Minecraft: How To Make A Splash Potion Of Weakness

To learn how to make a splash potion of weakness, you only need to remember two brewing steps: add a Fermented Spider Eye to a Water Bottle, then add Gunpowder to the resulting Potion of Weakness. Your Brewing Stand also needs Blaze Powder as fuel. You do not need Nether Wart.

That recipe functions in both the Java Edition and the Bedrock Edition; below are the ingredient amounts, the instructions for the brewing slot, the differences in duration, and the additional steps required to cure a zombie villager.

Ingredients and Equipment You Need

Gather everything before opening the Brewing Stand. I recommend filling all three bottle slots if you have enough glass, because the ingredient cost is the same as brewing one bottle.

The Brewing Stand is reusable and the fuel it contains will last longer than one recipe. All you use when preparing this batch is the bottles, the brewing ingredients, and part of the stored fuel.

Getting a Brewing Stand

You can craft a Brewing Stand using one Blaze Rod and three Cobblestone blocks. On a crafting table, place the rod in the center slot and the three Cobblestone blocks across the bottom row.

You can also locate Brewing Stands in the churches of villages, in igloo basements, and in End ships. Although finding one means that you save on the crafting materials, it does not eliminate the need for brewing fuel.

Preparing Water Bottles and Gunpowder

Form glass bottles by arranging three glass blocks in a V shape and then place the bottles on a water source. Make sure that the item name changes to Water Bottle, since an empty Glass Bottle cannot be used as a potion base.

Gunpowder commonly comes from killing creepers before they explode. Keep it separate from your Blaze Powder, since the two powders have different jobs in this recipe.

How to Obtain a Fermented Spider Eye

To make a Fermented Spider Eye, mix together one Spider Eye, one Brown Mushroom, and one Sugar. Since this is a shapeless recipe, it makes no difference in which positions these items are placed in the crafting grid.

The Spider Eye fermentation recipe uses a Brown Mushroom specifically. A Red Mushroom will not substitute for it.

Here is a straightforward way to gather the ingredients:

1. Get a Spider Eye: Kill spiders or cave spiders yourself for a chance at a drop.
2. Find a Brown Mushroom: Look in suitable shaded areas, caves, swamps, or dark forests.
3. Make Sugar: Put Sugar Cane into your crafting grid.
4. Combine the three items: Collect the Fermented Spider Eye from the output slot.

An ordinary Spider Eye and a Fermented Spider Eye are separate brewing ingredients. Check the item name before brewing, especially if you keep both in the same chest.

Step by Step: How to Make a Splash Potion of Weakness

The simplest approach is to prepare the drinkable Weakness potion first and then turn it into the throwable one. Make sure to note the names of the bottles at each stage so that you can spot any errors before adding another ingredient.

1. Add Blaze Powder to the Fuel Slot

Open the Brewing Stand and put the Blaze Powder into the small fuel slot on the left. Since the stand is used for storing brewing fuel, you might not need to add any more if the fuel meter already has enough.

Blaze Powder powers the stand rather than creating Weakness in this recipe. According to the explanation of Brewing Stand fuel capacity, one Blaze Powder supports up to 20 brewing operations.

2. Place Water Bottles in the Bottom Slots

Put one, two, or three Water Bottles into the bottom bottle slots. I would use all three slots when possible, since each brewing operation processes the bottles together.

Start directly from water for this method. Adding Nether Wart creates an Awkward Potion and adds an unnecessary step to the straightforward Weakness recipe.

3. Brew With a Fermented Spider Eye

Place one Fermented Spider Eye in the top ingredient slot. Wait for the brewing progress to finish, which normally takes about 20 seconds.

Check the bottles before continuing. They should now be named Potion of Weakness, rather than Water Bottle.

4. Add Gunpowder

Leave the Potions of Weakness in the bottom slots and place one Gunpowder in the top ingredient slot. Wait for the second brewing operation to finish.

The finished item should be named Splash Potion of Weakness. The general rule for turning a regular potion into a splash potion is to brew it with Gunpowder.

5. Move the Finished Potions to Your Hotbar

Remove the splash potions from the stand and place them in a position where you can select them easily. When you intend to cure a zombie villager, place a Golden Apple next to the potion in your hotbar before you approach.

The time needed for the two necessary brewing stages is about 40 seconds, provided that you don’t include the time taken to collect the materials and make the items. Brewing three bottles at the same time requires the same amount of brewing time as brewing one.

Java vs. Bedrock: How Long Does the Potion Last?

The ingredient recipe is the same in both editions, but the splash potion’s duration differs. A shorter duration on Bedrock does not mean you brewed the wrong potion.

These are the base durations for the potion versions. Splash application can give a shorter effect when the target is farther from the impact, so aim directly at the target rather than relying on a distant splash.

Making an Extended Splash Potion

To extend the potion, add Redstone Dust after brewing Weakness and before adding Gunpowder. This creates the extended regular potion first, which you then convert into the splash version.

For curing a zombie villager, I recommend the basic version. You only need Weakness active when you use the Golden Apple, so the longer duration is usually unnecessary.

How to Use the Potion to Cure a Zombie Villager

The Splash Potion of Weakness begins the procedure but is unable to carry out the cure by itself; you have to use a normal Golden Apple on the zombie villager while the effect is active.

Prepare a covered enclosure before throwing anything. The zombie villager can still attack, and sunlight or nearby hostile mobs can ruin the attempt.

1. Confirm the mob is a zombie villager. An ordinary zombie cannot be turned into a villager with this method.
2. Secure it under a solid roof. Keep it away from sunlight and other threats.
3. Select the Splash Potion of Weakness. Aim directly at the trapped zombie villager and use the throw control.
4. Immediately select the Golden Apple. Use it on the zombie villager rather than eating it yourself.
5. Look for the conversion response. Shaking and a change in particles indicate that curing has started.
6. Keep the enclosure secure. Conversion takes several minutes, so protect the mob while you wait.

A regular Golden Apple is crafted by surrounding one Apple with eight Gold Ingots. You do not need an Enchanted Golden Apple, and a Golden Carrot will not work.

Once the Golden Apple starts the conversion, you do not need to keep throwing Weakness potions. The potion’s countdown and the conversion process are separate.

Be Careful With Old Trading Advice

Curing can improve villager trading, but older guides sometimes recommend repeatedly infecting and curing the same villager to stack discounts. In Java Edition, the change to repeated curing discounts removed the extra discount from curing that same villager multiple times.

I would focus on completing one safe cure instead of building a plan around an old discount trick. Server plugins and modified worlds may also change trading behavior.

Common Brewing Problems and Their Fixes

The majority of failed attempts are due to using the wrong bottle, the wrong ingredient, or having an empty fuel meter; make sure you check those three items before obtaining any more materials.

Does Adding Gunpowder First Ruin the Recipe?

No, adding Gunpowder to water first creates Splash Water Bottles rather than wasting the bottles. You can then brew those with a Fermented Spider Eye to make Splash Potions of Weakness.

For a first attempt, I still recommend making Weakness before adding Gunpowder. The intermediate item names make that sequence easier to follow.

Why Is the Potion Not Stopping Enemy Attacks?

Weakness has an effect on melee attack damage but does not cause enemies to freeze or make them friendly; a zombie villager can still move towards you and attack when it is affected.

It also does not function as general protection against every attack type. Do not expect it to reduce a skeleton’s arrow damage or replace armor, cover, and distance.