Ores Above Diamonds Mechanics

Smithing Table Enchantment Transfers

OAD allows players to upgrade their gear without losing expensive enchantments. This is done via the Smithing Table. There are four tiers of material progression:

1. Diamond
2. Amethyst
3. Black Opal
4. Netherite Opal

Transfer Rules:

• Diamond to Amethyst: Place a Diamond tool/armor piece in the first slot and an Amethyst tool/armor piece in the second slot. The enchantments will transfer to the Amethyst item
• Amethyst to Black Opal: Place Amethyst gear in the first slot and Black Opal gear in the second slot
• Black Opal to Netherite Opal: Combine Black Opal gear with a Netherite Ingot in the Smithing Table. This adds lava resistance and a power buff
• Netherite to Netherite Opal: Combine Netherite gear with Black Opal gear to skip directly to the final tier

Armor Strength Scaling

The effectiveness of OAD armor depends on the damage per hit. Against weak mobs, the difference between Diamond and Black Opal is negligible. However, against bosses or high-damage sources (like Creepers or modded bosses), Black Opal and Netherite Opal provide exponentially more protection due to their high Toughness values.

Chest Loot

In versions prior to 1.17, Amethyst and Black Opal gems, and rarely full tools, can be found in any vanilla loot chest that contains Diamonds (e.g., End Cities, Bastions, Strongholds) at a reduced spawn rate.