What Depth Strider does
| Level | Effect | Book cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | 33% of the water slowdown removed | 2 |
| II | 67% of the water slowdown removed | 4 |
| III | walking at land speed underwater | 6 |
Book cost is the anvil cost of putting that book on a fresh item. However, already-used items add their prior work penalty: work it out in the calculator.
How Depth Strider works
Water normally slows your walking a lot. Each level of Depth Strider removes a third of that slowdown. At level III you walk on the sea floor at roughly land speed, which feels very different from the usual slow crawl.
It only works in water. Lava, soul sand and powder snow still slow you down as usual.
Combos that work
- Dolphin's Grace from swimming near dolphins stacks with it for very fast movement.
- Respiration III and Aqua Affinity on the helmet make long underwater trips easy.
- Soul Speed fits on the same boots, since it does not conflict with Depth Strider.
- A Riptide trident is faster still, but only when you are in water or rain.
Depth Strider or Frost Walker?
They exclude each other, so you choose one per pair of boots. Depth Strider helps once you are in the water. Frost Walker keeps you out of it by freezing a path on the surface. Most players use Depth Strider on their main boots, since it also helps in ocean monuments and rivers. See Depth Strider vs Frost Walker for the full comparison.
When you might skip it
Some mob farm and redstone builds use water streams to move you or mobs. Depth Strider makes you push through those currents more easily, which can break the feel of water elevators and item streams you walk through. That is rarely a reason to leave it off main boots, though.
Depth Strider by level
Each level removes another third of the water slowdown. Level I already makes rivers easier, and level II feels close to fast. Level III is the only one that reaches land speed, so it is worth merging two level II books if that is what you have.
Depth Strider on the anvil
It is a ×2 book, so level III costs 6 levels on fresh boots. Boots take more books than any other armor piece, so order matters. Add the expensive Soul Speed book early and Depth Strider after it.
Depth Strider in ocean monuments
Monuments are huge and full of water, and guardians shoot you while you move. With Depth Strider III you cross the rooms quickly, so you spend less time in their line of fire. Pair it with Respiration III and Aqua Affinity on the helmet, and bring milk for the Mining Fatigue.
Which items take Depth Strider
Depth Strider goes on 1 kind of gear in the calculator: boots. An enchanting table can roll it on the boots.
It can't share an item with Frost Walker. If an item already has one of those, the anvil skips the Depth Strider book. Java still charges 1 level for it.
Depth Strider from the enchanting table
The level you can roll depends on the item's enchantability. A material with a higher value reaches higher levels from the same level 30 enchant. This table shows the best Depth Strider each boots can get from a level 30 enchant with 15 bookshelves.
| Item | Enchantability | Best from the table |
|---|---|---|
| Netherite Boots | 15 | III |
| Diamond Boots | 10 | III |
| Iron Boots | 9 | III |
| Golden Boots | 25 | III |
Anything higher has to come from a book instead. Then the enchanting table calculator shows the exact chance for every level.
Anvil cost of Depth Strider
Depth Strider has an anvil multiplier of 4 from another item and 2 from a book. So a Depth Strider III book costs 6 levels on a fresh item, and each lower level costs 2 less. Two fresh Depth Strider II books merge into Depth Strider III for 6 levels. Building it from scratch takes 4 level I books and 3 merges, 16 levels in all. That is a middling cost, so the order still matters once you combine several books.
Java charges the full resulting level every time, even when the item already has a lower level of it. Every step also adds the prior work penalty of both items. The enchantment calculator finds the cheapest order for your whole set of books.
Builds, questions and guides
Depth Strider is part of the max build for 1 item: best boots enchantments. To put it on in the cheapest order, see the boots enchant order.
Common questions: can you put Depth Strider and Frost Walker on boots?
More reading: Getting books from librarians, How to enchant in Minecraft, Every max enchantment level. You can make a Depth Strider book with the command generator. The librarian price list shows what villagers charge for it.
How to get Depth Strider
- Enchanting table It can appear when you enchant a supported item at an enchanting table. However, higher levels need more bookshelves and a level 30 enchant.
- Librarian villagers Librarians can sell it as an enchanted book. Level I costs 5–19 emeralds plus a book.
- Random enchanted books It is also in the pool for the random enchanted books and gear in many chests and in fishing loot.
Depth Strider is a rare roll at the enchanting table on boots. A level 30 enchant can reach level III, but the odds are low, so a librarian with Depth Strider III saves a lot of rerolls.
Enchanting power and librarian prices
| Level | Enchanting power | Librarian price |
|---|---|---|
| I | 10–25 | 5–19 emeralds |
| II | 20–35 | 8–32 emeralds |
| III | 30–45 | 11–45 emeralds |
The power column is the hidden enchanting value each level needs. A level 30 enchant on netherite boots reaches power 43 at most. That already includes the enchantability bonus and the random spread. The price column shows what a librarian can ask for each book. Curing a zombie villager or the Hero of the Village effect lowers it.
Tips
- Depth Strider and Frost Walker exclude each other on boots: pick one.
- Dolphin's Grace stacks with it for very fast swimming.
Commands
Give yourself a Depth Strider book or enchant the item in your hand. These work in Java 26.3 once cheats are on.
/give @p enchanted_book[stored_enchantments={depth_strider:3}]
/enchant @s depth_strider 3
/give @p netherite_boots[enchantments={depth_strider:3}]Versions
Depth Strider is in every Java version from 1.21 (when enchantments became data files) up to 26.3.
- 1.21.9: now goes on copper boots.
Also see the update log for every change, and how this data is checked. Bedrock player? See Depth Strider on Bedrock.
Questions
Depth Strider or Frost Walker?
Depth Strider helps when you are in the water; Frost Walker lets you walk on top of it. Most players pick Depth Strider for the main pair of boots.
Does Depth Strider work in lava?
No. It only reduces the slowdown in water.
Can you have Depth Strider and Soul Speed on the same boots?
Yes. They do not conflict, and both are part of the max boots build.
Is Depth Strider worth it?
Yes for most players. Any time you walk through rivers, oceans or monuments, level III makes you move close to land speed.
What is the max level of Depth Strider?
Depth Strider III. At that level you walk underwater at roughly land speed.
Does Depth Strider work with Frost Walker?
No. They exclude each other, so a pair of boots can carry only one of them.