Armor Materials

Armor materials define the properties and textures of armor items. They are referenced by their registry ID in item definitions.

To create a custom armor material, create a JSON file at:

addon/<namespace>/armor_material/<material_id>.json

For example, addon/mypack/armor_material/dirt.json registers the material mypack:dirt.

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Fields

All fields are required.

Field	Type	Description
durability	Integer	Base durability multiplier. The actual per-piece durability is derived from this value.
defense	Object	Defense points per armor slot. Keys are helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, and body.
enchantment_value	Integer	Enchantability. Higher values yield better enchantments.
equip_sound	Sound ID	Sound event played when this armor is equipped.
toughness	Float	Armor toughness value. Vanilla diamond has 2.0, netherite has 3.0.
knockback_resistance	Float	Knockback resistance. Netherite armor has 0.1 per piece.
repair_items	Tag (Item)	Item tag whose members can repair this armor in an anvil.
asset_id	Identifier	Points to the equipment asset file at assets/<namespace>/equipment/<name>.json. See below.

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Equipment Asset File

The asset_id field references an equipment asset that defines the in-world texture layers rendered on the player when wearing the armor. Create this file at:

assets/<namespace>/equipment/<name>.json

The <namespace> and <name> come from the asset_id value, so for example asset_id: "mypack:dirt" maps to assets/mypack/equipment/dirt.json.

assets/mypack/equipment/dirt.json

{
  "layers": {
    "humanoid": [
      {
        "texture": "mypack:dirt"
      }
    ],
    "humanoid_leggings": [
      {
        "texture": "mypack:dirt"
      }
    ]
  }
}

The texture value points to assets/<namespace>/textures/entity/equipment/<name>.png. Helmets, chestplates, and boots share the humanoid layer, while leggings use the humanoid_leggings layer.

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Built-in Vanilla Materials

The following vanilla armor materials are pre-registered and can be referenced directly by ID:

ID	durability	defense.helmet	defense.chestplate	defense.leggings	defense.boots	defense.body	enchantment_value	toughness	knockback_resistance	equip_sound	repair_items	asset_id
minecraft:leather	5	1	3	2	1	3	15	0.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_leather	#minecraft:repairs_leather_armor	minecraft:leather
minecraft:chainmail	15	2	5	4	1	4	12	0.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_chain	#minecraft:repairs_chain_armor	minecraft:chainmail
minecraft:iron	15	2	6	5	2	5	9	0.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_iron	#minecraft:repairs_iron_armor	minecraft:iron
minecraft:gold	7	2	5	3	1	7	25	0.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_gold	#minecraft:repairs_gold_armor	minecraft:gold
minecraft:diamond	33	3	8	6	3	11	10	2.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_diamond	#minecraft:repairs_diamond_armor	minecraft:diamond
minecraft:netherite	37	3	8	6	3	19	15	3.0	0.1	minecraft:item.armor.equip_netherite	#minecraft:repairs_netherite_armor	minecraft:netherite
minecraft:turtle_scute	25	2	6	5	2	5	9	0.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_turtle	#minecraft:repairs_turtle_helmet	minecraft:turtle_scute
minecraft:armadillo_scute	4	3	8	6	3	11	10	0.0	0.0	minecraft:item.armor.equip_wolf	#minecraft:repairs_wolf_armor	minecraft:armadillo_scute

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Example

addon/mypack/armor_material/dirt.json

{
  "durability": 1,
  "defense": {
    "helmet": 1,
    "chestplate": 1,
    "leggings": 1,
    "boots": 1,
    "body": 1
  },
  "enchantment_value": 3,
  "equip_sound": "minecraft:block.gravel.place",
  "toughness": 0,
  "knockback_resistance": 0,
  "repair_items": "#mypack:repairs_dirt_armor",
  "asset_id": "mypack:dirt"
}