For a long time, players in the blocky world could change their appearance, but their protective gear always looked the same. That has changed, and now, you can make your armor truly yours. It is a neat way to show off your personal style, making every piece of armor a bit more special.
So, this big new update for the game, called "Trails & Tales," brought with it a way to put unique designs on your protective clothing. These designs, called "armor trims," let you add a cool pattern to what you wear without changing how well it protects you. It's just for looks, which is actually pretty cool, you know, because it means you can look great without messing with your defense.
These new additions mean you get to be a bit of a fashion designer in the game. You can pick out a pattern that fits your character's look or even matches your chosen skin. Finding all the different patterns can be a bit of an adventure, too, as a matter of fact, since they are hidden in various spots across the game's many places.
Table of Contents:
- What Are These Armor Trims?
- How Do You Get Armor Trims?
- Where Can You Find Armor Trims in the Game?
- Making More Armor Trims from One Template
- What Makes Armor Trims So Unique?
- How Many Armor Trim Looks Can You Create?
- What Is The Point of Armor Trims?
- A Few Pointers for Finding Armor Trims
What Are These Armor Trims?
So, these new additions for your armor, they are really just about showing off your personal touch. They do not, you know, give you extra protection. They also will not make your gear stronger in any way. It is all about how your protective clothing looks. You get to put these cool patterns onto your chest plates, leg guards, and other pieces. You use a special item for this. This item, kind of like a blueprint for a design, is called a smithing template. What is pretty neat, too, is that the look of the pattern itself, the way it is shaped and styled, actually depends on the kind of place where you found that template. So, a pattern from a hot, dry desert might have a very different feel. One from a cold, snowy mountain peak will look different. A pattern from a big, old building will also have its own style. This means each pattern tells a little story about its origin. That is quite a nice touch, really.
These armor trims, then, are a new way to customize the appearance of your protective suit. They arrived with the Minecraft 1.20 Trails & Tales update. Before this update, your armor pretty much looked the same as everyone else's. Now, you can put trims on your armor pieces. It lets you change how your suit of armor looks without changing its strength or how much damage it can take. Each trim has a unique design. You can put these designs on any piece of armor you have. This means your character can finally have a truly distinct look, which is pretty exciting for players who like to stand out. It is a simple addition, yet it opens up a lot of personal expression.
How Do You Get Armor Trims?
Finding these special patterns for your armor, called smithing templates, can happen in a few different ways. Some of them you might discover just by opening chests you find in various spots across the game world. It is like finding a little treasure map that tells you how to make a new design. Other patterns can be found through a process called archaeology. This involves digging carefully in certain areas, almost like you are an explorer looking for ancient artifacts. Sometimes, you might even get a pattern by defeating certain creatures or mobs in the game. It is a bit like a reward for your bravery, so to speak. Each method adds a bit of adventure to collecting these decorative pieces.
Some of these armor trim patterns will need you to do a few steps to get them. For example, you might have to solve a small puzzle or go through a specific part of a structure. Other patterns, though, are a bit simpler to get your hands on. For those, you might just need to find the specific building or natural area where they are known to appear. Once you are in the right spot, you just need to look around carefully. This means some patterns are a bit more of a challenge to get, while others are a little easier to come across. It keeps things interesting, because you never quite know what kind of hunt you are in for when you decide to go looking for a new armor trim.
Where Can You Find Armor Trims in the Game?
There are, in fact, eighteen different armor trim smithing templates to find in the game. These patterns are spread out across all sorts of places. They appear in chests, which you can find in various structures. Some are hidden in the dry heat of a desert pyramid, while others wait in the cold depths of an igloo. You might also find them in the spooky feel of an ancient city, or the busy streets of a village. Each pattern is tied to the kind of place it comes from, which is a neat detail. This means that to collect them all, you will need to travel to many different parts of the game world, including places that are far away or hard to get to. It makes exploring new areas feel even more rewarding, you know, when you know there is a chance of finding a cool new pattern for your gear.
These patterns also show up in different parts of the game's dimensions. Some are found in the regular world, the Overworld, where you start your adventure. Others are hidden away in the fiery landscape of the Nether, which is a pretty dangerous place to visit. Then there are those that are located in the End, a very different and quite final dimension. This means your hunt for all the armor trims will take you across all the major areas of the game. It is not just about finding a specific type of building, but also about venturing into different environments. So, you might need to prepare for a long trip, or perhaps a rather risky one, depending on where the pattern you want happens to be hiding. It definitely adds to the overall experience of discovery.
