What Does Depth Strider Do in Minecraft? All Levels Explained

Among the various quality-of-life Minecraft enchantments, the Depth Strider is one of the most important if you’re thinking about exploring the oceans. Unlike Respiration, which lets you breathe underwater, Depth Strider makes you move faster underwater. If you’ve been curious about the enchantment, here is all you need to know about the most common question: what does Depth Strider do in Minecraft?

Minecraft Depth Strider Explained

Depth Strider is a boot enchantment in Minecraft that increases your movement speed underwater. It has three levels in total, and the higher it is, the faster your underwater movement speed will be.

This enchantment also affects the speed at which flowing water pushes the player. As you can see, the Depth Strider in Minecraft is more than simply practical, and it can help you explore the oceans, raid Ocean Monuments in Minecraft, collect underwater resources, and fight the aquatic hostile mobs. Here is what each level of Depth Strider offers:

Enchantment Level	Effect
Depth Strider 1	Reduces the underwater movement penalty by 1/3rd
Depth Strider 2	Reduces the underwater movement penalty by 2/3rd
Depth Strider 3	Removes the normal underwater movement penalty

What Does Depth Strider 3 Do in Minecraft?

Depth Strider 3 is the highest level of enchantment and provides maximum underwater movement benefit. With Depth Strider 3 boots equipped, you can perform the following:

• Move horizontally underwater at your normal walking speed.
• Travel through oceans and rivers efficiently.
• Move around Ocean Monuments more comfortably while fighting Guardians and Elder Guardians.

With the enchantment equipped, the Speed status effect can also influence your movement. Moreover, in Java Edition, combining the Depth Strider 3 effect with Dolphin’s Grace can make you move exceptionally quickly through water.

Do keep in mind that Depth Strider doesn’t improve underwater breathing. For that, you still need to apply the Minecraft Respiration enchantment to your helmet.

How to Get Depth Strider in Minecraft

You can obtain the Depth Strider enchantment in Minecraft through several methods, including the Enchanting Table, Enchanted Books, and trading with villagers. Here’s more on how to do it:

Note: Depth strider is mutually exclusive with frost walker, meaning you cannot have both of them on the same boots.

Using an Enchanting Table

A Minecraft Enchanting Table is one of the most straightforward ways to get the Depth Strider enchantment. So, here’s how you can do it:

• Place boots of any material in the left cell of the enchanting table’s interface.
• Right next to it, place 1-3 Lapis Lazuli, depending on the number needed.
• The Depth Strider enchantment will start showing up when there are about 5-6 bookshelves around the enchanting table. However, the level of this enchantment will be the lowest.

To get the Depth Strider 3 enchantment, you should place 15 Minecraft bookshelves around the Table. While it is required that you have reached at least level 30, the cost of the enchantment is three levels and three Lapis Lazuli.

This enchantment may be offered right away, or you might need to do some repeated enchanting to get it. Either way, this is a fairly reliable way to get Depth Strider in Minecraft.

Using Enchanted Books and an Anvil

You can also apply the Depth Strider enchantment using an Enchanted Book in Minecraft along with an Anvil. First, get a book enchanted with Depth Strider, and follow the steps below:

• Place an Anvil on the ground and open its interface.
• Put your boots in the first slot and place the Depth Strider Enchanted Book in the second slot.
• Collect the enchanted boots by paying the required experience levels.

If you already have two Depth Strider 2 boots, you can still combine them on a Minecraft Anvil to obtain Depth Strider 3, provided you have enough experience points.

Trading With a Librarian Villager

Among the several villager jobs in Minecraft, the Librarian is one of the most useful since it offers Enchanted Books in exchange for Emeralds.

So, you can use our best Minecraft village seeds, locate the nearest village, find the Librarian, and check its available trades. If it offers the Depth Strider Enchanted Book you require, purchase it using Emeralds and apply the enchantment to your boots using an Anvil.

While the available trades can vary, you can always break the Lectern job site block inside the Librarian’s home, and that will give you access to a new stock of Enchanted Books.

Another way to obtain the Depth Strider Enchanted Book is through fishing and loot dropped from mobs spawning in a raid. However, fishing can be a very tiring process, and you might want to set up an AFK fish farm in Minecraft.

Best Uses of the Depth Strider Enchantment in Minecraft

Now that you know the answer to the question: what does the Depth Strider enchantment do in Minecraft, you should be focusing on making the most out of it.

As you already know, once you have the Depth Strider enchanted boots, you can place them in your feet armor slot to equip them. There is no button you need to press, and the increased swimming speed is a passive ability that instantly activates once you’re fully submerged in water. That said, here are the best uses of a Depth Strider enchantment in Minecraft:

• Exploring Oceans: You’re able to move around more efficiently and have less time struggling against the movement penalty.
• Raiding Ocean Monuments: Fighting the Guardians and Elder Guardians becomes easier with extra mobility. You just need to take care of your oxygen bubbles.
• Collecting Underwater Resources: Gathering underwater blocks like gravel, clay, or unearthing the Ocean Ruins takes less time. You just need to pair this up with the Minecraft Aqua Affinity enchantment.
• Building Underwater Structures: If you enjoy building a fantastic transparent aquarium-inspired house idea in Minecraft oceans, this enchantment is a must-have for your feet armor.

Depth Strider vs Frost Walker: Which is Better?

Depth Strider and the Frost Walker boot enchantments serve two different purposes, and here we have explained both of their functions in brief:

Feature	Depth Strider	Frost Walker
Main effect	Improves underwater movement	Temporarily turns the water surface under your feet into frosted ice.
Maximum Level	3	2
Best Use	Underwater exploration	Crossing water surfaces without a boat
Compatibility	Mutually exclusive with Frost Walker	Mutually exclusive with Depth Strider

And that completes the guide on what the Depth Strider enchantment does in Minecraft. You’re now ready to venture into deep oceans or fight underwater Minecraft mobs. So, what are your plans now that you have a Minecraft Depth Strider? Share with us in the comments below!