Minecraft fan suggests interesting idea for branched progression using bronze and steel

Minecraft will soon get the third game drop of 2025, which will add new copper tools, weapons, chests, and even a copper golem. This was a much-needed feature, as players wanted copper to have some useful purpose, especially for armor and weapons. Now, players are suggesting new ideas for branched progression that Mojang should certainly look into.

A Minecraft player, u/CookieDookie145, suggested a way to make copper even better, building upon the gameplay mechanics. The original poster proposed an alternative progression idea where, instead of crafting copper armor directly, players could use the smithing table to upgrade iron gear into bronze (with copper) or steel (with coal).

They also added that copper gear is fine as is, but this could be a more balanced approach for those who dislike copper tools and armor.

Guys, what if we have a branched progression instead? (There's two images here, also read desc (: ) byu/CookieDookie145 inMinecraft

However, players were quick to correct some mistakes about the details of this idea. u/Taolan13 pushed back on the idea by pointing out that bronze wouldn’t logically be an upgrade to iron, since it’s a weaker material. They added that making bronze from iron would be a downgrade, especially considering bronze doesn’t even contain iron, except as an impurity.

Comment byu/CookieDookie145 from discussion inMinecraft

Comment byu/CookieDookie145 from discussion inMinecraft

u/AdeonWriter pointed out that bronze is made of copper and tin, not iron. They explained that Mojang paid attention to these small educational details, so it was unlikely they’d let players craft bronze using iron since that could end up teaching younger players incorrect information.

u/EwokSithLord shared that they were not in favor of introducing alloys into Minecraft. They explained that historically, medieval steel was made by heating iron with charcoal — so iron armor in the game is already essentially steel.

Reddit reacts to the idea of making different armors (Image via Reddit)

Instead, they proposed an alternative system with “heavy” and “light” armor types, each affecting player speed. In their version, light armor, like leather, chain, and a new set they called "Enderon", would let players move slightly faster than normal, while heavy armor slightly reduces movement speed.

u/ArioStarK chimed in, saying that Minecraft needs metallurgy mechanics in the next update. It’s a clear nod to the growing demand for more complex crafting systems, like alloying and refining metals, which certainly make the game mechanics more fun. u/Betray-Julia said that mixing iron and copper would just make brass armor.

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Minecraft copper update is coming

The Minecraft copper update is coming soon (Image via Mojang Studios)

Minecraft players are beyond excited for the upcoming game drop and it seems that Mojang is not missing any shots. So far, all the game drops of this year have been nothing but fantastic, adding everything players have asked for and wanted for a long time. The upcoming copper update shows exactly that.

For years, players wanted the developers to make copper more useful, as it was just used for decorative purposes and to craft items that barely had any real use. Thankfully, the upcoming update will fix it by adding copper tools, weapons, a full copper armor set, and even a cute copper golem mob. The beta and preview are out for the Bedrock Edition and can be downloaded easily.