Swimming

Swimming is a form of transportation that allows the player to move in water.

Control

Entering swim mode.

Exiting swim mode.

Swimming is activated by pressing forward while in water.

Sprint-swimming can also be activated. To do this, the player can press sprint for 1 block gap while moving, or double tap forward. The player cannot sprint-swim if the hunger bar is at 6 () or below, or when affected by Blindness.

Sneaking when swimming allows the player to sink faster.

Usage

When swimming on the surface of still water, the player moves at 2.20 blocks per second. If the player is partially submerged in water, the player moves at 1.97 blocks per second. The player moves at 1.81 blocks per second when swimming downstream underwater, and moves at a slower 0.39 blocks per second while swimming upstream underwater.

Sprint-swimming

An animation showing the player swimming

Sprint-swimming allows the player to move at around 5.612 meters/second, which is 30 percent faster than the normal walking speed of around 4.317 m/s. The player can turn while sprint-swimming at a slightly reduced speed.

Sneaking while sprint-swimming allows the player to descend faster, and jumping allows the player to ascend faster. Therefore, the fastest way to descend underwater is to look directly downward, sprint-swim and sneak at the same time, and the fastest way to ascend underwater is to look directly upward, sprint-swim and jump at the same time.

With sprinting while swimming, it is possible to swim across the water horizontally. This allows the player to fit through one-block gaps, in a similar method to crawling.

By maneuvering the angle of swimming, it is possible to sprint-swim at the surface of a body of water, while still being able to breathe.

Sprint-swimming reduces the player's saturation, and upon reaching zero it depletes the hunger bar at a rate of ¹⁄₂ every 40 meters, or 7 seconds.

When a player attacks any mob (excluding squid) while sprint-swimming, the mob suffers a larger knockback than usual.

Sprint-swimming, like normal sprinting, ends when the player collides with a solid block, sneaks, blocks or attacks a mob. Additionally, sprint-swimming also ends if the hunger bar decreases to 6 () or below.

History

[hide]Java Edition Classic
0.0.12a							Added water, allowing the ability for the player to swim.
[hide]Java Edition
1.4.2			12w38a				Changed the sound when swimming in water.
1.13			18w07a				Added the ability to sprint while in water, which causes the player to dive to the ground and swim much faster.
			18w15a				Sprinting at the surface of water no longer makes the player swim, instead the player stays at the same altitude constantly.
							Swimming through 1 block holes is now possible.
			18w19a				Added the Dolphin's Grace status effect, creating a new way for the player to swim faster.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0							Added water and swimming.
?							Changed the sound when swimming in water.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.2.13 Experiment Experimental Gameplay			beta 1.2.13.8				Added the ability to sprint while in water, which causes the player to dive to the ground and swim much faster.
							Added new swimming animations.
							The new swimming features are currently behind Experimental Gameplay.
1.4.0			beta 1.2.14.2				When swimming near a dolphin, the player is granted an instant speed boost without the status effect for several seconds.
							The new swimming features are no longer behind Experimental Gameplay.
			beta 1.2.20.1				Players can now swim through 1x1 gaps.
1.5.0			beta 1.5.0.0				Improved player swimming at the surface of water.
1.14.0			beta 1.14.0.1				Players can no longer start swimming in 1-block deep water.
1.17.0			beta 1.16.230.56				Improved visibility when swimming in underwater caves.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added water and swimming.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Most mobs can now swim in water.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Added the ability to sprint while in water, which causes the player to dive to the ground and swim much faster.

Issues

Issues relating to "Swimming" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Renders

• 

  Alex

• 

  Alex with wide arms

• 

  Ari

• 

  Ari with slim arms

• 

  Efe

• 

  Efe with wide arms

• 

  Kai

• 

  Kai with slim arms

• 

  Makena

• 

  Makena with wide arms

• 

  Noor

• 

  Noor with wide arms

• 

  Steve

• 

  Steve with slim arms

• 

  Sunny

• 

  Sunny with slim arms

• 

  Zuri

• 

  Zuri with slim arms

Screenshots

• 

  Animation of a player swimming around in an ocean monument.

• 

  The first image of a player swimming in Bedrock Edition.

Trivia

• Sprinting and jumping while under a 1 block gap high ceiling causes a player to move at a speed almost twice as fast as regular sprinting speed, but it consumes a hunger point every second.
  • This can be sped up even more by decreasing the ceiling height using water source or by sprinting on ice.
  • A similar effect occurs if the player sprints and rapidly hits swim at the same time on a set of fish mobs.
• When affected by Dolphin's Grace‌, a player's speed is increased significantly while swimming.

See also

• Sprinting
• Crawling