Best Trident Enchantments in Minecraft (1.21+)

TL;DR

• A great combat trident uses Loyalty III, Impaling V, Channeling, Unbreaking III, and Mending. It works as a reliable ranged weapon, shreds aquatic mobs, and calls down lightning during thunderstorms.
• A strong mobility trident uses Riptide III, Impaling V, Unbreaking III, and Mending. It launches you through water and rain, and with elytra it becomes one of the fastest ways to travel in survival.
• Tridents cannot be crafted. You can only get them as rare drops from Drowned that are holding a trident, with higher spawn and drop chances in Bedrock Edition. Once you have one, use an enchanting table, enchanted books, or commands to stack the trident enchantments that fit your playstyle.

For players who spend a lot of time near oceans and rivers, the trident is one of the most versatile weapons in Minecraft. It works as a melee weapon and as a powerful ranged weapon that you can throw like a spear. You cannot craft a trident or pull one out of a loot chest. Every trident you ever use started its life in the hands of a Drowned, which makes every drop feel rare.

The short version is simple: the best trident enchantments in Minecraft are Loyalty III, Impaling V, Channeling, Unbreaking III, and Mending for a combat setup, or Riptide III, Impaling V, Unbreaking III, and Mending for a high-mobility setup. With the right build, a plain trident turns into a late-game tool that deletes aquatic mobs, calls down lightning in a thunderstorm, or launches you across the sky in the rain.

Below you will find how to get a trident in both Java and Bedrock Edition, how to enchant it with an enchanting table, enchanted books, or commands, and what every unique trident enchantment actually does so you can build the best trident for your playstyle.

If you prefer buying enchanted books instead of gambling at the table, our complete guide to Minecraft villager trades in 1.21 shows how librarian prices, restocks, and discounts work so you can lock in the trident books you need.

Once you have your dream trident, a smooth server makes a huge difference in ocean temples and raid farms. Check our best Minecraft server hosting comparison to pick a provider that keeps combat and trident throws lag-free.

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How to Obtain a Trident in Minecraft

Tridents cannot be crafted in Minecraft. The only way to obtain one in survival is to kill a Drowned that is holding a trident. In Java Edition, Drowned have a 6.25% chance to spawn with a trident in hand. In Bedrock Edition, that chance jumps to 15%.

Even if a Drowned is carrying a trident, it will not always drop it when killed. In Java Edition the drop chance is 8.5%, while in Bedrock Edition it is 25% when the mob dies to a player. If you put these numbers together, the overall chance of getting a trident from a single Drowned is about 0.53125% in Java and 3.75% in Bedrock. That is why finding your first trident can feel like a small event.

To speed things up, build some kind of Drowned farm in an ocean or river biome and use a sword with the Looting enchantment, ideally Looting III. Looting increases the chance that the trident held by the Drowned will drop instead of disappearing, letting you collect several damaged tridents that you can later repair and enchant.

A trident thrown by a player can be picked up again from the ground unless it is enchanted with Loyalty. A trident thrown by a Drowned works differently. It counts as part of the mob’s ranged attack, deals damage, and then vanishes, so you cannot loot it. In rare cases a Drowned can even turn a villager into a zombie villager by finishing them off with a thrown trident, which is one more reason to respect this weapon in your game.

If you only want to experiment with builds, you can give yourself a trident on a test world or on a server where you have operator rights. Spawning one in creative mode is the fastest way to try different enchantments before you commit in survival.

All Trident Enchantments and What They Do

Minecraft tridents can have four unique enchantments that no other weapon gets: Loyalty, Riptide, Channeling, and Impaling. On top of that, they can also use familiar options such as Unbreaking, Mending, and Curse of Vanishing. Understanding how each enchantment works is the key to building the best trident for your style of play.

Loyalty

Loyalty turns the trident into a reusable ranged weapon. After you throw it and it hits a block or an enemy, the trident flies back into your hand instead of staying stuck in the ground. At Loyalty III the return is very fast, which makes it feel like a durable, high-damage boomerang. Loyalty pairs well with Channeling for storm attacks, since the trident still returns after the lightning strike.

Riptide

Riptide is the movement enchantment. When you hold down the button to throw a Riptide trident while you are standing in water or while it is raining, the throw launches you forward together with the weapon. Higher levels of Riptide increase the distance you travel. You can only use Riptide when you are wet, so underwater, in the rain, or during a thunderstorm. A Riptide trident cannot be combined with Loyalty or Channeling on the same item, so these enchants are mutually exclusive.

Channeling

Channeling turns the trident into a storm caster. During a thunderstorm, if you throw a Channeling trident at a mob or player standing in the rain with a clear view of the sky, a lightning bolt strikes the target on impact. This can set enemies on fire, create charged creepers, and help you farm mob heads when charged creepers explode near other mobs. Channeling is useless in clear weather, but during a storm it becomes one of the strongest enchantments in the game.

Impaling

Impaling increases the attack damage of the trident against aquatic mobs. Each level of Impaling adds 2.5 extra damage to every hit, up to Impaling V. In Java Edition, this bonus only applies to mobs that are tagged as aquatic, such as guardians, elder guardians, dolphins, fish, and Drowned underwater. In Bedrock Edition, Impaling also affects any mob that is considered wet, including land mobs that are standing in water or out in the rain.

