How to breathe underwater in Minecraft PE

Exploring the depths of oceans and other underwater locations in Minecraft can be fun. However, players can't breathe underneath the water's surface for very long in Survival and Adventure Mode.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to alleviate the issue. Depending on the method used, players can remain underwater for longer periods of time without depleting their oxygen meter.

While some tricks can slow down oxygen decline, the Water Breathing effect prevents the loss of breath; however, depending on the tactic used, it may not last forever.

If players are venturing into the tides in Minecraft: Pocket Edition, they may want to give themselves the Water Breathing effect using certain in-game tools.

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Ways to Get Water Breathing in Minecraft: Pocket Edition

Potions of Water Breathing

Potions of Water Breathing can be a very cost-effective way to breathe underwater (Image via Mojang)

Created in a brewing stand by brewing pufferfish into an Awkward Potion, this is an excellent way to breathe underwater for multiple minutes without needing to surface for air.

Awkward Potions are created by combining a water bottle and nether wart in a brewing stand. It can then be combined with a pufferfish to create the Water Breathing potion.

A standard Potion of Water Breathing will last for three minutes before the effect wears off and players start losing oxygen; however, the duration can be extended if a Minecraft player adds redstone dust to the final potion, which will give them a total of eight minutes.

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Water Breathing Arrows

Tipped arrows can bestow Water Breathing, albeit for a shorter duration than a potion (Image via Mojang)

By creating a Lingering Potion of Water Breathing and combining it with eight standard arrows in a crafting table, Minecraft players can create tipped arrows that bestow Water Breathing; however, these arrows only provide 1/8 of the original duration of the potion.

This means, depending on the quality of the potion used to craft them, these tipped arrows can only give players or mobs a hit with the arrow Water Breathing for either 22 seconds or one minute.

They're not as effective as potions, but Minecraft players can give other targets Water Breathing using tipped arrows if they don't want to brew Splash Potions.

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Wearing a Turtle Shell Helmet

Turtle shells take a while to make, but they give a decent amount of Water Breathing (Image via Mojang)

Turtles are pretty interesting in Minecraft, especially because they can help players breathe underwater. By breeding turtles with seaweed, players can allow them to lay eggs. When they hatch, babies will be born and will eventually grow into adults. Once that happens, they'll shed their old shells into a scute item.

By combining five scutes in a crafting table, Minecraft players can create a turtle shell helmet, which gives them one minute of Water Breathing as long as it's equipped.

Whenever a player exits the water, they'll replenish their minute of Water Breathing as well. It takes some time since baby turtles take 20 real-world minutes to grow up, but turtle shell helmets are still helpful.

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Using Conduit Power

Conduits are resource-intensive, but provide the best source of underwater breathing (Image via Mojang)

While conduits technically don't give Minecraft players the Water Breathing status effect, they're still an excellent tool to remain underwater and not drown. These are crafted by combining eight nautilus shells and a Heart of the Sea. It must then be placed within a cross-like activation frame.

When the conduit activates, it will provide players with Conduit Power, which restores their oxygen, gives them underwater night vision, and increases their mining speed by 16.7%.

As long as players remain in the range of a conduit, which can be anywhere from 32-96 blocks in a sphere, they won't run out of breath. It's technically not the Water Breathing effect that accomplishes this, but Conduit Power.