What does riptide do in Minecraft?

Riptide is an enchantment in Minecraft. It can only be applied to tridents, which are dropped by a mob called Drowned. The main purposes for this enchantment are travel and offense/defense against other players and mobs.

This is an enchantment that was added in the 1.4 beta version of Bedrock and the 1.13 version of Java. The trident was also first introduced during these versions of Minecraft.

You may not have the power to leave shipwrecks in your wake, but at least you’ll look positively fearsome wielding the mighty trident!↣ https://t.co/Rh1bT1cRDd ↢ pic.twitter.com/9DwWJXWFno

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) January 30, 2020

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How is riptide used in Minecraft?

Tridents are great aquatic weapons and improve with riptide. Their most outstanding purposes are for travel and combat.

Travel

Riptide is an enchantment used to travel more quickly through water and in biomes with snow or rain.

If the player is underwater and throws their trident, their rate of travel is 3 + (level * 4). If the player is standing in water, in the rain, or snow, the rate increases to 3 + (level * 6). This occurs because the player is launched with the trident when it's thrown.

The rule of travel also applies to upward distances. This can make climbing a steep mountain much easier at an extremely swift pace.

Conflict

If a player uses a trident enchanted with riptide during combat in Minecraft, it can reap great victory. If a mob or another player is hit with the trident, they experience the damage that the trident deals. And if the player who threw it is falling, the damage is amplified.

In the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft, multiple targets can be damaged with one trident when it's enchanted with riptide. If the enchanted weapon is put into a dispenser, it no longer damages multiple targets but flies ten times faster.

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How to obtain a trident in Minecraft

In order to get the riptide enchantment, a player must have a trident. This is the only item in the game that can have this enchant.

To get a trident in Minecraft, a player must kill a Drowned. This is an uncommon dropped item but not impossible to acquire. The drop rate is 8.5%.

NEW on https://t.co/BJdLbjKvDw – Meet the Drowned! The deep-sea deceased, the underwater undead, the nastiest new mob of the upcoming Update Aquatic! https://t.co/1chGs7vkmm pic.twitter.com/3hgwo5Tfut

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) July 2, 2018

During a melee conflict, an unenchanted trident deals two more hearts worth of damage than a diamond sword with no enchants in Java edition.

In Bedrock, the trident deals a half heart more damage than a diamond sword with no enchants.

If a trident with no enchants is thrown and hits a mob or another player, it deals eight damage (4 hearts).

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Overview

Tridents are one of the most neat editions that came along with the aquatic update in Minecraft, along with the riptide enchantment that can be applied to them.

This enchantment should be used for both travel and combat, as it proves useful in both those areas. This is a good enchantment for players who lead a more nomadic lifestyle in the game.