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minecraft netherite

How to Craft Netherite Armor in Minecraft Step by Step

This is how you become the strongest.

To make Netherite armor in Minecraft, you must combine a piece of Diamond armor, 1 Netherite Ingot, and 1 Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template inside a Smithing Table. You can obtain the required Netherite Ingots by smelting Ancient Debris into Scraps and alloying 4 Scraps with 4 Gold Ingots at a Crafting Table.

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Prerequisites for Netherite Armor

Gathering a full set of Netherite gear requires specific materials, tools, and structural items gathered across both the Overworld and the Nether.

Requirement TypeEssential ItemRequired QuantityPrimary Function
Baseline ArmorDiamond Armor Piece4 PiecesCore equipment upgraded into Netherite
Ore SourceAncient Debris16 BlocksSmelted in Blast Furnace for Scraps
Alloy MaterialGold Ingot16 IngotsCombined with Scraps for Ingots
Upgrade ItemNetherite Upgrade Smithing Template1 Base TemplateRequired modifier for Smithing Table
Duplication GemDiamond21 DiamondsClones additional Smithing Templates
Duplication BlockNetherrack3 BlocksBase material for Template cloning
Mining ToolDiamond Pickaxe1 PickaxeMines Ancient Debris without breaking it

How to Find the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template

To obtain the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, enter the Nether dimension through a Nether Portal and search for a Bastion Remnant structure.

  1. Equip at least one piece of Gold armor before approaching the structure to keep standard Piglins passive.
  2. Locate the central Treasure Room variant of the Bastion, which features a square central platform suspended over lava with a Magma Cube spawner.
  3. Clear or block off hostile Piglin Brutes, who attack on sight regardless of Gold armor.
  4. Open the central Treasure Room chest on the platform to collect a guaranteed Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template with a 100 percent spawn rate.

How to Duplicate the Smithing Template

Do not consume your first template immediately, as template duplication secures a sustainable supply without needing to raid additional Bastions.

  1. Open a standard Crafting Table interface.
  2. Place the single Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template into the top center slot of the 3×3 grid.
  3. Place one Netherrack block into the exact center slot directly beneath the template.
  4. Fill the remaining seven outer slots with 7 Diamonds.

Crafting this recipe outputs two identical templates, calculated as 1 Template + 1 Netherrack + 7 Diamonds = 2 Templates. Repeat until you have 5 total templates, keeping one safe at your base as a permanent master clone.

How to Mine Ancient Debris at Peak Coordinates

Ancient Debris generates buried within solid terrain in the Nether and requires specific depth positioning to farm efficiently.

  1. Travel to the Nether and dig down to coordinate Y = 15, which is the optimal altitude for Ancient Debris generation density.
  2. Mine a straight 2-block-high main branch tunnel along your chosen axis.
  3. Every 16 blocks along the main tunnel, face the side wall and dig a horizontal 1×1 tunnel 5 blocks deep at eye level.
  4. Walk to the entrance of the side tunnel, place a Bed at the furthest end, and step back exactly 6 blocks along the main tunnel.
  5. Break the floor block directly beneath your position, place a Stone Slab in its lower space, and crouch behind it.
  6. Right-click the Bed to trigger an explosion. The slab protects your lower hitbox from blast damage while vaporizing surrounding Netherrack.
  7. Mine exposed Ancient Debris blocks using a Diamond Pickaxe or Netherite Pickaxe. Collect 16 total blocks for a full armor set.

How to Smelt Scraps and Craft Netherite Ingots

Raw Ancient Debris must be refined into Scraps and alloyed with Gold before it can upgrade equipment.

  1. Open a Blast Furnace interaction menu and place raw Ancient Debris in the top material slot with fuel like lava buckets or coal in the bottom slot.
  2. Smelt all 16 Ancient Debris to yield 16 Netherite Scraps.
  3. Open a Crafting Table interface.
  4. Place 4 Netherite Scraps and 4 Gold Ingots anywhere inside the grid. This is a shapeless recipe requiring no specific arrangement.

The conversion yields one Netherite Ingot per combination, calculated as 4 Scraps + 4 Gold Ingots = 1 Netherite Ingot. Craft 4 total Netherite Ingots to complete your set.

How to Upgrade Diamond Armor at the Smithing Table

The final assembly transforms your Diamond equipment while retaining all weapon and armor enchantments and durability.

  1. Right-click a Smithing Table to open its dedicated three-slot modification menu.
  2. Place one Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template into the leftmost slot.
  3. Place your selected Diamond armor piece into the middle slot.
  4. Place one Netherite Ingot into the rightmost slot.
  5. Take the completed Netherite armor piece from the output slot.
  6. Repeat the process for all 4 armor pieces.

Common Failure Points and Mistakes to Avoid

Understanding key operational risks prevents unnecessary material loss and resets during armor progression.

  • Consuming your only Smithing Template on an armor piece before duplicating it forces you to search for another Bastion structure.
  • Attempting to mine Ancient Debris with an Iron Pickaxe or lower tier tool breaks the block without dropping any item.
  • Approaching Piglin Brutes while relying on Gold armor results in rapid death, as Brutes ignore Gold armor entirely.
  • Triggering bed explosions without standing 6 blocks back behind a lower slab barrier causes severe or lethal blast damage.
  • Fearing item loss in lava is unnecessary for Netherite gear, as Ancient Debris, Scraps, Ingots, and finished Netherite armor float on top of lava and cannot burn.

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