Do you need nether wart for a Potion of Weakness?

No. It is the only potion brewed straight from plain water bottles — just add a fermented spider eye. On Java Edition, starting from an Awkward Potion actually fails.

How do you cure a zombie villager with a weakness potion?

Throw a splash Potion of Weakness at the zombie villager, then use a golden apple on it. It shakes for about 3 to 5 minutes before turning back into a villager with discounted trades.

Is there a Potion of Weakness II?

No. Glowstone dust cannot be applied to it. You can only extend the duration with redstone, from 1:30 up to 4:00.

What does the weakness effect do?

It reduces melee attack damage by 4 points (two hearts) for the duration, which is why the splash version is thrown at hostile mobs rather than drunk.

How to Make a Potion of Weakness in Minecraft

Almost every potion in Minecraft starts the same way: nether wart into water, then your ingredient. The Potion of Weakness is the exception, and that shortcut makes it one of the easiest brews in the game. You probably won't drink it yourself — it cuts melee damage — but as a splash potion it is essential, because it is one half of the cure that turns zombie villagers back into traders with generous discounts.

What You Need

Brewing stand with blaze powder as fuel
Water bottles — plain, no nether wart
Fermented spider eye — spider eye, brown mushroom and sugar
Redstone dust (optional) — extends the duration
Gunpowder (optional) — for the splash version
Dragon's breath (optional) — for the lingering version

Brewing the Potion of Weakness

Fuel the stand with blaze powder.
Fill up to three glass bottles with water and place them in the bottom slots.
Add the fermented spider eye on top and wait.

That is the whole recipe. Starting from an Awkward Potion is the classic beginner mistake here — on Java Edition the recipe only works from plain water bottles. The result lasts 1 minute 30 seconds. Redstone dust extends it to 4 minutes, and there is no Weakness II: glowstone cannot strengthen it.

Variants and Durations

Variant	How	Duration
Potion of Weakness	Water bottle + fermented spider eye	1:30
Extended	Add redstone dust	4:00
Splash	Add gunpowder	1:30 (4:00 extended)
Lingering	Splash potion + dragon's breath	0:22 (1:00 extended)

What Weakness Actually Does

The weakness effect reduces melee attack damage by 4 points — two full hearts — for as long as it lasts. A mob that would normally hit you for four hearts only manages two. Drinking it yourself is almost never the plan; throwing it at things that are trying to kill you very much is. Inside trial chambers, where spawners throw geared-up mobs at you in waves, weakening the heavy hitters takes real pressure off a fight.

The Big One: Curing Zombie Villagers

The splash Potion of Weakness exists mainly for this. A zombie villager cannot drink, so you throw the splash potion at its feet, then use a golden apple on it. The villager starts shaking, and after roughly 3 to 5 minutes it converts back into a normal villager — one that remembers being saved and offers steep discounts on its trades. Cured villagers are the backbone of every efficient trading hall, which is reason enough to keep a chest of weakness potions near your village. Trap the zombie villager somewhere safe first, and keep other zombies away while it cures, or the whole exercise ends badly.

Weakness Arrows and Other Delivery Methods

The splash potion is not the only way to deliver the effect. Brew a lingering Potion of Weakness with dragon's breath, then surround it with eight arrows on a crafting table to make arrows of weakness — a fletcher's nightmare and a PvP favourite, since a single arrow applies the full damage cut at bow range. On Bedrock Edition, you can also fill a cauldron with the potion and dip arrows into it directly. And if you are defending a village rather than curing anyone, a dispenser loaded with splash weakness potions, wired to a pressure plate at a chokepoint, will soften the first wave of a raid before it reaches your iron golem.