Minecraft Armour and Weapons Guide

The most useful items in Minecraft are the weapons and armour that you can craft. Without them, you will find it difficult to survive and get the materials you need as drops from mobs. There are many different types of armour and weapons that you can craft, all with different defence and attack points. Here we will go through these and tell you all you need to know.

Armour

Armour comes in five varieties: Leather, Gold, Iron, Iron Chainmail and Diamond. Each with a different armour quality and defence. The highest defence comes from Diamond armour with the lowest coming from Leather. Iron Chainmail armour cannot be crafted while playing survival and must be placed in using commands or in creative using your inventory, however, you might find it in a chest or minecart on survival.

In total, you need 24 Ingots/Leather/Gems to craft a whole set of armour:

• Diamond armour requires 24 diamonds to craft.
• Iron armour requires 24 Iron Ingots.
• Gold armour requires 24 Gold Ingots.
• Leather armour requires 24 Leather – You get this from killing cows.

Each item of armour has its own defence values, these are:

• Diamond
  Helmet – 3
  Chestplate – 8
  Legs – 6
  Boots – 3
  Total = 20 Defence for the Whole Set.
• Iron
  Helmet – 2
  Chestplate – 6
  Legs – 5
  Boots – 2
  Total = 15 Defence for the Whole Set.
• Chainmail
  Helmet – 2
  Chestplate – 5
  Legs – 4
  Boots – 1
  Total = 12 Defence for the Whole Set.
• Gold
  Helmet – 2
  Chestplate – 5
  Legs – 3
  Boots – 1
  Total = 11 Defence for the Whole Set.
• Leather
  Helmet – 1
  Chestplate – 3
  Legs – 2
  Boots – 1
  Total = 7 Defence for the Whole Set.

Armour also has durability, once the durability reaches 0, the armour will be destroyed. The durabilities are:

1. Diamond
   Helmet – 364
   Chestplate – 529
   Legs – 496
   Boots – 430
2. Iron/Chain
   Helmet – 166
   Chestplate – 241
   Legs – 226
   Boots – 196
3. Gold
   Helmet – 78
   Chestplate – 113
   Legs – 106
   Boots – 92
4. Leather
   Helmet – 56
   Chestplate – 81
   Legs – 76
   Boots – 66

How Do You Make Each Armour Piece?

Here is how to craft each of the pieces needed for a full suit of armour.

Helmet

Helmets are crafted by opening your crafting bench and putting your 5 required materials into the box, with 2 materials on either side and a single one in the middle. Once you have done this you will see the helmet on the side box and be able to drag it out into your inventory. To equip the helmet you need to open your inventory and drag it onto the slot next to your head.

Chestplate

You can craft a Chestplate by using 8 pieces of the required material in your crafting grid. You need to place them into every slot in the crafting grid apart from the top-middle, this should be blank. When done correctly, you will see the Chestplate on the right in the box. You can now drag this into your inventory and equip it by dragging it onto the box next to your character in the inventory screen.

Legs

To make a pair of Legs, you will require 7 of your chosen material. Crafting is done in your crafting grid, you need to place these in an “N” shape, leaving the bottom-middle 2 slots free. Once done correctly, you will see the item in the box on the left. You can now drag it to your inventory and wear them by dragging them onto the box next to your character.

Boots

Crafting boots is the easiest as they take the least amount of materials, though, they also offer the least amount of defence. To craft Boots, you need 4 of your required materials. Open your crafting grid and place 2 of the material on either side, leaving the bottom 3 slots and all middle slots empty. You will see the Boots on the right box when correctly placed. Once done, you can drag to your inventory and wear them by pulling them into the slot next to your character.

Weapons

Weapons are used to defend yourself from mobs and to kill them for the items they drop. The most common weapons used are swords, axes and bows. This gives you the option of fighting from a distance or from range. Weapons have the ability to be enchanted with many different assets, such as greater looting or unbreaking.

Swords

The most basic weapon that players start off with when playing Minecraft is a Sword. It is easily craftable and will protect you early game. Swords can be used by clicking your left mouse button, this will make you lunge forward and slash the sword in front of you. Swords also have a stronger attack called the “Sweep Attack”. This can be activated when your charge meter is filled. To do so you must be standing or crouching and then attack. This will hit any close-up mobs and deal 1 damage to them, whilst also pushing them back. You can enchant your sword using the Sweeping Edge enchantment to make the damage delt even greater.

Crafting a Sword is done using a single stick and 2 of your chosen material. You craft them by opening a crafting grid and placing your stick in the bottom-middle box and then the 2 chosen materials in the other 2 middle slots. When correctly placed, you will see the sword on the right-hand side box. You can now drag the sword from here, into your inventory.
There are 5 types of Sword that can be crafted:

• Diamond
  The strongest of all swords. Diamonds are very rare and offer a great deal of defence and durability when crafted into weapons. Diamond swords deal 7 damage points this is the equivalent of 3.5 hears per hit and 11.2 damage per second. The durability of a Diamond Sword is 1562.
• Iron
  Iron is one of the most widely available ores in Minecraft, making the Iron Sword one of the most commonly used. The stats for Iron Swords are great for how easily they can be crafted. Iron Swords deal 6 damage per hit which is the same as 3 hearts and 9.6 damage per second. The durability of Iron Swords is 251.
• Stone
  A basic upgrade from Wood and Gold. Stone Swords are not hugely powerful but do a good job at protecting you early game. They can be crafted from cobblestone, an easy resource to collect. The damage from Stone Swords is 5 and damage per second is 8, the same as 2.5 hearts. Stone Swords have a durability of 132.
• Gold
  Gold Swords are harder to obtain as Gold Ore is rarer than Iron, though, they do not deal more damage or have more durability than the easier to obtain swords. The damage per hit from a Gold Sword is 4 which is the same as 2 hearts, and 6.4 damage per second. They have low durability of just 33.
• Wood
  The very first sword you will most likely use in Minecraft is the Wooden Sword. It is basic and deals low damage but will protect you when night approaches. The damage inflicted from Wooden Swords is 4, the same as 2 hearts and has a damage of 6.4 per second. The durability of a Wood Sword is 60.

