Potions & Brewing · 4 min read

How to Make a Poison Potion in Minecraft

Brewing guide for the Potion of Poison in Minecraft 1.21+. Covers Spider Eye ingredients, brewing chain, duration and damage per variant, and tactical splash usage.

Ingredients

Item	Quantity	Source
Spider Eye	1	Dropped by Spiders and Cave Spiders
Nether Wart	1	Nether Fortress stairwells
Blaze Powder	fuel	Crafted from Blaze Rods
Glass Bottle	1-3	Crafted from Glass

Brewing Chain

Fill Glass Bottles with water to get Water Bottles.
Add Nether Wart to brew Awkward Potions.
Add Spider Eye to produce Potion of Poison (0:45).

Variants

Variant	Modifier	Effect	Duration	Total damage
Potion of Poison	-	Poison (1 HP / 1.25s)	0:45	36 HP
Potion of Poison (Extended)	Redstone Dust	Poison (1 HP / 1.25s)	1:30	72 HP
Potion of Poison II	Glowstone Dust	Poison II (1 HP / 0.4s)	0:21	~52 HP
Splash Potion of Poison	Gunpowder	Poison (throwable)	0:33	~26 HP
Lingering Potion of Poison	Dragon's Breath on Splash	Poison (area cloud)	0:11	~8 HP

Poison cannot kill. It drains health down to 1 HP (half a heart) and then stops.

Splash and Lingering Variants

Add Gunpowder to any finished potion to create a Splash Potion you can throw. Splash potions affect all entities within a small radius on impact. Durations for splash variants are reduced to 75 % of the drinkable version. Add Dragon's Breath to a Splash Potion to create a Lingering Potion that leaves an area-of-effect cloud on the ground. Lingering potion durations are 25 % of the drinkable version.

Best Uses

PvP: Splash Poison softens up opponents by draining their health over time, forcing them to use healing potions or golden apples. Follow up with a melee rush once their health is low.
Mob weakening: Useful for weakening mobs without killing them, such as for name-tagging or transporting.
Prerequisite for Harming: Poison can be corrupted with a Fermented Spider Eye to produce Potions of Harming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Poison kill me?

No. Poison drains HP down to half a heart (1 HP) but never delivers the killing blow. However, any additional damage source (a mob hit, fall damage, etc.) can finish you off while at 1 HP.

Does Poison affect undead mobs?

No. Undead mobs (Zombies, Skeletons, Wither Skeletons, Phantoms, etc.) are immune to Poison. Use Healing potions to damage undead instead.

Can I drink milk to remove Poison?

Yes. Drinking a Milk Bucket instantly removes all status effects, including Poison. A Honey Bottle also removes Poison specifically without clearing other effects.

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