Overview
Nothing in Minecraft punishes a bad position like being unable to leave it, and that is the whole of Slowness. Witches throw it in splash bottles and strays fire it on their arrows — in both cases the intent is to hold you inside somebody else's damage. Because movement speed falls by a fixed proportion of your walking speed rather than by a fixed number of blocks, higher levels bite far harder than the first: level I is an irritation you can sprint through, level IV is a crawl, and the levels a command can reach leave you rooted where you stand. The counter is milk, and milk is only worth drinking if you are not also carrying buffs you would lose with it. Offensively the effect is more useful than most players realise. A stack of Arrows of Slowness turns a pillager patrol into a set of stationary targets, and a lingering potion poured across a doorway holds a raid wave in a killing corridor for as long as the cloud lasts. Against a fleeing mob — a piglin that has taken offence, a wandering trader you want to keep — it is the only ranged tool that reliably stops something without killing it.
Pinning mobs in place — arrows and lingering clouds that hold a raid wave inside a trap, stop a fleeing animal, or keep a pillager patrol at bow range while you fire.
Reduces movement speed by 15% per level. At high levels you are effectively rooted in place.
As a status effect, Slowness counts as harmful. From a base potion you get 90 seconds of it.
You will see it as an inventory icon in the top-right corner with a countdown, plus a trail of particles in the effect's colour — faint rather than absent when a beacon or a conduit applied it. There is no beacon version, so it always runs out.
How to get it
Ferment a Potion of Swiftness, Leaping or Fire Resistance with 1 fermented spider eye for a 1:30 Potion of Slowness, or extend it to 4:00 with redstone. Witches throw it at you, and strays fire Arrows of Slowness in snowy biomes.
Tips
- Milk clears it instantly but also strips Strength, Resistance and Fire Resistance, so drink it only when you are not mid-fight.
- Lingering Potions of Slowness poured on a doorway are far more efficient than splash bottles when defending a village from a raid.
- A stray's arrows are the free supply: kill strays in a snowy biome and the tipped arrows they drop keep their Slowness.
- Read how to fight every hostile mob before a raid; Slowness plus a Vindicator is the usual cause of death.
What each level does
What the inventory calls level II is amplifier 1, because the amplifier counts from zero. Level by level:
You cannot reach past IV legitimately, though a command will set it as high as 255.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | −15% movement speed |
| II | −30% movement speed |
| III | −45% movement speed |
| IV | −60% movement speed |
Properties
Straight from the stand it lasts 90 seconds, 240 with redstone dust added, or if you spend the duration on level II with glowstone instead. Splash versions land at three quarters of the time. Milk is the only cure, and it clears every effect you are carrying at once.
- Particle colour
- #5A6C81
- Removed by
- Milk
Potion durations
Brewing is where most players meet Slowness. 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.
| Potion | Base | Extended | Level II |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drinkable | 90 s | 240 s | — |
| Splash | 68 s | 180 s | — |
| Lingering | 23 s | 60 s | — |
Where it comes from
Slowness comes from Potion of Slowness and Arrow of Slowness.
- Potion of Slowness
- Arrow of Slowness
Command
Cheats on, this applies Slowness I for half a minute. That final digit is the amplifier — 1 gives you level II.
Give the effect
/effect give @s minecraft:slowness 30 0Clear it
/effect clear @s minecraft:slownessGuides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How long does Slowness last?
90 seconds from a base potion of Slowness, 240 seconds extended, — seconds for the level-II version.
How do I get rid of Slowness?
A bucket of milk, which also removes everything else you have on.
Is Slowness good or bad?
It is a harmful effect: the game classes it with the negative statuses, and a fermented spider eye in the brewing chain is what turns Speed into it.
What does Slowness II do?
Slowness II gives −30% movement speed.
