Swimming is a form of transportation that allows the player to move in water.
Control[]
Entering swim mode.
exiting swim mode.
Swimming is activated by pressing forward while in water.
Sprint-swimming can also be activated. To do this, the player can press sprint for 1 block gap while moving, or double tap forward. The player cannot sprint-swim if the hunger bar is at 6 (
) or below, or when affected by the Blindness.
Sneaking when swimming allows the player to sink faster.
Usage[]
When swimming on the surface of still water, the player moves at 2.20 blocks per second. If the player is partially submerged in water, the player moves at 1.97 blocks per second. The player moves at 1.81 blocks per second when swimming downstream underwater, and moves at a slower 0.39 blocks per second while swimming upstream underwater.
Sprint-swimming[]
An animation showing the player swimming
Sprint-swimming allows the player to move at around 5.612 meters/second, which is 30 percent faster than the normal walking speed of around 4.317 m/s. The player can turn while sprint-swimming at a slightly reduced speed.
Sneaking while sprint-swimming allows the player to descend faster, and jumping allows the player to ascend faster. Therefore, the fastest way to descend underwater is to look directly downward, sprint-swim and sneak at the same time, and the fastest way to ascend underwater is to look directly upward, sprint-swim and jump at the same time.
With sprinting while swimming, it is possible to swim across the water horizontally.[1] This allows the player to fit through one-block gaps, in a similar method to crawling.
By maneuvering the angle of swimming, it is possible to sprint-swim at the surface of a body of water, while still being able to breathe.
Sprint-swimming reduces the player's saturation, and upon reaching zero it depletes the hunger bar at a rate of 1⁄2 every 40 meters, or 7 seconds.
When a player attacks any mob (excluding squid) while sprint-swimming, the mob suffers a larger knockback than usual.
Sprint-swimming, like normal sprinting, ends when the player collides with a solid block, sneaks, blocks or attacks a mob. Additionally, sprint-swimming also ends if the hunger bar decreases to 6 () or below.
History[]
| Java Edition Classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0.12a | Added water, allowing the ability for the player to swim. | ||||
| Java Edition | |||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w38a | Changed the sound when swimming in water. | |||
| 1.13 | 18w07a | Added the ability to sprint while in water, which causes the player to dive to the ground and swim much faster. | |||
| 18w15a | Sprinting at the surface of water no longer makes the player swim, instead the player stays at the same altitude constantly. | ||||
| Swimming through 1 block holes is now possible.[2] | |||||
| 18w19a | Added the Dolphin's Grace status effect, creating a new way for the player to swim faster. | ||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.1.0 | Added water and swimming. | ||||
| ? | Changed the sound when swimming in water. | ||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.13.8 | Added the ability to sprint while in water, which causes the player to dive to the ground and swim much faster. | |||
| beta 1.2.14.2 | When swimming near a dolphin, the player is granted an instant speed boost without the status effect for several seconds. | ||||
| beta 1.2.20.1 | Players can now swim through 1x1 gaps. | ||||
| 1.5.0 | beta 1.5.0.0 | Improved player swimming at the surface of water. | |||
| 1.14.0 | ? | Players can no longer start swimming in 1-block deep water. | |||
| 1.17.0 | beta 1.16.230.56 | Improved visibility when swimming in underwater caves. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Added water and swimming. | |
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Most mobs can now swim in water. | |
| TU69 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | Added the ability to sprint while in water, which causes the player to dive to the ground and swim much faster. | ||
Gallery[]
First image of swimming in Bedrock Edition.
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Swimming" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia[]
- Sprinting and jumping while under a 1 block gap high ceiling causes a player to move at a speed almost twice as fast as regular sprinting speed, but it consumes a hunger point every second.
- When affected by Dolphin's Grace[Java Edition only], a player's speed is increased significantly while swimming.
Gallery[]
Player[]
The specific instructions are: Updated Steve and Alex, new renders of Ari, Efe, Kai, Makena, Noor, Sunny, and Zuri.
A model of Alex swimming.
A model of Steve swimming.
Animations[]
Animation of Steve swimming around.
