Armor

Armor

Type	?
Rarity	Common
Durability	See Durability
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	No
Data values	See Data values
Namespaced ID	See Data values

For the armor that can be worn by adult horses, see Horse Armor.

Armor tiers. From left (weakest) to right (strongest): no armor, leather, golden, chainmail, iron, and diamond. (Note that the turtle shell is not pictured. It is between iron and diamond, having equal armor points and greater durability than iron).

Armor is a category of items that provide players and certain mobs with varying levels of protection from common damage types, and appear graphically on the wearer. These items include several different tiers of helmets, chestplates, leggings, and boots, which can each be placed in designated armor slots of a player's inventory for use.

Obtaining

Crafting

24 units of a given material make a full set of armor. A turtle shell is a helmet with no corresponding armor pieces. Chainmail armor cannot be crafted.

Armor can be repaired by placing two pieces of the same type (e.g., iron helmets) in a grindstone or in the crafting grid. The resulting item has 5% more durability left than the original items combined, but any enchantments are lost. Repairing armor with an anvil preserves and combine the enchantments, with a rising experience cost for subsequent repairs on the same item. Chainmail armor can be repaired in an anvil by combining iron ingots with it.

Repairing

Grinding

Ingredients	Grinding recipe	Description
Two matching armor pieces		The durability of the two armor pieces is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.

Unit repair

A piece of armor can be repaired in an anvil by adding units of the corresponding material (for chainmail: iron ingots; for turtle shells: scutes), each restores 25% its maximum durability, rounded down.

Drops

Zombies, skeletons, and their variants that spawn with armor have a small chance of dropping their armor when killed by the player. When killed, the armor they drop can vary from 1 to full durability. Upon death, zombies, skeletons, zombie pigmen and wither skeletons always drop any armor that they picked up and equipped. They may also be wearing enchanted armor that retains the enchantment when dropped.

In Bedrock Edition, pillagers and vindicators that spawn in raids have a small chance to drop an iron helmet, iron chestplate, iron leggings or iron boots, in a badly damaged state, with a possibility of having a random enchantment.‌

In Java Edition, armorer villagers throw chainmail armor to players who have the Hero of the Village status effect.

Trading

Leather pants and enchanted leather tunics can be bought from leatherworker villagers.

Iron helmets, iron chestplates, enchanted diamond chestplates, chainmail helmets, chainmail chestplates, chainmail leggings and chainmail boots can be bought from armorer villagers.

Iron leggings, iron boots, enchanted diamond helmets, enchanted diamond leggings and enchanted diamond boots can also be bought from armorer villagers.

Leather cap, enchanted leather cap and leather boots can also be bought from leatherworker villagers.

Natural generation

Helmets

• Leather caps can be found in 31.8% of village tannery chests in groups of 1.
• Enchanted leather caps can be found in 22.4% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 25.3% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

• Iron helmets can be found in 12.1% of stronghold altar chests, 31.8% of village armorer chests, and 25.6% of village weaponsmith chests, all in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 11.8% of stronghold altar chests in groups of 1.

• Enchanted iron helmets can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.
• Golden helmets can be found in 4.3% of big underwater ruins chests and 8.3% of small underwater ruins chests in groups of 1.
• In Bedrock Edition chainmail helmets can be found in 57.2% of buried treasure chests in groups of 1.
• Enchanted diamond helmets can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.

Chestplates

• Leather tunics can be found in 4.3% of big underwater ruins chests, 8.3% of small underwater ruins chests, 75.0% of buried treasure chests, and 31.8% of village tannery chests, all in groups of 1.
• Enchanted leather tunics can be found in 22.4% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 25.3% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

• Iron chestplates can be found in 12.1% of stronghold altar chests and 25.6% of village weaponsmith chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 11.8% of stronghold altar chests in groups of 1.

• Enchanted iron chestplates can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.
• Golden chestplates can be found in 19.0% of fortress chests in groups of 1.
• Chainmail chestplates can be found in 14.9% of woodland mansion chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 14.7% of woodland mansion chests and 57.2% of buried treasure chests in groups of 1.

• Diamond chestplates can be found in 7.7% of woodland mansion chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 7.6% of woodland mansion chests in groups of 1.

• Enchanted diamond chestplates can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.

Leggings

• Leather pants can be found in 31.8% of village tannery chests in groups of 1.
• Enchanted leather pants can be found in 22.4% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 25.3% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

• Iron leggings can be found in 12.1% of stronghold altar chests and 25.6% of village weaponsmith chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 11.8% of stronghold altar chests in groups of 1.

