Potion Brewing Guide & Full Chart
Brewing turns a handful of nether ingredients into some of the strongest utility in the game — fire immunity for nether trips, invisibility for Ancient City raids, weakness for villager curing. Here is every recipe that matters, in one searchable chart.
Brewing stand setup
- Craft a brewing stand from 1 blaze rod + 3 cobblestone (blaze rods come from blazes in nether fortresses).
- Fuel it with blaze powder — one powder runs 20 brewing operations.
- Each operation converts up to 3 bottles at once — always brew in batches of three.
- Fill glass bottles at any water source or cauldron to start.
Potion bases
Everything starts from a water bottle. The first ingredient determines the base:
| Base potion | Ingredient | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Awkward Potion | Nether wart | The essential base — required for nearly every effect potion. |
| Mundane Potion | Sugar, redstone, ghast tear, glistering melon, spider eye, magma cream, blaze powder, rabbit's foot, etc. | No effect. Mostly a dead end. |
| Thick Potion | Glowstone dust | No effect. Mostly a dead end. |
| Potion of Weakness | Fermented spider eye | The one useful direct brew — needed to cure zombie villagers. |
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Full potion chart
All effect potions brewable in survival. Durations are for Java Edition 1.21; Redstone extends, Glowstone amplifies (you can only apply one of the two).
| Potion | Awkward Potion + | Base duration | Redstone ext. | Glowstone II |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swiftness | Sugar | 3:00 · +20% speed | 8:00 | 1:30 · +40% speed |
| Slowness | corrupt Swiftness/Leaping | 1:30 · −15% speed | 4:00 | 0:20 · Slowness IV (−60%) |
| Leaping | Rabbit's foot | 3:00 · +½ block jump | 8:00 | 1:30 · +1¼ blocks |
| Strength | Blaze powder | 3:00 · +3 attack dmg | 8:00 | 1:30 · +6 attack dmg |
| Healing | Glistering melon slice | Instant · +4 ❤ | — | Instant · +8 ❤ |
| Harming | corrupt Healing/Poison | Instant · 6 dmg | — | Instant · 12 dmg |
| Poison | Spider eye | 0:45 | 1:30 | 0:21 · Poison II |
| Regeneration | Ghast tear | 0:45 | 1:30 | 0:22 · Regen II |
| Fire Resistance | Magma cream | 3:00 | 8:00 | — |
| Night Vision | Golden carrot | 3:00 | 8:00 | — |
| Invisibility | corrupt Night Vision | 3:00 | 8:00 | — |
| Water Breathing | Pufferfish | 3:00 | 8:00 | — |
| Slow Falling | Phantom membrane | 1:30 | 4:00 | — |
| Weakness | water bottle + fermented spider eye | 1:30 · −4 attack dmg | 4:00 | — |
| Turtle Master | Turtle scute | 0:20 · Slowness IV + Resistance III | 0:40 | 0:20 · Resistance IV |
| Wind Charged | Breeze rod | 3:00 | — | — |
| Weaving | Cobweb | 3:00 | — | — |
| Oozing | Slime block | 3:00 | — | — |
| Infestation | Stone block | 3:00 | — | — |
💡 Farm the essentials early
Nether wart (fortress stairwells), blaze rods/powder (blazes), and a ghast tear or two cover 90% of useful brewing. Grow nether wart on soul sand back at base — it grows in any dimension.
Which potion, which situation
A quick picker for the brews players actually reach for. Brew the Awkward base first, then extend the time-sinks with redstone.
| Situation | Take this | Ingredient | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nether & lava | Fire Resistance (8:00) | Magma cream | Non-negotiable near lava and bastions. |
| Ancient City / Warden | Invisibility (8:00) | corrupt Night Vision | Move silently; add Swift Sneak trim. |
| Boss & melee | Strength (8:00) | Blaze powder | +3 dmg; Glowstone II = +6. |
| Fleeing mobs | Swiftness (8:00) | Sugar | +20% speed; II for +40% burst. |
| Void / fall risk | Slow Falling (4:00) | Phantom membrane | Soft landings over the End void. |
| Ocean monuments | Water Breathing (8:00) | Pufferfish | Breathe freely underwater. |
| Night caving | Night Vision (8:00) | Golden carrot | Cheap, long-lasting. |
| Healing | Healing / Regen | Glistering melon / Ghast tear | Instant or 45s; II doubles both. |
Fermented spider eye corruption
A fermented spider eye (spider eye + brown mushroom + sugar) “corrupts” a potion, usually flipping its effect:
| Start with | + Fermented spider eye → |
|---|---|
| Swiftness | Slowness |
| Leaping | Slowness |
| Healing | Harming |
| Poison | Harming |
| Night Vision | Invisibility |
| Fire Resistance | Slowness |
| Water Breathing | Harming |
Splash, lingering & tipped arrows
- Gunpowder → converts any potion to a splash (throwable) version. Perfect for weakness + golden apple villager curing, or healing your team mid-fight.
- Dragon's breath → converts a splash potion to lingering, leaving a lingering effect cloud. Collect dragon's breath in bottles during the Ender Dragon fight.
- Tipped arrows: 8 arrows around a lingering potion = 8 tipped arrows carrying that effect (Java).
⚠️ Redstone XOR Glowstone
You can extend (redstone) or amplify (glowstone), never both. For utility potions like Fire Resistance and Night Vision, extended 8:00 versions are almost always the right call.
FAQ
What is the most important potion base?
The Awkward Potion (water bottle + nether wart). Every useful effect potion except Weakness starts from it.
How do you make a Potion of Weakness?
Brew a water bottle directly with a fermented spider eye — no nether wart needed. It is essential for curing zombie villagers (splash weakness + golden apple).
How do splash and lingering potions work?
Add gunpowder for a throwable splash potion; add dragon's breath to a splash potion for a lingering version that leaves an effect cloud and crafts tipped arrows.
What fuel does a brewing stand use?
Blaze powder — one piece fuels 20 brewing operations.
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