In Minecraft's Java Edition snapshot 25w18a, dropped in April 2025, Mojang tweaked how splash potions work, focusing on how strong they are based on where they land. Here’s the rundown for this change.
Distance-Based Effect Intensity
How much a splash potion affects something now depends on how far the entity’s hitbox is from where the potion hits. Nail a direct hit, and you get the full effect—100% strength and duration.
If the entity is farther away (up to 4 blocks), the effect gets weaker the farther out you go: For instant stuff like Healing or Harming, the power drops from 100% at the impact spot to nothing at 4 blocks.
For effects that last a while, like Poison or Regeneration, the duration shrinks as distance grows. If it’d last 1 second or less, it just doesn’t work.
Back in September 2024, Mojang made splash potion effects the same whether they hit a player’s head or feet. This snapshot scraps that. Now it’s all about how far the hitbox is from the potion’s landing spot, so head or feet doesn’t matter if the distance is the same.
Impact on Gameplay
- Precision Matters: You’ve got to aim right at your target to get the full effect, so good throws pay off.
- Area of Effect (AOE): Stuff farther from where the potion lands gets a weaker hit, so it’s less useful for crowds unless you toss it dead center.
- Strategy Shift: You’ll need to rethink how you use potions, especially in fights or against mobs, to make sure they land close for max impact.
These changes are just for Java Edition in snapshot 25w18a right now. Bedrock Edition hasn’t picked this up yet, but it might later. For now, Bedrock splash potions have three-fourths the duration of drinkable ones, while Java keeps them equal.
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