• Enchanted iron leggings can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.
• In Bedrock Edition chainmail leggings can be found in 57.2% of buried treasure chests in groups of 1.
• Enchanted diamond leggings can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.

Boots

• Leather boots can be found in 31.8% of village tannery chests in groups of 1.
• Enchanted leather boots can be found in 22.4% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 25.3% of shipwreck supply chests in groups of 1.

• Iron boots can be found in 12.1% of stronghold altar chests and 25.6% of village weaponsmith chests in groups of 1.

In Bedrock Edition they can be found in 11.8% of stronghold altar chests in groups of 1.

• Enchanted iron boots can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.
• In Bedrock Edition chainmail boots can be found in 57.2% of buried treasure chests in groups of 1.
• Enchanted diamond boots can be found in 13.3% of End city chests in groups of 1.

Notes

Usage

In order to have any protective effect, armor must be worn by the player. Helmets, chestplates, leggings and boots are equipped by placing them in the head, chest, legs and feet slots of the inventory next to the player's character, respectively. Armor can also be equipped simply by right clicking when held.

Chestplates provide the most protection per unit of material, followed by leggings. For leather, iron, and diamond armor, boots have equivalent armor points as the helmet, but for chainmail and gold armor, the helmets trump boots. Turtle shells, in addition to providing protection, also gives the player the Water Breathing status effect.

Duplicate armor pieces are not stackable in inventory slots.

Tiers

There are five different types of materials of armor. The five different types are shown below in order from weakest (offers the least protection and is the least durable) to strongest (offers the most protection and is the most durable).

• 

  Leather (on Steve)

• 

  Golden (on Steve)

• 

  Chainmail (on Steve)

• 

  Iron (on Steve)

• 

  Diamond (on Steve)

• 

  Leather (on Alex)

• 

  Golden (on Alex)

• 

  Chainmail (on Alex)

• 

  Iron (on Alex)

• 

  Diamond (on Alex)

The Turtle Shell does not fit into a tier, as it is not part of a full set. However, its defense points match gold, chainmail and iron helmets, while its durability is between iron and diamond helmets.

Other

Certain items provide beneficial effects when worn, but provide no protection against damage.

A carved pumpkin can be worn in the helmet slot. It partially blocks the player's vision, but prevents endermen from becoming aggressive when the player looks at them.

Mob heads can be worn in the helmet slot. They cut a player's detection range by 50% for the corresponding mob type, a bonus that stacks with potions of Invisibility and sneaking.

Elytra are worn in the chestplate slot, and they allow the player to glide through the air.

Dyeing leather armor

Main article: Dye § Dyeing armor

Leather armor can be dyed, and colors can be mixed.

Smelting ingredient

Name	Ingredients	Smelting recipe
Iron Nugget	Any iron armor or Any chainmail armor + Any fuel
Gold Nugget	Any golden armor + Any fuel

Mechanics

Whenever a piece of armor absorbs damage for the player, the armor itself is damaged, reducing its durability. After taking enough damage, the armor piece is completely destroyed.

Note that if the damage is absorbed not by the armor itself, but by a protection enchantment of the armor, the armor is not damaged. Enchantments can also reduce damage that armor normally does not reduce.

Damage types

The following types of damage are reduced by armor and, consequently, damage the armor itself:

• Direct attacks from mobs and players
  • This includes the Strength effect and the Sharpness enchantment.
• Getting hit with an arrow
  • This includes extra damage from enchantments.
• Getting hit with a fireball from a ghast or blaze, a fire charge or dragon fireballs
• Touching fire, lava, magma blocks or cacti
• Explosions
• Getting struck by lightning
• Getting hit with a falling anvil
• Getting hit by chicken eggs
• Getting hit by snowballs. (Tested on Bedrock)
• Getting hit with a fishing rod lure

The following types of damage are not reduced by armor and have no effect on the armor itself:

• Ongoing damage from being on fire
• Suffocating inside a block
• Drowning in water (partially for turtle shells)
• Starvation
• Falling (including ender pearls)
• Falling to the void
• Status effects
• Instant damage from a potion of Harming
• /kill
• Standing next to where lightning strikes.

Defense points

The armor bar as shown in game

Armor defense points are controlled by an attribute, generic.armor. The player's current protection level is represented visually by the armor bar. The armor meter is affected by the particular pieces that are worn as well as the tier of the armor. The following table shows the amount of defense points added by default by each individual piece of armor, as well as the total points added by a full set of armor for each material.

