Minecraft 1.20 didn’t just tweak progression—it slammed a lock on the door to Netherite and made players earn the key. If you’ve come back expecting the old “Ancient Debris plus scraps equals power” loop, the Netherite Smithing Template is the reality check waiting for you in the Nether. Every single Netherite upgrade now demands this item, no exceptions, no workarounds.
This change isn’t cosmetic or optional. Without the template, your diamond gear is hard-capped, no matter how much Ancient Debris you mine or how optimized your strip-mining route is.
A New Gatekeeper for Endgame Gear
The Netherite Smithing Template is a consumable upgrade pattern required to turn diamond gear into Netherite using a smithing table. One template is consumed per upgrade, meaning a full armor set, tools, and weapons can chew through templates fast. Mojang intentionally designed it this way to slow progression and make Netherite feel like a true endgame commitment again.
This also means Netherite is no longer something you casually craft on day two of a new world. Even speedrunners and efficiency-focused players have to engage with Nether structures and combat instead of brute-forcing the tech tree.
Why Minecraft 1.20 Made It Mandatory
Before 1.20, Netherite was all about mining efficiency and RNG management. Now, it’s about risk, exploration, and player choice under pressure. By locking the template behind Bastion Remnants, Mojang ensured players must confront one of the Nether’s most dangerous structures instead of bypassing combat entirely.
This change also balances multiplayer economies. Netherite gear now has an actual scarcity curve, making templates valuable trade items and preventing early-game servers from being flooded with max-tier gear.
Where the Netherite Smithing Template Comes From
The only natural source of the Netherite Smithing Template is Bastion Remnants, specifically inside treasure room chests. These bastions are guarded by Piglin Brutes, mobs that hit harder than most Overworld threats and ignore gold armor aggro rules entirely. If you rush in unprepared, you’ll get shredded before you even see the chest.
Veteran players treat bastion runs like dungeon raids. Bring fire resistance, high-tier armor, blocks for pillar control, and a plan to isolate Piglin Brutes instead of face-tanking them. The reward is worth it, but only if you survive long enough to loot it.
Why Duplication Is Non-Negotiable
You’ll only find one template per chest, and upgrading even a single loadout demands multiple uses. That’s where duplication comes in. Using a crafting table, one Netherite Smithing Template can be duplicated with seven diamonds and a block of Netherrack, creating an additional template without risking another bastion run.
This system is Mojang’s compromise. You still have to brave the Nether once, but smart players leverage duplication to scale their upgrades efficiently. Ignore duplication, and you’re signing up for repeated bastion dives that only get more dangerous as Piglin Brutes stack up and RNG stops being kind.
Prerequisites Before Hunting a Netherite Smithing Template (Gear, Biomes, and Preparation)
Before you even think about cracking open a Bastion chest, you need to accept one truth: this is not a mining trip. Hunting a Netherite Smithing Template is a structured combat expedition through one of the Nether’s most punishing structures, and poor preparation turns it into a death loop fast. The difference between a clean template grab and a rage-inducing gear loss comes down to loadout, biome awareness, and pacing.
Minimum Gear Requirements (What You Actually Need)
At an absolute minimum, you should be entering a Bastion with full diamond armor, ideally enchanted with Protection IV. Piglin Brutes deal massive raw damage and don’t care about gold armor, so relying on partial protection or gimmicks is asking to get two-shot. A shield is non-negotiable here, as it hard-counters brute axe swings and buys you critical breathing room in tight corridors.
For weapons, a Sharpness V sword or an equivalent DPS axe setup is strongly recommended. Brutes have high health and no distraction mechanics, meaning every fight is a straight damage check. Ranged options like a Power-enchanted bow or crossbow help thin regular Piglins before they swarm, especially when vertical angles come into play.
Potions, Consumables, and Inventory Discipline
Fire Resistance potions are mandatory, not optional. Lava pockets, magma blocks, and accidental knockbacks are common in Bastions, and losing a template run to environmental damage feels worse than dying to mobs. Bring at least two extended Fire Resistance potions to cover both exploration and escape.
Stacked food like cooked porkchops or golden carrots keeps regeneration consistent during multi-fight stretches. Toss in a few instant health potions for emergency resets when Brutes chain hits through shield cooldowns. Ender Pearls are also clutch, letting you disengage, reposition, or bypass lethal drop traps when things spiral.
