How to Make Netherite Armor, Tools, & Weapons in Minecraft (2024)

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Netherite gear is a must-have for all players due to its increased efficiency, durability, and strength in attacking. The process is more complicated than crafting other forms of armor and tools, but we’ll walk you through it step-by-step to turn you into a Netherite pro.

Having been officially introduced to Minecraft in 1.16, Netherite armor and weapons are stronger than their Diamond counterparts. The process of creating them includes venturing into the Nether to gather the ingredients necessary for creating Netherite Ingots as well as finding, or potentially duplicating, enough Netherite Upgrade Templates to upgrade each piece of your gear. While you will have to create Diamond armor first in order to create Netherite, I wholeheartedly believe that the buffs it provides you with are well worth the time and resources.

How to get Netherite Ingots in Minecraft

Unlike other ores used to craft gear, you don't really find Netherite itself in the wilds. Instead, you will need to locate a very rare ore called Ancient Debris. This is only found in the Nether, so you will need to create a Nether Portal and be prepared to fight off quite a bit of the evil that dwells in this area.

After finding Ancient Debris, it can be converted into Netherite Scraps, which are then combined with gold to produce Netherite Ingots.

How to find Ancient Debris

Once you've reached the Nether, you will need to head to the lower levels of it like you would for finding diamonds. Ancient Debris starts spawning in Bedrock at around Y level 30, but the best place to farm it is between Y level 8 and Y level 17. In Java, it appears that the spawn rate isn't as good as Bedrock, with the best place to get it between Y level 12 and Y level 17. You should focus on farming the levels around Y levels 14 and 15 because they have the highest density of spawns.

You can check for your current level on Java by pressing F3 on your keyboard and looking for the XYZ listing. If you're on Bedrock, make sure to enable the "show coordinates" option in your settings.

You'll recognize Ancient Debris by its brownish color and spiral-like design on top. You can ONLY mine it with a Diamond or Netherite Pickaxe. If you try and use something else, you will get nothing.

Related: Ancient Debris Farming Guide

How to craft Netherite Scraps

Now that you have yourself some Ancient Debris, you can bring it to a furnace and smelt it using any fuel to create Netherite Scrap. Each Ancient Debris you smelt will give you 1x Netherite Scrap. You may want to use a Blast Furnace, as this process can take a while.

You will need at least four Netherite Scraps to craft a single Netherite Ingot.

How to craft a Netherite Ingot

Once you have at least four Netherite Scraps, you will need to gather four Gold Ingots in order to craft a Netherite Ingot. Just throw them into your Crafting Table to create the ingot.

How to find Netherite Upgrade Templates in Minecraft

With the release of the 1.20 Tales and Trails Update, a Netherite Upgrade Template is now necessary to transform diamond armor and tools into their Netherite versions. These templates can only be found in Bastion Remnants. Bastions containing a Treasure Room will have a guaranteed Netherite Upgrade Template. All other Bastions will have about a 10% chance of generating a chest containing one.

Netherite Upgrade Templates are single-use, meaning that they will break after being used to upgrade one piece of gear. You could run around the Nether in order to find the nine Netherite Upgrade Templates you need just to upgrade a full set of armor and all of your tools. Or, to save your time and sanity, diamonds can be used to duplicate an Upgrade Template you already have.

How to duplicate a Netherite Upgrade Template

To duplicate a template, you need one Netherite Upgrade Template, one block of Netherrack, and seven Diamonds. Open up a crafting table, and start by placing the block of Netherrack in the center box of the middle row. Then, place the Netherite Upgrade Template in the center box of the top row and fill in every empty box with a diamond.

This recipe will produce two Netherite Upgrade Templates, giving you back the one you originally put into the table as well as one new one.

Related: All Armor Trim Locations in Minecrafts

How to craft Netherite Armor and Tools in Minecraft

To start, you will need to have a piece of Diamond gear that you would like to turn into Netherite. Netherite is technically a Diamond upgrade, so you won't be crafting a separate item. Place the Diamond piece of gear into a Smithing Table alongside a Netherite Upgrade Template and a Netherite Ingot. The piece of gear will be converted from Diamond to Netherite! This example demonstrates this process using a Diamond Chestplate.

Your armor and weapons will retain the enchantments they had before being converted to Netherite. If you need to repair a Netherite item, you can use Netherite Ingots and an Anvil to do so.

How good is Netherite Gear in Minecraft?

Netherite gear makes up the best armor, weapons, and tools in the game. Tools work faster and last longer, weapons deal more damage, and the armor has more durability than their Diamond counterparts. The armor also gives you +1 more Armor Toughness as well as giving you Knockback Resistance.

Another pretty huge bonus effect that Netherite armor, weapons, and tools have is that they will float in lava. You will never have to worry about losing all of your expensive stuff in a pool of lava ever again!

For more about Minecraft and the pros and cons of choosing Netherite over Diamond, check out our Netherite vs Diamond—Which is Better and Why guide on Pro Game Guides.