What is the point of gold tools in Minecraft?

Minecraft's golden tools as pixel art (Image via GrassKid/Minecraft Amino)
Minecraft's golden tools as pixel art (Image via GrassKid/Minecraft Amino)

Minecraft's tools are made of different materials, including wood, stone, iron, gold, diamonds, and Netherite.

Golden tools have the weakest durability in the game, even lower than wooden tools. However, they make up for this with the speed at which they can break blocks.

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Aside from diamond and Netherite tools, the golden variants have the highest block breaking speed in the game.

This makes golden tools something of a double-edged option. They are very fast at breaking blocks but do not last long enough to break many of them.


How to offset the durability issues of golden tools in Minecraft

Using enchantments in Minecraft can improve the viability of golden tools (Image via Mojang)
Using enchantments in Minecraft can improve the viability of golden tools (Image via Mojang)

To overcome the downsides of golden tools, players should look to their enchanting abilities.

By applying the Unbreaking enchantment, players can extend the durability of their golden tools. The enchantment will reduce the number of times a tool takes damage after breaking a block. At Unbreaking rank III, gold tools have their durability increased from 33 to 132, improving the lifetime of the tools by an average of 300%.

The alternative enchantment to improve gold tools' durability is tougher to find. Mending is an enchantment that uses experience orbs which players pick up to repair their gear. This is helpful, especially if players have an available experience farm that they can collect from.

Since Mending is a treasure enchantment, players won't find it in an enchanting table. They'll need to find a Mending-enchanted book via loot chests, fishing or trading with librarian villagers instead.

Players in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition can also occasionally receive Mending books from pillager raids.

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Unbreaking is an easier enchantment to acquire but will still eventually require players to repair their golden tool if they want to avoid it breaking.

Conversely, Mending ensures that the tool can restore its durability by foregoing the need for materials entirely. Players using the enchantment will likely save themselves plenty of gold ingots in the long run.

There's also the question of whether players should enchant their golden pickaxe at all. It may be beneficial for newer players. However, considering that diamond and Netherite tools are more durable and mine faster, players would ideally want to save their enchantments for these tools instead.

At the end of the day, the choice is up to the player. If they have extra experience and resources available, having an enchanted golden pickaxe isn't a bad thing. Otherwise, it just isn't great compared to its higher-quality counterparts.

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Unless players are in a hurry or have an excess amount of gold, they may not want to rely on gold tools at all. Considering what it takes to make them relatively decent, players can save their gold ingots and craft other items.

Since gold ingots are a core part of recipes for clocks, powered rails, Netherite ingots, and lightweight pressure plates, spending too much gold on golden tools can be wasteful.

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