Minecraft 1.20 update introduces major changes to netherite gear crafting

Netherite has been considered the top armor material in Minecraft for some time now, but it seems like it will be more difficult to obtain in the future. Although update 1.20 is yet to officially arrive, the latest Java Edition snapshot has given players an early look at the upcoming changes to netherite armor.

In the current build of Minecraft, netherite armor is obtained by applying netherite ingots to a piece of diamond armor in a smithing table. Unfortunately, with the overhaul of smithing tables and the addition of smithing templates in snapshot 23w04a, it seems like crafting netherite armor will become more difficult now.

Specifically, players will require a netherite upgrade smithing template in addition to diamond gear and netherite ingots to craft the powerful armor.

---

Minecraft Java snapshot 23w04a revamps the upgrading process of netherite armor

The latest Minecraft snapshot makes netherite gear even more precious (Image via Mojang)

With the new smithing table changes in Minecraft, Mojang wanted to ensure that they're adapted to the game's current armor sets. Before this snapshot, netherite armor was certainly tricky to obtain, although there were plenty of tricks that could be used to quickly craft the armor. The inclusion of a smithing template requirement will slow down the overall progression from simple armor types to diamond, and from diamond to netherite.

In a recent Mojang release on the official Minecraft website, Mikael Hedberg remarked that the changes to netherite were made for a few key reasons. Among the most prominent of them was the desire for the developers to make diamond armor feel more substantial for a longer period of time. This makes sense, as most players would upgrade their diamond armor to netherite almost immediately after collecting netherite ingots.

In addition to making diamond armor a more suitable option for Survival Mode progression, Mojang stated that these changes would make netherite armor feel more like a significant milestone. Looking at the new steps required to craft the armor, it appears as though some players may very well agree with that assessment, at least somewhat.

With the latest Minecraft snapshot, obtaining the right smithing templates to upgrade diamond armor into netherite will take a fair amount of time. This is due to the fact that they're only found within bastion remnant loot chests in the Nether. Each template has a 3.2% chance to spawn in a loot chest, so players will have to do some serious hunting.

Fortunately, once players find a netherite smithing template, they can duplicate it quite easily. After placing the template into a crafting table with a block of netherrack and seven diamonds, Minecraft players can multiply their existing templates without needing to loot more than one. At the very least, this should make crafting full suits of netherite armor much easier in comparison to the prospect of looting four distinct smithing templates.

It's unclear how players will respond to these new changes as update 1.20 approaches, but the gameplay additions introduced in snapshot 23w04a are still subject to change. If fans aren't thrilled with the new netherite armor crafting mechanics, Mojang may be willing to strike a compromise.