Swords are the most well known weapons in Minecraft and they are certainly going to be the weapons that will carry you throughout the whole game.
Being able to build them right off the bat at the start of the game, this weapon can be built from many different materials. From wood to netherite, your sword will upgrade as you progress through the game.
However before you start really getting into survival Minecraft you first of all have to learn how to make a sword. You simply cannot go into the world without one. This is what we’re here to teach you.
Minecraft Wooden and Stone Sword Recipe
- 2 wooden planks (any) OR 2 stone blocks (any)
- 1 stick
This is the recipe for the starter swords which is relatively simple. The starter swords allow for mismatching and mixing materials which will always grant you the same kind of weapon.
Wooden swords are not particularly useful to make early game, because you are better off using your wood to make a wooden pickaxe and progressing.
If needed you can even skip the stone sword and go immediately to an iron sword IF you find the material.
Though a wooden and stone sword can still be useful if you find yourself in a pinch.
Minecraft Sword Recipe
- 2 gold/iron/diamond ingots
- 1 stick
An iron sword is the first “real” sword you will be making for yourself in the game, along with all the other iron tools.
This is the most popular material until later stages of the game as iron is abundant and fairly strong and resistant. You will likely be relying on iron tools and armor for the majority of the game until you stock up on diamonds.
Gold swords and tools are considered not to be so popular due to their very short durability.
However, diamond swords, tools, and armor are very sought after. With this you can easily skip golden swords and work with iron until you hit diamond.
Diamond swords are also the kinds you may want to consider enchanting, as they will last you and be very usable in combat, PVE and PVP alike.
Minecraft Netherite Sword Recipe
- 1 diamond sword
- 1 netherite ingot
Netherite swords are special and they are not crafted the traditional way like all the other swords. They cannot be crafted in a crafting table.
To craft netherite swords you will firstly need a Smithing Table and a ready made diamond sword. You will combine the sword and the netherite brick in the smithing table to get your netherite sword.
In order to get your hands on netherite bricks, however, you will have to do a pretty decent grind in the Nether.
How to Make Netherite
Netherite is a special material that can be found only in the Nether realm of Minecraft and its creation process is a little difficult. This is mainly because it requires you to find a rare ore first as well as mix different resources together.
Ancient debris is a rare ore that can be found and mined in the Nether. Usually, it generates in chunks, similar to lapis lazuli, somewhere between Y level 8 and 22 in the Nether.
Once mined, this ore has to be smelted in a furnace by any fuel in order to get netherite scraps. To make a single netherite ingot you will need 4 of these.
Once you have your 4 netherite scraps you will also need 4 golden ingots.
Combine these 8 ingredients on a crafting table, arranged like shown in the picture below. This will yield you a single netherite ingot.
Netherite ingots can be used not to only upgrade diamond swords, but they can be used to upgrade pretty much any diamond gear you can make. This means all your tools and armor can be turned into netherite.
Netherite is beneficial as it upgrades both strength and durability.
Not only that, but netherite armor will not take damage from fire or lava while being worn, which adds onto their durability, especially in the nether.
Keeping Your Swords Viable
Like any other tool in the game, swords do not have limitless durability.
After having been used for a certain amount of time, whether by hacking away at mobs or using it to mine items like cobwebs and leaves, the sword will break.
This is no big deal on wooden and stone swords, but it can be a problem with higher grade swords.
Diamond and netherite are hard to come across, so it is important to keep the swords lasting as long as possible without breaking. One way of doing this is by repairing your swords when they are below half durability.
To repair a sword is the same as repairing a bow. Simply place two of the same sword on an anvil.
It is also useful to enchant your sword. Some of the best sword enchantments will not only make each melee hit stronger, but they can make them more durable!
You can enchant a sword either directly on an enchantment table or with an enchanted book and an anvil.
