Drowning

Drowning occurs when a player's breath meter fully depletes while underwater. While drowning, the player will take continuous damage until they are able to successfully counter it with an accessory, a potion, or a pocket of air. Otherwise, the player will die. The rate at which drowning occurs (2 HP per 7 tick or ~17.14 HP/s) cannot be slowed down nor sped up, unless the player has certain accessories equipped.

NPCs can also drown if stuck or forced underwater, making this a very effective way of killing NPCs. The only NPC that is immune to drowning is the Skeleton Merchant, although the Nurse can heal herself fast enough to avoid drowning.

Drowning may happen at any place with large enough bodies of water or honey to fully submerge the player, with the Ocean and Bee Hives being prime natural candidates for such an event. Equipping a Fish Bowl can be used to manually drown the player.

History
溺水