How to Build a Drowned Farm for Copper and Tridents

Drowned are the only renewable source of tridents and copper ingots in Minecraft. Building a dedicated drowned farm gives you steady access to both resources. The approach differs between Java and Bedrock editions because of differences in drowned spawning and drop mechanics. This guide covers both.

Why build a drowned farm?

• Tridents for Riptide, Loyalty, and Channeling enchantments.
• Copper ingots (renewable since 1.17) from drowned drops.
• Nautilus shells from drowned holding them (Bedrock primarily).
• Gold ingots as a secondary drop.
• XP from killing drowned.

Java vs Bedrock: Critical differences

Feature	Java Edition	Bedrock Edition
Trident drops	Only drowned that spawn naturally holding a trident can drop one (8.5% spawn rate, 8.5% drop rate)	All drowned can drop tridents (3.7% base drop rate)
Converted zombie drops	Converted zombies CANNOT drop tridents	Converted zombies CAN drop tridents
Copper drops	Drowned drop copper ingots (11% + Looting)	Drowned do not drop copper
Best farm type	Natural drowned spawns in rivers/oceans	Zombie conversion OR natural spawns

Materials list

Item	Quantity	Notes
Building blocks	500+	Walls, floors, channels
Water buckets	~30	Spawning and transport channels
Soul sand	10+	Bubble column elevators
Signs or open trapdoors	20+	Water flow control
Hoppers	10+	Collection
Chests	4+	Storage
Trident killer components (optional)	Varies	For automatic killing while counting as player kills
Slabs	200+	Spawn-proofing

Step-by-step build: Java Edition (natural spawns)

Step 1: Find a river biome

Drowned spawn naturally in river biomes and ocean biomes. River biomes are preferred because they are narrower, making spawn-proofing easier. Find a river and pick a section at least 20 blocks long.

Step 2: Build the spawning chamber

Create an enclosed water chamber in the river, at least 8 blocks deep. Drowned spawn in water at light level 0 (total darkness) at any depth. Make the chamber dark by building a roof over it. The floor should be at least 2 blocks below the water surface. Size: 16x16 or larger for good rates.

Step 3: Create water streams to funnel drowned

Use water currents inside the chamber to push drowned toward a central collection channel. Drowned move slowly in water, so signs or kelp can help control the flow direction. The channel leads to a bubble column elevator (soul sand under a water column) that pushes drowned upward.

Step 4: Build the kill chamber

At the top of the bubble column, drowned are pushed out onto a platform and dropped down a 23-block shaft. This deals enough fall damage to leave them at 1-2 hearts. At the bottom, hit them once with a Looting III sword for maximum drops.

For AFK killing, build a trident killer: a ring of drowned-sized gaps with a hopper minecart below, where you stand and hold a trident. When drowned pass through, the trident hits them automatically. Since trident kills count as player kills, you get full XP and loot.

Step 5: Spawn-proof the area

Light up or slab all surfaces within 128 blocks of your AFK point. Other hostile mobs steal the mob cap. In river biomes, this includes both banks and any caves below.

Step-by-step build: Bedrock Edition (zombie conversion)

Step 1: Build a standard zombie spawner farm

Find a zombie spawner dungeon. Build a standard funnel system that collects zombies.

Step 2: Add a conversion chamber

Instead of killing the zombies, funnel them into a water-filled chamber. When a zombie's head is submerged in water for 30 seconds, it starts converting into a drowned. The conversion takes an additional 15 seconds. After conversion, the drowned can drop tridents on Bedrock Edition.

Step 3: Kill the converted drowned

After conversion, push the drowned out of the water chamber and into a kill zone. Use fall damage or a manual hit station with a Looting III sword.

How it works

On Java, drowned spawn in ocean and river biomes in water at light level 0. They follow standard hostile mob spawning rules and occupy the hostile mob cap. Only drowned that spawn naturally holding a trident have a chance to drop it when killed by a player.

On Bedrock, any drowned (including those converted from zombies) can drop tridents. This makes zombie conversion farms viable for trident farming on Bedrock, while Java players must rely on natural spawns.

Efficiency stats

• Trident drop rate (Java, naturally spawned with trident): ~8.5% with Looting III on the ~8.5% of drowned that hold one
• Trident drop rate (Bedrock, any drowned): ~3.7% base, ~5.5% with Looting III
• Copper ingots per hour (Java): 50-100 with Looting III
• Average time per trident (Java): 2-4 hours of AFK time
• Average time per trident (Bedrock): 30-60 minutes with zombie conversion

Common mistakes

• Using zombie conversion on Java for tridents. Converted drowned cannot drop tridents on Java Edition. You must use natural spawns.
• Spawning chamber too bright. Drowned need light level 0 to spawn. Cover the chamber completely and remove all light sources.
• Not using Looting III. The trident drop rate is already low. Looting III significantly increases your chances.
• Killing with non-player methods. Drowned only drop tridents and copper when killed by a player. Fall damage kills, lava, and suffocation do not give these drops.
• AFK spot outside the river biome. If your AFK spot is in a plains biome instead of the river biome, drowned may not spawn at the expected rate.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get tridents from fishing?

No. Tridents are not in the fishing loot table. They can only be obtained from drowned drops.

Is Looting III mandatory?

Not mandatory, but strongly recommended. Without Looting III, expect to wait significantly longer per trident.

Can drowned spawn in artificial water pools?

On Java, drowned only spawn in river and ocean biomes, regardless of whether the water is natural or player-placed. On Bedrock, drowned can spawn in any body of water that is 2+ blocks deep and has enough volume.

What enchantments should I put on a trident?

The four trident-exclusive enchantments are Loyalty (returns after throwing), Riptide (launches you in rain/water), Channeling (summons lightning during storms), and Impaling (bonus damage to aquatic mobs, or all mobs in water on Bedrock). Loyalty and Channeling are the most popular combination for a throwable trident. Riptide cannot be combined with Loyalty or Channeling (it is exclusive), so make a separate trident for Riptide elytra-free flying in rain. Add Unbreaking III and Mending to every trident to prevent durability loss.

Maximizing trident drop rates on Java

On Java Edition, only drowned that spawn naturally holding a trident can drop one. This is about 6.25% of all spawned drowned (15% chance to spawn with a trident on Java 1.17+, but rates vary by version). Of those trident-holding drowned, the drop rate is 8.5% without Looting and about 11.5% with Looting III. To maximize your chances:

• Build the spawning chamber as large as possible (more spawn positions = more drowned per minute).
• Spawn-proof the surrounding 128-block radius aggressively. Every zombie spawning in a cave steals a mob cap slot from your drowned farm.
• Use a Looting III sword or trident killer with Looting. This is the single biggest improvement to drop rates.
• AFK for extended sessions. At a rate of roughly 1 trident every 2-4 hours, overnight AFK sessions produce 2-4 tridents reliably.

On Bedrock, rates are much better because any drowned can drop a trident. A zombie conversion farm on Bedrock can produce 1 trident per 20-30 minutes with Looting III, making Bedrock players significantly better off for trident farming.

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