Item durability in Minecraft: Everything players need to know

Several items in Minecraft have limited durability. The sandbox game pushes players forward to keep working and playing more for more items. To do so, Mojang has assigned limited durability to some items, so that players keep making new items and continue exploring for more materials in the game. The durability is directly proportionate to how much the item is used.

Item types like armor, tools, and weapons have limited durability and can break if players use them for extended periods of time. In the vanilla version of the game, players will be able to see the item's durability from a health bar that appears after it has been used for the first time. There are several materials in the game that have different levels of durability, and even some enchantments that can prolong the life of an item or even make them indestructible.

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Everything there is to know about item durability in Minecraft

Different materials with different durabilities

Shovels made from different materials (Image via Minecraft)

When players enter the world of Minecraft for the first time, they have to make their first set of wooden tools and weapons. This is one of the weakest as they take more time to break blocks and have less durability. As players progress to the stone age and acquire iron, equipment such as tools and armor made from these are stronger and more durable. Diamonds are even more durable and netherite is the most durable material in the game for most armor parts, tools, and weapons.

Interestingly enough, gold is a special material that has slightly different properties. It is the least durable. Hence, items made from this can break very quickly. However, the mining speed of this material is the fastest.

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How is durability measured

In simple terms, when a player mines one block, one point from the durability bar is reduced. However, if we look at all kinds of uses of tools, weapons, and armor, the measurement for durability gets slightly complicated.

For armor, if the attack dealt on the armor is equivalent to 4 HP (2 hearts) of damage, the armor loses one point from its durability. However, this is not only applicable to attacks, anything that hits a player can affect the armor's durability, like snowballs, eggs, cactus, etc. The target area of the attack determines which armor part will take the hit and weaken.

A full durability shovel compared to another with half the durability (Image via Minecraft)

Tools and weapon durability are also determined by different uses, whether it's hitting a mob or simply using it to break or change blocks. The game records each type of use and subtracts a set amount of points from the overall durability. Each and every item that has limited durability, has a set number of durability points that get subtracted.

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Enchantments to prolong or increase durability

Unbreaking and Mending (Image via Minecraft)

When players upgrade to bigger and better tools, they do not want them to break quickly. Hence, Minecraft has certain enchantments to improve the limited durability aspect of these items.

Enchantments like Unbreaking and Mending are some of the most used and craved powerups in the game. Unbreaking essentially prolongs the life of any item, whereas Mending is a treasure enchantment that enables tools to absorb XP points picked up by the player to repair itself.

Know more about mobs.