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Armor is a special type of item which players and certain types of mobs can wear for protection, decreasing the damage inflicted upon them.
Mechanics[]
Armor can be made of leather, iron, gold, diamond, and netherite. Chainmail armor could be crafted with fire (obtained through commands) until this feature was removed in update 1.8. Armor reduces the amount of damage dealt toward the player or mob who is wearing it. However, armor will not protect from all types of damage, such as fall damage or drowning, unless it's enchanted. All types of armor can be equipped as well as enchanted. However, only certain armor types can obtain certain enchants without the use of an enchanted book. Armor can be worn by players and any skeleton or zombie variant. These mobs may also spawn already wearing a piece of armor. Armor is equipped in four special slots inside a player's inventory. It can be equipped in slots for helmets, chest plates, leggings, and boots. Lastly, there is elytra, a pair of wings that fits in the chest-slot, and allows a player to glide (or fly, when combined with other effects).
List of armor (by slot)[]
Helmets/Caps[]
- Leather cap
- Chainmail helmet
- Iron helmet
- Gold helmet
- Diamond helmet
- Netherite Helmet
- Turtle shell
Chestplates/tunics[]
- Leather tunic
- Chainmail chest plate
- Iron chest plate
- Gold chest plate
- Diamond chest plate
- Netherite chest plate
- Elytra
Leggings/pants[]
- Leather pants
- Chainmail leggings
- Iron leggings
- Gold leggings
- Diamond leggings
- Netherite Leggings
Boots[]
- Leather boots
- Chainmail boots
- Iron boots
- Gold boots
- Diamond boots
- Netherite Boots
Armor types[]
Types of craftable Armor.
There are six types of armor: leather, gold, chain, iron, diamond, and netherite.
Leather armor[]
Leather is used to craft the first tier of armor. It has very low durability, and a full set of leather armor only absorbs 28% of damage, so it's not very practical in battle. However, one unique ability of leather armor is that it can be dyed by combining dyes with it in a crafting table, or through a cauldron. It's also the only armor to have unique names for each armor piece. Instead of being called the leather helmet, leather chest plate, and leather leggings; they are called the leather cap, leather tunic, and leather pants. The boots, however, are just called leather boots. In 1.17 it can also be used to prevent freezing from Powder Snow
Golden armor[]
Golden armor is the second tier of armor. It has slightly higher durability than leather but is still fairly fragile. A full set of gold armor will absorb 44% of damage. Gold is the most enchant-able material of armor, just as golden tools are the most enchant-able material for tools. Any piece of gold armor can be smelted in a furnace to obtain a single gold nugget.
Chainmail armor[]
Chainmail is the third tier of armor. It is easily accessible in Creative, and cannot be obtained in Survival Mode mode other than by trading with villagers, killing a zombie or skeleton that is wearing chainmail armor or finding Buried Treasures. Chainmail is the same as gold but has the durability of iron. Chainmail armor can be smelted in a furnace to obtain one iron nugget per armor piece.
Iron armor[]
Iron armor is the fourth tier and third-strongest type of armor in Minecraft. While iron armor has high durability, and a full set will absorb 60% of damage, it's the least enchant-able type of armor. Iron armor can be worn by mobs, but this is very rare. Iron armor can be smelted down to obtain iron nuggets.
Diamond armor[]
Diamond armor is the fifth tier and second-strongest type of armor in Minecraft. Diamond armor is more than twice as durable as iron or chainmail armor, and a full suit will absorb 80% of damage. Also, as with iron armor, it can be worn by mobs, but they will rarely spawn wearing it.
Netherite armor[]
Netherite armor is the sixth and strongest tier of armor in Minecraft. Netherite armor has 12% more durability than Diamond armor. Netherite armor provides the same amount of protection as Diamond armor, but gives the player more durability and +1 Knockback Resistance per piece, decreasing the amount a player is knocked back, and sometimes canceling it altogether. Because it is made of netherite, this armor gives additional temporary fire resistance and fire protection. In fact, with Fire Protection IV or Protection IV, you can stand/swim in lava with no damage. The durability does not go down either.
