Water is a natural fluid.
Obtaining
A typical lake of water.
Water does exist as an item in creative mode, but in survival it can be collected by using a bucket on a full cauldron or water source block.
Natural generation
Water naturally generates in the Overworld to make oceans, lakes, rivers and springs. It also generates in village and desert wells, strongholds and woodland mansions.
Behavior
Swimming
Swimming in water is extremely slow, against currents. It is easier to go with the currents instead of against. Running at the water is better than just walking.
When swimming upwards in water, swim up streams that have no solid blocks touching them. If no blocks are touching the water you are swimming in, you swim upwards much faster.
Spreading
Water will spread into nearby air blocks. Spreading water will extinguish fire and wash out plants, snow, torches, carpets, tripwire, rails, redstone and cobweb it flows into, dropping them as items.
Source blocks
A 2×2 infinite water source. Water can be taken from any corner.
A 3×1 infinite water source.
A water source block will be created from a flowing block that is next to 2 or more other source blocks, and sitting on top of a solid block or another water source block. This is the rule that makes infinite water sources work. Using this, it is possible to create pools of still water by placing water source blocks in a confined area.
Dispensers loaded with a filled bucket will place a water source block in an empty block in front of them when activated. A dispenser loaded with an empty bucket and a water source just in front of it will suck the source into the bucket when activated.
In snowy biomes, water source blocks have a chance to turn into ice, and reappear when ice melts (except in the Nether). Ice will revert to water when broken if there is a block underneath.
Current
The current in a water block determines both what direction it will appear from its texture to be flowing, and what direction an entity such as a player or boat will float from that block.
The horizontal current in a water block is based on a vector sum of the flows to and from that block from its 4 horizontal neighbors. For example, if a block receives water from the north and sends it both south and east, but borders a solid block on its west edge, then the current in that block will be south-southeast, because 2 southward flows (in and out) are combined with only 1 eastward flow (out). Thus, 16 horizontal directions are possible. If a branch in a channel is 2 blocks wide at its entrance, then entities will float into it rather than continuing in a straight line.
Water with a current pushes mobs at a speed of about 1.39 meters per second, or 25 blocks every 18 seconds.
Light
Under water, with and without the respiration enchantment.
Water reduces light by 2 for every block, in addition to normal dispersion, so visibility lowers as the water gets deeper.
There are three ways of increasing underwater visibility: using a helmet with Respiration enchantment, or using potions of Night Vision or Water Breathing.
Water and lava
Water and lava can produce stone, cobblestone, or obsidian based on how they interact.
Damaging mobs
Water will damage endermen, snow golems, and blazes.
Slower mining speed
Players in water take 5 times the normal amount of time to mine blocks while grounded, or 25 times ungrounded. However, with the Aqua Affinity enchantment, mining speed will be faster, which is 1x time grounded, 5x time ungrounded.
Drowning
Players and mobs (except squid, guardians and iron golems) have a breath meter which lasts 15 seconds, after which they will take damage from drowning while their head is still below water, taking 2
damage per second until they die.
Each level of Respiration enchantment will add 15 seconds to the maximum time underwater, and will grant an x/(x+1) chance (where x is the Respiration level) of not taking damage after that time: 30 seconds and an average 1
/second with Respiration I, 45 seconds and an average of 2⁄3 damage/second with Respiration II, and 60 seconds and an average of 1⁄2 damage/second with Respiration III.
Hardening concrete powder
When water comes into contact with concrete powder, the powder hardens into solid concrete.
Sponges
Water will be deleted when it comes into contact with a dry sponge.
Water Bucket
A water bucket is bucket that is filled with water.
To fill an empty bucket with water, use it on a water source block. The block is consumed in the process. Water buckets can also be filled by smelting a wet sponge in a furnace, with an empty bucket in the fuel slot. The bucket will be filled when the smelting process is complete.
Using a full water bucket on a solid block will place a water source block against that block, emptying the bucket. In the Nether, however, the water will evaporate.
A water bucket will turn into an empty bucket when the player uses it or when a dispenser is activated, letting the water flow out of the bucket.
Water buckets can be used to fill cauldrons.
