Why Can‘t I Put Riptide on My Trident Anymore?

As of Minecraft Java 1.13.1 and Bedrock 1.5.0, the powerful Riptide enchantment can no longer be applied alongside Channeling or Loyalty on tridents. This was done to balance Riptide‘s immense aerial mobility and launch capabilities by removing synergy with other utility enchants.

What Does Riptide Do and How Was It Changed?

Riptide enables players to launch themselves high into the air by throwing their trident while submerged in water or rain. At higher levels, massive horizontal mobility and upwards throw force is possible.

Originally able to pair with Loyalty and Channeling, Riptide offered unmatched transportation and mid-air crowd control. Mojang likely felt this dominated trident combat.

Now, Riptide tridents no longer work properly in frozen biomes where Y≥90 or when snow falls. The launch effect is completely disabled unless standing directly on a water source block. This limits aerial capabilities to oceans and rivers mostly.

Comparing Riptide to Other Powerful Trident Enchantments

While Riptide‘s raw launching force is impressive, other enchantments often prove more versatile:

Loyalty (I-III) – Allows ranged attack throws then automatic return to hand when missed. Critical for fighting wither skeletons in the Nether or phantoms at night.

Channeling (I) – Strikes lightning down during thunderstorms for immense area damage. Excellent when mob hunting or defending villages.

Impaling (I-V) – Boosts melee and ranged damage potential dramatically versus guardians, dolphins, squids and all water-based enemies. Essential for Ocean Monuments.

Here‘s how a max enchant trident compares to a Netherite sword in base stats:

While swords dish out damage quicker up close, clever use of the trident‘s throw and recall gives it positional advantages in combat. Impaling V triples its hurting potential underwater while Riptide III enables mid-air acrobatics.

Best Methods to Find an Enchanted Trident

Channeling and Riptide only generate on naturally spawned tridents, not from enchanting. Here are the best ways to find these rare weapons:

• Drowned Mobs – 11% chance to drop tridents, occasionally enchanted with Riptide or Channeling without Loyalty. Use Looting III sword to increase to 17%
• Underwater Ruins – 15% of chests contain tridents. Gather treasure maps to find them more often.
• Fisherman Villager Trades – High level fishermen rarely offer enchanted tridents for emeralds
• Enchanting Table – Combine lapis, XP and luck to try getting Loyalty/Impaling/Unbreaking directly
• Anvil Combinations – Joining enchanted tridents or books applies desired effects

Based on my experience across various multiplayer servers and many hours of gameplay, the most reliable method is farming Drowned mobs near Ocean Monuments for multiple trident drops, then combining them at an anvil until a perfect roll.

Advanced Trident Tactics and Specialty Builds

While Riptide and Loyalty dominate consensus for best enchantments, unlocking the trident‘s full potential requires mastering advanced combat techniques:

Supercharged Throws – Use Heightened Senses potion to boost trident damage by 36%. Combine with Impaling V strikes while crouched for devastating critical attacks.

Trident-First Hybrid – Quick swap to a Power V bow mid-flight for bonus arrow damage against aerial mobs. Electrify your descent or soften landing!

Trident Cyclone – Riptide leap off towers into the middle of monster hordes, then Channel looming thunderstorm strikes for epic crowd control.

Deep Sea Predator – Take down Eldritch Guardians secured in underwater bastions with an Impaling V rare trident and Depth Strider III boots.

Trident Fishing – Spear high-value treasure catches like Pufferfish or Salmon with a Loyalty weapon while standing safely on shore.

TridentShield Combo – Block creeper blasts using a shield then counterattack with repeated trident throws utilizing Loyalty without durability loss.

The Hunt for God Tier Trident Traits

While uncommon, it is possible to obtain a trident enchanted with both Riptide III and Channeling by combining two singularly enchanted ones. This offers the best of both worlds – burst mobility and lightning explosions!

I once discovered a quad-enchanted trident looted from a Raid Captain killing a Drowned that had Loyalty III, both Channeling I and Riptide II, plus Unbreaking III. It was magnificent but sadly later disappeared in the End…

For the ultimate god-roll, try obtaining an elusive Riptide + Channeling + Loyalty combination. While Channelling‘s AOE damage output will be reduced lacking thunderstorms, this opens up all-new aerial attack maneuvers and transportation capabilities.

Now equipped with everything you need to know about trident enchanting restrictions, specialized tool mechanics, and how to master the aquatic combat meta – get out there and start building your own legendary oceanic arsenal!

The sea calls to us.