Axes

The main use of an Axe in Minecraft is to chop down trees for wood, though they can also be used for defence purposes as they inflict high damage. They are a good choice of weapon when fighting a shielded mob due to the fact there is a 25% chance of disabling the shield for 5 seconds.

You craft an axe using 2 sticks and 3 of your chosen material. In order to craft the axe using these, you must open a crafting grid and place your 2 sticks in the bottom-middle and second-middle boxes, the remaining 3 materials should be placed around the top left corner of the box. When placed correctly, you will see the axe in the box in the right.

There are also 5 types of Axe, these are:

• Diamond
  Another very powerful tool due to the use of Diamonds. A Diamond Axe is the most powerful out of all axes and also has the highest durability. You need 3 diamonds to craft one. The damage per hit from a Diamond Axe is 9, the equivalent to 4.5 hearts and 9 damage per second. Diamond Axes have durability of 1562.
• Iron
  Iron is easy to find and offers decent damage and high durability. The damage given is the same as a stone axe, though it has better durability and is faster. The attack of an Iron Axe is 9, the same as 4.5 hearts and 8.1 damage per second. Iron Swords have a durability of 251.
• Stone
  A basic yet useful tool. Stone Axes are easy to get, making for a great weapon when first starting out. They deal 9 damage, the same as 4.5 hearts and 7.2 damage per second. They also have a durability of 132, much less than the Iron.
• Gold
  Gold Axes are fairly difficult to obtain as Gold Ore is found deeper in caves than others and offers lower damage and durability than easily obtainable Axes. However, they are also faster than Wooden Axes. Gold Axes have a damage of 7, the same as 3.5 hearts and 7 damage per second. They have a durability of 33.
• Wood
  The most basic and lowest damage axe is the Wood Axe. It has better durability than the Gold Axe but smaller damage amount. Wood Axes inflict 7 damage per hit, the same as 3.5 hearts and 5.6 damage per second. They have a durability of 60.

Bows

The only choice when wanting to fight from a distance in Minecraft is by Bow and Arrow. You can obtain both either through crafting or drops from skeletons.
Crafting a bow is done using 3 string and 3 sticks. You can do this by opening up a crafting table and placing the 3 string down the left-hand side of the box, then the sticks should be placed with one in the top and one at the bottom of the 2nd row and then the remaining stick in the middle-right box.

In order to use a bow, you will need some arrows in your inventory. To get the most damage from an arrow you must hold down until the bow is fully charged, this will inflict 9 damage and can travel up to 24 blocks but also has a chance of hitting critically, which can deal 10 damage. If you don’t hold the bow down fully, it will still fire but will not inflict as much damage and will not fly as far. You know the bow is fully charged when your screen starts to shake.

Arrows

Arrows are made using flint, feathers and sticks. One of each item in the crafting grid will produce 4 arrows. The recipe for crafting is flint in the middle-top box, a stick in the centre box under the flint and then finally a feather in the middle box under the stick.

There are now 15 different types of arrows – 14 Tipped Arrows and 1 Spectral Arrow:

Spectral Arrows
A brand new arrow to Minecraft. Crafted from 1 arrow and 4 glowstone dust. The Spectral Arrow will light up any target that it hits for 10 seconds. This means that its easy to keep track of targets as you can see the light through blocks. In order to craft it, you need to place a regular arrow in the centre of a crafting table, surrounded with 4 glowstone, this will give you 2 Spectral Arrows.

Tipped Arrows
We now have 14 different types of Tipped Arrows in Minecraft. Each has a different attribute. To craft each arrow you will need 8 arrows and a single potion of the arrow you would like to craft. You should place the potion in the centre of the crafting table, surrounded by arrows in all remaining boxes.

Below is the list of all Tipped Arrow Types:

• Slowness
  Slows down Mobs by 15% for 1 minute 30 seconds.
• Night Vision
  If shot, you can see in the dark for 3 minutes.
• Regeneration
  Gain 36 health within 1 minute 30 seconds.
• Luck
  Gain more luck for 5 minutes.
• Swiftness
  Increased speed by 20% for 3 minutes.
• Leaping
  Jump High and take little damage when falling for 3 minutes.
• Harming
  Inflicts 6 damage.
• Healing
  Gain 2 hearts (4 HP)
• Poison
  Take a maximum of 72 damage across 21.6 seconds.
• Fire Resistance
  Cannot take damage from fire or lava for 3 minutes.
• Invisibility
  Become invisible for 3 minutes. Mobs cannot spot you unless wearing armour.
• Decay
  Inflicts 1 damage per second for 40 seconds.
• Water Breathing
  Able to breathe underwater for 3 minutes.
• Weakness
  Melee damage reduced for 1 minute 30 seconds.