Minecraft 1.20 netherite changes: All you need to know

Netherite gear arguably has the highest quality in Minecraft, and it's no secret that plenty of players seek it out as soon as they can. Mojang appears to have noticed, as it has implemented a substantial change to obtaining netherite gear in the upcoming 1.20 update, also known as Trails & Tales.

In Minecraft updates before version 1.20, players could simply get netherite tools, weapons, and armor by combining a netherite ingot with a piece of diamond gear on a smithing table. The Trails & Tales update has made this process slightly more complex by requiring the use of a specific smithing template item.

The Netherite Upgrade Smithing Templates can only be found in Survival Mode in one in-game structure, making acquiring netherite gear somewhat more difficult to obtain.

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Finding and cloning Netherite Upgrade Smithing Templates in Minecraft 1.20

As of Minecraft 1.20, the only way players can access Netherite Upgrade Smithing Templates without using commands or Creative Mode is to loot them from bastion remnant structures. These large fortresses are found within the Nether and are populated with piglins, some of which don't care if players are wearing gold and will still attack on sight.

These smithing templates have a 10% chance to appear in chests within bastion remnants with the exception of the treasure room.

In loot chests that reside in the treasure room, players have a 100% guarantee to find a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template.

Once Minecraft fans have one of these templates, all they need to do is combine it with a piece of diamond gear and a netherite ingot via a smithing table block. This may lead some fans to wonder how a player can get a full set of netherite gear when they have to loot these templates from bastion remnants.

Fortunately, Mojang accounted for this in Minecraft 1.20 and introduced the feature that allows players to clone any existing smithing template in the game with the right materials. For netherite upgrades, in particular, players will need seven diamonds and a block of netherrack in addition to the template itself.

Sure, the cloning process can get pricy when it comes to diamonds, but it may beat the alternative of Minecraft players rummaging through the Nether. Each clone process creates one additional template, so players may want to store some extra diamonds and netherrack blocks to prepare for the 1.20 update when it arrives on June 7.

Overall, the changes made to netherite upgrades in the Trails & Tales update have seen a mixed reception. Some fans have stated that it makes netherite gear feel more valuable and earned due to the time taken to obtain it. However, other players countered this point and said that adding the smithing template was more of a nuisance than anything.

Whatever the case may be, Mojang can always reevaluate the process of upgrading to netherite-quality weapons, armor, and tools at a later date after Minecraft 1.20 is released. The studio doesn't want to make any gear flat-out inaccessible, but as it stands, the best gear in the vanilla game shouldn't be incredibly easy to obtain either.