What is the Breath of the Nautilus effect in Minecraft?

Minecraft features numerous mechanics that make the game more interesting. Apart from fighting hostile mobs, growing food, and mining for useful metals, you can get special abilities called “status effects.” These abilities can be unlocked using potions, mobs, and the beacon.

With the upcoming Mounts of Mayhem update, a new status effect will be added to an already long list, and fans are not complaining, as more unique effects make Minecraft more fun to play. The upcoming effect is called the Breath of the Nautilus and is closely tied to the nautilus mob, also a part of the fourth and final game drop of this year.

The Breath of the Nautilus effect allows you to breathe underwater, which makes sense, as the entire use of the nautilus mob is to help you explore the ocean. Here’s everything about this upcoming status effect and how it might be the first step towards a major ocean update.

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Using the Breath of Nautilus effect in Minecraft

The nautilus mob will soon be coming to Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

The nautilus will be an underwater mob that can be tamed using pufferfish. You can equip the saddle on it and ride it to explore the underwater world of Minecraft. But remaining underwater also requires special potions and tools so that you don't need to come to the surface to regain your breath.

While you can make Potion of Water Breathing, the effect remains only for some time. Dependence on a potion would have severely limited the use of the nautilus mob, but the developers added the Breath of the Nautilus status effect, which automatically activates when you are riding a nautilus or a zombie nautilus.

As long as you are on the nautilus, this status effect will keep replenishing every two seconds. You do not have to make Potion of Water Breathing to remain underwater, which also presents a new and interesting PvP mechanic.

For example, in a PvP match, if one player dismounts the other using the spear and then kills the mob, the other player must return to the surface on time before the oxygen runs out.

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The potential for an ocean update

The ocean needs more interesting structures and mobs that are worth exploring (Image via Mojang Studios)

The nautilus mob and the Breath of the Nautilus effect might be the first step towards a proper Minecraft ocean update. For a long time, Mojang Studios did not work on any substantial update for the underwater biome, and you can see that when you dive into the ocean in-game; apart from the ocean monument and some plants, there is nothing worth exploring.

But since there will be a mob with the entire purpose of underwater exploration and combat, perhaps the developers could work on a major ocean update to add more mobs in it, more biomes and structures, and maybe even some mini-bosses.