As Minecraft has developed over the years, more and more powerful pieces of gear and items have been added to the now decade-old classic. Diamond armor and weapons aren't necessarily the best anymore. Now, Netherite is now the top-dop ore that everyone's clamoring over. The problem is, it's much rarer than other ores, and players can only find it in the Nether.
Netherite can't be found in its finished form, though. Players must turn Ancient Debris into Netherite Scraps, which they then turn into Netherite Ingots that they can use for crafting. Ancient Debris can technically spawn in clusters, but generally, a trip to the Nether yields only a handful of Ancient Debris each time Here's everything players should know about gathering and using this rare material.
6 It Only Spawns Underground In The Nether
Players won't find Ancient Debris in any area except the Nether. It typically does not spawn on the visible surface of the Nether either. Instead, the player must typically mine down a layer or two before there's any real chance of discovering Ancient Debris. This includes in caves and ceilings, as Ancient Debris will almost always be concealed by other blocks.
Players may also find it in chests in Bastion Remnants. However, these areas in the Nether are patrolled by Piglins. Be sure to equip a piece of golden armor before getting close to Piglins, and avoid Piglin Brutes, to find some of these chests.
5 It's Similar To Obsidian For Its Explosion Resistance
Ancient Debris is difficult to find in the Nether, thanks to its low spawn rate and tendency to spawn out of the player's sight. However, players with plenty of TNT can set up a strip-mining operation with no risk of accidentally destroying any Ancient Debris in the area. Be careful though, because all the Netherrack will fill up the inventory extremely quickly.
Ancient Debris has an explosive resistance value of 1,200, the same value as Obsidian. Thus, there is no risk of removing the block from the game with any explosive. Be prepared to build lots of makeshift bridges in order to excavate the Nether, though. An average of only five Ancient Debris spawn in each chunk.
4 A Diamond or Better Pickaxe Can Mine Ancient Debris
Ancient Debris is one of the most difficult and time-consuming blocks to mine. Unfortunately, it also only drops if destroyed with a Diamond or Netherite pickaxe. Players looking to skip the traditional progression of the game and get Netherite gear quickly will be in for quite a shock after spending half a minute of whacking at the block with an Iron pickaxe.
Unless the player has a Diamond pickaxe, it's best to avoid farming Ancient Debris until they have one and a few spares. Mining Netherrack can cause quite the hit to the durability of tools, so bring along some extra pickaxes. These can even be Iron or lower, as long as the player uses a Diamond one for the Ancient Debris itself.
3 Lava Won't Burn Or Incinerate It
Ancient Debris is a special block because it is so difficult to destroy. It can't be destroyed with explosions, it can't be mined with anything but a Diamond or Netherite pickaxe, and it does not get destroyed in Lava. Only items and blocks made of Netherite share this trait, which Ancient Debris is also the source of.
This means that if players are adventuring in the Nether and find Ancient Debris hanging onto a ledge above a lava lake, they can mine it and worry about building a bridge out to the block later. It also means that players can't throw them away in your base's incinerator — but why would they want to do that, anyway?
2 Players Can Turn It Into Netherite Scrap In A Furnace
Ancient Debris is the main source of Netherite Scrap in Minecraft. Players can make Netherite Scrap by combining one Ancient Debris with a fuel source in a furnace (or blast furnace). It takes a few seconds, but afterward they will have some Netherite Scrap to store for later.
Netherite Scrap is relatively useless on its own. It isn't used for any crafting recipe except the recipe for Netherite Ingot. Making a Netherite Ingot, though, isn't as simple as making Netherite Scrap. It doesn't require a furnace, although players will need some additional Ingots.
1 Netherite Ore Can Upgrade Tools and Gear Further
To make Netherite Ore, players need to combine four pieces of Netherite Scrap with four Gold Ingots at a crafting table. Imagine that the crafting table is numbered, with the top left square being 1 and the bottom right square being 9. Put a Netherite Scrap in spots 1 through 4, and a Gold Ingot in spots 5 through 8. It's the most reliable way to get Netherite Ore, but other combinations do work.
As players may be able to tell from this recipe, Netherite Ore is very time-consuming to produce. The player needs to find four of the rarest-spawning blocks in the Nether, as well as harvest four Gold or 36 Gold Nuggets to create four Gold Ingots. That only makes one Netherite Ore, though. A Pickaxe, for example, requires 12 Ancient Debris and 12 Gold (or 144 Gold Nuggets).