Gearing up in Minecraft includes getting the best armor possible. However, there isn't a ton of customization that players can do with armor when it comes to how it looks. Specifically, all the metal armor, from iron to netherite, has one distinct look that hasn't been able to be visually changed.
That changes with the Trails & Tails update with the addition of Smithing Templates. These templates add unique designs to each type of armor, with a wide variety of different templates to add flairs to the gear the player wears. But Smithing Templates aren't easily acquired in Minecraft, so it is worth exploring how these templates work.
How To Get Smithing Templates
There are a total of 17 smithing templates, 16 that add a cosmetic trim and one that is specifically required to upgrade diamond armor to netherite. Most of the time, smithing templates are found in chests in a variety of structures, all with varying percentages of generating. It is worth noting that the structure a template is found in determines the type of template it is.
- Ancient City: Silence Armor Trim & Ward Armor Trim Smithing Templates
- Bastion Remnant:Netherite Upgrade & Snout Armor Trim Smithing Templates
- Desert Temple: Dune Armor Trim Smithing Template
- End City: Spire Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Jungle Temple: Wild Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Nether Fortress: Rib Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Pillager Outpost: Sentry Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Shipwreck: Coast Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Stronghold: Eye Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Woodland Mansion: Vex Armor Trim Smithing Template
- Trail Ruins: Wayfinder Armor Trim, Shaper Armor Trim, Host Armor Trim, and Raiser Armor Trim Smithing Templates
The 17th smithing template, the Tide Armor Trim Smithing Template, can only be obtained when fighting Elder Guardians in Ocean Monuments. They have a 20 percent chance of dropping the template, even when they aren't dead.
How To Craft Smithing Templates
Smithing Templates can also be crafted, but not without already obtaining one first. In other words, players can get a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template from a chest then use that in a crafting recipe to make more Netherite Upgrade Smithing Templates.
The smithing template recipe is laid out where the obtained temple goes into the top middle slot of the crafting table, a corresponding block goes in the very middle, and seven diamonds fill out the rest of the crafting table slots. The blocks that correspond with the different templates are as followed:
- Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template: Netherrack
- Coast Armor Trim Smithing Template: Cobblestone
- Dune Armor Trim Smithing Template: Sandstone
- Eye Armor Trim Smithing Template:End Stone
- Host Armor Trim Smithing Template: Terracotta
- Rib Armor Trim Smithing Template: Netherrack
- Sentry Armor Trim Smithing Template: Cobblestone
- Shaper Armor Trim Smithing Template: Terracotta
- Silence Armor Trim Smithing Template:Cobbled Deepslate
- Snout Armor Trim Smithing Template: Blackstone
- Spire Armor Trim Smithing Template: Purpur Block
- Tide Armor Trim Smithing Template: Prismarine
- Vex Armor Trim Smithing Template: Cobblestone
- Ward Armor Trim Smithing Template: Cobbled Deepslate
- Wayfinder Armor Trim Smithing Template: Terracotta
- Wild Armor Trim Smithing Template: Mossy Cobblestone
Once the player lays out the recipe in the crafting table, this will produce two smithing templates. One will replace the template that was used in the recipe and the other one is the new template that is produced through the crafting method.
How To Apply To Armor
As one may assume by their name, Smithing Templates can be applied to armor using the smithing table. For the various armor trims, all armor can have a smithing template applied to it. On top of that, players can choose what colors they apply to the armor with the help of various ingots or mining material.
When opening the table, players can place the armor trim template in the first spot, the armor they want to customize in the second slot, and the material they want to use as a color. The various materials that can be used are as follows:
- Emerald: Green
- Redstone Dust: Red
- Lapis Lazuli: Blue
- Amethyst Shard: Purple
- Nether Quartz: White
- Netherite Ingot: Black
- Diamond: Light Blue
- Gold Ingot: Yellow
- Iron Ingot: Light Gray
- Copper Ingot: Orange
Each of these materials will add their corresponding color to the armor piece with the smithing template design the player includes. If players apply the same material to the trim that the armor is made of, the trim will come across a little bit darker so therefor it stands out.
As for the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, players must place the template along with a netherite ingot and either diamond tools or diamond armor inside the smithing template to upgrade that item to netherite. This specific template can not be used on any other gear nor can it be paired with other materials.
Minecraft: Trails & Tales will launch on Java and Bedrock editions of the game sometime in 2023.