Overview
Water slows you to a crawl, and Depth Strider gives that speed back in thirds — by the third level the penalty is gone entirely and you move through water at your ordinary walking pace. That is a bigger change than it sounds, because a great deal of the game happens waist-deep: flooded cave systems, ocean ruins, the shallows around a monument, a base built into a cliff over the sea. It applies to walking and swimming through water rather than to vertical movement, so it does not help you rise faster, and it does nothing at all on land. The conflict with Frost Walker is the real decision. Frost Walker freezes a path across the surface and Depth Strider makes the water itself passable, and they are opposite answers to the same question — which is why most players who build near oceans keep two pairs of boots. For monument and drowned-farm work, Depth Strider is the correct choice, since Frost Walker is useless once you are below the surface. Pair it with Respiration and Aqua Affinity on the helmet and the underwater kit is complete.
Moving normally through water — flooded caves, ocean ruins, monument approaches and shoreline builds — where the standard movement penalty otherwise makes every crossing a slog.
Increases how fast you move through water. It does not help you swim upward, but it transforms travel across oceans and flooded caves.
III is as high as Depth Strider goes. It is a standard enchantment, which means the enchanting table can roll it for you.
At weight 2 it takes up about 6% of the offer pool for an item that accepts it; the larger that share, the less rerolling a level-30 table costs you.
How to get it
Enchant boots at a table with 15 bookshelves, or apply a book; 2 level II books make level III on an anvil. Its weight of 2 makes it an uncommon roll, so a librarian is often the faster route.
Tips
- Level III removes the penalty completely; levels I and II are two thirds of a solution and worth upgrading past.
- It conflicts with Frost Walker, so keep a second pair of boots if you also cross oceans on foot.
- It does nothing for vertical swimming, so a bubble column or a ladder is still the way up.
- Dolphin's Grace overrides your swim speed entirely, so the two do not add together.
What each level does
The table below is the per-level effect. Going from I to III is where the real difference is, and an anvil turns two II books into a III.
Depth Strider III removes the water movement penalty entirely.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | 33% of the walking-speed penalty in water removed |
| II | 67% of the walking-speed penalty in water removed |
| III | 100% of the walking-speed penalty in water removed |
Properties
The enchanting table can roll it, and librarians sell it as a book — breaking and replacing a lectern rerolls the trade until one does.
- Weight
- 2 (6%)
- Incompatible enchantments
- Frost Walker
What it can be applied to
Depth Strider can be applied to Boots.
- Boots
Gear it goes on
Incompatible enchantments
Depth Strider cannot share an item with Frost Walker.
The anvil does not warn you. It leaves the conflicting enchantment off, keeps the cost, and hands the item back, so plan the order before you spend the book.
How to get it
Enchanting table or an enchanted book.
The level-30 slot at a fifteen-bookshelf table is where to look; a smaller ring means lower levels and a thinner offer pool.
Command
If cheats are on, use the first line to add Depth Strider III to the item you are holding, or the second to be handed one outright — written with the 1.20.5 "enchantments" component.
Apply it
/enchant @s minecraft:depth_strider 3Give an enchanted item
/give @s leather_boots[enchantments={levels:{"minecraft:depth_strider":3}}]Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum level of Depth Strider?
Depth Strider goes up to level 3. Depth Strider III removes the water movement penalty entirely.
How do you get Depth Strider in Minecraft?
Enchanting table or an enchanted book.
What does Depth Strider conflict with?
Depth Strider cannot be combined with Frost Walker.
What does Depth Strider III do?
Depth Strider III 100% of the walking-speed penalty in water removed.
