Where to Find Netherite Pickaxe in Minecraft

The Tools category of Minecraft holds Netherite Pickaxe, a deep-underground resource, and this guide sets out the location, the 3 methods behind it, and the quickest way to hold Netherite Pickaxe yourself. Nether (all biomes, especially Nether Wastes and Basalt Deltas) is the address for Netherite Pickaxe, and there you upgrade a Diamond Pickaxe at a Smithing Table using a Netherite Upgrade Template and Netherite Ingot. Depth matters here: the relevant Y-level range is Y 8-22 in the Nether, peaks at Y 15. Finding Netherite Pickaxe is rated very hard (5/5): it sits among the hardest items in the game to acquire, usually saved for the late game.

Biomes & Dimensions

• Nether (all biomes, especially Nether Wastes and Basalt Deltas)

Y-Level Range

All Methods

1. 1Upgrade a Diamond Pickaxe at a Smithing Table using a Netherite Upgrade Template and Netherite Ingot
2. 2Find Ancient Debris in the Nether, smelt into Netherite Scrap
3. 3Combine 4 Netherite Scrap + 4 Gold Ingots to craft 1 Netherite Ingot

• Mine at Y 15 in the Nether for the best Ancient Debris rates
• Bed explosions are the most efficient mining method: place a bed, click it (beds explode in the Nether), mine exposed Ancient Debris
• TNT mining works well too but requires more resources
• Ancient Debris is blast-resistant, so it survives bed and TNT explosions
• A single Netherite Ingot needs 4 Ancient Debris, so plan for 16 Ancient Debris minimum for a full set
• Bastion Remnants sometimes contain Netherite Scrap or Netherite Ingots in their treasure chests

• Netherite added in 1.16 (Nether Update)
• Smithing Templates required since 1.20 (previously just Netherite Ingot at smithing table)

Does not burn in lava or fire. Crafted at a Smithing Table, not a Crafting Table.

Getting to a netherite pickaxe is a project, not a craft: ancient debris only spawns deep in the Nether, four scrap plus four gold make one ingot, and the smithing template has to come out of a bastion. What you get back is a pick that never burns in lava, which matters exactly when you drop it in the Nether.

Ancient debris never touches air, so it never appears in an open cave wall. That is why bed mining and long straight tunnels at the right height work while ordinary caving does not. Take gold armour to keep piglins calm, and expect several ingots' worth of debris to take an hour or more.