Brewing potions is an often-overlooked feature in Minecraft that offers a wide range of possibilities. You’ll find some truly powerful status effects here that you otherwise couldn’t get. From Invisibility to Strength, there’s a large variety of options. Brewing is also flexible, with splash potions, tipped arrows, or lingering potions for different situations. If you want to brew potions automatically, check out our potion brewery (Build an Automatic Potion Brewer in Minecraft: Guide & Tips) .
1. Brew and use Minecraft’s Potion of Water Breathing
- Ingredient: Pufferfish
Normally, you can only hold your breath underwater for a short time, but if you drink this potion, your air bubble bar stops decreasing, and with Redstone you can stay underwater for up to eight minutes. You should absolutely brew this potion if you’re searching for treasure at sea or planning long underwater builds. A permanent alternative is an active Conduit, which lets you breathe underwater, see better, and mine faster.
2. Use a Potion of Fire Resistance properly in the Nether
- Ingredient: Magma Cream
If you’re traveling in the Nether or descending into deep caves, a Potion of Fire Resistance is your best safety net. One wrong step and you can land in lava and burn within seconds. With this potion, however, you’re immune to all fire damage and can even take a dip in a lava pool without burning. You can also occasionally obtain it via Piglin bartering as a splash potion.
3. Potion of Night Vision for clear sight in darkness
- Ingredient: Golden Carrot
Carrots are known to be good for your eyes, and in Minecraft a Golden Carrot lets you see perfectly. Night Vision ensures you can easily see in dark places like caves, the Nether, underwater, or at night. It’s super practical and should basically always be in your inventory when you head into dark areas.
4. Potion of Weakness to cure Zombie Villagers
- Ingredient: Fermented Spider Eye
Don’t use the Potion of Weakness on yourself—that would be pretty silly. It reduces the damage you deal to others. This potion is essential when you want to convert a Zombie Villager into a normal Villager. Learn why that matters in our guide (Minecraft Villager Trading: Permanent Discounts with Zombie Curing) . You’ll also need a Golden Apple.
5. Potion of Slow Falling to prevent fall damage in the End
- Ingredient: Phantom Membrane
Fall damage can be deadly in any game, but in Minecraft it’s especially tragic. It’s easy to misjudge a ledge or accidentally fall into a hole. The Potion of Slow Falling can negate that. It’s particularly useful in the End when fighting the Ender Dragon or Shulkers. After all, the last thing you want is to die from a hard impact with the ground, right?
6. Potion of Harming as a Lingering Potion for crowd control
- Ingredient: Fermented Spider Eye + Potion of Healing
You definitely shouldn’t drink this potion yourself—it deals 3 hearts of damage instantly, and 6 hearts at level II. However, it’s perfect as a lingering potion to control groups. It deals damage every second as long as mobs or players remain in the cloud. That adds up to between 7.5 and 15 hearts of damage in just five seconds. Keep in mind it doesn’t work against undead—it heals them.
7. Potion of Invisibility for PvP and multiplayer
- Ingredient: Fermented Spider Eye + Potion of Night Vision
You can brew an upgraded potion from Night Vision to make yourself invisible. In single-player that’s usually not very useful, but in multiplayer you can use this effect to trick your opponents. Be careful though: your armor is still visible, and particles swirl around you. You’re not completely invisible. In PvP, it can still buy you a few valuable seconds.
8. Potion of the Turtle Master for more resistance
- Ingredient: Turtle Shell
This potion is often underestimated; you brew it using a Turtle Shell. It makes you slower but also grants resistance to attacks—that applies to all damage except hunger. That’s useful in both PvE and PvP, helping you survive dangerous situations or boost your defense. Yes, you’ll move more slowly, but the Resistance is absolutely worth it.
9. Potion of Strength for maximum weapon damage
- Ingredient: Blaze Powder
Of course, there’s also a potion that simply makes you stronger. Use Blaze Powder to brew a Potion of Strength, which is especially good against bosses. Sometimes you can also find this potion as loot, for example in Trial Chambers. In Java Edition, each level adds 3 damage (1.5 hearts), so Strength II adds +6 damage (3 hearts) to your melee attacks, regardless of the weapon you’re swinging.
10. Potion of Swiftness: move and farm faster
- Ingredient: Sugar
The Potion of Swiftness increases your movement speed, making it ideal for exploration, quick escapes in PvP, and long journeys. With Redstone, you can extend its duration up to eight minutes. In tight caves, over long distances, and during large build projects, you’ll noticeably save time and move more efficiently.
Conclusion on Minecraft potions: underrated and extremely useful
Don’t sleep on potions in Minecraft—they’re useful in many different situations. Whether in combat, for travel, or even for certain farms, potions are highly versatile. You can even build an automatic brewing setup so you never have to hunt for ingredients and craft them manually again. Gear up for your adventures and avoid unnecessary deaths with the right potions in Minecraft.
If you want to try your hand at brewing, rent one of our Minecraft servers and play with friends. Especially in PvP, the true strength of some potions shines, helping you secure fights more quickly.
