Fall Damage in Minecraft Explained: How High Can You Fall & Which Blocks Reduce It?

One of the most striking features of Minecraft are its hills and cliffs that dot the massive map. All players have found themselves at least once or twice in a situation where falling from a great height warrants a certain death sentence. However, not all falls are lethal, and there are some ways to avoid the fall damage altogether. Let’s see how it’s done.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated in October 2023 and it reflects the most up-to-date state of the game.

How is fall damage calculated in Minecraft?

Even though there are some mobs that are completely immune to fall damage in Minecraft, a player is not one of them unfortunately and plenty of players will die this way if the height is great enough.

Generally, the way fall damage works is that you lose half of the heart of health for every block fallen after you pass the first three blocks. Assuming that you have a full health bar while falling, a fall should prove to be lethal once it exceeds 23 blocks (or 23.5 to be more exact).

And even though this doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s actually pretty high and in no way something that a human could survive under regular circumstances, depending on what kind of terrain he’s falling on. Now that we’ve covered how fall damage is calculated and what kind of fall damage kills you, it’s time to see what to do about it.

How to reduce fall damage?

Armor generally doesn’t affect your fall damage in Minecraft at all but there are some approaches that you can utilize to, in the worst-case scenario, reduce the fall damage and those are:

1. Feather Falling enchantment
2. Protection enchantment
3. Slow Falling status effect
4. Resistance status effect
5. Sneaking
6. Jump Boost status effect

Feather Falling is an enchantment designed for falling off great heights

As far as Minecraft’s fall damage goes, there is one enchantment specifically that helps you combat it and it’s Feather Falling. Feather Falling is applied to boots and is able to reduce all forms of fall damage that players take. This means that if you have Feather Falling, your damage from Ender Pearl teleportation and mob riding fall damage will reduce significantly as well.

The highest level of Feather Falling, IV reduces damage by 48 %. Keep in mind however that this is one of the rarest enchantments to come across at the enchanting table.

Protection works well with feather falling

Protection is usually one of the most common armor enchantments and one of the best ones because it offers overall damage reduction for all forms of damage including fall damage. However, the upper limit of Protection is 80% meaning that it can’t block more than that.

Use a potion of Slow Falling

If you don’t have access to enchantment but know you’re going to have to face some great heights, the best option is to rely on a Slow Falling status effect which is primarily provided by Potions of Slow Falling.

Potion of Slow Falling is brewed by combining 1x phantom membrane with 1x awkward potion. Slow Falling status effect will cause you to fall much slower and all your fall damage will be negated.

Resistance is a general status effect but also reduces fall damage

Resistance status effects reduces damage from all sources except for the hunger and the void. This means that the damage taken during a fall should be absorbed by 20% x your level rate. Resistance can be acquired through Beacons set to resistance, enchanted golden apples, and Potions of Turtle Master.

Sneaking prevents you from falling in the first place

This isn’t exactly a way to reduce or negate fall damage as much as it is a trick to prevent fall damage completely. If you find yourself walking around ledges that are higher than a single block, try sneaking around since this will prevent you from falling over the ledge.

Jump boost reduces fall damage and increases your jump height

While the Jump boost status effect primarily serves to increase your jump height, it can help you with falling as well. The Jump Boost status effect reduces the effective fall distance by 1 block per level, meaning that while Jump Boost is active falling 5 blocks will count as if you have fallen only 3 blocks in total. You can get a jump boost through a beacon set to jump boost, a potion of leaping, and suspicious stew.

Which blocks in Minecraft reduce or negate fall damage?

Even though generally rare, there are several blocks that can completely eliminate or in worst case scenario reduce your fall damage and those blocks are:

1. Water
2. Slime Blocks
3. Hay Bales
4. Honey Blocks
5. Sweet Berry Bushes
6. Scaffolding
7. Beds

If you fall into the water there will be no fall damage

Even though players generally don’t consider water to be a block, it’s true water is one of the things in Minecraft that completely negates fall damage. If you jump from any height possible into a large enough body of water, you will survive.

Slime blocks cause you to bounce

Slime blocks will completely negate your fall damage but will cause you to bounce in the air. They aren’t as effective when it comes to exploring heights as you need 9x slime balls to create a single slime block with a limited radius.

Hay bales decrease fall damage by 20%

Just like in Assassins’s Creed, in Minecraft, hay bales are your friend as well. Falling onto a hay bale will reduce your overall fall damage by 20 percent. Hay bales are created by combining 9x wheat at the crafting table and can be often found near villages.

Honey block has the same effect as Hale Bale

Honey blocks will also significantly reduce your fall damage by 20% but there’s a catch, to create one you will need to combine 4 honey bottles, and it’s not as if they are plentiful in nature.

Sweet Berry Bush is a natural fall protection

Sweet Berry Bush is not only an excellent source of food in Minecraft, but it’s also one of the best blocks to fall onto because, like water, it will negate absolutely all fall damage. They most commonly appear in all types of taigas.

Scaffolding protects you but only if you’re sneaking

If you’re standing on at least two-block high scaffolding and you’re holding down sneak, there is a good chance that all your fall damage will be negated, no matter what height you’re on. Scaffolding is usually created with 6 pieces of bamboo and 1x string.

Jumping on the bed is useful in Minecraft

Bed, one of the most essential blocks in Minecraft can have a life-saving purpose if you utilize it to break your fall. Beds are able to absorb a staggering 50 % of fall damage while bouncing you in the air upon impact.

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