Building beneath the ocean’s surface is not a new concept in Minecraft. Since the early versions, many players have set out to create some cool things underwater. However, for many years, it wasn’t so easy because you would run out of air faster than you’d like. But ever since the 1.13 Aquatic Update and some great innovations, it’s no longer a problem to realize your dreams of an underwater city! Today, we’ll look at all the things that make working under the sea easier, including the often-overlooked conduit. You should definitely keep an eye on it to bring your plans to fruition.
Essential Items for Efficient Underwater Work
Nowadays, you can work underwater undisturbed without having to constantly surface for air. The swimming movement patterns have also significantly improved compared to earlier versions. But what exactly is available to you? These items should definitely be in your inventory for sea projects to make the job easier.
Potions for Underwater Work:
Water Breathing: This potion is self-explanatory; it allows you to breathe underwater without any issues for its duration. To brew it, you’ll need a pufferfish, and with a redstone dust, you can extend the duration to a full 8 minutes. No construction project in the sea should start without this potion.
Night Vision: Your vision will also be limited when building underwater, which isn’t particularly practical. While you can use regular light sources (Effective Light Sources for Decorative Building Projects in Minecraft) , it’s not a great solution for the building process. We recommend crafting a Night Vision potion from golden carrots. You can also extend it to 8 minutes with redstone, which should suffice for initial excursions.
Enchantments for Underwater Work:
Respiration: You can equip your helmet with additional breathing. While it doesn’t last forever, it gives you significantly more time before the air bubbles deplete completely.
Aqua Affinity: Also for the helmet, this enchantment allows you to break blocks faster underwater.
Depth Strider: To move faster, you should opt for Depth Strider. Up to three levels allow your boots to reach the same speed as on land.
Better Movement Underwater:
Dolphin’s Grace: When swimming with dolphins, your speed will also increase. Additionally, these cute creatures can lead you to hidden treasures.
Trident with “Riptide”: The trident is an often-overlooked weapon, but especially with the “Riptide” enchantment, it’s an absolute must underwater! It propels you through the waves, allowing you to move extremely quickly.
Effective Use of Sponges in Underwater Construction
Sponges are actually one of the oldest blocks in Minecraft, but for a long time, they were only available in Creative mode. However, with the Ocean Monuments, they were added to the Survival part of the game and are a block perfectly suited for underwater work. You can find them in “sponge rooms” or by defeating an Elder Guardian.
Just like in real life, they absorb water, making them great for larger building projects you want to undertake in water. They can be used in an area of 7x7x7 blocks, absorbing all the water within that radius. Water surrounding the area, however, can still flow in. Once saturated with water, you need to dry them. This can be done in a furnace, or you can place them in the Nether, where they dry out instantly. We recommend keeping a few sponges handy for your underwater projects.
Using Water Columns as Effective Transport Mechanisms
The use of various elevator mechanisms is no longer new in Minecraft. However, with the functionality of bubble columns, you can easily reach the water’s surface or be pulled down. Use soul sand blocks to shoot yourself up with a bubble column and magma blocks to pull yourself down. Both are extremely practical, not only for underwater structures but also for regular buildings where a fast elevator is needed.
The Conduit: A Powerful Aid in Underwater Construction
Lastly, let’s look at the conduit, a block often forgotten but super practical for your underwater construction work. It functions similarly to a beacon on land, and if you want to learn more about that, read our post about it (Building a Minecraft Beacon: All Effects & Materials Explained!) .
For a conduit, you need two items. First, you’ll need eight nautilus shells. You can obtain these by fishing, as a drop from drowned, or through trading with the wandering trader. They are not super rare, but you still need to actively search for them. The second item is a bit harder to acquire, namely the “Heart of the Sea”. You can only find it in buried treasure chests, which are only discoverable through corresponding treasure maps. These maps, in turn, are only found in ocean ruins or shipwrecks. Fortunately, every buried treasure chest contains a Heart of the Sea.
You then need to set up the built conduit underwater and surround it with a ring of 42 prismarine blocks. Any prismarine block will work. The shape should correspond to two vertically standing rings with dimensions of 5x5, as well as a horizontal outer ring. You have activated the full power of the conduit when its red eye illuminates. The entire radius of the ensuing effect is 96 blocks in every direction.
But what effects does the conduit provide? The “Conduit Power” grants you within the corresponding radius:
higher mining speed, comparable to Haste 1
complete underwater breathing
night vision
damage to monsters within an eight-block radius (e.g., drowned)
These effects make the conduit a must-have for projects you want to complete underwater. It practically gives you all the effects you can achieve with potions, only permanently and in an extremely large radius. You won’t have to constantly deal with finding the necessary resources for potions. However, some of the enchantments from the first section are still recommended.
Conclusion
Some of the most beautiful construction projects in Minecraft are those that require a bit more work. And buildings underwater have always been extremely cool to look at, although their construction was challenging before the 1.13 update. But with sponges, the conduit, and great enchantments, nothing should stand in your way. Rent your own Minecraft server with us and build a cool underwater city with your friends, like in games like “BioShock” or “Subnautica”.