Material	Full set	Helmet	Chestplate	Leggings	Boots
Leather	7 ()	1 ()	3 ()	2 ()	1 ()
Golden	11 ()	2 ()	5 ()	3 ()	1 ()
Chainmail	12 ()	2 ()	5 ()	4 ()	1 ()
Iron	15 ()	2 ()	6 ()	5 ()	2 ()
Diamond	20 ( × 10)	3 ()	8 ()	6 ()	3 ()
Turtle Shell	2 ()	2 ()	N/A	N/A	N/A

Different combinations of armor provide different levels of defense.

Armor toughness

Armor can further protect the player through a second attribute, generic.armorToughness. By default, only diamond armor provides toughness, with each piece granting +2 toughness.

Damage protection

Damage taken depends on the number of defense points, the toughness of the armor worn and the strength of the attack.

Broken down, this means that each armor point gives 4% maximum damage reduction against an incoming attack. Without toughness, this max damage reduction is lessened by 2% for each hit point of the incoming attack. 2 defense points are worth 8% protection, so the total protection that can be achieved with armor is 80%. Diamond armor protects the player from 80% of damage, iron provides 60% damage reduction, and leather provides 28%.

One piece of diamond armor (granting +2 toughness) decreases the defense reduction value for each attack hit point to 1.6%. Two diamond pieces decrease it to ⁴⁄₃% (about 1.3333%), three decrease it to ⁸⁄₇% (about 1.1428%), and four decrease it to 1%. The exact formula for the defense reduction in percent is:
defenseReductionInPercent = damage × 2 ÷ ( ( toughness ÷ 8 ) + 1 ).

Simply put, as toughness increases, the amount of defense reduction done by high-damaging attacks is diminished, and as toughness approaches a very high value (through commands), the defense reduction caused by high-damaging attacks becomes negligible. The final damage reduction value of the armor is capped at a minimum of 0.8% damage reduction per armor point, and to a maximum of 80% total. If armor is cheated in so that the min cap is larger than the max cap, the min cap is ignored.

In tabular form (with a toughness of 0), damages are:

Armor	Attack damage
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
0	1.00	2.00	3.00	4.00	5.00	6.00	7.00	8.00	9.00	10.00	11.00	12.00	13.00	14.00	15.00	16.00	17.00	18.00	19.00	20.00
1	0.98	1.98	2.98	3.97	4.96	5.95	6.94	7.94	8.93	9.92	10.91	11.90	12.90	13.89	14.88	15.87	16.86	17.86	18.85	19.84
2	0.94	1.92	2.94	3.94	4.92	5.90	6.89	7.87	8.86	9.84	10.82	11.81	12.79	13.78	14.76	15.74	16.73	17.71	18.70	19.68
3	0.90	1.84	2.82	3.84	4.88	5.86	6.83	7.81	8.78	9.76	10.74	11.71	12.69	13.66	14.64	15.62	16.59	17.57	18.54	19.52
4	0.86	1.76	2.70	3.68	4.70	5.76	6.78	7.74	8.71	9.68	10.65	11.62	12.58	13.55	14.52	15.49	16.46	17.42	18.39	19.36
5	0.82	1.68	2.58	3.52	4.50	5.52	6.58	7.68	8.64	9.60	10.56	11.52	12.48	13.44	14.40	15.36	16.32	17.28	18.24	19.20
6	0.78	1.60	2.46	3.36	4.30	5.28	6.30	7.36	8.46	9.52	10.47	11.42	12.38	13.33	14.28	15.23	16.18	17.14	18.09	19.04
7	0.74	1.52	2.34	3.20	4.10	5.04	6.02	7.04	8.10	9.20	10.34	11.33	12.27	13.22	14.16	15.10	16.05	16.99	17.94	18.88
8	0.70	1.44	2.22	3.04	3.90	4.80	5.74	6.72	7.74	8.80	9.90	11.04	12.17	13.10	14.04	14.98	15.91	16.85	17.78	18.72
9	0.66	1.36	2.10	2.88	3.70	4.56	5.46	6.40	7.38	8.40	9.46	10.56	11.70	12.88	13.92	14.85	15.78	16.70	17.63	18.56
10	0.62	1.28	1.98	2.72	3.50	4.32	5.18	6.08	7.02	8.00	9.02	10.08	11.18	12.32	13.50	14.72	15.64	16.56	17.48	18.40
11	0.58	1.20	1.86	2.56	3.30	4.08	4.90	5.76	6.66	7.60	8.58	9.60	10.66	11.76	12.90	14.08	15.30	16.42	17.33	18.24
12	0.54	1.12	1.74	2.40	3.10	3.84	4.62	5.44	6.30	7.20	8.14	9.12	10.14	11.20	12.30	13.44	14.62	15.84	17.10	18.08
13	0.50	1.04	1.62	2.24	2.90	3.60	4.34	5.12	5.94	6.80	7.70	8.64	9.62	10.64	11.70	12.80	13.94	15.12	16.34	17.60
14	0.46	0.96	1.50	2.08	2.70	3.36	4.06	4.80	5.58	6.40	7.26	8.16	9.10	10.08	11.10	12.16	13.26	14.40	15.58	16.80
15	0.42	0.88	1.38	1.92	2.50	3.12	3.78	4.48	5.22	6.00	6.82	7.68	8.58	9.52	10.50	11.52	12.58	13.68	14.82	16.00
16	0.38	0.80	1.26	1.76	2.30	2.88	3.50	4.16	4.86	5.60	6.38	7.20	8.06	8.96	9.90	10.88	11.90	12.96	14.06	15.20
17	0.34	0.72	1.14	1.60	2.10	2.64	3.22	3.84	4.50	5.20	5.94	6.72	7.54	8.40	9.30	10.24	11.22	12.24	13.30	14.40
18	0.30	0.64	1.02	1.44	1.90	2.40	2.94	3.52	4.14	4.80	5.50	6.24	7.02	7.84	8.70	9.60	10.54	11.52	12.54	13.60
19	0.26	0.56	0.90	1.28	1.70	2.16	2.66	3.20	3.78	4.40	5.06	5.76	6.50	7.28	8.10	8.96	9.86	10.80	11.78	12.80
20	0.22	0.48	0.78	1.12	1.50	1.92	2.38	2.88	3.42	4.00	4.62	5.28	5.98	6.72	7.50	8.32	9.18	10.08	11.02	12.00