Making More Armor Trims from One Template
Once you get your hands on just one of these armor trim smithing templates, you can actually make copies of it. This is a very helpful feature, as a matter of fact, because it means you do not have to go through all the trouble of finding the exact same pattern again and again. Imagine if you found a really rare pattern, but only had one. You would only be able to decorate one piece of armor with it. But with the ability to copy it, you can then use that single pattern to decorate all four pieces of your armor, or even share it with friends. It saves you a lot of effort and makes the whole process much smoother. You just need a few extra materials to make the copies, which is a small price to pay for such convenience, really.
The copying process involves using a crafting table and some specific items. You place the original smithing template in the crafting grid, along with some diamonds and a block of the material that the template is made from. This allows you to duplicate the template. So, if you want to put the same design on your helmet, chest plate, leg guards, and boots, you only need to find one original template. Then, you can make three more copies using this method. This feature is pretty essential for anyone who wants a matching set of armor with their chosen trim. It takes away the worry of having to endlessly search for multiple copies of the same pattern, which would be quite a chore, honestly.
What Makes Armor Trims So Unique?
Armor trims give your plain armor pieces a really distinct look. Before these trims came along, a full set of diamond armor looked just like any other full set of diamond armor. There was not much to tell them apart, other than perhaps the enchantments. But now, with these decorative additions, you can make your armor stand out in a crowd. Each trim has a special pattern, and you can pick different colors for these patterns by using different kinds of building materials when you apply the trim. This means you can create something that feels truly personal to you. It is a way to put your own mark on your protective gear, making it a reflection of your own style or even your character's story. It is quite a nice change, honestly, to have so much visual choice.
The fact that these armor trims are purely about looks is also what makes them so unique. They do not change any of the core gameplay mechanics. Your armor still protects you just as much as it did before. It will not make you run faster or hit harder. Their only purpose is to add a bit of visual flair. This is important because it means players can focus on how their character looks without having to worry about making their gear weaker. You get all the benefits of great protection, plus the added bonus of a cool, custom appearance. It is a simple idea, but it adds a lot of depth to how players can express themselves in the game, which is pretty cool, really.
How Many Armor Trim Looks Can You Create?
When you think about all the possibilities, the number of different armor looks you can create with these trims is quite large. There are eighteen total armor trim smithing templates. You also have four main armor slots: helmet, chest plate, leg guards, and boots. If you consider all the ways you can combine these eighteen different patterns across those four armor pieces, not even counting the materials you can use for color, you get a really big number. It is, in fact, 18 multiplied by 4, or 104,976 unique template combinations for a full set of armor. That is a lot of different looks, as a matter of fact. This means it is very unlikely you will ever see another player with exactly the same armor design as yours, unless they copied it directly.
This huge number of combinations means you have a lot of freedom to design your own armor. You can mix and match patterns from different places. Maybe you want a desert pattern on your helmet and a deep dark pattern on your chest plate. Or perhaps you prefer to use the same pattern on all four pieces for a unified look. The choice is completely up to you. This level of customization allows for a truly distinct experience in the game. It lets you add a vibrant touch to what might otherwise be plain armor pieces. It really pushes the boundaries of character personalization in Minecraft, giving players more control over how their in-game self appears. It is a very exciting prospect for those who like to express themselves.
What Is The Point of Armor Trims?
The main point of armor trims is to give players a way to personalize their protective gear. For a long time, the only way to make your armor look different was to change the material it was made from, like iron, gold, or diamond. But those changes were not very personal. Now, with armor trims, you can truly design your own look. You can make your armor match your character's skin, or perhaps show off your favorite colors or patterns. It is all about giving you more options for self-expression within the game. This means your character can finally feel more like 'you,' rather than just another player wearing the standard gear. It really adds a new layer of creativity to the game, which is pretty nice.
These trims offer a uniquely distinct experience in Minecraft. They take otherwise plain armor pieces and give them a vibrant touch. Imagine your sturdy diamond chest plate, now with a fiery pattern running across it, or your simple iron leggings adorned with an intricate design found in a jungle temple. This kind of visual customization makes the game feel more alive and personal. It lets you tell a bit more about your character just by looking at their gear. It is not about making you stronger, but about making you feel more connected to your in-game identity. This focus on appearance and personal flair is a big part of why these armor trims are so popular, you know, because everyone likes to
