The trident is one of the most powerful and rarest of weapons in Minecraft. The trident appeared in the game with version 1.13 of the game, also known as the Update Aquatic.
Tridents cannot be crafted, and the only way to get them is via loot drops after killing Drowned — those notorious underwater zombies. To make things worse, the Minecraft trident only appears with a small percentage of Drowned (15% in Bedrock Edition and only 6.25% in the Java edition), and the drop rate of the trident after you kill a Drowned with one is only 8.25%. You can improve the drop rate substantially if your weapon has the looting enchantment, but the success rate is still quite low.
Long story short: prepare yourself for a long grind of finding and killing Drowned before you get your trident.
Where to Find Drowned
Drowned spawn naturally in ocean and river biomes deep underwater at light level 0. In ocean biomes, they only spawn at six blocks below sea level or lower. You can find groups of Drowned already spawned near Ocean Ruins, and hunting for these spots is usually a faster way than waiting around underwater for individual Drowned to spawn.
As mentioned above, only 6.25% of Drowned in the Java edition spawn holding a trident.
Fighting the Drowned
When you’re lucky enough to see a trident-wielding Drowned spawn, get ready for a fight. The trident is both a ranged and melee weapon, and it does heavy damage. So prepare to have a difficult battle ahead of you.
You can improve your chances greatly with the Projectile Projection enchant on your armor. And you can maximize your time safely underwater with the Respiration and Depth Strider enchantments. These allow you to breathe underwater for a longer time, and move underwater at normal speed — a crucial improvement when engaging in combat with trident-wielding Drowned.
Getting the Trident
Once you defeat the Drowned holding a trident, there is an 8.5% chance it will drop it. If so, lucky you! Just walk over to pick it up, and you’re now the proud owner of one of the rarest weapons in Minecraft.
Proper Care for Your Trident
After so much time grinding through Drowned to get your trident, there are a few enchantments you’ll want to put on it to maximize its abilities and longevity. Tridents have notoriously low durability — it’s a shame to spend that much time finding one, only to have it fall apart on you very quickly.
The first enchantment you should put on your Trident is Mending. The Mending enchant cannot be crafted on an enchanting table, and must be found out in the wild — either through fishing or in treasure chests. It’s rare, but worth it because it will keep your Trident from breaking due to lost durability. You’ll give up a little experience, since the XP normally gained from killing mobs with the trident now gets spent on its repair.
If finding a Mending enchant is too difficult, Unbreaking is a solid backup. Unbreaking level III is recommended for your Trident, and it will increase its lifespan. Eventually, you’ll need to get a second trident to replace or repair the one you already have, but the Unbreaking enchant will give your hard-won trident a much longer lifespan.