Understanding Bastion Biomes and Structure Variants
Bastion Remnants spawn exclusively in Nether Wastes, Soul Sand Valleys, Crimson Forests, and Warped Forests. However, not all Bastions are equal. The Netherite Smithing Template only spawns in treasure room chests, which means you’re specifically hunting the Treasure Bastion variant, identifiable by its massive lava basin and central loot chamber.
Other Bastion types like Bridge or Housing variants are dead ends for templates. Veteran players either scout from a distance using chunk rendering or use strider vantage points to identify the structure before committing. Knowing what you’re approaching saves time, resources, and unnecessary combat.
Why Slow, Controlled Play Beats Speedrunning Here
This isn’t a structure you rush unless you’re speedrunning with perfect execution. Piglin Brutes ignore aggro rules, stack quickly, and punish sloppy positioning. Smart players block off corridors, isolate enemies one-by-one, and abuse verticality to control hitboxes and reset fights.
Bring plenty of building blocks, preferably cobblestone or basalt, to create choke points and emergency shelters. Treat each room like a mini encounter, not a hallway sprint. The goal isn’t clearing the Bastion, it’s surviving long enough to reach the treasure room chest and extract the template.
Preparing for Duplication Before You Even Find the Template
Once you secure the Netherite Smithing Template, the real efficiency play begins. Duplication requires seven diamonds and one block of Netherrack per copy, crafted alongside the original template. Smart players pre-farm diamonds before entering the Nether so the moment they return, duplication can start immediately.
This preparation matters because one template isn’t enough for a full gear set. Armor, tools, and weapons all demand separate upgrades, and each upgrade consumes a template. By planning duplication ahead of time, you turn a single high-risk Bastion run into a permanent upgrade pipeline instead of gambling on repeat dungeon dives.
Where Netherite Smithing Templates Spawn: Bastion Remnant Types Explained
Understanding Bastion Remnants is the difference between a clean late-game upgrade and a wasted Nether run. While all Bastions share hostile density and brutal Piglin Brute placements, only one variant actually matters for Netherite progression. If you’re not targeting the right structure, you’re fighting RNG and aggro for nothing.
Treasure Bastions Are the Only Valid Target
Netherite Smithing Templates spawn exclusively inside treasure room chests found in Treasure Bastions. These are the largest and most dangerous Bastion variants, instantly recognizable by a massive central lava basin with a suspended loot chamber above it. If you don’t see lava dominating the structure’s core, you’re in the wrong place.
Bridge Bastions, Housing Bastions, and Hoglin Stable variants do not generate the template under any circumstances. They can still be useful for gold, ancient debris scouting routes, or early Nether resources, but they are hard dead ends for Netherite upgrades. Veteran players skip them entirely once template hunting begins.
Exact Chest Location and Spawn Mechanics
Inside a Treasure Bastion, the Netherite Smithing Template appears in a single chest located at the highest point of the treasure room. This chest sits atop the central structure, usually surrounded by Piglin Brutes and elevated platforms that punish careless movement. There’s no RNG across multiple rooms here; one chest, one roll.
The good news is that the template is guaranteed to generate in that chest in Minecraft 1.20 and later. The bad news is that reaching it requires navigating vertical combat, lava hazards, and enemies that ignore gold armor aggro rules. This is why controlled block placement and stair-step ascents are mandatory instead of jumping or bridging blindly.
Why Bastion Layout Knowledge Saves Lives
Treasure Bastions funnel players into predictable kill zones. Long staircases, open balconies, and narrow bridges are designed to expose your hitbox while Piglin Brutes pathfind aggressively toward noise and line-of-sight. Smart players wall off entry points, create safe ledges, and clear spawners methodically instead of charging upward.
Knowing the layout also prevents fatal misreads. Many players mistake outer balconies for the treasure room and overextend, only to get knocked into lava by Brutes with extended reach. The real chest is always centered, elevated, and visually dominant once you spot the lava basin below it.
Securing the Template and Why Duplication Is Mandatory
Once you loot the Netherite Smithing Template, extraction matters more than clearing the rest of the Bastion. Box yourself in, block line-of-sight, and plan a safe exit before celebrating. Dying with the template before duplication resets hours of progress.
