Crafting

Crafting is the method by which most blocks, tools, and other resources are made in Minecraft. It is a function only available in Alpha mode, as well as the removed Indev and Infdev modes. In order to craft something, the player must move items from their inventory into the crafting grid, then arrange them into the pattern representing the item(s) they wish to create. As long as the proper pattern of resources is placed, it will not matter where within the grid the ingredients are placed. Crafting recipes can also be flipped horizontally from their depictions in the graphs below: for instance, you can make a bow with the strings on the right instead of the left.

The player has access to a 2×2 crafting grid in their Inventory screen which can be used at any time. Crafting recipes that are at most 2×2 materials wide and tall can be crafted there, like wood planks, sticks and workbenches. To craft with a 3×3 grid, a Workbench block must be right-clicked. This brings up a pop-up screen which allows the player to assemble any crafting recipe in the game, as the maximum size for a recipe is 3×3.

Item Durability
Several Tools, Swords and Armor can be crafted from different materials. Better materials give a higher number of uses prior to the item breaking, as well as increased speed or power. Once an item has been used the number of uses below, the damage meter on the item will reach maximum resulting in the item breaking and disappearing from the inventory.

The formula for the number of uses for Tools and Swords is 2(n+5)+1 , where n is the durability of the material being used (for the corresponding values, see the listing below). Regardless of what item is being used, a use counts as either the complete de-construction of a block or a single strike at an enemy, but incomplete attempts (stopping in the middle) to de-construct a block do not qualify as a use. If a tool is used inappropriately, such as using a pickaxe to attack mobs, each use will have the equivalent of 2 proper uses.


 * Each de-construction of a block with an appropriate tool counts as 1 use. (This determines how many Wood-related blocks an Axe can chop, how many Stone-related blocks a Pick can mine, etc.)
 * Each de-construction of a block with an inappropriate tool counts as 2 uses. (Breaking a Stone-related block with a shovel, a Dirt block with an axe, etc.)
 * Each strike of a Sword to hit a Mob counts as 1 use. Hitting a Mob with a Tool will count as an inappropriate use.
 * Each time a piece of armor protects against minimal damage counts as 1 use. Multiple pieces worn do not give more uses, but wearing multiple pieces increases the amount of damage absorbed.

Armor Durabitily:
 * The damage absorbed by a piece of armor is not relative to its material but to its remaining durability (the percentage of uses left). A full set of leather armor has the same damage protection as a full set of diamond armor, as long as both are fully intact. As the damage on the armor increases, the protective capability decreases.
 * Example: after 25 hits (with minimal damage), a leather chestplate has 49% of its uses left (24 of 49), thus 49% of a chestplate's original damage protection. A diamond chestplate would have 93.5% of it's uses left (360 of 385), thus 93.5% of a chestplate's original protection.
 * Therefore, armor from a higher tier material retains it's damage absorption for much longer and is able to protect from more damage if the armor is used frequently, but the maximum damage protection per hit is the same.

Tools and Swords list:
 * Wood: 33 uses, n = 0
 * Gold: 33 uses, n = 0
 * Stone: 65 uses, n = 1
 * Iron: 129 uses, n = 2
 * Diamond: 1025 uses, n = 5

Armor list:
 * Leather: 49 uses
 * Gold: 96 uses
 * Chainmail: 96 uses
 * Iron: 192 uses
 * Diamond: 385 uses

Complete Recipe List
Currently, there are 96 recipes; this includes each recipe in the animations below and the two methods of making Mushroom Soup. Chainmail armor is also included in this count.