Data values
ID
Water/ID
Water spends most of its time as stationary, rather than 'flowing' – regardless of its level, or whether it contains a current downwards or to the side. When specifically triggered by a block update, water will change to 'flowing', update its level, then change back to stationary. Water springs are generated as flowing, and oceans, lakes and rivers are generated as stationary. This happens before most types of generated structure are created, and the main cause of water "glitches" is that generated structures do not trigger a block update to let water flow into them.
Block data
If bit 0x8 is set, this liquid is "falling" and only spreads downward. At this level, the lower bits are essentially ignored, since this block is then at its highest fluid level.
The lower three bits are the fluid block's level. 0x0 is the highest fluid level (not necessarily filling the block - this depends on the neighboring fluid blocks above each upper corner of the block). Data values increase as the fluid level of the block drops: 0x1 is next highest, 0x2 lower, on through 0x7, the lowest fluid level. Along a line on a flat plane, water drops one level per meter from the source.
Block state
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| level | 0
| 0123456789101112131415 |
If bit 0x8 is set, this fluid is "falling" and spreads only downward. At this level, the lower bits are essentially ignored, since this block is then at its highest fluid level. This level is equal to the falling water above, equal to 8 plus the level of the non-falling lava above it. The lower three bits are the fluid block's level. 0 is the highest fluid level (not necessarily filling the block - this depends on the neighboring fluid blocks above each upper corner of the block). Data values increase as the fluid level of the block drops: 1 is the next highest, 2 lower, on through 7, the lowest fluid level. Along a line on a flat plane, water drops one level per meter. |
Bedrock Edition:
Water and flowing water
| Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| liquid_depth | 0x10x20x40x8 | 0
| 0123456789101112131415 | 0123456789101112131415 |
If bit 0x8 is set, this fluid is "falling" and spreads only downward. At this level, the lower bits are essentially ignored, since this block is then at its highest fluid level. This level is equal to the falling water above, equal to 8 plus the level of the non-falling lava above it. The lower three bits are the fluid block's level. 0 is the highest fluid level (not necessarily filling the block - this depends on the neighboring fluid blocks above each upper corner of the block). Data values increase as the fluid level of the block drops: 1 is the next highest, 2 lower, on through 7, the lowest fluid level. Along a line on a flat plane, water drops one level per meter. |
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | |||||
| Free Diver | Stay underwater for 2 minutes | Drink a potion of water breathing that can last for 2 minutes or more, then jump into the water or activate a conduit or sneak on a magma block underwater for 2 minutes. | 20G | Silver | ||
Videos
- Note: The video states that "Infinite water sources are found all over the world in shallower areas." Ever since the 1.5 update, this is no longer the case — water source blocks form even if there isn't a solid block under them, as long as there is a water source block under it, meaning even deep bodies of water can be used as infinite water sources.
Water/video
Infinite Water Source/video
History
| pre-classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rd-161348 | The texture for water can now be found within the game. | ||||
| classic | |||||
| 0.0.12a | Added water. | ||||
| 0.0.19a | The texture for water was changed, adding animation. | ||||
| Sponges added, which remove water. | |||||
| indev | |||||
| January 13, 2010 | There is now finite water. | ||||
| Oceans now have infinite water. | |||||
| Water no longer moves on the surface on its own. | |||||
| Water now has a 2/3 probability to evaporate and a 1/3 probability to copy. | |||||
| January 22, 2010 | Water now spawns in level generation as springs and lakes. | ||||
| infdev | |||||
| June 15, 2010 | Buckets can be used to place water. | ||||
| alpha | |||||
| 1.2.6 | Lakes were added. | ||||
| beta | |||||
| 1.5 | Dropped items in flowing water now move faster. | ||||
| 1.6 | Rain and snow no longer fall through water. | ||||
| 1.8 | Because of the change in how land is generated, if a player is in a world that was made pre-1.8 and travels into new chunks, there's a chance that a very, very large ocean may be formed as the ocean biome. There will also be a one-block-high drop in sea level along the discontinuity between the old and new chunks with the old chunks being higher. | ||||
