Why diamonds are still the most popular strong material in Minecraft

Minecraft has many valuable materials that players can obtain as they progress in the game. They can obtain emeralds, gold, and even strong fictional materials like netherite. However, diamonds are considered the most popular strong earth minerals that players can get in Minecraft. Even after so many years since the game was released, diamonds can still lure and excite players like no other ore.

Here is why diamonds are still the most popular earth mineral in Minecraft.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Diamonds remain the most popular strong material in Minecraft

Diamonds are the original rare and valuable ore

Diamonds have been a rare and valuable ore ever since Minecraft released (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

Mojang officially released Minecraft in 2011, allowing everyone to buy the game and jump into the blocky world. When players first entered the game, they progressed from wood to stone to iron tools and armor. However, Mojang made it clear that there were rare diamond ores hidden deep underground, where hostile mobs also spawned.

Hence, getting diamonds was a massive achievement for any player, since the earth mineral can be used to create the strongest armor and tools, at least at the time.

From 2011 to 2019, diamond tools, weapons, and armor were the strongest gear a player could make in Minecraft.

Furthermore, finding diamonds for the first time in Minecraft is special. It is a sign that they can now breathe a sigh of relief and create the strongest gear to survive in the game. In terms of mining, finding diamonds was considered an endgame activity for many years.

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Despite being stronger, netherite is not as alluring as diamonds

Netherite is not as popular as diamond (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

In 2020, Mojang finally added a material stronger than diamonds. It's called netherite and an even rarer ore that was found deep in the Nether dimension. The material is generated in the form of ancient debris blocks.

Though many veteran players were more interested in finding and using netherite, most new players were still stuck on or craved more diamonds.

Furthermore, many who acquired enough diamonds were not too keen on upgrading to netherite, even entering and exploring the Nether.

The reason was because netherite was much rarer than diamonds and generated at Y level 16 in the Nether. At that level, massive lava pools were generated, which made it even more difficult to find ancient debris. Furthermore, players noticed that the strength and performance curve from diamonds to netherite was not too drastic when compared to the curve from iron to diamonds.

Hence, diamonds remained the most craved ore in Minecraft.

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New netherite changes made diamonds even more important and popular

The new smithing table change makes it necessary to bring a netherite upgrade smithing template to use netherite ingot (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/Mojang)

In the 1.20 The Wild Update, Mojang added armor trims. These were items with different patterns for armor parts. It was a new way to customize armor and show off different designs. The studio decided to use a smithing table to apply these armor trims. However, since the smithing table was primarily used to apply netherite ingot on a diamond gear, the developers created a new smithing template called "netherite upgrade."

The netherite upgrade smithing template now became an extra necessary item that players had to find if they wanted to use netherite ingots on their diamond gear. The main issue with the netherite upgrade smithing template was that it had a small chance of generating chest loot in Bastion Remnants, an extremely dangerous structure in the Nether.

This change in netherite upgrade made it even more difficult to use the strongest material in Minecraft. Hence, players who found ample diamonds in their mines were simply satisfied with the strong material and were not too keen on finding netherite, knowing that they would also have to find a new smithing template.

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