Trident enchantments in Minecraft
The trident has its own enchantments that no other item can get. Loyalty, Riptide and Channeling fundamentally change how you use it.
How to get a trident
You can't craft a trident. You get one by killing a drowned that's holding a trident. The drop chance is 8.5% in Java Edition (higher with Looting III).
The most effective method is to build a drowned farm. Ordinary zombies that stay submerged in water for 30 seconds turn into drowned, but those converted drowned don't carry tridents. You have to hunt naturally spawned drowned in oceans and rivers.
A trident has 250 durability. Without Mending and Unbreaking it wears out fast, so enchanting it is a must.
All trident enchantments
| Enchantment | Max level | Effect | Conflicts with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty | III | The trident returns after you throw it | Riptide |
| Riptide | III | You fly forward with the trident | Loyalty, Channeling |
| Channeling | I | Summons lightning on the target | Riptide |
| Impaling | V | Extra damage against aquatic mobs | none |
| Unbreaking | III | Slower wear | none |
| Mending | I | XP repairs the trident | none |
Loyalty
Loyalty makes a thrown trident return to your hand after it hits a target or reaches its maximum distance. Each level makes it return faster:
- Loyalty I: slow return
- Loyalty II: medium return
- Loyalty III: almost instant
Without Loyalty the trident drops to the ground after you throw it, and you have to walk over and pick it up. With Loyalty III you can throw the trident almost as fast as you can shoot a bow. That makes it the most effective reusable ranged weapon.
Loyalty combines with Channeling: throw the trident, hit a mob, lightning strikes the target, and the trident comes back. A deadly combo in a storm.
Riptide
Riptide completely changes how a trident works. Instead of throwing it at a target, you fly forward along with the trident. It only works while you're standing in water or rain.
- Riptide I: a short dash
- Riptide II: medium range
- Riptide III: a long flight
With Riptide III in the rain you can "fly" by activating the enchantment over and over in the air. Combined with an elytra, it lets you take off from the ground without firework rockets: launch yourself with Riptide, then deploy the elytra.
Mobs you hit during a Riptide flight take damage like from a normal trident attack. That makes Riptide both a transport tool and a weapon.
Limitation: Riptide conflicts with Loyalty and Channeling. A Riptide trident is a different item from a combat trident, so you need two tridents to have both builds.
Channeling
Channeling summons lightning on the target you hit during a thunderstorm. The lightning deals 5 points of damage and sets the target on fire. It only works on mobs standing under open sky: lightning won't strike under a roof, in a cave or in the Nether.
Uses outside combat:
- Creeper conversion: a creeper struck by lightning becomes a charged creeper, and when it explodes it makes mobs drop their heads (a zombie, skeleton or creeper head).
- Villager conversion: lightning on a villager turns it into a witch. Lightning on a pig turns it into a zombified piglin.
- Setting things on fire: lightning ignites the target and the blocks around it, which can be useful or destructive.
Channeling combines with Loyalty: throw, hit, lightning, and the trident returns. The ideal combat cycle in a storm.
Impaling
Impaling adds +2.5 damage per level against aquatic mobs. At level V that's an extra 12.5 damage, a huge boost.
Difference between editions:
- Java Edition: the bonus only works on aquatic mobs (guardians, elder guardians, fish, axolotls, dolphins, squid)
- Bedrock Edition: the bonus works on any mob standing in water or rain, which is much stronger
In Java Edition Impaling is situational, mostly useful for guardian farms and ocean monuments. In Bedrock Edition it's one of the strongest offensive enchantments, because rain makes it active on the surface.
Conflicts
The key fact: Riptide conflicts with both Loyalty and Channeling. That splits tridents into two separate builds:
- Combat build: Loyalty + Channeling + Impaling + Unbreaking + Mending
- Transport build: Riptide + Unbreaking + Mending
Impaling, Unbreaking and Mending combine with every other trident enchantment and have no conflicts.
You can't get around these restrictions at an anvil. If you want both builds, you need two tridents.
Best trident builds
Combat build (ranged combat + lightning)
- Loyalty III: a fast return after every throw
- Channeling I: lightning during a storm
- Impaling V: a damage bonus against aquatic mobs
- Unbreaking III: a much longer lifespan
- Mending I: repairs itself with XP
The best trident for general combat. Outside a storm it works as a precise ranged weapon that returns on its own. In a storm it becomes one of the strongest weapons in the game thanks to the extra 5 lightning damage.
Transport build (flying and fast travel)
- Riptide III: maximum flight range
- Unbreaking III: a Riptide trident wears down with every use
- Mending I: a must if you use it often
Ideal for getting around fast in the rain and underwater. With an elytra it lets you take off from the ground without firework rockets. Underwater, Riptide III gets you around ocean monuments in a flash.
PvP build (servers)
- Loyalty III: you can't lose the trident
- Impaling V (Bedrock): a bonus in rain and water
- Unbreaking III + Mending I: durability
On PvP servers a trident with Loyalty III is a ranged weapon you'll never lose, and the automatic return means you can keep throwing.