Water
Template:Premium Water was added in build 415 as a feature for premium servers. You can swim in the water, but once you enter the water, a swim (or breath) meter appears, displayed by a number of bubbles. The default amounts are:
The bubbles slowly deplete while in the water. If you run out, you will start losing health, 0.5 hearts at a time, and eventually die. As you begin to drown the screen will darken and flash red for each time damage is taken. The swim meter will begin to refill itself if you get out of the water onto land. It is important to note that simply swimming to the surface of the water does not refill the meter.
Contents
Physics
Water creates several unique physics interactions.
Underwater Movement
While underwater, movement of all objects and players is slowed down in all directions. Players will slowly sink in water, but can stay afloat by holding up or sink faster by holding down. Objects lose their momentum quickly when they enter water. For example, an archer who fires an arrow down at the water will see that the arrow will slow down greatly when it hits the water. It is the same with catapult rocks and collapsing blocks. While an arrow loses its danger without speed, slow-moving blocks from a collapse are still dangerous and should be avoided while underwater.
Floating/Sinking
Certain objects will naturally float on water, including:
Others will naturally sink to the bottom, such as:
Skipping
An object thrown or launched across the surface of water can bounce back up when thrown at a low enough angle. This applies mostly to arrows shot near the surface at full power, and to bombs thrown at a great speed. Skipping is especially useful for attacking a vulnerable area from a low angle at a longer distance than can be reached by simply throwing.
Knight Surfing
Knight surfing is an effective and fast technique for knights to travel across water. Surfing is almost like skipping on your shield for several bounces. The ability to surf across large stretches of water quickly makes knights especially useful in War matches.
How to surf
- Position yourself between 1 and 5 blocks above the water.
- Jump up, while moving in the direction you want to travel, and then hold the right mouse button to bring out your shield. Point the shield downwards towards the water by moving your cursor below your character.
- When your character hits the water you must keep your cursor in the same position and the same keys pressed, otherwise you will stop surfing.
Additional Surfing Information
Each time a knight bounces while surfing, the bounce is slightly reduced in height. When you lose enough momentum, you will stop surfing and begin to sink. It is possible to start surfing again by performing a slash jump while in the water. There a few steps needed to do this:
- Drop slightly below the surface of the water.
- Begin to charge a slash, while moving up and left/right.
- Release the slash as you reach the surface of the water. (This may require some timing.)
- Shield down as you fall, and continue surfing on your merry way!
Surfing is an advanced technique, and is difficult to get right. In order to surf, you must have enough (but not too much) vertical momentum, which you get by jumping. If you start surfing while the water is receding you will surf farther than if you started when the water was rising.
Gameplay Tips
- Generally, the safest way to cross a body of water is by building a bridge over the water, but it's not always necessary.
- You can protect yourself from archer fire by hiding underwater (for some time) because the water slows the arrows down so they don't hurt.
- Building a quarters underwater can allow extended time time underwater because it heals faster than you drown.
- Apart from surfing, knights can travel faster across water by slashing while moving. This is important because knights drown quickly and so should minimize time spent in water.
