Respiration

What is Respiration?

Respiration extends the time you can spend underwater before you start to drown. With no enchantments you have 15 seconds of air underwater. Each level of Respiration adds another 15 seconds, so Respiration III gives you 60 seconds of free time underwater.

But Respiration does something else too: it slows how fast you use up air, and that carries over once the bubbles run out. Normally, after you run out of air you lose 2 HP (1 heart) every second. With Respiration the drowning hits come less often, which in practice buys you extra seconds before you're really in danger. Together with a potion of Water Breathing, this makes underwater exploration very safe.

Respiration can go on any helmet, but there's also the turtle shell, which naturally gives a 10-second bonus to breathing. A turtle shell with Respiration III gives you 70 seconds underwater in total, the longest possible without potions.

Time underwater at each level

Each level adds 15 seconds to the base breathing time. The turtle shell adds another 10 seconds regardless of the enchantment.

60 seconds (Respiration III on a regular helmet) is enough for most underwater tasks: searching a shipwreck, collecting prismarine or finding a hidden chest. For longer trips, like raiding an ocean monument, pair Respiration with a potion of Water Breathing (8 minutes) or with Conduit Power (infinite breathing within range of the conduit).

How to get Respiration

Strategies and uses

Raiding ocean monuments

Ocean monuments are the only way to get sponges and prismarine in survival. Guardians and elder guardians fight in the water, and the monument is huge, so exploring it fully without Respiration is very hard. The ideal setup for a monument is a helmet with Respiration III + Protection IV + Aqua Affinity, boots with Depth Strider III, and an 8-minute Water Breathing potion as a backup. Thorns on the chestplate helps too, since it passively damages attacking guardians.

Exploring ocean ruins and shipwrecks

Shipwrecks and ocean ruins are a great early-game source of treasure maps, emeralds and rare items. Respiration III gives 60 seconds, which is enough to search most small structures in a single dive.

Conduit: an alternative and a complement

Conduit Power gives infinite underwater breathing within a radius of 32-96 blocks (depending on how much prismarine surrounds the conduit). If you have an underwater base or often work in one spot, a conduit beats Respiration. But Respiration works everywhere: it doesn't require building a prismarine structure. For exploring new oceans where you don't have a conduit, Respiration III is indispensable.

Aqua Affinity: the must-have companion

Aqua Affinity is a helmet enchantment that restores your normal mining speed underwater. Without it, you mine 5x slower underwater. Respiration + Aqua Affinity is a must-have pair on every helmet: one gives you time underwater, the other lets you work effectively during that time. The two enchantments don't conflict.

The ideal helmet for underwater exploration

The best helmet for underwater exploration: Protection IV + Respiration III + Aqua Affinity + Unbreaking III + Mending. A helmet like this works everywhere: protection from mobs on land and underwater, longer dives, faster mining underwater and practically infinite durability. You can check the best order for combining the enchantments at an anvil in the enchantment calculator.

Drowned and their tridents

Drowned are underwater zombies with tridents. You'll meet them in oceans, rivers and underwater caves. With Respiration III you have enough time to fight them underwater. Tridents dropped by drowned can be enchanted with Channeling, which summons lightning, so it's worth farming drowned underwater with a good helmet.