What Frost Walker does
| Level | Effect | Book cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | freezes water in a radius of 3 blocks around you | 2 |
| II | freezes water in a radius of 4 blocks around you | 4 |
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 Frost Walker works
As you walk, Frost Walker turns still water source blocks around you into frosted ice. The ice forms in a circle around your feet, and level II makes the circle wider. So you can walk across a lake or an ocean without a boat.
Frosted ice is temporary. It cracks and melts back into water after a short time, and it melts faster when you leave it. The ice only forms as you move, so standing still in the middle of an ocean is a good way to end up in the water.
What it can and cannot freeze
- It only freezes water source blocks with air above them. Flowing water and waterlogged blocks stay as they are.
- It only works while you walk on a solid surface. It does nothing while you swim, jump far or glide with an elytra.
- It never touches lava. Frost Walker is not a way across the Nether's lava seas.
Immunity to hot blocks
Frost Walker boots also stop the damage from standing on magma blocks and campfires. That is handy around soul sand bubble columns and in Nether builds that use magma.
Frost Walker or Depth Strider?
The two exclude each other, so a pair of boots carries only one. Depth Strider is better when you spend time in the water, for example in ocean monuments. Frost Walker is better when you want to stay dry and keep running. Many players keep a second pair of boots with Frost Walker for ocean crossings. The Depth Strider vs Frost Walker page compares them side by side.
Tricks and uses
- Crossing rivers and oceans on foot, without stopping to place a boat.
- Getting over deep water in a cave without getting wet.
- Making a quick, temporary path for mobs you are leading, such as a villager you push across a river.
- Escaping drowned: you stay on the surface while they swim below.
Frost Walker by level
Level I freezes a smaller circle around you, which is enough for straight walks. Level II freezes a wider circle, so you can turn and sprint without stepping off the ice. Since there are only two levels, two level I books merge straight into level II.
Frost Walker and mobs
The ice holds any mob that walks on it, not just you. So you can lead animals across a river on foot. Drowned and other water mobs stay below the ice, which gives you a safe path over their heads.
Frost Walker on the anvil
Frost Walker is a ×2 book, so level II costs 4 levels on fresh boots. Because it excludes Depth Strider, you can't add it to boots that already have Depth Strider. Plan the boots from the start, or keep a second pair for each.
Frost Walker and soul sand valleys
The magma and campfire immunity also helps in the Nether. Magma blocks sit at the bottom of many basalt delta lava pools and soul sand valley structures, and Frost Walker boots let you stand on them safely.
Frost Walker and boats
On a long ocean trip, a boat is faster than walking. However, Frost Walker lets you stop, get off and explore without placing and breaking a boat each time. So it suits island hopping more than long straight crossings.
Frost Walker and Mending
Frost Walker boots take no extra wear from the ice. Still, Mending and Unbreaking keep them alive through falls, fights and magma blocks.
Common mistakes
- Stopping on the ice. It melts beneath you and drops you into the water.
- Expecting to keep the ice. Frosted ice never drops as an item, even with Silk Touch, and it always melts.
- Putting it on your main boots and losing Depth Strider for monuments. Two pairs of boots solve that.
A Frost Walker boots build
Frost Walker fits next to Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Soul Speed III, Unbreaking III and Mending. That is the Frost Walker variant of the best boots enchantments, and the boots enchant order shows the cheapest order.
Which items take Frost Walker
Frost Walker goes on 1 kind of gear in the calculator: boots. It is a treasure enchantment, so on every item it comes from an enchanted book and an anvil, never from the enchanting table.
It can't share an item with Depth Strider. If an item already has one of those, the anvil skips the Frost Walker book. Java still charges 1 level for it.
Anvil cost of Frost Walker
Frost Walker has an anvil multiplier of 4 from another item and 2 from a book. So a Frost Walker II book costs 4 levels on a fresh item, and each lower level costs 2 less. Two fresh Frost Walker I books merge into Frost Walker II for 4 levels. 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
Frost Walker can go on 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: All treasure enchantments, Getting books from librarians, Every max enchantment level. You can make a Frost Walker book with the command generator. The librarian price list shows what villagers charge for it.
How to get Frost Walker
- Librarian villagers Librarians can sell it as an enchanted book at a higher price, because it is a treasure enchantment. Level I costs 10–38 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.
Frost Walker is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table never offers it. Librarians can sell it at the higher treasure price. You can also fish it up as an enchanted book or find it in chests that hold random enchanted books.
Since it has only two levels, two Frost Walker I books merge straight into level II on an anvil.
Enchanting power and librarian prices
| Level | Librarian price |
|---|---|
| I | 10–38 emeralds |
| II | 16–64 emeralds |
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
- It is a treasure enchantment: get it from villagers, fishing or chest loot, never from an enchanting table.
- Frosted ice melts after a while, so it is a bridge, not a building tool.
Commands
Give yourself a Frost Walker book or enchant the item in your hand. These work in Java 26.3 once cheats are on.
/give @p enchanted_book[stored_enchantments={frost_walker:2}]
/enchant @s frost_walker 2
/give @p netherite_boots[enchantments={frost_walker:2}]Versions
Frost Walker 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 Frost Walker on Bedrock.
Questions
Can you get Frost Walker from an enchanting table?
No. Frost Walker is a treasure enchantment. Librarian villagers, fishing and random chest loot are the ways to get it.
Does Frost Walker work on lava?
No. Frost Walker only freezes water. It does protect you from magma blocks and campfires, though.
Does Frost Walker work while flying with an elytra?
No. It only freezes water while you walk on a solid surface, so gliding or swimming does nothing.
Can you keep the ice from Frost Walker?
No. Frosted ice always melts back into water, and it never drops as an item, even with Silk Touch.
Does Frost Walker work underwater?
No. It only freezes the water surface while you walk on a solid surface above it.
Is Frost Walker a treasure enchantment?
Yes. It never appears in the enchanting table. Get it from librarians, fishing or chest loot.
What is the max level of Frost Walker?
Frost Walker II. It freezes a wider circle of water than level I.
Can you put Frost Walker on a horse?
No. Horses can't wear boots, so Frost Walker only works for the player wearing the boots.