Note that these damage values are lower if a player wears pieces of diamond armor or has toughness added to the armor through commands. Without using cheats, armor values of 16 and above are impossible to obtain without at least one piece of diamond armor.

Bedrock Edition

Damage taken depends only on the number of defense points.

Each armor point gives 4% damage reduction, for example, a player wearing a complete set of leather, always gives 28% of damage protection (while in Java it protects 5.6-14%).

Enchantments

See also: Enchanting

Armor can be enchanted to provide various enchantments. Enchantments can provide more protection or allow armor to protect certain types of damage that armor doesn't normally protect against, such as fall damage or fire. Damage reduction from enchantments does not decrease the armor's durability. Armor enchantments do not appear on the armor bar.

An armor's material determines how enchantable it is. The higher a material's enchantability, the greater the chances of getting multiple and high-level enchantments (see enchantment mechanics for details).

Leather	Golden	Chainmail	Iron	Turtle Shell	Diamond
15	25	12	9	9	10

As with several enchantments, several different levels of protection are possible. The maximum level of a protection enchantment is currently IV (4). Protection enchantments from multiple pieces of armor stack together, up to a calculated maximum.

Each protection enchantment protects against specific types of damage. The amount of damage reduction depends on the Enchantment Protection Factor (EPF) provided by that enchantment.

Enchantment	Damage reduced for	Type Modifier	EPF Level I	EPF Level II	EPF Level III	EPF Level IV
Protection	All	1	1	2	3	4
Fire Protection	Fire, lava, and blaze fireballs	2	2	4	6	8
Blast Protection	Explosions	2	2	4	6	8
Projectile Protection	Arrows, ghast and blaze fireballs	2	2	4	6	8
Feather Falling	Fall damage (including ender pearls)	3	3	6	9	12

When a player or mob wearing armor is subjected to damage, the EPFs of all applicable enchantments are added together, capped at 20, and then damage is reduced as damage = damage * ( 1 - cappedEPF / 25 ), giving a maximum reduction of 80% at EPF 20.

Because of the caps in the calculation, it is possible to achieve maximum protection against specific types of damage with just three pieces of armor. For example, two pieces of armor with Blast Protection IV (EPF 8 each) and a single piece with Protection IV (EPF 4) would give a total EPF of 20 versus explosions. Any additional EPF would be wasted against explosions (but might be useful against other types of damage, if applicable).

If the damage is of a type that armor protects against normally, this reduction applies only to the damage that got through the armor.

It is possible using /give to obtain armor with an enchantment level higher than what is normally obtainable via normal survival. Using this method, a player could give themselves, for example, a full set of diamond armor with a Protection V enchantment on every piece. Following the algorithm above, we find that, because Protection V has an EPF of 5, the armor reaches the maximum EPF of 20 for all types of damage. Any higher Protection enchantments could be used to reach the cap with just one enchantment, rather than having a full set of enchanted armor, but would be wasted if all pieces shared the same level enchantment.