Back at a crafting table, duplication requires the original template, seven diamonds, and one block of Netherrack per copy. This system exists because Netherite upgrades are no longer one-and-done. Every armor piece, tool, and weapon consumes its own template, making duplication essential for full Netherite sets instead of repeat Bastion dives.
This is why Treasure Bastions aren’t just a milestone, they’re a pivot point. One successful run, paired with smart duplication, permanently unlocks Netherite progression without forcing you back into one of the Nether’s most lethal structures.
How to Safely Loot Bastion Remnants Without Dying (Piglins, Brutes, and Strategies)
By the time you’re hunting the Netherite Smithing Template, you’re no longer exploring, you’re executing. Bastion Remnants punish hesitation with vertical ambushes, knockback deaths, and mobs that don’t care about your gold armor. The goal isn’t to clear the structure, it’s to surgically extract the treasure chest and leave alive.
Identifying the Correct Bastion and Treasure Room
The Netherite Smithing Template only generates in Treasure Bastions, the variant with a massive lava basin and a central, elevated platform. If you don’t see lava flowing beneath a large, open chamber, you’re in the wrong structure. Housing Units, Stables, and Bridge Bastions cannot spawn the template, no matter how many chests you open.
In Minecraft 1.20 and later, the template is guaranteed to appear in the main treasure chest of a Treasure Bastion. That chest sits at the top of the structure, usually guarded by Piglin Brutes and exposed walkways designed to knock players into lava. Spotting the lava basin early lets you orient yourself and plan a safe, upward route instead of wandering into kill zones.
Managing Piglins vs. Piglin Brutes
Regular Piglins follow gold armor aggro rules and can be controlled with smart gear choices and bartering distractions. Piglin Brutes ignore gold entirely, hit harder, have more health, and will chase you relentlessly once aggroed. Treat Brutes like mini-bosses, not mobs you trade hits with.
The safest approach is isolation. Use blocks to break line-of-sight, force single-target pathing, and fight Brutes in two-block-high corridors where their numbers don’t matter. Never engage them on open staircases or balconies, where knockback physics can instantly end your run.
Block Placement Is Your Real Weapon
Treasure Bastions are vertical death traps, so controlled block placement matters more than raw DPS. Always carry cheap, non-flammable blocks like Netherrack, Blackstone, or Cobblestone. Pillaring upward without sealing your sides is how players get flanked and knocked off ledges.
Build walls as you climb, convert staircases into tunnels, and create safe platforms before opening chests. If you can’t retreat safely, you’re standing in the wrong spot. Every block you place should either block a Brute’s path or protect your hitbox from knockback.
Lava, Hoglins, and Environmental Threats
Lava is the Bastion’s silent enforcer. Even a single hit from a Brute can send you flying into the basin if you fight near edges. Fire Resistance potions aren’t optional here, they’re insurance against one bad knockback roll.
Hoglins add chaos by dealing massive knockback and body-blocking corridors. Avoid fighting them alongside Piglins whenever possible. If a room has Hoglins, wall them off and reroute instead of forcing a multi-mob engagement that drains resources and attention.
Looting the Chest and Extracting Safely
Once you reach the treasure platform, do not open the chest immediately. Box yourself in, block all sightlines, and listen for footsteps to confirm nothing is pathing toward you. Only open the chest when you’re certain the area is secure.
After grabbing the Netherite Smithing Template, extraction becomes the priority. You do not need to clear the Bastion, and doing so only increases death risk. Retrace your protected path or tunnel straight out to avoid re-aggroing mobs from new angles.
Why Duplication Turns One Bastion Run Into Permanent Progress
Back in the Overworld, duplication is what makes this dangerous run worth it. At a crafting table, combine one Netherite Smithing Template with seven diamonds and one block of Netherrack to create an additional copy. The original template is not consumed, allowing infinite duplication as long as you can afford the diamonds.
This system exists because every Netherite upgrade now requires its own template. Armor, tools, and weapons all consume one, meaning a full Netherite set needs multiple copies. One successful Treasure Bastion run, followed by smart duplication, permanently removes the need to ever risk another Bastion for templates again.
