How to get netherite in Minecraft

You get netherite in four steps: mine ancient debris in the Nether, smelt it into netherite scrap, combine four scrap with four gold ingots into a netherite ingot, then use that to upgrade your diamond gear at a smithing table. You also need a netherite upgrade smithing template, which you find in a bastion remnant.

Below we go through each step, where to look and what it costs. Checked against Java 26.3 and Bedrock 26.52.

Where do you find ancient debris?

Ancient debris sits deep in the Nether, hidden in netherrack, and is almost never exposed to the air. On average Y 16 has the most. You can only mine it with a diamond or netherite pickaxe.

• Dig long tunnels at Y 15 or 16. In Java you can see your height with F3.
• Blow it up. Ancient debris survives explosions, netherrack doesn’t. With TNT, or a bed that explodes when you try to sleep in the Nether, you clear a big hole in one go. Careful: the blast hits you as well.
• Check bastions. The chests in a bastion remnant sometimes already hold ancient debris, scrap or even a netherite ingot.

How do you make netherite ingots?

1. Smelt the ancient debris in a furnace or blast furnace. Each block gives one netherite scrap and 2 experience points.
2. Put four netherite scrap and four gold ingots on the crafting table, in any order. That makes one netherite ingot.

So one piece of gear costs four ancient debris and four gold ingots. A full suit of armour takes sixteen of each.

Finding and copying the upgrade template

Without a netherite upgrade smithing template you can’t upgrade anything. You only find it in bastion remnants: the treasure room chest always has one, and the other chests have a 10% chance.

Bastions are dangerous. Piglins get angry when you open a chest or mine gold there, even if you wear gold, and piglin brutes attack you no matter what. Bring good armour and plenty of food.

One template is enough to make more: put it on the crafting table with seven diamonds and one netherrack, and you get two back. Short on diamonds? Here’s the best level to find diamonds.

Upgrading your gear

1. Open a smithing table.
2. Put the template, the diamond item and a netherite ingot in the three slots.
3. Take out the netherite item.

Your enchantments, name and armour trims stay, and it costs no experience. You can upgrade armour, swords, pickaxes, axes, shovels, hoes and spears this way, plus diamond horse armour and nautilus armour. If something gets damaged later, repair it on an anvil with a netherite ingot.

Is netherite worth it?

For a full suit of armour plus a sword and pickaxe, count on 24 ancient debris and 24 gold ingots. If you found one template, the five copies cost 35 diamonds in total.

For your most important gear it’s definitely worth it: armour, sword and pickaxe. The fireproof part alone saves a lot of grief when you fall into lava in the Nether, because your items simply float. For a hoe, you’re better off saving your debris. Add the best enchantments from the best Minecraft enchantments. No portal to the Nether yet? Start with how to make a nether portal, and pack a Potion of Fire Resistance.