Respiration Enchantment: How Long You Stay Underwater
Respiration adds about 16 seconds of air per level: 16 seconds normally, about 64 at Respiration III. Stacking it with a turtle shell and how to get it.
Respiration makes your air last longer underwater. Without it, your air bar empties in 16 seconds. Each level adds about 16 more seconds on average, so Respiration III gives roughly 64 seconds. It goes on helmets and turtle shells, has three levels and conflicts with nothing.
| Level | Chance to skip air loss | Average time until air runs out |
|---|---|---|
| None | 0% | 16 s |
| I | 50% | 32 s |
| II | 67% | 48 s |
| III | 75% | 64 s |
It works by giving each tick of air loss a chance to be skipped. Because the effect is random, those times are averages. Once your bar is empty, Respiration keeps skipping air loss, so you take drowning damage less often too.
What Respiration doesn’t do
Respiration used to improve your view underwater. That was removed on Java in 1.13 and on Bedrock in 1.4, so today it only affects air. If you can’t see in murky water, drink a Potion of Night Vision or build a conduit, whose Conduit Power effect includes clear underwater vision.
It also only works in the head slot. On Java since 1.21, Respiration on any other piece does nothing even if you add it with commands.
With a turtle shell
A turtle shell helmet gives you Water Breathing for 10 seconds whenever you go under. Respiration can go on the shell itself, so Respiration III on a turtle shell gives you about 74 seconds. Turtle shells have less armor than diamond or netherite, though, so most players only wear one for ocean work.
Getting it
Respiration rolls on the enchanting table for helmets and comes from fishing, loot chests and librarians. Its weight is 2, so it shows up less often than Protection on a helmet. A Respiration III book from a default librarian costs 11 to 45 emeralds. With the experimental Villager Trade Rebalance on, swamp librarians sell it, which means breeding villagers in a swamp first.
When it’s worth it
Put Respiration III on any helmet you’ll keep. It’s a free slot: helmets have few useful enchantments, and Respiration doesn’t conflict with Protection. Pair it with Aqua Affinity so you can mine at normal speed while you’re down there.
For big underwater projects like draining an ocean monument, Respiration alone isn’t enough. Bring Water Breathing potions or a conduit, and Depth Strider boots to move around.
A useful habit: surface for a breath whenever your air bar drops to about half, rather than waiting until it’s empty. With Respiration III that’s one breath every half minute or so, and you never get caught by drowning damage when a drowned or guardian keeps you busy.
Common questions
How long can you breathe with Respiration III?
About 64 seconds before your air bar empties, compared to 16 seconds without it. It also slows down drowning damage once the bar is empty.
Does Respiration stack with a turtle shell?
Yes. A turtle shell gives 10 seconds of Water Breathing when you go under, and you can put Respiration on the turtle shell itself.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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