Minecraft Adds Copper Tools and Armor: Worth It?

Mojang has announced the upcoming copper update for Minecraft, bringing with it a new use for copper in the game. Players will soon be able to craft tools and armor made from this metal, offering improved durability and mining speed compared to stone, but not as high as iron.

The addition of copper tools and armor raises an interesting question: are they worth using over their stone counterparts? While attack power remains the same, copper items outperform stone in terms of longevity and efficiency. However, the value of these upgrades depends on individual playstyles and progressions.

When starting a new game of Minecraft, players begin with wooden tools, which yield only stone when used to mine rocks. The next logical step is upgrading to stone tools, allowing players to mine iron ore and work towards an all-iron loadout. But, as I discovered during testing on the game's test branch, copper ore drops twice as many resources compared to iron ore.

This makes it relatively easy to craft copper tools and armor, despite requiring the same number of ingots. Moreover, I found that using copper axes and pickaxes resulted in a noticeable improvement in mining speed compared to their stone predecessors. However, this was still not enough to convince me to upgrade from stone tools to iron.

One key reason for sticking with stone is that iron tools don't require as many ingots as copper ones do. Additionally, during my testing, I found that using copper tools did not provide the benefits of mining special resources like redstone, gold, diamonds, or emeralds. Therefore, in certain situations, it might be more efficient to stick with stone tools.

Copper armor sets, on the other hand, are highly beneficial for their rarity and value. Crafting a full copper armor set requires 24 ingots, which can be costly. However, this makes it an attractive option for players who want to prioritize safety over progression.

Another use of copper in Minecraft is crafting copper golems, providing players with an additional layer of defense against monsters. As the copper update is still in its testing phase and may undergo changes before release, it's essential to keep this information in mind.

To test the new copper armor and tools for yourself, you can enable experimental features on your Minecraft Bedrock Edition game. The update will be added to Java snapshots later, so be sure to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.