Guides / Ideal Tools
The Ideal Trident Enchantments
September 15, 2026
The trident is really two different items depending on one enchantment, because of how its throw mechanic works.
Riptide vs. Loyalty (and Channeling) — pick a lane
Riptide launches you forward when you throw the trident while touched by rain or standing in water — it's a melee-focused mobility tool, not a ranged weapon, since you're never actually separated from the trident. Loyalty makes a thrown trident fly back to your hand after it lands, and Channeling summons a lightning bolt on a thrown trident's target during a thunderstorm. Both of the latter two only make sense on a trident you actually throw and leave behind — which Riptide fundamentally prevents. That's why Riptide excludes both: they're solving for a scenario Riptide doesn't create.
Most players build one "throwing trident" (Loyalty III, optionally Channeling for a thunderstorm-only lightning gimmick) and, separately, one "Riptide trident" for elytra-less vertical/horizontal movement during rain.
Impaling V
Bonus damage specifically against aquatic mobs (guardians, elder guardians, drowned, turtles, fish) — doesn't conflict with either build above, so it's a free addition either way.
Unbreaking III + Mending
Standard durability pairing, compatible with every trident build.
Loyalty III- Impaling V
- Unbreaking III
- Mending I