Durability

Any hit from a damage source that can be blocked by armor removes one point of durability from each piece of armor worn for every 4 of incoming damage (rounded down, but never below 1). The following chart displays how many hits each piece of armor can endure.

Material	Helmet	Chestplate	Leggings	Boots
Leather	56	81	76	66
Golden	78	113	106	92
Chainmail/Iron	166	241	226	196
Diamond	364	529	496	430
Turtle Shell	276	N/A	N/A	N/A

The chart below shows the durability per unit of material for each piece of armor, compared to that of the boots. Note that the durability per unit does not depend on the tier of the armor.

	Helmet	Chestplate	Leggings	Boots
Durability/Unit	68%	61%	66%	100%

This means that for the same number of leather/iron ingots/gold ingots/chainmail/diamond, boots can take 1.5 more damage than leggings. Thus, chestplates and leggings offer more defense points per unit, but have less durability per unit.

Armor worn by a non-player mob does not lose durability when attacked by any means. Helmets that are worn by undead mobs will lose durability when exposed to sunlight due to absorbing the mob's damage from sunlight.

Mob armor

Mobs equipping armor

Zombie equipped with iron armor

Certain mobs can spawn equipped with random armor pieces. Some mobs also spawn with the ability to pick up armor on the ground and equip them. The probability of mobs spawning equipped with armor, whether the armor is enchanted, the level of enchantment of the armor, and how many pieces of armor a mob spawns with depends on the difficulty; if a mob spawns with armor, the tier of armor (leather, gold, etc.) has a fixed probability:

Armor Type	Chance
Leather	37.06%
Gold	48.73%
Chainmail	12.90%
Iron	1.27%
Diamond	0.04%

The protection provided by armor and armor enchantments works the same with mobs as it does with players.

The following mobs can spawn with armor:

• Zombie
  • Baby Zombie
  • Villager Zombie‌^{[Java and Legacy Console editions only]}
  • Baby Villager Zombie‌^{[Java and Legacy Console editions only]}
  • Husk
• Skeleton
  • Stray

The following do not naturally spawn with armor, but they do pick up dropped armor:

• Drowned
• Zombie Pigman
  • Baby Zombie Pigman
• Wither Skeleton

These mobs cannot wear armor through survival mode means, but if equipped with commands, their armor is visible:

• Giant

All other mobs can be equipped via commands, although the armor cannot be seen. It is also possible to equip villagers with armor via dispensers.

Helmets can protect mobs from burning in sunlight, depleting its durability as it absorbs the damage. Eventually, the helmet loses all of its durability and breaks. Pumpkins and mob heads also protect mobs from burning in sunlight. Damage caused by any other source do not cause the mob's armor durability to decrease.

Horse armor

Main article: Horse armor

Horse armor can be equipped on horses to protect them from mob and player damage.

Armor points

Certain mobs naturally have armor points.

Mob	Points
Zombie Zombie Pigman Zombie Villager Husk Drowned	2 ()
Magma Cube (small)	3 ()
Wither	4 ()
Magma Cube (medium)	6 ()
Killer Rabbit	8 ()
Magma Cube (large)	12 ()
Shulker (when closed)	20 ( × 10)

Sounds

Sound	Subtitle	Namespaced ID	Subtitle ID	Source	Pitch	Volume	Min. volume
MISSING	Gear equipped	item.armor.equip_generic	subtitles.item.armor.equip	?	?	?	?
MISSING	Chin armor jingles	item.armor.equip_chain	subtitles.item.armor.equip_chain	?	?	?	?
MISSING	Diamond armor clangs	item.armor.equip_diamond	subtitles.item.armor.equip_diamond	?	?	?	?
MISSING	Gold armor clinks	item.armor.equip_gold	subtitles.item.armor.equip_gold	?	?	?	?
MISSING	Iron armor clanks	item.armor.equip_iron	subtitles.item.armor.equip_iron	?	?	?	?
MISSING	Leather armor rustles	item.armor.equip_leather	subtitles.item.armor.equip_leather	?	?	?	?
MISSING	Turtle shell thunks	item.armor.equip_turtle	subtitles.item.armor.equip_turtle	?	?	?	?

