Swimming is a game mechanic that allows a player to move in any direction (horizontally or vertically) while underwater in a Minecraft world. A player may also swim across the Water's surface.

File:SwimmingSteve.png

This mechanic functions the same way when swimming in lava, but if playing in survival mode, a player will not be able to stay in the lava for long before they burn to death unless they have Fire Resistance.

Overview

In Java Edition, swimming is achieved by pressing (or holding down) space while on the PS3 edition this is achieved by pressing and/or holding  . In the Xbox editions, swimming is achieved by pressing and/or holding A. Swimming is necessary to survive in nearly every environment containing water since only two blocks-deep of water are needed for a player to drown.

Players move slower when swimming than on land.

Modifying factors