win rather than escape.
Reduces all incoming damage by 20% per level. At Resistance V you take no damage at all from most sources.
The game files Resistance as a beneficial status effect. There is no potion of it; its duration is exactly as long as its source keeps it up.
The icon sits in the top-right of the inventory with its remaining time beneath it, and coloured particles follow you around, drawn faintly when a beacon or a conduit is the source. A beacon can hold it over an area, which is the only way to run it indefinitely.
How to get it
Set a 4-tier beacon to Resistance, eat an Enchanted Golden Apple for Resistance I over 5 minutes, or brew a turtle shell into an Awkward Potion for the Turtle Master effect. Resistance V exists only through commands.
Tips
- Turtle Master pairs Resistance with heavy Slowness, so use it to hold a chokepoint and never to explore.
- It multiplies with armour rather than replacing it, so Protection IV and Resistance together reach the practical reduction ceiling.
- A beacon only reaches so far — check the range against your build with the beacon calculator before you rely on it.
- Enchanted golden apples are the portable version and the only reason to keep 8 gold blocks spare in a chest.
What each level does
Levels are shown one-based in the inventory and zero-based in commands, so Resistance II is written amplifier 1. Per level:
Levels above IV exist but cannot be obtained in survival — a command can go up to 255.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | −20% damage from every source |
| II | −40% damage from every source |
| III | −60% damage from every source |
| IV | −80% damage from every source |
Properties
Resistance has no potion form; it comes from Beacon and Enchanted Golden Apple and lasts as long as its source keeps applying it. A bucket of milk removes it, at the cost of every other effect you have running.
- Category
- Positive
- Highest level in survival
- IV
- Available from a beacon
- Yes
- Particle colour
- #99453A
- Removed by
- Milk
Where it comes from
Resistance comes from Beacon and Enchanted Golden Apple.
- Beacon
- Enchanted Golden Apple
Command
This gives you thirty seconds of Resistance I with cheats on. The trailing number is the amplifier, so 1 means level II.
Give the effect
/effect give @s minecraft:resistance 30 0Clear it
/effect clear @s minecraft:resistanceGuides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How long does Resistance last?
Since Resistance has no brewed form, the source that applied it decides the duration.
How do I get rid of Resistance?
A bucket of milk, which also removes everything else you have on.
Is Resistance good or bad?
Beneficial, so it is worth keeping up.
What does Resistance II do?
Resistance II gives −40% damage from every source.