Data values

Item	Namespaced ID	Numeric ID‌[BE only]
Leather Cap	leather_helmet	298
Leather Tunic	leather_chestplate	299
Leather Pants	leather_leggings	300
Leather Boots	leather_boots	301
Chainmail Helmet	chainmail_helmet	302
Chainmail Chestplate	chainmail_chestplate	303
Chainmail Leggings	chainmail_leggings	304
Chainmail Boots	chainmail_boots	305
Iron Helmet	iron_helmet	306
Iron Chestplate	iron_chestplate	307
Iron Leggings	iron_leggings	308
Iron Boots	iron_boots	309
Diamond Helmet	diamond_helmet	310
Diamond Chestplate	diamond_chestplate	311
Diamond Leggings	diamond_leggings	312
Diamond Boots	diamond_boots	313
Golden Helmet	golden_helmet	314
Golden Chestplate	golden_chestplate	315
Golden Leggings	golden_leggings	316
Golden Boots	golden_boots	317

Achievements

Main article: Achievements

Icon	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Availability				Xbox points earned	Trophy type (PS)
				Xbox	PS	Bedrock	Nintendo
	Iron Man	Wear a full suit of Iron Armor.		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	15G	Bronze
	Tie Dye Outfit	Dye all 4 unique pieces of leather armor.		Yes	Yes	Yes	Wii U, Switch	15G	Bronze

Advancements

Main article: Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Internal ID
	Suit Up	Protect yourself with a piece of iron armor	Acquire Hardware	Have any type of iron armor in your inventory.	minecraft:story/obtain_armor
	Cover Me With Diamonds	Diamond armor saves lives	Diamonds!	Have any type of diamond armor in your inventory.	minecraft:story/shiny_gear