Elytra[]
The elytra is a special piece of armor that fits in the chest-slot. It gives no armor value but allows a player to glide. Pressing the jump key while falling activates the wings. Elytra can be obtained in End ships, which sometimes generate alongside End cities. They can be found in an item frame within the hull of the ship guarded by a lone shulker.
Turtle shell[]
The turtle shell is a unique type of armor that is only applied to the head slot. It grants 2 defense and gives 10 seconds of underwater breathing. It can only be crafted by 5 scutes, which are dropped by baby turtles when they grow up. Turtle shells can also be used in brewing the potion of the turtle master.
Defense points[]
The following table shows the amount of defense points added by default by each piece of armor, as well as the total points added by a full set of armor for each material. Each 
will give 8% damage reduction, up to a maximum of 80%.
| Material | Full set | Helmet | Chestplate | Leggings | Boots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather | 7 ( )
|
1 ()
|
3 ()
|
2 ()
|
1 ()
|
| Gold | 11 ()
|
2 ()
|
5 ()
|
3 ()
|
1 ()
|
| Chainmail | 12 ()
|
2 ()
|
5 ()
|
4 ()
|
1 ()
|
| Iron | 15 ()
|
2 ()
|
6 ()
|
5 ()
|
2 ()
|
| Diamond | 20 ( x 10)
|
3 ()
|
8 ()
|
6 ()
|
3 ()
|
| Netherite | 20 ( x 10)
|
3 ()
|
8 ()
|
6 ()
|
3 ()
|
| Turtle Shell | 2 ()
|
2 ()
|
N/A | N/A | N/A |
Defense points per unit of material[]
| Material | Full set | Helmet | Chestplate | Leggings | Boots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather | 0.292 | 0.2 | 0.375 | 0.286 | 0.25 |
| Gold | 0.458 | 0.4 | 0.625 | 0.429 | 0.25 |
| Chainmail | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.625 | 0.571 | 0.25 |
| Iron | 0.625 | 0.4 | 0.75 | 0.714 | 0.5 |
| Diamond | 0.833 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.857 | 0.75 |
| Netherite | 0.833 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.857 | 0.75 |
| Turtle Shell | 0.4 | 0.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Durability[]
Any time the player takes damage that can be reduced by armor, each piece of armor they are wearing loses 1 durability for every 4 (
) of incoming damage (rounded down, but never below 1). The following chart displays how many hits each piece of armor can endure.
| Material | Helmet | Chestplate | Leggings | Boots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather | 55 | 80 | 75 | 65 |
| Gold | 77 | 112 | 105 | 91 |
| Chainmail/Iron | 165 | 240 | 225 | 195 |
| Diamond | 363 | 528 | 495 | 429 |
| Netherite | 406 | 591 | 554 | 480 |
| Turtle Shell | 275 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Durability per unit of material[]
| Tier | Helmet | Chestplate | Leggings | Boots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather | 11 | 10 | 10 5⁄7 | 16 1⁄4 |
| Gold | 15 2⁄5 | 14 | 15 | 22 3⁄4 |
| Chainmail/Iron | 33 | 30 | 32 1⁄7 | 48 3⁄4 |
| Diamond | 72 3⁄5 | 66 | 70 5⁄7 | 107 1⁄4 |
| Netherite | 81 1⁄5 | 73 7⁄8 | 79 1⁄7 | 120 |
| Turtle Shell | 55 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Enchantments[]
Armor can be enchanted to provide more protection or allow armor to protect certain types of damage that armor doesn't normally protect against, such as fall damage or fire (there are also more unique enchantments for armor). Damage reduction from enchantments does not decrease the armor's durability. Armor enchantments do not appear on or affect the armor bar.
