You cannot craft a trident in Minecraft. The main way to get one is to kill a Drowned that is holding a trident, which then has a chance to drop it, and the only other source is a rare reward from trial chamber vaults. Below we cover how to find trident-carrying drowned, the drop odds on Java and Bedrock, the zombie nautilus shortcut from the Mounts of Mayhem drop, and how to use, enchant and repair a trident once you have it.
This guide is current for Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 and Bedrock Edition 26.50 on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
Why Only Some Drowned Drop Tridents
A drowned only drops a trident if it is already holding one, and you can see it in its hand before you fight. Per the community wiki:
- 6.25% of drowned spawn holding a trident.
- The drop chance when you kill one is 8.5% on Java and 25% on Bedrock.
- Each level of Looting adds 1%, up to 11.5% on Java and 28% on Bedrock with Looting III.
- It has to be killed by a player (or a tamed wolf) to drop.
- Drowned that were converted from zombies never get tridents, so the popular zombie-drowning farms will not produce them.
Bedrock players have much better odds per kill, while Java players should expect to kill a good number of trident drowned before one drops. The tridents they drop come with random durability, and the wiki notes they can be enchanted.
Where to Find Drowned With Tridents
Drowned spawn in dark water in oceans and rivers, and in dripstone caves, and they also generate inside ocean ruins. The community wiki adds that on Java, ocean drowned only spawn below Y 58, while river drowned have no height limit, so deep enough rivers can spawn them even during the day.
A few tips for the hunt:
- Go at night and patrol a river or a stretch of ocean from a boat, watching for anything holding a three-pronged fork.
- Bring a Looting sword. Our best enchantments for every item guide covers Looting.
- Take cover from throws. Trident drowned attack from range, and a thrown trident hurts.
- Carry Respiration or Water Breathing if you plan to fight underwater.
The Zombie Nautilus Shortcut
Since the Mounts of Mayhem drop (Java 1.21.11 and Bedrock 1.21.130, December 2025), there is an easier way to spot trident drowned. Per Mojang’s Mounts of Mayhem changelog, the zombie nautilus “spawns with a Drowned rider wielding a Trident.” In other words, every drowned you see riding one is carrying the weapon you want. The community wiki adds that half of the trident drowned that spawn outside rivers come mounted this way.
Zombie nautilus jockeys roam oceans, and a coral-covered variant replaces the normal one in warm oceans. Kill the rider for your trident chance, then tame the nautilus it leaves behind with a pufferfish. Our guide to taming a nautilus covers that step.
Trial Chamber Vaults
Mojang’s Tricky Trials notes list the trident as a very rare vault reward in trial chambers. The community wiki puts the chance at about 2.1%. It is not a plan on its own, but every vault you open gives you another roll, and each player gets their own loot from the same vault. Our guide to finding trial chambers explains how to reach one.
How to Use a Trident
- Melee: press attack (left-click, RT, R2 or ZR) to stab. The community wiki lists 9 damage in melee.
- Throw: hold use (right-click, LT, L2 or ZL) to wind up, then release to throw it. A thrown trident does 8 damage per the wiki, and you pick it back up where it lands unless it has Loyalty.
The spear from the same drop is a separate weapon with its own charge attack; see our guide to using the spear if you picked one of those up while hunting.
Best Trident Enchantments and Repairs
Tridents have their own enchantments:
- Loyalty (up to III) makes a thrown trident fly back to you.
- Riptide (up to III) replaces the throw with a launch that carries you forward, but only when you are in water or out in the rain. It cannot be combined with Loyalty or Channeling.
- Channeling calls down lightning when a thrown trident hits a mob (or a lightning rod) during a thunderstorm. It works alongside Loyalty.
- Impaling (up to V) adds damage. The community wiki notes it only affects aquatic mobs on Java, while on Bedrock it hits any mob that is in water or rain.
- Unbreaking and Mending keep it alive; see our guide to getting Mending.
The usual choice is Loyalty plus Channeling for a throwing weapon, or Riptide for fast travel. To repair a trident, combine two tridents in an anvil (per the community wiki, the enchantments of both are kept), or rely on Mending. There is more in every Minecraft guide on the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you craft a trident in Minecraft? No. There is no crafting recipe. Tridents come from drowned and, rarely, trial chamber vaults.
What is the trident drop chance? Per the community wiki, 8.5% on Java and 25% on Bedrock from a drowned that is holding one, plus 1% per level of Looting.
Why are drowned not dropping tridents? Only drowned that spawned holding a trident can drop one, and drowned converted from zombies never carry them.
Can you get a trident on Bedrock and console? Yes. The method is the same on every platform, and Bedrock’s drop chance is higher.
Can Loyalty and Riptide go on the same trident? No. Riptide cannot be combined with Loyalty or Channeling.