New Minecraft 1.20.2 snapshot nerfs diamond armor trading 

Minecraft: Java Edition's latest snapshot has debuted as 1.20.2 Pre-Release 1, and it brings another round of villager changes placed behind the Experimental Features toggle. While some are considered a net positive, fans may not be happy with some of the alterations made. This is particularly true in the case of the armorer villager, who has had the price increased for diamond armor trades.

Currently, in vanilla Minecraft, fans can trade for diamond armor with armorer villagers by using emeralds as a currency, same as they would for most other villager transactions. However, Mojang's continued rebalance of villager trades has also increased the cost of diamond armor trades and made biome-specific splits.

As these changes are still experimental, it isn't a bad idea to examine them in their current state.

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Minecraft Java 1.20.2 Pre-Release 1 increases the difficulty of obtaining diamond armor via trades

Like many other Minecraft villagers in the recent rebalancing by Mojang, armorer villagers will be receiving different trading inventories based on the biome they reside in. Furthermore, armorer villagers who do offer diamond armor in their trade tables will now require both emeralds and diamonds in their pricing.

According to Mojang, this decision was implemented in Minecraft to "make the armorer's trades less useful at the start of the game when players don't have any diamonds." However, for many players, trading for diamond armor early on is one of the best ways to get a head start in their new world.

The current slate of armorer changes for Minecraft Java's 1.20.2 Pre-Release 1 (Image via Mojang)

While the proposed armorer villager trades don't require a massive number of diamonds, the costs add up over time. Compared to a standard emerald cost, this change effectively slows down a player's progression when diamonds are thrown into the mix. The change to armorer villagers with regard to biomes is also somewhat concerning.

Like previous implementations made to Minecraft's librarian villagers, armorer inventories are now split depending on what biome the villager lives in. This includes jungle and swamp biomes, which must be built by players since they don't generate naturally in the Overworld.

With Experimental Features enabled, players are now effectively expected to not only level up an armorer villager's profession to acquire its high-tier trades but also create entire villages and relocate villagers to trade for certain commodities. For fans in the early to mid-game, moving villagers is a pretty laborious task.

Put plainly, these new changes in Minecraft Java's first pre-release for 1.20.2 make the process of trading for diamond armor more difficult, requiring more effort overall on the player's part. This follows in lockstep with the recent nerf to librarian villager trades that made acquiring certain enchanted books trickier along the same lines.

While these features can still be disabled under the Experimental Features toggle, fans aren't likely to be thrilled with the results. Although some villager alterations have been positive, removing the ability to snag diamond armor or strong enchantments early in the game via trading is sure to ruffle a few feathers.

The good news is that Mojang has been straightforward about being receptive to player feedback on its official site. Although the developer may not take every point of criticism and act on it, now is a very important time to provide positive and negative responses to the proposed changes. The future of villagers may very well be influenced as a result.