History

Java Edition Classic
June 14, 2009					Notch discussed how armor would work in Survival mode: "Two types of swords, two types of armor, two types of helmets. The basic versions require iron. The advanced versions require steel, which you make by combining iron and coal. Carrying swords, armor or helmets take up inventory slots, but otherwise have no penalty and work pretty much as you expect (prevent some damage, or cause more damage)".
August 13, 2009					Notch tested with armor models. Only chestplates and helmets were available. They were merely aesthetic at the time and had no effect on gameplay.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST					Added plate armor.
					Added the model and the texture for chain armor.
					Plate armor model have now been tested with zombies and skeletons.
Java Edition Indev
(December 23, 2009, 1)					Plate and chain armor models have now become unused.
(December 31, 2009, 2)					Studded armor can now be seen in the inventory.
(February 9, 2010)					Notch revealed new models for armor, which included leggings and boots.
February 12, 2010, 1					Added armor models.
					Armor models are now displayed on the player in the inventory.
February 18, 2010					Added the cloth set, which have been given the textures from one of Notch's previous games, Legend of the Chambered.
					Added the chain set.
					Added the iron set.
					Added the gold set.
					Added the diamond set.
					Armor can now be crafted and worn.
					Armor now functions. All helmets give 3 (), all chestplates give 8 (), all leggings give 6 (), and all boots give 3 (). Armors have limited durability, with lower tier armors less durable than higher tier armors.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.8					"Wool armor" has now been renamed to "leather armor".
					Leather armor is now crafted with leather instead of wool.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			The armor protection behavior has now been changed. Previous to this update, the total armor protection is based in this equation: (((Total equipped armor damage reduction - 1) * (All equipped armor max damage - Total equipped armor damage)) / (Total equipped armor max damage + 1)).
		October 3, 2011			The first images of a player wearing enchanted armor are revealed.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3			Iron armor can now be found in the new stronghold altar chests.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4			Armor can now be enchanted.
1.1		12w01a			Iron armor can now be found in the new blacksmith chests in villages.
1.2.1		12w06a			Zombies will now drop iron helmets on rare occasions and zombie pigmen will now drop golden helmets.
1.3.1		12w15a			⇧ Shift+clicking can now be used to wear armor.
		12w21a			Chain armor can now be obtained legitimately in survival mode through trading.
					Blacksmith villagers will now sell chain boots for 5–6 emeralds, chain leggings for 9–10 emeralds, chain chestplates for 11–14 emeralds and chain helmets for 5–6 emeralds.
					Blacksmith villagers will now sell diamond boots for 7 emeralds, diamond leggings for 11–13 emeralds, diamond chestplates for 16–18 emeralds and diamond helmets for 7 emeralds.
					Blacksmith villagers will now sell iron boots for 4–5 emeralds, iron leggings for 8–9 emeralds, iron chestplates for 10–13 emeralds and iron helmets for 4–5 emeralds.
					Butchers will now sell leather boots, caps and pants each for 2–3 emeralds, and leather tunics for 4 emeralds.
1.4.2		12w32a			Mob armor has now been reintroduced. A partial or full set of any armor is now sometimes worn by zombies, skeletons and zombie pigmen, with the likelihood increasing with difficulty.
		August 17, 2012			Jeb and Dinnerbone tweeted pictures of dyeable leather armor.
		12w34a			Leather armor can now be dyed by crafting a leather armor piece with dyes. Dyes can be removed by using dyed leather armor on a cauldron with water.
					Default leather armor textures are now slightly darker and leather tunics now have buttons.
		12w34b			Leather tunics will now have longer sleeves.
					Diamond chestplates will now have notches under the shoulders, which has changed the texture from to .
		12w36a			Dyed leather armor are now more saturated and have a slight tint of tan in respect to the default armor color.
					Wither skeletons can now spawn with random armor.
		12w37a			[more information needed] Leather armor will now have non-dyed parts. This has been implemented so that players can distinguish between other types of armor and similarly colored leather armor.
					Leather caps no longer have a central, narrow protrusion, which has changed the texture from to .
					Leather pants now have knee pads, which has changed the texture from to .
1.4.6		12w50a			The Thorns enchantment can now be enchanted on chestplates.
1.5		13w04a			Armor in the player's hand can now be equipped by right-clicking.
					Dispensers can now equip nearby players with armor.
1.6.1		13w18a			Golden chestplates are now found in the new chests in nether fortresses.
1.7.2		13w36a			Leather boots can now be obtained as one of the "junk" items by fishing.
1.8		14w02a			Trades changed: armorer villagers now sell chain boots for 5–7 emeralds, chain leggings for 9–11 emeralds, chain chestplates for 11–15 emeralds and chain helmets for 5–7 emeralds.
					Armorer villagers will now sell enchanted diamond chestplates for 16–19 emeralds, and no longer sell other diamond armor.
					Armorer villagers will now sell iron chestplates for 10–14 emeralds and iron helmets for 4–6 emeralds, and no longer sell other iron armor.
					Leatherworkers will now sell leather pants for 2–4 emeralds and enchanted leather tunics for 7–12 emeralds, and no longer sell other leather armor.
		14w05a			Armor no longer turns red when mobs and players are hurt.
		14w06a			Armor is now visible on giants.
		14w25a			Chain armor can no longer be crafted anymore due to the item form of fire being removed.
1.9		15w31a			Enchanted iron and diamond armor can now be found in end city ship chests.
					Mobs will now wear armor from the bottom to the top, rather than from the top to the bottom. This means that a mob with three armor pieces, for example, spawn with all armor except a helmet.
		15w34b			Armor durability will now affect armor value.
		15w36a			Armor and armor enchantment calculations have now been changed. For the original values, see here.
		15w36d			Armor durability affecting value has now been removed.
					Armor will now have an attribute controlling the defense points.
		15w43a			The average yield of gold chestplates in nether fortress chests has now been decreased.
		15w50a			Added equip sounds for all types of armor.
		16w02a			Armor and armor enchantment calculations have now been changed again.
		16w05a			Armor calculations have now been changed, once again.
1.11		16w39a			Diamond and chainmail chestplates are now found in the new woodland mansion chests.
1.11.1		16w50a			Golden, chain and iron armor can now be smelted down into one of their respective nuggets.
1.13		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, these items' numeral IDs were 298 through 317.
		18w07a			Added turtle shells.
		18w09a			Leather tunics and golden helmets will now have a chance of generating in underwater ruins.
		18w10a			Leather tunics can now generate in buried treasure chests.
		18w11a			Enchanted leather caps, tunics, pants and boots can now generate in the chests of shipwrecks.
		18w20a			Chain armor pieces have now been renamed to "chainmail".
1.14		18w43a			The textures of leather armor have now been changed.
					The textures of chainmail armor have now been changed.
					The textures of diamond armor have now been changed.
					The textures of gold armor have now been changed.
					The textures of diamond armor have now been changed.
		19w08a			The textures of gold armor items have now been changed.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.6.0					Added the leather set.
					Added the chain set.
					Added the iron set.
					Added the golden set.
					Added the diamond set.
0.8.0		?			The leather armor sprites have now been changed to that of the PC version, but its armor model remains that of older versions.
0.9.0		build 1			Iron armor will now naturally generates in village chests and a stronghold altar chest.
0.11.0		build 11			Armor will now protect against damage from mobs only.
0.12.1		?			Armor can now be worn by mobs.
					Armor will no longer turns red when mobs and players are hurt.
					Golden chestplates can now be found in nether fortress chests.
					Chainmail armor can now be obtained in survival mode from a mob wearing it.
					Leather boots can now be obtained from fishing as a "junk" item.
0.14.0		build 1			Leather armor can now be dyed and the model has been updated.
0.15.0		build 1			Armor can now be obtained from strays and husks that naturally spawn with armor.
0.15.10					Capes will no longer clip through armor.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0		alpha 0.17.0.1			Enchanted iron armor and enchanted diamond armor can now be found inside chests within end city.
1.0.4		alpha 1.0.4.0			Iron helmets, iron chestplates, enchanted diamond chestplates and chainmail armor are now sold by armorer smith villagers via trading.
1.1.0		alpha 1.1.0.0			Golden, chain and iron armor can now be smelted down into one of their respective nuggets.
					Diamond chestplates and chainmail chestplates can now be found inside woodland mansion chests.
Bedrock Edition
1.4.0		beta 1.2.14.2			Chainmail helmets, chestplates, leggings and boots now generate in buried treasure chests.
					Enchanted leather armor can now be found inside shipwreck supply room chests.
		beta 1.2.20.1			Leather chestplates and golden helmets can now be found inside underwater ruins chests.
1.5.0		beta 1.5.0.4			Added turtle shells.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			Iron armor now can be found in plains village weaponsmith chests.
					Leather armor can now be found inside plains village tannery chests.
					The textures of leather armor have now been changed.
					The textures of chainmail armor have now been changed.
					The textures of diamond armor have now been changed.
					The textures of gold armor have now been changed.
					The textures of diamond helmets, leggings and boots have now been changed.
					Diamond chestplates will now have notches under the shoulders, which has changed the texture from to .
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.1			Iron armor now can be found in savanna, taiga, desert, snowy taiga and snowy tundra village weaponsmith chests.
					Leather armor can now be found inside savanna, taiga, desert, snowy taiga and snowy tundra village tannery chests.
					Iron helmets can now be found in village armorer chests.
		beta 1.11.0.4			Pillagers and vindicators that spawn in raids can now drop iron armor.
					Leather leggings and pants are now sold by leather worker villagers.
					Iron leggings, and boots, diamond helmets, leggings, and boots are now sold by armorer villagers.
		beta 1.11.0.5			The textures of gold armor items have now been changed.
1.12.0		?			Leather armor will now no longer show as being dyed properly when worn by armor stands.
Upcoming Bedrock Edition
1.13.0		beta 1.13.0.1			Leather armor will now show as being dyed properly when worn by armor stands.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	Patch s1	Added the leather set.
					Added the iron set.
					Added the golden set.
					Added the diamond set.
TU5					Added the chain set.
					Added a quick equip for armor to the inventory interface.
TU12		1.03			The textures for leather armor items have now been changed.
TU14		1.05			Leather armor can now be dyed.
					Item repair can now repair armor.
TU25	CU13	1.16			Armor now have the quick equip functionality.
TU53	CU43	1.49	Patch 23	Patch s3	Golden, chain and iron armor can now be smelted down into one of their respective nuggets.
PlayStation 4 Edition
1.90					The textures of leather armor have now been changed.
					The textures of chainmail armor have now been changed.
					The textures of diamond armor have now been changed.
					The textures of gold armor have now been changed.
					The textures of diamond armor have now been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added the leather set.
					Added the chain set.
					Added the iron set.
					Added the golden set.
					Added the diamond set.

