Soul Speed Enchantment in Minecraft: What It Does and How to Use It

Max level

III

Applies to

Boots

Incompatible with

Nothing

Obtained via

Bastion remnant loot, bartering with piglins (never the enchanting table or a normal villager trade)

Soul Speed makes you move faster specifically while walking on soul sand or soul soil — the Nether's slow, sinking blocks that normally drag your speed down.

What Soul Speed actually does

Each level increases movement speed while standing on soul sand/soil, following the formula (level × 0.105) + 1.3 — roughly 40.5% faster at level I, up to about 61.5% faster at level III. It has zero effect on any other block type.

How to use it

Soul Speed is purely a Nether-travel convenience — it matters only if you're regularly crossing soul sand valleys. Note it's a genuine outlier among enchantments: it can't be rolled at the enchanting table or obtained from a normal villager trade at all. The only ways to get it are bartering gold ingots with piglins (for a book or already-enchanted golden boots) or finding it in bastion remnant loot chests.

Well-known builds that use it

Soul Speed is a situational alternative to Depth Strider/Frost Walker on boots, used when you expect to spend real time in soul sand valleys — not part of the standard Ideal Boots build by default, since most players don't need it often enough to justify giving up Depth Strider or Frost Walker.

Build soul-speed boots in the calculator →

Frequently asked questions

Can you get Soul Speed from the enchanting table?

No — it's a treasure enchantment that can't be rolled at the table or obtained from a normal villager book trade. The only sources are piglin bartering and bastion remnant loot.

How much faster does Soul Speed III make you on soul sand?

Roughly 61.5% faster movement specifically while standing on soul sand or soul soil, following the formula (level × 0.105) + 1.3.

Does Soul Speed help outside the Nether?

No — it only affects movement speed while standing on soul sand or soul soil specifically, both of which are near-exclusively found in the Nether (soul sand also appears rarely elsewhere).