Exact Chest Locations and Loot Tables for Netherite Smithing Templates
If you made it out alive, it’s time to understand why that specific chest mattered. Netherite Smithing Templates are not spread across Bastions evenly, and knowing exactly where they spawn eliminates wasted runs and bad RNG assumptions. This is one of the few late-game Minecraft items where location knowledge completely overrides luck.
Only One Bastion Type Drops Netherite Smithing Templates
Netherite Smithing Templates spawn exclusively in Treasure Bastion Remnants. Bridge, Housing, and Stable Bastions do not have them at all, no matter how many chests you open. If the structure doesn’t have a massive central lava basin with a gold block-lined platform, you’re in the wrong Bastion.
Treasure Bastions are visually distinct from a distance. Look for a large, open core with lava pooling at the bottom and a raised platform suspended above it. That platform is the objective, and everything else in the structure exists to stop you from reaching it.
Exact Chest Location Inside the Treasure Bastion
The Netherite Smithing Template is found in the treasure room chest located directly on top of the central magma cube spawner. This chest sits on the elevated platform above the lava basin, usually surrounded by gold blocks and blackstone. You cannot miss the spawner once you reach the platform, and the chest is always positioned adjacent to or directly above it.
Some Treasure Bastions generate with two chests in the treasure room. When this happens, each chest has its own independent loot table. That means it’s possible to obtain two Netherite Smithing Templates from a single Bastion if you secure both chests without dying.
Loot Table Details and Drop Rates
The Netherite Smithing Template has a 100 percent spawn rate in every Treasure Bastion chest. There is no RNG involved here. If you open a treasure chest in a Treasure Bastion, it will contain exactly one Netherite Smithing Template.
Alongside the template, these chests can also contain Ancient Debris, diamond gear, enchanted books, netherite scrap-related materials, gold blocks, and high-tier Nether loot. The exact secondary items vary, but the template itself is guaranteed, which is why duplication becomes mandatory progression rather than optional optimization.
Why Duplication Is Non-Negotiable After You Leave
Each Netherite upgrade consumes one Smithing Template per item in Minecraft 1.20 and later. That means a full armor set, plus tools and weapons, can easily burn through eight or more templates. Returning to Bastions for every upgrade is inefficient, dangerous, and unnecessary.
Back in the Overworld, combine one Netherite Smithing Template with seven diamonds and one block of Netherrack at a crafting table to duplicate it. The original template is preserved, turning one successful Treasure Bastion run into permanent Netherite access. From that point forward, diamonds become the only real cost, and Bastions stop being a mandatory late-game choke point.
How to Duplicate a Netherite Smithing Template (Required Materials and Step-by-Step Process)
Once you escape the Bastion with at least one Netherite Smithing Template, the real progression unlock happens back in the Overworld. This is where Minecraft 1.20’s upgrade system shifts from dangerous exploration to controlled resource investment. Duplication is not a bonus mechanic; it’s the backbone of every future Netherite upgrade you’ll ever make.
If you skip this step and try to ration templates, you’ll bottleneck your own endgame faster than Ancient Debris RNG ever could.
Required Materials for Duplication
To duplicate a Netherite Smithing Template, you’ll need three specific items. First is the original Netherite Smithing Template you looted from a Treasure Bastion. This template is never consumed during duplication, which is what makes the system scalable.
Second, you need seven diamonds. This is the true cost of Netherite in modern Minecraft, and it’s intentionally steep to keep Netherite as late-game gear. Finally, you need one block of Netherrack, not a single piece, but a full block crafted from nine Netherrack items.
All materials are placed into a standard crafting table. No smithing table is involved in the duplication process itself, which trips up a lot of returning players.
Step-by-Step Duplication Process
Open a crafting table and place the Netherite Smithing Template in the center slot. Surround it with seven diamonds, filling every slot except one corner. In the remaining empty slot, place the Netherrack block.
Once arranged correctly, the output will be two Netherite Smithing Templates. The original is effectively copied, meaning you’ve doubled your supply without risking another Bastion run.
From here, the loop is simple but powerful. Use one of those templates to duplicate again, turning diamonds into exponential Netherite access as long as your diamond reserves hold up.
Why This Process Is Essential for Netherite Progression
Every single Netherite upgrade consumes one Smithing Template per item. A full armor set alone requires four templates, and adding a sword, pickaxe, axe, shovel, and hoe pushes that number well beyond what a single Bastion provides.
