Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Respiration Enchantment in Minecraft: What It Does
Respiration lets you stay underwater longer: each level gives a chance not to lose air, so Respiration III makes your breath last about four times as long, around a minute. Pair it with Aqua Affinity for underwater work.
Respiration at a glance
| Max level | III |
| Goes on | Helmets |
| Cannot combine with | None. |
| Where to get it | Enchanting tables, librarians, fishing and loot. |
Get enchantments from an enchanting table with bookshelves, from enchanted books on an anvil, from librarian villagers, or as loot (a few, like Wind Burst, only come from special loot such as ominous vaults); see enchanting and anvils.
What does Respiration do?
Every tick underwater there is a chance your air does not go down, higher with each level. More: drowning and air.
More about Respiration
Water Breathing potions and Conduit Power stop air loss entirely, but Respiration costs nothing to keep and never runs out, so it belongs on every helmet.
Enchanting tables use lapis lazuli and experience levels, anvils combine books and gear, and librarians sell books. Treasure enchantments only come from loot, trading and fishing, never the table, and higher levels cost more experience to apply and repair.
An enchanted book combines with an item of the right type at an anvil, and two books or items with the same enchantment at the same level merge into the next level up. Each anvil use raises the item's repair cost, so plan the order of your combinations and add Mending early.
Tips for Respiration
Respiration III plus Aqua Affinity and Depth Strider make a full underwater kit. Every enchantment: every enchantment.
Does ArtemisPvP have custom enchants too?
Frequently asked questions
How long can you stay underwater with Respiration III?
About 64 seconds of air on average.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.