Guide by Ollie Toms Guides Editor

Updated on 29 Sep, 2021

Want to learn how to get Netherite in Minecraft? Netherite is the key to unlocking the very best armor and tools in Minecraft. This rare material predictably hails from the Nether, and can be pretty hard to get your hands on, but you'll need it to fight bosses like the Wither. Learn how to get Netherite Ingots from Ancient Debris and Netherite Scraps, and how to make your very own Netherite Armor and tools in Minecraft.

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On this page:

• How to get Netherite Ingots in Minecraft
• How to make Netherite Armor and Tools
• Netherite tool strength
• How to make a Lodestone with Netherite

How to get Netherite Ingots in Minecraft

Netherite is an extremely strong material in Minecraft found in the Nether, so it's a great thing to keep an eye out for while searching for Potion-making ingredients and the like. With Netherite Ingots you can make the very best Minecraft armor and tools. To get Netherite Ingots, you need to mine Ancient Debris in the Nether. Ancient Debris is an ore block that spawns most often at Y-Level 15 in the Nether, much like Diamond in the Overworld. We'll update this page if this changes with the 1.18 update terrain changes, that will rework caves and bring a new block called Dripstone into Minecraft. Netherite can only be mined with a Diamond Pickaxe or a Netherite Pickaxe.

This graph, taken from the Official Minecraft Wiki, details the spawn rate of Ancient Debris in the Nether per layer (Y-Level). You can find the highest concentrations of Ancient Debris at Y-Level 15.

When the world is generated, Ancient Debris is never spawned next to an open air block - meaning it will almost always be surrounded by other blocks. However, Ancient Debris is blast-resistant, so mining with TNT at Y-Level 15 is actually a decent way of getting your hands on some Ancient Debris.

Ancient Debris can be smelted into Netherite Scraps in a Furnace or Blast Furnace. After that, you can make a Netherite Ingot by combining 4 Netherite Scraps with 4 Gold Ingots (in any shape) in a Crafting Table.

If you're lucky you can also find some Netherite Scraps as loot inside a Bastion Remnant in the Nether, which you can use to craft more Netherite Ingots.

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How to make Netherite Armor and Tools

To make Netherite Armor and tools, you need to upgrade Diamond Armor and tools in a Smithing Table. You can't create Netherite equipment in the same way as you can with other materials.

To upgrade a Diamond tool or piece of armor into Netherite, simply place the Diamond item into the first slot of the Smithing Table, and a Netherite Ingot into the second slot. Then retrieve the Netherite item that appears in the output slot.

Here's how you upgrade a Diamond tool or armor piece into Netherite. All you need is a Smithing Table and a Netherite Ingot per piece you want to upgrade.

This works for the four Netherite Armor pieces (Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, and Boots) as well as the Sword, Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, and Hoe.

Doing this will preserve any enchantments you had on your Diamond equipment, so you won't lose your enchants!

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Netherite tool strength

Netherite Armor and tools are even stronger than Diamond. They are more durable, and more effective. What's more, Netherite equipment is entirely blast-proof and fire-proof, so even if you die in lava or a Creeper blast, your Netherite items will not be destroyed.

Netherite Armor provides the same protection as Diamond Armor, but each piece has 12% more durability. Unfortunately, neither will protect you from the Warden, the new mob coming in 1.19, also known as The Wild Update.

Each of the Netherite tools deal one more point of damage per attack than their Diamond equivalents, and they are also more durable and effective. It's worth noting however that there's no block in the game that a Netherite tool can mine which cannot also be mined by a Diamond tool. You can mine Copper, Lapis, Redstone, Obsidian, or anything else you can find with either tool type.

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How to make a Lodestone with Netherite

Netherite can also be used to make a Lodestone in Minecraft. To make a Lodestone, surround a Netherite Ingot with 8 Chiseled Stone Bricks in a Crafting Table.

A Lodestone is an interesting Minecraft block which you can connect to your compass by clicking on the Lodestone with your compass equipped. After that, the compass will always point towards the Lodestone.

The Lodestone works in any Minecraft dimension (Overworld, Nether, End), and is a useful way to retrace your steps and re-locate hard-to-find places.

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That's everything you need to know about crafting Netherite Ingots and upgrading all your Minecraft armor and gear! If, alternatively, you want to use Netherite as a building material, check out our Minecraft house ideas and Minecraft building ideas pages for inspiration! You could even make a Nether-themed castle or tower! To make things easier, there are also great Minecraft texture packs and Minecraft shaders that can change the look of your game, or even make it easier to find Netherite in the first place. Elsewhere there's our list of the best Minecraft seeds if you're having trouble finding what you need in order to get into the Nether in the first place.