Duplication converts the Netherite grind from exploration-heavy to resource-managed. Instead of gambling with magma cube spawners, piglin aggro, and lava positioning, you’re trading diamonds for guaranteed progress.
This is why securing at least one template is mandatory, but duplicating it immediately is optimal play. Once duplication is online, Netherite stops being gated by structure RNG and becomes a matter of how efficiently you mine and manage your resources.
Why Duplication Is Essential: Upgrading Full Netherite Gear Efficiently
Once you understand how duplication works, the real question isn’t can you duplicate Netherite Smithing Templates, but why you absolutely should before upgrading anything. Modern Minecraft is balanced around the assumption that players will duplicate templates, not hoard a single copy and pray they don’t misclick a smithing table.
The Math Behind Full Netherite Sets
Every individual Netherite upgrade consumes one Smithing Template, no exceptions. A full armor set alone eats four templates, and adding core tools like a sword, pickaxe, axe, shovel, and hoe pushes that total to nine upgrades immediately.
If you relied only on looted templates, you’d be forced into multiple Bastion Remnant runs, each with heavy piglin aggro, tight lava corridors, and zero forgiveness for bad positioning. Duplication removes that bottleneck entirely by letting one successful Bastion clear fuel your entire late-game loadout.
Why Bastion Farming Is a Trap for Progression
Netherite Smithing Templates only generate in Treasure Bastions, the most dangerous Bastion variant in the Nether. These structures are stacked with brutes that ignore gold armor, hit through shields, and punish sloppy pathing with near-lethal DPS.
Treating Bastions as a farmable structure is inefficient and risky, especially in Hardcore or long-term survival worlds. Duplication flips the risk profile: you do one clean, well-prepared Bastion run, extract safely, and never have to roll that dice again.
Diamonds Become the Real Currency of Netherite
Once duplication is online, Netherite progression stops being about Nether exploration and becomes a resource management problem. Seven diamonds per template sounds expensive, but diamonds are infinitely renewable through branch mining, cave diving, villager trades, and even Fortune optimization.
This shift is intentional in Minecraft 1.20+. Mojang designed the system so Netherite is gated by preparation and economy, not structure RNG or repeated high-risk combat encounters.
Efficiency, Safety, and Long-Term World Value
Duplicating templates before upgrading anything is optimal play because it future-proofs your world. You’re not just upgrading today’s gear, you’re securing the ability to replace lost items, enchant backups, and upgrade new tools without revisiting the Nether’s most lethal content.
In survival terms, duplication is what turns Netherite from a trophy into a sustainable tier. It rewards smart planning, minimizes unnecessary deaths, and keeps your progression under your control rather than at the mercy of Bastion layouts and piglin brute hitboxes.
Common Mistakes and Resource Optimization Tips for Templates and Diamonds
Once players understand that duplication is the real progression gate, the next challenge is avoiding the mistakes that quietly drain resources and force unnecessary Bastion runs. Most Netherite frustration doesn’t come from difficulty, it comes from inefficient sequencing and poor diamond management.
This is where smart survival play separates smooth late-game progression from repeated high-risk recovery missions.
Mistake #1: Upgrading Gear Before Duplicating the Template
The single biggest error players make is using their only Netherite Smithing Template immediately after finding it. The moment you upgrade one piece of gear, you’ve locked yourself into finding another Treasure Bastion if you want to upgrade anything else.
In Minecraft 1.20+, every Netherite upgrade consumes a template permanently. Optimal play is to duplicate first, then upgrade everything afterward in one controlled batch.
Where the Netherite Smithing Template Actually Spawns
Netherite Smithing Templates only generate in Treasure Bastions, identifiable by their large central lava basin and heavy concentration of piglin brutes. They are not guaranteed in every chest, but they can only appear in this Bastion variant.
The safest approach is methodical clearing: isolate brutes with blocks, use lava buckets for area denial, and never fight more than one brute in melee range. Treat the template like an end-game relic, because functionally, it is.
Safe Extraction Is Part of the Loot
Grabbing the template isn’t the finish line. Getting out alive matters more than grabbing extra gold blocks or scraps. Once the template is secured, disengage immediately and tunnel out if needed.
Trying to “finish” a Bastion after securing the template is a classic overconfidence death. Netherite progression rewards restraint, not greed.
