With their open terrain and safe areas, the oceans of Minecraft are a hub for mineable resources. But, the same ocean also limits your mining ability and makes it take forever. Luckily, the Aqua Affinity enchantment in Minecraft cancels these limitations, making mining easier. With it, you can gather ores in water on the best Minecraft servers while others are busy exploring caves. So, make a splash and unlock this essential upgrade for your underwater adventures.
Aqua Affinity Enchantment in Minecraft (2023)
Aqua Affinity is a simple and powerful enchantment in Minecraft but getting it can be tricky. So, make sure to explore all the sections of our guide to get the most out of this upgrade.
How to Mine Underwater in Minecraft
In Minecraft, the time it takes to mine a block depends on the type of block and the pickaxe. But things become even more complex when you enter the water. Underwater mining in Minecraft comes with a penalty to your mining speed.
It becomes five times slower to mine blocks underwater than to mine blocks on land. Moreover, this penalty becomes 25 times stronger while you are floating in the water. As a result, searching for ores or even coming out of water can become a challenging task. No wonder players on best Minecraft island seeds don't tend to leave their base.
What is Aqua Affinity Enchantment
Aqua Affinity is the perfect solution to counter the underwater mining penalty in Minecraft. This helmet enchantment cancels the penalty and restores your mining speed while underwater. You can add it to all types of helmets in the game, including the turtle shell, which is already great for underwater exploration.
With Aqua Affinity applied, your mining speed becomes the same underwater as it is on land. Moreover, you can also get Depth Strider on your boots to make the process even simpler. The boots will help you move as fast as on land while the helmet will help you mine as fast.
Is There Aqua Affinity 2?
Your underwater mining speed cannot become faster than the one on land. As a result, there is only one level of Aqua Affinity available in the game. Although you can use commands to apply higher levels of this enchantment, it won't have any effect on your mining speed.
How to Get Aqua Affinity Enchantment in Minecraft
There are three main ways to get Aqua Affinity enchantment in Minecraft. Each one caters to a different playstyle and requirements:
- Enchantment Table: This method is fairly easy and also allows you to unlock a bunch of other enchantments. Though, obtaining its crafting ingredients can be a challenge for some.
- Enchanted Books: Finding the particular book enchanted with Aqua Affinity is quite difficult. But, this method gives a great incentive if you plan to explore your entire world thoroughly.
- Commands: The easiest way to get Aqua Affinity, but it comes with a downside. Most Minecraft survival servers don't allow commands, and using them also disables achievements.
Enchantment Table
Follow these simple steps to apply Aqua Affinity enchantment on your helmets in Minecraft:
1. First, make an Enchantment Table in Minecraft by combining four obsidian blocks with two diamonds and one book.
2. Then, use our Minecraft 1.20 ore distribution guide to find and mine lapis lazuli ores. They most commonly spawn around the world height of Y=0.
3. Next, open the Enchantment Table by right-clicking or using the secondary action key on it.
4. Then, place your helmet and lapis lazuli on the table. As soon as both of its slots are filled, the Enchantment Table will show you all the available enchantments.
5. Click on Aqua Affinity enchantment to apply it to your helmet. If you can't find it, it's best to repeat the process with another helmet.
Enchanted Books
Enchanted Books are a reliable way to get any enchantment in Minecraft, as long as you can find them. But when it comes to Aqua Affinity, there is no fixed spawn location for its books. So, you have to try your luck at the following structures:
- Ancient City
- Bastion Remnant
- Desert Temple
- Dungeon
- Jungle Temple
- Mineshaft
- Pillager Outpost
- Stronghold
- Underwater Ruins
- Woodland Mansion
When you find the right book, you can use our guide to learn how to use enchanted books in Minecraft. But, if your search doesn't yield the desired results, don't leave empty-handed! Make sure to collect all the armor trims you find within these amazing structures.
Command to Get Aqua Affinity
If you don't mind some additional help then you can also use commands to get Aqua Affinity in Minecraft. Just turn on cheats in your world and use the following command in your chatbox:
- Java Edition:
/give @p diamond_helmet{Enchantments:[{id:aqua_affinity,lvl:1}]} 1
- Bedrock Edition:
/give @p diamond_helmet 1 0 {"minecraft:enchantments":[{"name":"aqua_affinity","level":1}]}
Feel free to replace the diamond helmet with other helmet types in the command. The Netherite helmet offers the best protection, and the turtle shell extends your breathing time.
How to Use Aqua Affinity Enchantment in Minecraft
Using Aqua Affinity in Minecraft is an easy and automatic process. You just need to put your helmet on and dive into the water to activate its effects. The enchantment lasts as long as your helmet doesn't break.
But, you still need to worry about maintaining your breath underwater. So, don't forget to make a Potion of Water Breathing in Minecraft. This potion extends the duration of breathing underwater, which gives you more time to mine.
Other Underwater Enchantments for Minecraft
As you venture into the dark and dangerous oceans of Minecraft, you should get all the help you can. So, here are some other key underwater enchantments you can try beyond Aqua Affinity in Minecraft:
- Respiration: A helmet enchantment that increases the duration of your breath underwater.
- Depth Strider: As mentioned earlier, Depth Strider increases your movement speed underwater.
- Fortune: A pickaxe enchantment that increases the amount and quality of loot you get from mining a block.
- Impaling: This trident enchantment allows you to deal extra damage against aquatic mobs. It is great to deal with Drowned, Guardians, and other underwater hostile mobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Aqua Affinity a good enchantment?
The Aqua Affinity is a simple enchantment that makes mining much easier and faster.
Is Respiration or Aqua Affinity better?
While Aqua Affinity allows you to mine faster, Respiration extends your breathing underwater. Since the game makes mining underwater 5 times slower than on land, the extra time isn't enough. So, between the two, you should go for Aqua Affinity.
Does Aqua Affinity work in lava?
The Aqua Affinity also increases your mining speed under lava. But, you must make a Potion of Fire Resistance to protect yourself from the fire damage of the lava.
Mine Faster with Aqua Affinity in Minecraft
With the power of faster mining in your bag, it's the perfect time to explore the oceans of Minecraft. But, before jumping it, it's best to have a clear path. If you want to create an underwater base then spongs will help clear excess water. Meanwhile, seagrass in Minecraft can be a unique option for decorating the same base. Not to forget, you can also explore the ocean ruins structure to get Sniffer in Minecraft and make a new friend. Irrespective of what you are looking for, Aqua Affinity enchantment in Minecraft is going to make your quest much easier. So, grab your helmet and dive in!