The Fastest Way to Get Netherite Ingots in Minecraft

To get Netherite Ingots in Minecraft, smelt Ancient Debris mined at Y-level 15 in the Nether into Netherite Scrap, then combine four scrap with four Gold Ingots in a crafting grid. Upgrading your diamond gear further requires combining a Netherite Ingot, your diamond item, and a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template at a Smithing Table.

Sourcing the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template

Piglins guard these templates in Bastion Remnants. To locate a Bastion Remnant, travelers must navigate away from Nether Fortresses because these structures share mutually exclusive coordinate zones. In the Java Edition, the generation regions are 432×432 blocks, whereas Bedrock Edition utilizes a 480×480 block grid. Moving at least 400 to 500 blocks away from any discovered fortress guarantees entering a new region with a high probability of spawning a Bastion.

To secure the template with a 100% guarantee, target the central vault chest located on the floating island directly beneath the magma cube spawner inside a Treasure Room Bastion. Other Bastion variants, such as Bridge, Housing Units, and Hoglin Stables, only offer a 10% spawn chance per chest. Before opening any container, block the line of sight using cobblestone or blackstone to prevent standard Piglins from turning hostile. Avoid placing or opening standard chests or barrels in their vicinity, as this also triggers immediate dimension-wide aggro. Store the acquired template immediately in an Ender Chest for safe transport.

Locating Ancient Debris in the Nether

Ancient Debris generates buried deep in Nether wastes or soulsand valleys. The peak generation layer sits at coordinate level Y=15 across both Java and Bedrock Editions. It is critical to mine with a Diamond Pickaxe or a Netherite Pickaxe; using lower-tier tools will destroy the block and yield nothing. If players do not have a diamond pickaxe yet, the guide to finding diamonds anywhere in the Overworld provides the fastest route to upgrading essential tools.

TNT blast mining along chunk borders delivers the highest average yield of about 89 Debris per hour. On PC, press F3+G to display chunk borders. Dig a 1×2 tunnel on Y=15 directly along the yellow and blue chunk border lines. Place a single block of TNT every 3 to 4 blocks on the ground, ignite it with flint and steel, and run back to safety.

For early-game players lacking gunpowder, use the bed explosion method to achieve roughly 37 Debris per hour. Dig a main 1×2 tunnel at Y=15, then dig a 1x1x5 side shaft perpendicular to the main tunnel at eye level every 16 blocks. Place a bed at the very end of the shaft. Stand 6 blocks back, place a solid protection block at head level, and interact with the bed to trigger the explosion.

Alternatively, speedrunners exploit an under-lava rendering camera trick. Consume a Potion of Fire Resistance, stand underneath a basalt or stone block overhang next to a lava lake, set the Field of View (FOV) to 30 in the system settings menu, and swim upward against the overhang. The game engine will render the lava transparent, revealing Ancient Debris resting on the bottom.

Smelting Scrap and Synthesizing Netherite Ingots

After collecting Ancient Debris, refine it by placing the blocks inside a Blast Furnace or standard Furnace. Utilizing a Blast Furnace cuts the smelting time in half. Each block of Ancient Debris yields one Netherite Scrap.

Once smelting is complete, open a standard Crafting Table and combine four Netherite Scraps with four Gold Ingots. Since this is a shapeless recipe, placing the gold and scraps in any random slots of the 3×3 crafting grid will successfully produce one Netherite Ingot.

Upgrading Diamond Gear at the Smithing Table

Because Smithing Templates are consumed upon use, cloning the initial template – using the same base process covered in how to get and duplicate every Smithing Template in the game – prevents players from needing to raid multiple bastions. To duplicate a template, open a Crafting Table and place the Netherite Upgrade Template in the top-middle slot, a single block of Netherrack in the center-middle slot, and surround the remaining 7 slots with 7 Diamonds. This crafting action yields two templates.

To complete the transition to the ultimate gear tier, interact with a Smithing Table. Place the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template in the left slot, any piece of enchanted or unenchanted diamond armor or tool in the middle slot, and a single Netherite Ingot in the right slot. This process costs zero Experience Points and preserves all preexisting enchantments, armor trims, and durability values.

Be aware that while loose Netherite gear floats safely in lava pools and is immune to fire, it will still disappear after the standard 5-minute item despawn timer. Furthermore, storing Netherite items inside a Shulker Box that falls into lava will result in the immediate destruction of both the box and its entire contents.