Riptide Enchantment in Minecraft: What It Does and How to Use It

Max level

III

Applies to

Trident

Incompatible with

Loyalty, Channeling

Obtained via

Enchanting table, anvil, villager trade

Riptide turns a trident throw into a mobility tool — it launches you forward instead of sending the trident away from you.

What Riptide actually does

Riptide only works while you're standing in water or exposed to rain — not in biomes/altitudes where it doesn't rain at all, even during snow or overcast weather there. The launch distance formula is (6 × level) + 3 blocks while in rain or water, or (4 × level) + 3 blocks underwater:

• Riptide I: 9 blocks (rain/water) or 7 blocks (underwater)
• Riptide II: 15 blocks (rain/water) or 11 blocks (underwater)
• Riptide III: 21 blocks (rain/water) or 15 blocks (underwater)

In Java Edition, throwing a Riptide trident costs 1 durability; Bedrock Edition's durability handling differs, and a thrown Riptide trident can hit multiple targets only in Bedrock.

How to use it

Riptide is an elytra-less way to cover ground fast during rain or underwater, at the cost of needing wet weather or water to trigger at all. Because you never let go of the trident, it directly conflicts with both Loyalty (fly-back after landing — meaningless if the trident never left your hand) and Channeling (lightning on a thrown target) — Riptide excludes both.

Well-known builds that use it

Riptide is the "mobility trident" half of The Ideal Trident Enchantments, paired with Impaling, Unbreaking, and Mending — most players keep this as a second trident, separate from a Loyalty/Channeling throwing trident.

• Riptide III
• Impaling V
• Unbreaking III
• Mending I

Build the Riptide Trident →

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Riptide indoors or in a desert?

Only if you're standing in water — Riptide needs either rain or water contact to trigger, and it can't be used in biomes/altitudes where it never rains, even during snow or overcast conditions there, unless you're physically in water.

Why can't Riptide go with Loyalty or Channeling?

Riptide launches you forward with the trident still in your hand — it's never actually thrown away from you. That makes Loyalty's return-after-landing effect and Channeling's lightning-on-impact effect both meaningless, so the game excludes both outright.

How far does a Riptide III trident launch you?

21 blocks while in rain or standing in water, or 15 blocks while fully underwater — following the (6×level)+3 and (4×level)+3 formulas respectively.