Depth Strider vs Frost Walker

The difference

Depth Strider removes the water slowdown, fully at level III. Frost Walker turns water under you into ice, so you walk on top of it. It also protects you from magma blocks. They exclude each other on boots.

Frost Walker is a treasure enchantment, so you never get it from an enchanting table. Depth Strider comes from the table, librarians and loot.

Level by level

On fresh boots, Depth Strider III costs 6 levels as a book and Frost Walker II costs 4 levels. Both work with Feather Falling, Soul Speed and Protection on the same boots.

Which to pick, situation by situation

• Ocean monuments. Depth Strider III. You fight and mine underwater, where Frost Walker does nothing.
• Crossing rivers and lakes. Frost Walker. You walk straight over the surface instead of swimming.
• Building underwater. Depth Strider, together with Respiration and Aqua Affinity on the helmet.
• Nether and basalt deltas. Frost Walker helps here, because it stops damage from magma blocks.
• Ocean travel with a boat. Either works. Boats are faster than both, so pick the one that suits the rest of your play.
• Early game. Depth Strider. The enchanting table can offer it, while Frost Walker needs a villager or loot.

Max build with each

Here is what a full boots costs with each option, books combined in the cheapest order on fresh boots:

Open the Depth Strider build or the Frost Walker build in the calculator. The boots enchant order walks through every anvil step. The best boots enchantments page explains each book in the build.

Which items take each

• Depth Strider goes on boots. The enchanting table can offer it there directly.
• Frost Walker goes on boots. The enchanting table never offers it, so it always comes from a book.

What each one does

Depth Strider

Depth Strider makes you move faster in water. Each level removes a third of the water slowdown, so level III lets you walk underwater about as fast as on land.

• Depth Strider and Frost Walker exclude each other on boots: pick one.
• Dolphin's Grace stacks with it for very fast swimming.

Frost Walker

Frost Walker turns water under your feet into frosted ice as you walk, so you can cross oceans on foot. It also makes you immune to damage from magma blocks and campfires.

• It is a treasure enchantment: get it from villagers, fishing or chest loot, never from an enchanting table.
• Frosted ice melts after a while, so it is a bridge, not a building tool.

Where to get them and what they cost

• Depth Strider: max level III, from the enchanting table, librarian villagers and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 6 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Depth Strider III book for 11 to 45 emeralds.
• Frost Walker: max level II, from librarian villagers and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. Once you have one, a max book costs 4 levels on a fresh item. Librarians sell a Frost Walker II book for 16 to 64 emeralds. It is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table never offers it.

They are incompatible, so you choose one per item. Both can go on the boots. Whichever you pick, combine the books in the cheapest order with the enchantment calculator or follow the boots enchant order.

Good to know

Depth Strider is a normal enchantment, while Frost Walker is a treasure one. So a librarian charges double for Frost Walker: 16 to 64 emeralds for level II.

Both go next to Feather Falling, Soul Speed, Protection, Thorns, Unbreaking and Mending. So your choice only changes one book on otherwise identical boots.

How the speed changes

Without Depth Strider, water slows you down a lot when you walk along the bottom. Each level removes a third of that slowdown, so level III walks at about land speed. Frost Walker takes the opposite approach. It keeps you out of the water, so the slowdown never applies. However, the frosted ice melts after a while, so don't stand still on it for long.

Common mistakes

• Expecting Frost Walker underwater. Frost Walker only works at the surface. Once you sink, it does nothing.
• Freezing water you need. Frost Walker also freezes farm water and moats for a while. So take the boots off near your builds.
• Forgetting Dolphin's Grace. Depth Strider stacks with Dolphin's Grace, so swimming next to dolphins gets very fast.

Switching from one to the other

An anvil never swaps Depth Strider for Frost Walker. If you put a conflicting book on an item, the anvil shows no result at all. So the only way to switch on the same item is a grindstone. It strips every enchantment except curses, then you enchant the item again from scratch.

Boots are the cheapest place to keep a spare. Many players keep Frost Walker boots in a shulker box for long walks. If you do grind an item, the Java grindstone also clears its prior work penalty, so the rebuild costs the same as on new gear.

Java and Bedrock differences

In Java 26.3, Depth Strider and Frost Walker are incompatible. The anvil differs between the editions. Java charges the full new level of every book, plus 1 level for each conflicting enchantment it skips. Commands work with one /give in Java, using the enchantments component. This page shows the Java 26.3 numbers.

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