Best Minecraft Trident Enchantments
Complete guide to every trident enchantment in Minecraft, Loyalty, Riptide, Channeling, Impaling and more, with build recommendations for combat and travel.
The trident is one of the most unique weapons in Minecraft. It works in melee and at range, has exclusive movement abilities, and summons lightning. The catch is that tridents cannot be crafted, you have to kill a Drowned that is visibly holding one, and even then the drop rate is only 8.5% (with Looting III). Once you have one, enchanting it correctly is critical because getting a replacement is painful.
Loyalty III, throw and retrieve
Loyalty makes the trident return to you after a throw, like a boomerang. Higher levels make it return faster. At Loyalty III the trident snaps back almost instantly. Without Loyalty, a thrown trident just sits on the ground and you have to walk over and pick it up, which defeats the purpose of ranged combat. This is the single most important enchantment for a throwing trident.
Channeling, lightning on demand
Channeling summons a lightning bolt when your trident hits a mob during a thunderstorm. This is both a combat tool and a utility enchantment. Lightning converts Creepers into Charged Creepers, Villagers into Witches, Pigs into Zombified Piglins, and Mooshrooms between red and brown variants. Charged Creeper explosions drop mob heads, making Channeling the only reliable way to farm Skeleton, Zombie, and Creeper heads for decorative builds.
Riptide III, the movement king
Riptide launches you in the direction you throw the trident, but only when you are standing in water or rain. At Riptide III you can cover enormous distances quickly, effectively flying during rain. The downside is that Riptide is mutually exclusive with Loyalty and Channeling, you cannot throw the trident at a mob. This makes Riptide a dedicated travel/movement enchantment, best placed on a second trident.
Impaling V, aquatic damage
In Java Edition, Impaling adds 1.25 hearts of extra damage per level to aquatic mobs (Guardians, Drowned, Squids, Turtles, and others). In Bedrock Edition it applies to any mob touching water, which makes it much more powerful. At Impaling V the bonus is 6.25 hearts on Java and applies broadly on Bedrock. For ocean monument raids this enchantment is essential.
Unbreaking III
Because tridents are not craftable, durability preservation matters a lot. Unbreaking III extends the trident's 250-durability lifespan to an effective 1,000 uses. Always pair this with Mending to keep the trident alive indefinitely.
Mending, mandatory for tridents
Unlike bows, where Infinity competes with Mending, tridents have no equivalent. Mending is strictly the best choice. A trident with Mending and Unbreaking III will last forever as long as you collect XP between fights. Since tridents are hard to obtain, losing one to durability loss is a huge setback.
Recommended builds
Combat trident: Loyalty III, Channeling, Impaling V, Unbreaking III, Mending. This covers melee, ranged throwing, and lightning conversion.
Travel trident: Riptide III, Unbreaking III, Mending. Use this to fly through rain or launch out of oceans. Keep it in a separate inventory slot from your combat trident.
Where to enchant
The enchanting table can roll trident-specific enchantments when you place a trident in the slot. For guaranteed results, trade with Librarian villagers for specific books. Channeling and Riptide I are relatively common at the table; Loyalty III and Impaling V usually require book combining.
Tips for fighting with a trident
- In melee a trident deals 9 damage (4.5 hearts), which matches a diamond sword without enchantments.
- Thrown trident damage is 8, slightly less than melee, but the range advantage compensates.
- In rain, Riptide lets you close gaps instantly, throw yourself at the target, then switch to a sword mid-flight.
- Channeling only works outdoors under an open sky during a thunderstorm. Underground or under blocks it does nothing.
Want to see all this in action? Astroworld MC runs a custom-built economy survival server with custom bosses, eternal enchants, crates and an auction house. Join at astroworldmc.com, IP play.astroworldmc.com, Java + Bedrock crossplay.