Ocean · Weapon · 1.21
How to Get a Trident
The trident is the only weapon you cannot craft. It drops from drowned that spawn holding one, and the right enchantments turn it into a returning spear, a lightning rod, or a rocket through the rain. Try the four modes below.
Where to get one
Only drowned that spawn holding a trident can drop it. Hunt rivers and oceans.
A drowned holding a trident has a chance to drop it when killed. Looting raises the odds. (In Java, zombies that convert to drowned do not carry tridents, so look for naturally spawned ones.)
Base drop6.25%
With Looting III11.5%
The four enchantments
These shape how the trident plays. The hero above shows each one in motion.
Loyalty
A thrown trident flies straight back to your hand. Higher levels return it faster. Almost everyone runs this.
Riptide
While in water or rain, using the trident launches you forward riding it. Replaces Loyalty, and does nothing when dry.
Channeling
Hit a mob with a thrown trident during a thunderstorm and a lightning bolt strikes it. Pairs with Loyalty.
Impaling
Bonus damage to ocean mobs: drowned, guardians, squid, fish and turtles. Great for underwater fights.
Two ways to fight with it
Melee
Swing it like a sword for a strong, slightly slower hit. No enchant needed, and it never leaves your hand.
Thrown
Hold to charge, then release to hurl it like a spear. Without Loyalty it sticks where it lands and you walk over to collect it.
Keeping it sharp
Throwing and fighting wears it down. Repair it on an anvil with prismarine shards (dropped by guardians), or enchant it with Mending so the XP you pick up keeps it whole.
Quick answers
Can you craft a trident?
No. A trident has no crafting recipe and is not sold by villagers. The only way to get one is from a drowned that spawns holding a trident.
How do I get one?
Find drowned in rivers or oceans and look for one carrying a trident. Killing it has about a 6.25% chance to drop the trident, rising to roughly 11.5% with Looting III.
What is the best trident enchantment?
Loyalty is the must-have, since it returns the trident after every throw. Add Channeling for storm lightning, or run Riptide instead if you want to fly through water and rain.
Does Riptide work without water?
No. Riptide only launches you while you are in water or standing in rain or a snowstorm. On dry land in clear weather it does nothing.
Can I repair a trident?
Yes. Combine it with prismarine shards on an anvil, or use the Mending enchantment to repair it with the XP you collect.
Do converted zombies drop tridents?
Not in Java. Zombies that drown and convert do not carry tridents, so you must find naturally spawned trident drowned. Bedrock is more generous here.
Repair it with an anvilstudy the trident, prismarine shards and guardian drops in the items database, or browse the enchanting recipes to plan Loyalty and Channeling.
A drowned drop that is never guaranteed
Only drowned that spawn holding one drop it
A trident cannot be crafted, and a drowned only drops one if it spawned carrying it, which is a small fraction of them. Converting a zombie into a drowned never produces a trident, so a zombie farm plumbed into water is not a trident farm no matter how large it gets.
Looting changes the odds, not the requirement
Looting raises the drop chance on a drowned that has a trident and does nothing for the ones that do not. That means the farm design that matters is one that spawns drowned naturally in a river or ocean, and then the enchantment on your sword is the multiplier.
Loyalty and Riptide are mutually exclusive
A trident can come back to you or launch you through the rain, not both. Loyalty is the general purpose choice and Riptide is a movement tool that only works when you are wet, which makes a second trident far more valuable than a second enchantment.
Prismarine