Armor refers to a set of items that, when equipped, increase the player's defense against most sources of physical damage when worn. Armor can be made with a variety of materials, ranging from Wool Knit to Soulforged Steel, and come in four pieces; Head, Chest, Legs and Feet.
Damage Reduction
The total defensive value of the player's current armor is visually reflected in the armor meter, which appears above the health when at least one piece is worn. Every full "plate" of armor will give a 8% damage reduction, with a maximum possible reduction of 80%.
When armor reduces damage to the player, the armor is itself damaged in a similar manner to tools, and will be destroyed when it is depleted. Higher quality armor tends to have greater durability.
Armor does not reduce the damage from fall damage or status effects, such as poison, withering, potions of harming, starvation or drowning. While it does reduce heat damage from immediately touching fire or lava, it does not protect from the damage over time from being on fire. However, certain Enchantments can provide additional protection, including against some damage types that typically ignores armor, such as the Feather Falling enchantment reducing fall damage.
| Material
|
Damage reduction
|
Full set
|
Helmet
|
Chestplate
|
Leggings
|
Boots
|
| Wool
|
12%
|
1.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
-
|
| Padding
|
24%
|
3
|
0.5
|
1.5
|
1
|
-
|
| Leather
|
28%
|
3.5
|
0.5
|
1.5
|
1
|
0.5
|
| Tanned Leather
|
28%
|
3.5
|
0.5
|
1.5
|
1
|
0.5
|
| Gold
|
44%
|
5.5
|
1
|
2.5
|
1.5
|
0.5
|
| Chain
|
48%
|
6
|
1
|
2.5
|
2
|
0.5
|
| Iron
|
60%
|
7.5
|
1
|
3
|
2.5
|
1
|
| Diamond
|
80%
|
10
|
1.5
|
4
|
3
|
1.5
|
| Plate
|
80%
|
10
|
1.5
|
4
|
3
|
1.5
|
Armor is divided into two classes, Heavy and Light. While being much more protective, heavy armor items have a weight which add together when worn, increasing the rate at which hunger is burned. Additionally, if the total weight worn by the player is 10 or greater, they will be unable to swim, and will sink into deep water unless the armor is removed.
(As of CE 3.0, the weight of armor that makes you sink has been raised to 11 or higher.)
This is particularly dangerous while operating Boats, as Squid will prey on players that sink into deep water, even during the day.
All pieces of Light armor have 0 weight, but are less protective and durable. It is possible to mix and match armor together to maximize defense without impeding the ability to swim.
The heavier your armor set, the more hunger you will consume for every activity. Steel armor at 44 weight is double hunger cost, all other weights are normalized to that scale.
Hunger drain increases based on the weight of the armor worn. It is a linear progression, from 100% (base level) at 0 armor weight, up to 200% (double the base value) at 44 armor weight:
| Armor Weight
|
Hunger Drain
|
| 0
|
100%
|
| 5
|
111.36%
|
| 10
|
122.73%
|
| 15
|
134.09%
|
| 20
|
145.45%
|
| 25
|
156.82%
|
| 30
|
168.18%
|
| 35
|
179.55%
|
| 40
|
190.91%
|
| 44
|
200%
|
Durability
The following table shows the amount of damage each piece of armor can absorb before being destroyed.
Any "hit" from a damage source that can be blocked by armor will remove one point of durability from each piece of armor worn. Damage taken that armor doesn't protect from (such as poison or fall damage) will not damage the armor, even if it is enchanted to protect against that type of damage. The following chart displays how many hits each type of armor can endure. Every piece of the set had the same durability.
Armor Types
| Material |
Advantages |
Disadvantages
|
| Wool |
Light, cheap, doesn't require crafting table |
Least protective, no boots, needs time Knitting
|
| Padding |
Light, more protective than wool |
Low durability, no boots
|
| Leather |
Light, enchantable, has boots |
Less protective than heavy armor
|
| Tanned Leather |
Light, higher durability than leather |
Same protection as leather, needs Cauldron
|
| Gold |
High enchantability, fancy |
Heavy, low protection, low durability, expensive
|
| Chain |
Almost the same protection as iron while half as heavy and cheaper than iron |
Needs Soulforge
|
| Iron |
High protection |
Heavy, expensive
|
| Diamond |
Most protective armor available before Soulforged Steel, can be resmelted without losing diamond ingots |
Heavy, very expensive
|
| Plate |
Most protective, protects against Groth, helmet enchants to respiration V |
Very heavy, expensive, needs Soulforge, needs Infernal Enchanter
|
Wool Knit Armor does not include a boots variant.
Padded Armor does not include a boots variant, but the remaining pieces are as protective as their Leather equivalents.
| Name
|
Ingredients
|
Input » Output
|
|
Name
|
Ingredients
|
Input » Output
|
| Padded Cap
|
Padding
|
|
Padded Tunic
|
Padding
|
|
| Padded Pants
|
Padding
|
|
Leather Armor can be rendered down in a Stoked Cauldron to make Glue. Armor of Leather and better can be enchanted at the Enchantment Table or Infernal Enchanter.
Tanned Leather Armor is as protective as normal Leather Armor, but is more durable. It is also the most durable Light armor. Leather Armor can also be rendered down in a Stoked Cauldron to make Glue.
Gold Armor has a higher chance of better and multiple enchantments from the Enchantment Table than other armors. They can also be melted down in the Crucible for roughly two thirds of the original Gold Ingots.
Chain Armor is slightly less protective than Iron Armor, but it has half the weight. A set that mixes Chain Armor pieces with Tanned Leather Armor pieces can maximise protection and durability while still allowing the wearer to swim. Mail requires the Soulforge to craft.
| Name
|
Ingredients
|
Input » Output
|
|
Name
|
Ingredients
|
Input » Output
|
| Chain Helmet
|
Mail
|
|
Chain Chestplate
|
Mail
|
|
| Chain Leggings
|
Mail
|
|
Chain Boots
|
Mail
|
|
Iron Armor is rarely worn by Zombies and even more rarely Skeletons, and has a 75% chance to drop on death, though typically with significant damage. They can also be melted down in the Crucible for roughly two thirds of the original Iron Ingots. Combining these properties means that mob traps can be significant sources of iron.
Diamond Armor can be melted down in the Crucible to return all of original Diamond Ingots, including those used to make the Diamond Armor Plates, though the component Padding and Straps will need to be replaced at each reforging.
Plate Armor is significantly heavier than other types of armor, causing greater drains of hunger over time. However, the Plate Helm is the only piece of armor that accepts the enchantment Respiration V from the Infernal Enchanter, which allows for almost unlimited water breathing, making it ideal diving equipment. In addition, squids cannot damage the player if the player is wearing the Plate Helm.
A full set of Plate Armor is necessary to walk within range of a Block of Dung based Beacon without taking damage. Plate Boots are needed to walk on mature Nether Groth, and a Plate Helm is necessary to break mature Groth without being poisoned.
Like Refined Tools, it is very good for enchanting, since it can have a maximum of 4 enchantments, and can combine enchantments that are otherwise impossible to get together (like Protection and Blast Protection for example).
Plate Armor can be melted down in the Crucible to return all of original Soulforged Steel, including those used to make the Steel Armor Plates, though the component Padding and Straps will need to be replaced at each reforging.
In CE 3.0, 10% knockback resistance per piece of armor has been added.
