Better Diving
by Meldexun
Better Diving rebuilds how the player moves and breathes underwater, drawing on the way diving works in the game Subnautica.
What it does
Better Diving changes the vanilla diving experience. Movement in water is reworked: the player sinks automatically unless swimming, and the swim direction follows where the player looks. The oxygen system is also reworked, so a breath lasts about 45 seconds instead of the vanilla 15.
Breaking blocks in water or under it proceeds at the same speed as breaking them on land. Diving equipment adds further effects: wearing it lets the character move faster, break blocks faster and stay under longer. The mod is built for Forge and is published for 1.12.2 and 1.16.5, with 1.16.5-1.3.5 as the latest file.
Installation is needed on the server and on every player's client, since the environment is client and server. The mod is published under All rights reserved, so it is not open source, though its source code and issue tracker are public.
Key features
Reworked underwater movement
Swimming follows the player's view direction, and the character sinks on its own when not actively swimming.
Longer breath
The oxygen supply runs for about 45 seconds before the player needs to surface, three times the vanilla duration.
Equal mining speed in water
Blocks break at the same rate underwater as on land, so exploration under the surface is not slowed by the environment.
Diving equipment bonuses
Equipment improves movement speed, block-breaking speed and time under water while worn.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Underwater exploration
Players building or searching under water can keep moving and breaking blocks without the vanilla slowdown.
Subnautica-style play
Players who want diving to feel closer to the game Subnautica can use the reworked movement and oxygen rules.
Who it’s for: Players who want a more involved underwater experience, and server owners who run survival worlds with large water areas or ocean builds.
How it compares
Simple Dive Gear is a Forge and NeoForge mod for 1.18.1 – 1.21.3, under the CC0 1.0 Universal license, so it is open source. Subnautica Flow targets Forge for 1.20.1 only, under All rights reserved, and is not open source. Tinkers' Create Diving Modifiers is an MIT licensed, open source Forge mod for 1.20.1 that adds diving traits to tools. All of these run on client and server like Better Diving.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better Diving | Forge | 1.12.2 – 1.16.5 | Client and server | 2025-08-27 |
| Simple Dive Gear | Forge and NeoForge | 1.18.1 – 1.21.3 | Client and server | 2025-01-10 |
| Subnautica Flow | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2024-07-07 |
| Tinkers' Create Diving Modifiers | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2025-12-18 |
Questions
Does Better Diving need to be installed on the server?
Which game versions does Better Diving support?
Does Better Diving come with a public license?
In the catalog
Better Diving is one of 3,932 Transportation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,908 Transportation mods for Forge. 5,992 mods support Minecraft 1.16.5.
More from Meldexun
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What the author says
Better Diving is an overhaul of the vanilla diving experience modeled on the game Subnautica. Feature highlights: - reworked movement in water (no automatic sinking, swim in the direction you are looking,...) - reworked oxygen system (dive for up to 45 seconds instead of 15 seconds,...) - breaking speed in/under…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/better-diving
- Owner
- Meldexun
- Published
- 2024-08-28
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-08-27
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15