An armor's material determines how enchantable it is. The higher a material's enchantability, the greater the chance of getting multiple and high-level enchantments.
| Leather | Gold | Chainmail | Iron | Diamond | Netherite | Turtle Shell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 9 |
All Armor Enchantments[]
| Armor Enchantment | Max Level |
|---|---|
| Protection | V(5) |
| Fire Protection | |
| Blast Protection | |
| Projectile Protection | |
| Feather Falling | |
| Respiration | III |
| Thorns | |
| Depth Strider | |
| Unbreaking | |
| Frost Walker | II |
| Aqua Affinity | I |
| Mending | |
| Curse of Binding | |
| Curse of Vanishing |
Sources[]
Generated structures[]
Armor can appear as loot in chests:
- Unenchanted golden chestplates can be found in Nether Fortress chests.
- Enchanted iron and diamond armor can be found sometimes in End City chests, with all eight types being equally likely.
- In Stronghold and Village blacksmith chests (although twice as often in the latter), unenchanted iron armor can be found, with all four types being equally likely.
- Iron helmets can generate in Stronghold altar chests, village armorer chests, and village weaponsmith chests.
- Golden, diamond, enchanted iron, and chainmail chestplates can be found in Woodland Mansion chests.
- Golden helmets can generate in Underwater Ruins chests.
- Armorsmiths can also sell armor
- Leatherworkers can sell leather armor
Crafting[]
It takes 24 units of any of the previously mentioned materials to make a full set of armor (4 for boots, 5 for helmets, 7 for leggings, and 8 for chestplates). Although a player may mix and match the types of armor they have equipped, each piece must be crafted of only one of the valid types of material. For example, a player could wear a leather helmet with an iron chest plate, but one can't craft a chest plate out of both iron and leather.
Note that chestplates provide the most protection per unit of material, followed by leggings, helmets, then boots. The more units of material, the more protection per unit of material. The exact ratio varies between different materials.
Armor can be crafted out of leather, gold, iron, or diamond. Simply place one of the chosen material in each slot of the crafting interface indicated below.
| Leggings | Boots | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Material | Material | None | None | None | |
| Material | None | Material | Material | None | Material | |
| Material | None | Material | Material | None | Material | |
| Chestplate | Helmet | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material | None | Material | Material | Material | Material | |
| Material | Material | Material | Material | None | Material | |
| Material | Material | Material | None | None | None | |
Material, in the boxes above, refers to iron ingots, gold ingots, leather, or diamonds.
Fishing[]
Leather boots can occasionally be caught as a 'junk' item while fishing. It will be severely damaged, and will never be enchanted.
Trivia[]
- Leather armor previously had three different textures.
- The first texture ever used for leather armor was taken from Notch's game The Legend Of The Chambered. During the snapshots for 1.4, the look was made darker to make dyed armor more visible. In the official update 1.4 release, it changed to have non-dyed parts. This was done so that players could distinguish between other types of armor.
- Gold and Iron armor can be smelted in furnaces to make Gold and Iron Nuggets, 1 Nugget per article of clothing.
- In Minecraft's Indev stage, leather armor was known as "Cloth/Wool" armor. This is because the crafting recipe for leather armor required wool, instead of leather. This was probably because Cows had not yet been added.
- In Minecraft's Classic stage, Notch tested armor models on zombies and skeletons. Chestplates and helmets were the only types of armor available. However, the armor was for testing purposes, so it did not give any effect on gameplay.
- Studded armor was several armor sprites that were added in Minecraft's Indev stage. They were also taken from Notch's unfinished game The Legend Of The Chambered, along with leather armor. It was never added into the game, and they were later removed from the game files entirely.
- There is a small chance that leather boots can be obtained while Fishing. This is a reference to the video game The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, where Link can fish up an old boot.
- Golden armor has a higher chance of getting stronger enchantments in the Enchantment Table than the other types of armor.
- Turtle Shells are the only armor piece that can be used in brewing (Turtle Master Potions).
- Netherite Armor will have Knockback Resistance 1 on it automatically.
- Piglins loves gold armor, and if you give them gold armor then they will wear it
