Armor comparison
Build two sets and see how much damage gets through each: armor, toughness, protective enchantments, and Resistance follow the game's own formulas.
Armor works. Helpful enchantments: Protection.
Set A
9% less damage
- Armor
- 20
- Armor toughness
- 12
- Knockback
- −40%
- Durability
- 2035
- Armor−68%
- Enchantments16 points · −64%
Set B
- Armor
- 20
- Armor toughness
- 8
- Knockback
- 0%
- Durability
- 1815
- Armor−65%
- Enchantments16 points · −64%
Horizontal: hit damage; vertical: damage taken. Now: 15.
How armor reduces damage
Damage goes through three steps. Armor comes first: every piece has armor points and toughness, and the harder the hit, the fewer points get to work — toughness slows that loss. Then the Resistance effect takes 20% per level. Protective enchantments come last: every protection point removes another 4%, but no more than 20 points count.
Not every kind of damage goes through every step. Falls, burning, and magic skip armor, and the warden's sonic boom skips enchantments too. That is why cave exploring needs Feather Falling on boots, not just armor, and why Blast Protection on at least one piece matters against explosions.
Frequently asked questions
Is netherite armor better than diamond?
Both give 20 armor points, but netherite has 3 armor toughness per piece versus 2 on diamond, plus 10% knockback resistance per piece, more durability, and it does not burn in lava. Toughness matters against strong hits: from 10 damage, 2.8 gets through netherite and 3.0 through diamond, and the gap grows with the hit.
How much does Protection IV reduce damage?
Each level of Protection is one point against almost any damage, so four pieces with Protection IV give 16 points and remove 64% of the damage left after armor. At most 20 points count — that is 80%. Fire, Blast, and Projectile Protection give 2 points per level, but only against their own damage; Feather Falling on boots gives 3 points per level against falls.
What is armor toughness?
It is the second armor stat, found on diamond and netherite. Strong hits cut through armor: the game subtracts the damage divided by 2 + toughness/4 from the armor points, and higher toughness means less is lost. Even against huge damage armor keeps 20% of its points, and it never removes more than 80%.
Why doesn't armor help against falls and burning?
Some damage in the game is marked as bypassing armor: falling, burning, magic, starvation, drowning, wither, and the warden's sonic boom. Feather Falling and Protection help against falls, Fire Protection and Protection against burning, and the sonic boom ignores enchantments too — only Resistance helps there.
Is copper armor worth it?
A copper set gives 10 armor points — more than leather (7) but less than gold (11), chainmail (12), and iron (15). It has no toughness and modest durability. It is armor for the first days, until you find iron.