Slow Falling

Overview

Slow Falling does two things and the second is the one that matters: you descend gently, and you take no fall damage at all while it runs. Not reduced damage — none. That turns several of the game's most reliable killers into non-events. Stepping off a mountain becomes a way down. A shulker's Levitation becomes a slow drift rather than a drop. An elytra flight that ends in a mistimed rocket becomes embarrassing instead of fatal, which is why experienced fliers keep a bottle in the hotbar rather than in a chest. It also cancels the mace's fall bonus, so a player planning a smash attack must not be under it. Phantom membrane is the ingredient, which is an elegant piece of design: the mob that punishes you for not sleeping drops the item that stops you dying from heights. Membranes come only from phantoms, so the practical route is to stay awake three nights deliberately, kill a few, and brew the lot. The base potion is short, so brew the extended version for elytra work, and remember that milk removes it — a bad reflex to have mid-air.

Descending safely — off a mountain, out of an End city, or after a failed elytra landing — and cancelling the fall damage that Levitation and long drops would otherwise deal.

Makes you fall slowly and removes fall damage entirely. It is the safest way to descend a mountain or use an elytra.

The game files Slow Falling as a beneficial status effect. A standard potion holds it for 90 seconds.

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. No beacon projects it, so every application ends on a timer.

How to get it

Brew 1 phantom membrane into an Awkward Potion for a 1:30 Potion of Slow Falling, or 4:00 with redstone. Phantoms drop 0 to 1 membranes each, and they spawn only after 3 in-game days without sleeping.

Tips

• Keep one bottle in the hotbar during elytra flights; a mistimed rocket at 100 blocks is survivable with it and not without.
• It cancels the Mace's fall-damage bonus, so never drink it before a smash attack.
• Brew the 4:00 extended version — 1:30 rarely covers a full descent plus the fight at the bottom.
• Looting III on a sword raises membrane drops, which makes a phantom night far more productive than it feels.

What each level does

What the inventory calls level II is amplifier 1, because the amplifier counts from zero. Level by level:

Survival stops at I; commands do not, and will accept an amplifier up to 255.

Properties

Expect 90 seconds from the base potion, 240 once redstone is in, and for the glowstone level-II version — you cannot have both. A splash potion gives the thrower three quarters of the listed time. A bucket of milk removes it, at the cost of every other effect you have running.

Potion durations

Brewing is where most players meet Slow Falling. The base potion runs 90 seconds; adding redstone dust extends it to 240, and glowstone dust raises the level instead, which costs duration and leaves seconds. You cannot have both on one potion.

Where it comes from

Slow Falling comes from Potion of Slow Falling and Phantom Membrane brewing.

• Potion of Slow Falling
• Phantom Membrane brewing

Command

With cheats on, this gives you Slow Falling I for thirty seconds. The last number is the amplifier, so 1 is level II.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesHow to Brew Every Potion in Minecraft→
• ToolsPotion Brewing Planner→

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

LevitationFire ResistanceInvisibilityJump BoostNight VisionRegenerationSpeedStrength