Minecraft Netherite Template Guide for Fast Upgrades
The minecraft netherite template is the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, and in 2026 you still need one for every diamond-to-netherite upgrade. You find it in bastion remnant chests, duplicate it with netherrack and diamonds, then use it in a smithing table with diamond gear and a netherite ingot.
What the Minecraft Netherite Template Actually Is
If you searched minecraft netherite template, this is the item you mean: Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template. It's the only upgrade-type smithing template in the game. Everything else in that menu is an armor trim, which is nice for fashion and completely useless if a piglin brute is turning you into a cautionary tale.
Mojang moved netherite upgrading into the smithing table during the Trails & Tales era, and the official update notes still describe the same core rule set. One template upgrades one item, and the template is consumed after use.
And yes, it gets consumed. The game doesn't exactly scream that part at you.
You can apply it only to diamond gear: helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, sword, pickaxe, axe, shovel, and hoe. No iron shortcut exists, no secret villager trade fixes it, and no, yelling at the screen does not lower the cost. I checked. Repeatedly.
Where to Find the Netherite Upgrade Template
You get the first template from bastion remnant chests in the Nether. Mojang's release notes for the smithing rework said treasure room bastions always contain two templates, which makes them the cleanest target if you just want reliable progress instead of loot-box energy.
Treasure room bastions are the jackpot. Everything else is hope with extra piglins.
Actually, that's not quite right: the template isn't exclusive to treasure rooms. Other bastion variants can still roll it in their chests, but treasure rooms remove the luck tax and that's why most experienced players route for them first.
Before you rush in, remember what bastions are really selling: danger. Piglins can be distracted or pacified with a gold armor piece, but piglin brutes don't care about your fashion choices. They'll still try to flatten you with the enthusiasm of unpaid security staff.
- Bring Fire Resistance, because one bad knockback angle and you're suddenly studying lava from the inside.
- Wear one gold piece, usually boots, so regular piglins stay neutral until you make a mess.
- Carry building blocks, since bastion fights are much easier when you can pillar, block line of sight, or box yourself in for a second.
- Have an exit plan, whether that's a tunnel, pearls, or just admitting the loot run is over before greed kills it.
On small survival servers, I usually scout bastions from the outside, locate the chest paths, then loot fast and leave. Hanging around to mine every gold block is how a clean run turns into a long walk back from spawn. Funny once, maybe. Not on attempt four.
How to Duplicate a Minecraft Netherite Template
The smartest thing you can do after finding one template is not use it yet. Duplicate it first. The current recipe listed by the Minecraft Wiki's Netherite Upgrade page is one existing template, seven diamonds, and one netherrack, which crafts two templates.
Duplicate it before you upgrade anything. Future-you will complain less.
That recipe means each copy craft gives you a net gain of one template, not two. So the math matters. A full set of armor plus all tools needs nine total templates and nine netherite ingots. Starting from your first found template, that means eight copy crafts, 56 diamonds, and 8 netherrack just to cover every upgrade. If you only want a full armor set, you need four templates total, which means 21 diamonds after the initial find.
Smithing table recipe
- Put the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template in the left slot.
- Put your diamond item in the middle slot.
- Put one netherite ingot in the right slot.
- Take the upgraded netherite item and repeat until your wallet, or your patience, gives out.
The nice part is that smithing upgrades keep the good stuff. Enchantments stay, custom names stay, armor trims stay on armor, and you don't pay XP for the smithing step. The wiki's smithing documentation also notes that prior work penalty is preserved instead of increased, which is a very polite way of saying the anvil isn't invited to ruin your evening this time.
Best Upgrade Order for Armor and Tools
Do you upgrade the sword first because it feels heroic? Plenty of players do. I still think the better value in most survival worlds is pickaxe first if you're still mining ancient debris, or chestplate first if the Nether is actively trying to evict you.
Here's the order I usually recommend:
- Pickaxe, if you're still gathering debris or doing heavy mining. It pays you back immediately.
- Chestplate, for the biggest armor-slot value and a nice survivability bump.
- Leggings, helmet, or boots, based on whichever diamond piece already has your best enchantments.
- Sword or axe, depending on your combat habits. The netherite sword is good, but it isn't a holy artifact descended from the heavens.
- Shovel and hoe last, because this is still Minecraft and not a prestige gardening simulator.
If you're doing PvP, your order might change. If you're playing hardcore, chestplate climbs the list fast. And if you're on Bedrock, combat feel is a little different anyway, so tool priority can be more about utility than duel math. Same template, slightly different vibes.
One more number worth remembering: a full armor-and-tool conversion takes 9 netherite ingots. That's 36 scraps and 36 gold ingots before you even count the diamonds for duplication. Ever tried doing all nine upgrades at once on a fresh SMP? That's a great way to remember how expensive seven diamonds really is.
Common Mistakes Players Keep Making
Most netherite template pain is self-inflicted.
- Using the first template immediately. And this is the classic blunder. Copy it first unless you enjoy another bastion raid right away.
- Confusing trims with upgrades. Snout, Rib, Silence, all cool. None of them turn diamond gear into netherite.
- Raiding bastions underprepared. Gold boots help with piglins, but they do nothing against brutes or lava.
- Upgrading weak gear. Put the template into your best enchanted diamond set, not the random backup chestplate from a village blacksmith.
- Forgetting the full cost. The ingots are only half the story. The diamonds vanish faster than people expect.
And no, you can't craft the first template from scratch. If you could, bastions would lose half their point and this whole mechanic would be much less dramatic, which Mojang seems deeply unwilling to allow.
On multiplayer servers, nearby bastions may already be looted. So if you're convinced the item stopped existing, travel farther before accusing the game of crimes.
2026 Update Notes and a Few Useful Caveats
As of March 12, 2026, nothing in Mojang's public preview notes suggests the minecraft netherite template is being removed or replaced. PCGamesN reported that the next drop was expected around March 2026, and Mojang's official Minecraft Live page lists the next show for March 21, 2026. That doesn't prove netherite will never change, obviously, but right now there is no public sign of a shortcut patch riding in to save your diamonds.
Platform-wise, the core smithing recipe is the same on Java and Bedrock. PlayStation players are on the regular Bedrock path too, since Mojang announced Minecraft for PS5 back on October 22, 2024. So if you were hoping the native console version secretly handed out free templates, I regret to report that capitalism remains undefeated.
If you like matching the whole bastion raid aesthetic, minecraft.how has some fun options too: the Netheriteninja Minecraft Skin, WoodenNetherite Minecraft Skin, and Template__ Minecraft Skin all fit the theme better than default blue sleeves glowing in a lava cave.
And for the slightly stranger end of the wardrobe chest, there's the TempLate_YT Minecraft Skin and NetheriteBeeAmi Minecraft Skin. Minecraft skin culture has never once asked permission to be normal, and honestly, good for it.
So that's the short version in 2026: find one template in a bastion, duplicate it immediately, spend your ingots on the right diamond gear, and stop waiting for the system to magically get cheaper. The minecraft netherite template is still part of the deal.