| Water can be found in the farms and wells of villages. | |||||
| Two biomes were added that are almost all water: ocean and river. | |||||
| release | |||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9-pre4 | Respiration and Aqua Affinity enchantments added, which allow more breathing time in water and normal digging speed in water. | |||
| ? | One-block ceilings of opaque blocks immediately below water will have a "leak" particle effect (as with lava), alerting the player that digging that block will unleash a torrent of water. Glass or any other transparent block is exempt from this. | ||||
| 1.3.1 | 12w15a | Dispensers were given the ability to shoot out the liquids inside water buckets. They could also suck up the liquids if activated again. | |||
| 12w17a | Removed ability to bring water using ice into the Nether. | ||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w38a | Changed sound when jumping and swimming in water. | |||
| The sound of flowing water is now continuous. | |||||
| The water overlay is a more saturated blue. | |||||
| 1.4.4 | 1.4.3-pre | Changed falling damage rule. Players and mobs do not die from great heights in shallow water.[1] | |||
| 1.5 | 13w02a | The texture of water is now accessible. Before, the texture was hidden in the code and not accessible by any normal bases. | |||
| 13w03a | Water source blocks form even if there isn't a solid block under them. | ||||
| 13w04a | Flowing water in Creative mode no longer slows the player down when flying. | ||||
| 1.6.1 | 13w17a | Water lakes don't generate in deserts anymore. | |||
| 1.7.2 | 13w36a | Water pools now generate in the new desert M biome. | |||
| Oceans are much smaller. | |||||
| 13w41a | Water, ice and portals are now visible through each other. | ||||
| 1.8 | 14w25a | Block IDs 8 (flowing water) and 9 (still water) were removed from the /give command.
| |||
| Now shows a water bucket as the icon when water is used as a layer in Superflat. | |||||
| 1.9 | 15w43b | No longer shows the flowing animation when against glass or stained glass. | |||
| 1.11 | 16w39a | Water now generates in woodland mansions. | |||
| 1.12 | 17w06a | Water now hardens concrete powder into concrete, on contact. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added water. On older devices, the old water texture was used, whereas the newer animated texture was used on more modern devices. | ||||
| 0.7.0 | Changed texture to new for all devices. | ||||
| Added water buckets. | |||||
| ? | Water buckets no longer stack to 64. | ||||
| 0.9.0 | build 1 | Added water dripping particles. | |||
| Lakes were added. | |||||
| Water can be found in the farms and wells of villages. | |||||
| Two biomes were added that are almost all water: ocean and river. | |||||
| Water pools now generate in the new desert M biome. | |||||
| 0.10.0 | build 1 | Added smooth lighting for water. | |||
| Water uses a dark gray coloration in swamps. | |||||
| Flowing water can push entities. | |||||
| build 7 | Running water now has sounds. | ||||
| ? | Water now destroys blocks. | ||||
| 0.14.0 | build 1 | Dispensers can now shoot out water from water buckets. | |||
| They can also suck up liquids directly adjacent to the side they are facing. | |||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.1 | build 1 | Water now generates in woodland mansions. | |||
| Water now hardens concrete powder into concrete, on contact. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Added water. | |
| TU9 | Dispensers were given the ability to shoot out the liquids inside water buckets. They could also suck up the liquids if activated again, but a bug prevented the empty bucket from being filled. | ||||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Updated water splash sounds. | |
| Most mobs can now swim in water. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Water" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- While underwater, the player's FOV (field of vision) is lowered by 10 to simulate light refraction.
- The old water texture can still be found in the assets and is used in the game if the player is underwater.
- In Pocket Edition, water is more realistic as its texture changes from turquoise to pale blue when viewed from far away.
- Water buckets can be used to break End portal blocks by placing the water on the side of a block corresponding to a side of an end portal block.
Gallery
- Animation Water.gif
The default water animation as it appears since the Redstone Update
Water flowing into a cave
These bubbles appear above the hunger bar when the player's head is in water, and when all the bubbles pop, a heart of damage is dealt every second until the air is refilled
- Das Waterfall.png
A naturally occurring waterfall
- Water old texture.png
The old texture for Water
References







