Minecraft fan suggests interesting concept idea for netherite sidegrade found in the End

Minecraft will soon get the next game drop that adds copper tools, weapons, and a full copper armor set. This was a much-needed change as players could not find a single good use of the copper item despite the metal having some great properties. The addition of a new armor set has led to some players thinking about all the possibilities.

Minecraft player u/Tallia__Tal_Tail proposed an imaginative expansion to Minecraft's armor system, inspired by how the game currently handles weapon sidegrades, like swords, axes, tridents, and maces.

The user argued that armor should also have meaningful sidegrades at the highest tier — alternatives that aren’t strictly better but offer different advantages. Just as netherite enhances diamond armor with lava resistance and knockback protection, the user envisions a new “enderite” armor focused on mobility.

Enderite, a Netherite sidegrade concept to add more complexity to endgame armor choice byu/Tallia__Tal_Tail inMinecraft

Enderite would grant effects like slight jump boosts, slow falling (including during knockback), and immunity to fall damage with a full set. It would also prevent the gear from being lost in the void by floating above it.

These features would make it a useful, situational alternative to netherite’s heavy, tanky vibe. Instead of a new ore, the proposed resource — end wood — would be found only at the top of end cities. Players would smelt and craft it into enderite blocks, then combine them with diamonds and eyes of ender to make enderite Ingots.

Gear upgrades would require a special template found in end ships and duplicated with purpur blocks. Overall, the concept offers a thoughtful and lore-friendly way to give players more gear variety.

Comment byu/Tallia__Tal_Tail from discussion inMinecraft

u/RedditGamer08 liked the concept but questioned the use of wood. They suggested that a block made of raw metal might be a more suitable alternative.

Comment byu/Tallia__Tal_Tail from discussion inMinecraft

The original poster explained that making it wood was mostly a lore-based decision. They imagined it as a warped version of an overworld material, brought to the end by ancient builders and altered over time — something like petrified wood. Still, they noted it could easily be swapped for something else, like iron or copper that's oxidized in a strange way in the end.

u/QwertyTek_Lahda52 liked the concept and pointed out that Minecraft doesn’t really have many proper sidegrades. However, they felt the method of obtaining the new item was too restrictive.

They added that requiring four diamonds made the recipe a bit too costly, especially when compared to how netherite only uses four gold ingots. The original poster acknowledged that they had considered the same concern and realized the issue already exists with netherite — something that only got worse after smithing templates were added.

They explained that their main goal was to keep things consistent with netherite, even if that came with drawbacks. However, they agreed that introducing an unbreakable "root" block that slowly produces end wood over time would be better.

Redditors talk about the Minecraft concept armor set and its possibilites (Image via Reddit)

They agreed that reducing the diamond requirement in Minecraft would likely make more sense.

u/Mac_Rat agreed that end wood shouldn’t be exclusive to structures like end cities, suggesting it would make more sense to allow broader access. However, they felt that using four diamonds in the recipe was reasonable since diamonds are meant to be valuable and somewhat rare.

Instead of reducing the diamond requirement, they suggested that balance could come from tweaking other parts of the process, like making trims easier or cheaper to duplicate.

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Upcoming Minecraft game drop is quite exciting

The copper golem is a very interesting mob soon coming to Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

Mojang Studios is on a roll with some great updates in 2025. The developers have added new mob variants and ambience improvements, such as the falling leaves effect, and all of these updates are improving the blocky game. More mobs, better immersion, and it seems that things are going to get even better.

The upcoming game drop will allow players to craft copper weapons, tools, armor, and even a cute copper golem. The addition of the golem is also monumental as it shows Mojang is willing to open its history books and bring back mobs that lost the Mob Vote.