How to make netherite sword in Minecraft (2023)

In a new Minecraft world, acquiring decent armor, weapons, and basic items should be at the top of the player's to-do list due to the prevalence of hostile mobs in all biomes. A handful of resources can be used to craft weapons in the game, with the best being netherite.

Compared to other resources in Minecraft, netherite is the rarest and most recently added resource. It was introduced with the 1.16 Nether update, and since then, minimal changes have been made to how it can be acquired. However, getting hold of netherite items will become much harder when the 1.20 update drops later this year.

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Netherite sword in Minecraft

Items needed for creating a netherite sword

Unlike diamonds, iron ingots, and other resources that can be used as an ingredient, netherite ingots cannot be directly used to craft a sword. Instead, the player needs to craft a diamond sword first, and then they can upgrade it to a netherite sword on the smithing table. To do so, players will need only one netherite ingot, a smithing table, and, as mentioned earlier, a diamond sword.

Required items (Image via Mojang)

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Acquiring a netherite ingot

Ancient debris in the nether (Image via Mojang)

A netherite ingot can only be acquired through crafting; to do so, players will need four netherite scraps and four gold ingots. Netherite scraps are formed when a player smelts ancient debris on a furnace.

For those unaware, ancient debris is a rare block added to Minecraft with the 1.16 update. It generates in all nether biomes, mostly between Y levels 8 and 22, and can only be mined using a diamond pickaxe.

Crafting recipe of a netherite ingot (Image via Mojang)

Once the player has four netherite scraps, they need to place them on the crafting table along with four gold ingots, as shown in the above image, and craft an ingot.

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Upgrading diamond sword to netherite

A diamond sword being upgraded to netherite (Image via Mojang)

Once the required items have been obtained, the player needs to place them on the smithing table. The diamond sword goes in the first slot and the netherite ingot in the second. Players can then collect the netherite sword from the right-most slot.

Enchantments on the player's diamond sword will carry over to the upgraded netherite sword. The same goes for the durability points of the sword.

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Netherite sword in Minecraft 1.20

Upgrading a diamond sword to netherite in Minecraft 1.20 (Image via Mojang)

The next major update is the Minecraft 1.20 update, which will be released later this year. Multiple snapshots and betas have already been released for this update with a handful of new features. One of the features in the snapshot is the new method of using the smithing table to upgrade diamond items to netherite.

A new set of items called smithing templates will be introduced, including the netherite upgrade smithing template. Once the update drops, players will need a netherite ingot and a netherite smithing template to upgrade their diamond items.

This intriguing new item cannot be crafted and can only be found in bastions. Though uncraftable, a netherite upgrade smithing template can be duplicated on the crafting table using a netherrack block and seven diamonds.

Once acquired, players must place the three items on the smithing table as shown to upgrade their diamond swords.