What is Slowness in Minecraft?
Slowness is a negative status effect that slows how fast you walk, run, and swim. It does nothing to your mining speed or attack power. It only touches movement, which is exactly why it feels so bad when you catch it in a fight or while running from a mob.
You will know you have it from the icon in the top right of your screen and the gray-blue swirling particles that trail off your body. The higher the level, the slower you move, until at very high levels you can barely shuffle forward at all.
Slowness works on mobs too, so it is not purely a punishment. A splash Potion of Slowness thrown at a charging creeper or an escaping enemy player can buy you the second you need.
What Slowness actually does
Each level of Slowness cuts your movement speed by 15 percent. The effect is applied on top of your normal speed, so it scales up quickly. Slowness I is a mild drag. Slowness IV takes more than half your speed away. By the time you reach the command-only high levels, you are effectively rooted in place.
Here is how the levels break down and where each one normally comes from:
| Level | Speed reduction | Common source |
|---|---|---|
| Slowness I | 15% | Base potion, arrows, witches |
| Slowness II | 30% | Command |
| Slowness III | 45% | Command |
| Slowness IV | 60% | Potion of Slowness IV (glowstone) |
| Slowness V | 75% | Command |
| Slowness VI | 90% | Command |
| Slowness VII and up | Cannot move | Command |
Once the reduction hits 100 percent or more, your walking speed drops to zero and you are stuck until the effect ends or you cure it. That only happens through the /effect command, so you will not run into a full freeze during normal survival play.
Sprinting and swimming still work while you are slowed, but from a lower baseline, so a slowed sprint is slower than a normal walk at high levels. The reduction applies to your speed attribute directly, which is why it feels heavier than something like walking through soul sand. If you are mounted on a horse, pig, or in a boat or minecart, the vehicle uses its own movement speed, so Slowness on you does not slow the mount. That is a handy escape trick: hop on a horse and the effect stops mattering until you climb off.
Where Slowness comes from
In a normal world, Slowness reaches you in a handful of ways.
Potions
The Potion of Slowness is the main source. On its own it does nothing when you drink it, since slowing yourself down is rarely useful, so players almost always brew the splash or lingering version to throw at something else. A splash Potion of Slowness that lands near you applies the effect for its full duration.
Tipped arrows
An Arrow of Slowness carries the effect on impact. You make these by combining regular arrows with a lingering Potion of Slowness. The duration on an arrow is much shorter than the drinkable potion, but it is enough to slow a runner or a mob mid-chase from range.
Witches
Witches throw splash potions at players, and Slowness is one of them. If you fight a witch in the open, expect to get hit with Slowness along with Poison and Weakness. Closing the distance fast, before she can stack effects on you, is the usual answer.
The effect command
If you play with cheats on or run a server, /effect give @s slowness 30 3 applies Slowness III for 30 seconds. The command is the only way to reach levels above IV, and the only way to reach the full no-movement levels.
One thing worth separating out: standing in powder snow starts a freezing meter that also slows you down. That freezing slowdown is its own mechanic, not the Slowness status effect, so milk and the usual cures below will not touch it. Getting out of the snow and warming up is what fixes freezing.
How to brew a Potion of Slowness
Slowness is a corrupted potion, which means you build a positive potion first and then spoil it with a fermented spider eye. The path looks like this:
- Brew a Potion of Swiftness (Speed) or a Potion of Leaping (Jump Boost) the normal way, starting from an Awkward Potion.
- Add a fermented spider eye to that potion in the brewing stand. It turns into a Potion of Slowness.
You make a fermented spider eye from a spider eye, a brown mushroom, and sugar on the crafting grid. From the base Potion of Slowness you have a few ways to adjust it:
- Add redstone dust to stretch the duration to four minutes.
- Add glowstone dust to jump it to Slowness IV, which trades duration for a much stronger slow.
- Add gunpowder to turn it into a splash potion you can throw.
- Add dragon’s breath to a splash potion to make a lingering cloud.
For actual use, gunpowder is the ingredient that matters most. A splash or lingering version is the only reason to brew Slowness at all, since a thrown potion lets you slow enemies instead of yourself.
How to get rid of Slowness
Drinking a bucket of milk clears Slowness instantly, along with every other effect you have at the time. That is the fastest cure, and it is worth keeping a milk bucket in your hotbar before any fight where potions are flying. The catch is that milk also wipes your good effects, so you lose your Strength or Speed buffs in the same gulp.
If you would rather keep your buffs, you can simply wait the effect out. Slowness from a base potion lasts a minute and a half, and the arrow version is far shorter. Getting out of range of a witch or a splash potion stops fresh doses from landing while the timer runs down.
Using Slowness against mobs and players
Thrown Slowness shines in two spots. In PvP, a splash potion that catches an opponent mid-escape closes the gap for you and lets you land hits they cannot run from. Against mobs, a lingering cloud of Slowness in a doorway or choke point turns a swarm into slow-moving targets.
Arrows of Slowness are the ranged option. They pair well with a bow enchanted for damage, since a slowed target is easier to keep in your sights for follow-up shots. On a server with other players, a single Slowness arrow can decide a chase.
Slowness also pairs well with the blocks that already slow movement. Dropping a lingering cloud over soul sand, or funneling mobs through cobwebs while they are slowed, stretches the effect into a proper trap. A slowed mob crossing soul sand barely moves, which gives you all the time you need to line up hits or let a fall trap do the work.
The common mistake is brewing the drinkable version and forgetting to add gunpowder. A Potion of Slowness in your inventory that you can only drink is close to useless, since you almost never want to slow yourself. Always finish the recipe as a splash or lingering potion. The second mistake is throwing it too early in a fight, before the enemy commits, which wastes the short window where the slow matters most.
Java and Bedrock differences
Slowness behaves the same across both editions in the ways that matter: 15 percent per level, movement only, cleared by milk. Brewing recipes and potion durations line up as well, so a Potion of Slowness you learn to make on Java works the same on Bedrock. The freezing slowdown from powder snow also exists in both editions and stays separate from the Slowness effect in each.
Frequently asked questions
Does Slowness affect mining speed?
No. Slowness only slows movement. The effect that slows how fast you break blocks is Mining Fatigue, which is a different effect handed out by elder guardians.
Can you cure Slowness with milk?
Yes. A bucket of milk removes Slowness right away, but it also removes every other active effect, including any buffs you want to keep.
How long does Slowness last?
A base Potion of Slowness lasts one minute and thirty seconds. The extended version runs four minutes, the Slowness IV version is short at about twenty seconds, and arrows last only a few seconds on hit.
What is the highest level of Slowness?
Through potions you can reach Slowness IV. Using the /effect command you can go higher, and at Slowness VII and above your movement speed drops to zero, leaving you unable to walk.
Why would anyone brew a Potion of Slowness?
To throw it. The splash and lingering versions slow mobs and other players, which is useful in PvP and for crowd control. Drinking it yourself has almost no purpose.
Do witches give you Slowness?
Yes. Witches can throw a splash Potion of Slowness at you during a fight, usually alongside Poison and Weakness.
Does Slowness slow down your horse?
No. While you are riding a horse or any other mount, the mount’s own speed controls how fast you travel, so Slowness on the player has no effect until you dismount.
The short version
Slowness is a tool more than a threat once you understand it. Keep a milk bucket handy so a stray splash never ruins a fight, and if you want to weaponize it, brew the splash version and save it for the moment an enemy tries to run.