Minecraft nights are a recipe for disaster. Creepers hide in the darkness, itching to blow you sky high. Endermen teleport you to random corners, just for kicks. Skeleton archers practice their aim on your unsuspecting backside. And don't even get started on the zombie and spider buffet that follows you everywhere. Without strong armor, you're just another tasty snack for the nighttime mob buffet.
Minecraft offers five tiers of armor: leather, gold, iron, diamond, and netherite. But there's a hidden sixth armor type: chainmail. This rarer material can't be crafted, leaving players to rely on luck (or looting) to find it. Could chainmail use a modern-day upgrade?
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About Chainmail in Minecraft
Chainmail armor was initially introduced in the early days of Minecraft in 2009. While it is impossible to craft the chainmail in Survival Mode, players could create chainmail armor using fire blocks through cheats or commands. Nevertheless, this feature was removed in the 1.8 update, also known as the Bountiful Update. In Creative Mode, chainmail armor can still be accessed, but there's no crafting recipe available for it.
Unlike other armor options, chainmail armor isn't an option for horses.
In Minecraft, chainmail armor offers a middle ground for defense. It's tougher than leather or gold, but can't quite compete with other amors. Just like real chainmail, it's lightweight and lets you see your character's skin through the links.
Despite not being feasible to craft, chainmail armor in Minecraft can be maintained by repairing it with iron ingots on anvils. It's also possible to enhance its durability through enchantments. Furthermore, players can smelt chainmail armor in furnaces to claim iron nuggets.
How to Get Chainmail Armor in Minecraft
The main method to get chainmail armor in Minecraft is by defeating mobs wearing it. Occasionally, skeletons and zombies will spawn with chainmail armor, and there's a rare chance they will drop it when defeated. Players can also equip stronger armor pieces like iron or diamond to chainmail-wearing skeletons or zombies, encouraging them to drop their chainmail armor instead.
Additionally, chainmail armor can sometimes be traded for emeralds with villagers or found in chests, though these occurrences are uncommon.
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Chainmail Armor’s Future in Minecraft
The current rarity of chainmail armor is a defining characteristic. In 2020, the introduction of chains in Minecraft Java Edition offered a potential crafting solution. Yet, the crafting recipe for chains itself (one iron ingot and two iron nuggets) might have hindered the implementation of chainmail armor crafting.
So, if you want to craft a pair of chainmail boots, it actually uses more iron than making a regular set of iron boots. If Mojang decides to let players craft chainmail armor with chains, they could change the chain recipe to use three iron nuggets instead. This way, it would save players iron and make more sense in terms of resources.
To enhance the usefulness of chainmail armor, Mojang could allow players to combine it with leather armor to increase defense points. In history, medieval soldiers often wore chainmail over leather or had chainmail sewn into leather for added protection, so combining them could be practical in Minecraft. This combined armor concept could potentially bridge the gap between currently existing tiers, offering a defense level that surpasses iron but falls short of diamond.
Leather armor's unique dye functionality could be leveraged by a combined chainmail-leather armor, potentially leading to increased use and customization of dyed leather armor. It would also allow them to maintain their desired colors while benefiting from the added protection of chainmail.
Just remember, crafting a complete set of iron armor in Minecraft uses up 24 iron ingots. If you choose to craft chainmail armor with chains as they are now, it would require a total of 28 iron ingots and eight iron nuggets for a full set.
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