Understanding the Exact Duplication Recipe
Duplicating a Netherite Smithing Template requires one existing template, seven diamonds, and one block of Netherrack. The Netherrack is intentionally trivial; the diamonds are the real cost.
This recipe is why diamonds become the true currency of Netherite. Every future upgrade hinges on how well you manage and multiply your diamond supply.
Mistake #2: Treating Diamonds as a Finite Resource
Seven diamonds per duplication sounds steep until you factor in Fortune III strip mining, deepslate cave diving, and villager trades. In a developed survival world, diamonds are renewable through time and optimization, not RNG.
Players who hoard diamonds out of fear often slow their Netherite progression unnecessarily. Spending diamonds on templates is one of the highest long-term value investments you can make.
Batch Duplication Saves Time and Stress
Instead of duplicating templates one at a time, craft multiple copies upfront. This lets you upgrade full armor sets, tools, and backups without revisiting the crafting process repeatedly.
Batching also reduces mistakes, like accidentally upgrading gear and realizing you’re one template short. Clean planning eliminates panic crafting.
Hardcore and Long-Term World Optimization
In Hardcore or legacy survival worlds, template duplication is a safety net. Losing Netherite gear without templates available can permanently stall progression or force lethal Nether expeditions.
By stockpiling templates early, you’re protecting future versions of yourself from mistakes, lag spikes, and unlucky combat outcomes. That’s not overpreparing, that’s respecting Minecraft’s late-game risk curve.
Late-Game Progression Tips After Securing Multiple Netherite Smithing Templates
With a stockpile of Netherite Smithing Templates secured and duplicated, you’ve crossed the most dangerous knowledge gate in Minecraft 1.20+. From here on, progression becomes about efficiency, risk management, and choosing upgrades that actually impact survival and DPS, not just flex value.
This is where prepared players pull ahead, and where rushed players still find ways to die.
Upgrade Order Matters More Than Full Sets
Resist the urge to convert everything to Netherite immediately. Prioritize tools and armor pieces that directly affect survivability and resource flow.
A Netherite pickaxe with Efficiency V and Unbreaking III pays for itself faster than boots or leggings. After that, chestplate and helmet give the biggest defensive returns, especially in Bastions, the End, and ancient city raids where burst damage is real.
Use Templates to Create Redundancy, Not Just Gear
Multiple Netherite Smithing Templates aren’t just for upgrading one “perfect” loadout. They exist so you can safely maintain backups.
Late-game deaths often come from lava lag, end crystal misplays, or shield desyncs, not lack of skill. Having spare Netherite tools and armor prepped means a death is a setback, not a reset.
Stop Running Bastions Once Templates Are Secured
Once you’ve duplicated enough templates, Bastion Remnants lose most of their value. Ancient Debris mining becomes safer, faster, and more consistent than risking Piglin Brute aggro for marginal loot.
This is where discipline pays off. Bastions are designed as high-risk, early Nether progression content. Staying longer than necessary only increases the odds of losing fully upgraded gear to a single missed hitbox.
Turn Diamonds Into a Renewable Resource Loop
Since template duplication consumes seven diamonds each time, your late-game economy should revolve around diamond regeneration, not preservation.
Villager trading halls, Fortune III strip mining at optimal Y-levels, and deepslate cave routes turn diamonds into a time-based resource. When diamonds become predictable, Netherite upgrades stop feeling expensive and start feeling planned.
Synchronize Enchanting With Netherite Upgrades
Never upgrade unenchanted gear to Netherite unless you’re intentionally rushing. Enchanting first reduces XP waste and avoids reworking tools later.
Netherite gear lasts longer, but it’s still bound by enchant quality. Clean enchant pipelines save levels, time, and frustration when repairing or combining gear through anvils.
Plan for Endgame, Not Just Survival
With templates secured, your world is now End-focused. Dragon farming, Elytra durability, beacon construction, and Wither fights all assume Netherite-tier durability and knockback resistance.
This is the phase where Minecraft stops being about getting lucky and starts rewarding preparation. Every duplicated template represents future-proofing against content that hasn’t killed you yet.
Netherite progression isn’t about greed or speed. It’s about control. If you’ve secured multiple templates and duplicated them correctly, you’ve already beaten the most punishing part of Minecraft’s late game. Everything after that is execution.