Issues

Issues relating to "Armor" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Gallery

• 

  First image of armor in Classic.

• 

  Armor rendering overhaul in Indev.

• 

  The armor sprite as it appeared in one of Notch's previous projects, Legend of the Chambered.

• 

  Wool chestpiece in Infdev.

• 

  Dinnerbone's first screenshot of dyed armor.

• 

  A guide for leather armor.

• 

  A guide for golden armor.

• 

  A guide for iron and diamond armor.

• 

  An outdated picture of the armor section in the then Pocket Edition.

• 

  Trading for chainmail armor with a villager.

• 

  Comparing the old leather armor texture to the new one.

• 

  A player equipped with a full set of dyed leather armor.

• 

  The removed studded armor texture.

Mob armor

• 

  A zombie with full leather armor.

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  A zombie with full gold armor.

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  A zombie with full chainmail armor.

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  A zombie with full iron armor.

• 

  A zombie with full diamond armor.

• 

  A zombie wearing a chestplate in Survival Test.

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  A skeleton wearing a helmet in Survival Test.

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  A zombie wearing a chestplate in Survival Test.

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  A zombie wearing a helmet in Survival Test.

• 

  Skeletons spawned from a skeleton trap horse, with their enchanted iron helmets and bows.

See also

• Blocking
• Shield

References

Items

View at: Template:Items/content [edit]