Difference between Loyalty I and Loyalty III in Minecraft

Tridents are one of the most unique weapons in Minecraft. They can't be crafted or found in loot. The only way to obtain them is to be fortunate enough to see a slain drowned drop one. 15% of the drowned in Bedrock Edition (6.25% in Java Edition) spawn with a trident and those have an 8.5% chance of dropping one.

Once players get their hands on one, they have the option to enchant it. Other than Mending I and any of the three levels of Unbreaking, tridents only have access to exclusive enchantments that cannot be applied to anything else.

Loyalty is an enchantment that can only go on a trident. It goes up to level three and here's where the difference lies.

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What Loyalty I does in Minecraft compared to Loyalty III

Tridents can be used as projectile weapons. Crafters can hold down the use button with a trident in their hand to prepare a throw and release it when ready. The downside to that is that they'll have to retrieve the trident afterwards, which may be difficult.

That's where Loyalty enchantments come into play. With Loyalty, a trident will always return to the player's hands. On the off chance that they die before the trident returns, the item will drop and can eventually despawn.

Loyalty I, II and III all do the same thing, but to a slower degree. Loyalty I is the slowest and Loyalty III is the fastest. There's currently no indication from Mojang or the Minecraft Wiki as to how fast each level is, but the difference between I and III is significant.

Loyalty is very helpful in certain situations. In the End, elements and equipment that go into the void are lost forever. However, if players happen to throw their trident at something and it ends up falling into the void, all is not lost.

With Loyalty enchantments, the trident will return after 15 blocks in the void. Unfortunately for Java players, this is a Bedrock Edition exclusive feature.

It should also be noted that while tridents can be used in dispensers, they will not return when enchanted. The enchantment only works if a player throws the trident themselves.

Enchanted trident (Image via Mojang)

Loyalty I, II or III can be acquired in a few different ways. An enchantment table is the easiest way to get it, as the enchantments can be cycled through until the preferred one is available.

Librarian Minecraft villagers can also trade for books. They can also be collected through fishing or loot chests, but those enchanted books are random.

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