Unbreaking and Mending

Unbreaking reduces the chance that the trident loses durability when you hit something or throw it, which slows down durability damage. Mending uses the experience orbs you collect to repair damaged tridents instead of sending that XP into your level bar. Combining Unbreaking III and Mending is the best strategy if you want a trident that practically never breaks.

Curse of Vanishing

Curse of Vanishing does not change your combat power, but it changes what happens when you die. A trident with this curse will disappear instead of dropping on the ground, so other players cannot loot it and you cannot recover it in survival. It is useful in risky PvP games, but it is a dangerous choice for everyday use.

Best Trident Enchantment Setups

The best trident enchantments are the ones that fit what you actually do in Minecraft. Most players end up using two main setups: one combat trident built around Loyalty and Channeling, and one mobility trident built around Riptide. Both builds use Impaling for extra damage and rely on Unbreaking and Mending to stay in good shape.

Trident for a Combat

A classic combat setup looks like this: Loyalty III, Impaling V, Channeling, Unbreaking III, and Mending. Thrown hits become reliable ranged combat, Impaling boosts your damage against aquatic mobs, and Channeling lets you summon lightning strikes during thunderstorms. With this build you can pick off enemies from a distance, zap creepers into charged creepers, and farm mob heads by detonating them near other mobs.

Mobility trident

A mobility build focuses on Riptide III, Impaling V, Unbreaking III, and Mending. Because Riptide cannot be combined with Loyalty or Channeling, this trident is all about movement. In the rain or underwater you can throw it to launch yourself forward, quickly close the gap to enemies, or rocket into the sky. With a pair of elytra, a Riptide trident becomes one of the fastest ways to travel in survival. Impaling still helps you shred underwater enemies once you land.

Once you are happy with your trident setup, it is worth upgrading your mining tools as well. Our guide on how to get Silk Touch in Minecraft explains how to set up an enchanting table and librarian villagers to grab this utility enchantment quickly.

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How to get Trident Enchant in Minecraft

Once you have at least one trident, the next step is turning it into an enchanted trident that actually deserves a slot on your hotbar. Tridents have a base enchantability of 1, which means rolling the exact enchantments you want can take some patience. The three main ways to add trident enchantments in Minecraft are the enchanting table, enchanted books with an anvil, and console commands on worlds where cheats are enabled.

Finding enchanted books

Enchanted books are often the safest way to stack several high-level enchants on a single weapon. You can find them in loot chests inside shipwrecks, dungeons, strongholds, temples, mineshafts, and other structures. Some of these books can roll trident-only enchantments such as Loyalty, Riptide, Channeling, and Impaling, as well as universal options like Unbreaking or Mending. Collecting these books early lets you build a perfect trident later instead of gambling on random rolls.

The Impact of Impaling on Tridents

Impaling is the enchantment that turns the trident into a true underwater specialist. At level V it adds a total of 12.5 extra damage to every hit against aquatic mobs, which lets you delete guardians, elder guardians, and other ocean enemies in just a few throws. In Java Edition that bonus only works on mobs that are considered aquatic, so you will not see extra damage against land mobs on dry ground.

In Bedrock Edition the rules are more generous. Any mob that counts as wet, including zombies or skeletons standing in water or under the rain, will take the extra Impaling damage. This makes an Impaling trident even more flexible in that version of the game. Either way, combining Impaling with Loyalty or Riptide gives you a weapon that feels much stronger than a regular sword when you are fighting underwater. Swords still win on land with Sharpness, but in the ocean a well-built trident is hard to beat.

FAQ

Can you craft a trident in Minecraft?

No. Tridents cannot be crafted and only drop from Drowned holding a trident, with low spawn and drop chances in both Java and Bedrock.

What are the best trident enchantments overall?

For combat, go with Loyalty III, Impaling V, Channeling, Unbreaking III, Mending. For mobility, use Riptide III, Impaling V, Unbreaking III, Mending.

Can Riptide be combined with Loyalty or Channeling?

No. Riptide is mutually exclusive with both, so most players carry one Riptide trident for movement and one Loyalty–Channeling trident for combat.

Does Impaling increase damage against every mob?

In Java it only boosts damage against aquatic mobs, adding 2.5 damage per level. In Bedrock it also works on any “wet” mob, including land mobs in water or rain.

How do I keep my trident from breaking?

Put Unbreaking III and Mending on it. Unbreaking slows durability loss, and Mending uses XP to repair the trident as you play.

Is a trident better than a sword or a bow?

On land a Sharpness sword and a good bow still win in pure damage and range. A trident shines as a hybrid: melee, reusable thrown weapon, movement tool with Riptide, and storm weapon with Channeling.

Summary

Tridents aren't always the top choice for fighting enemies in Minecraft, but with the right enchantments, they can become captivating weapons. For instance, the Loyalty enchantment allows the trident to return to you after being thrown, turning it into a boomerang-like tool for endless fun. Whether you're taking down Guardians or simply enjoying multiplayer antics with friends, Impaling adds a new level of excitement to Minecraft combat. Prepare your tridents, and may your aquatic adventures be successful!