Better Smithing Upgrades
by robinfrt
Better Smithing Upgrades lets the smithing table apply upgrade templates to equipment while keeping its enchantments, so a player can improve gear over a playthrough.
What it does
The mod expands the smithing upgrade concept beyond Netherite. Upgrade recipes cover tools and armor, and each tier is reached by spending an upgrade part on gear from the tier below, so a player can carry the same items from wood or leather up to diamond or netherite. Enchantments on the item are kept through each upgrade step.
Upgrade parts are made in four tiers: iron, gold, diamond and netherite. Iron parts are used on wood, stone, leather and chainmail gear, gold parts on iron gear, diamond parts on gold gear, and netherite parts on diamond gear. Each part is craftable from four ingots or gems of its tier, and a netherite ingot yields four netherite upgrade parts. The templates are crafted from quartz and a few other ingredients, and the basic template is found in most structures. The rarer templates appear in common loot chests less often than their iron counterpart, and the rarest parts come only from the hardest structures to reach.
The mod is published for Forge and NeoForge with files for 1.20 – 1.21.1, and it runs on client and server. Latest files are version 1.0.1 for 1.20.1 on Forge and 1.0.1 for 1.21.1 on NeoForge, both dated 2026-03-28. The code is not open source and is distributed under All rights reserved by its author robinfrt.
Key features
Upgrades that keep enchantments
Equipment moved to the next tier through the smithing table keeps the enchantments it already has.
Tiered upgrade parts
Iron, gold, diamond and netherite parts each advance a set of tools and armor to the next material level.
Basic upgrade template
A basic smithing upgrade template is crafted from quartz and found in most generated structures.
Base and advanced editions
A base edition and an advanced edition are offered, with the advanced edition adding further upgrade paths.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
No Template Netherite is open source under the MIT License and runs on client and server with files for 1.20 – 26.1.2, so it covers a longer version range than Better Smithing Upgrades. Smithing Tweaks also runs on client and server and is licensed CC0 1.0 Universal, but it is published for Fabric as well as Forge and NeoForge, and for 1.20.1 – 1.21.8. Better Smithing Upgrades is not open source and targets 1.20 – 1.21.1 only.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better Smithing Upgrades | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-03-28 |
| No Template Netherite (Forge/NeoForge) | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20 – 26.1.2 | Client and server | 2026-07-30 |
| Smithing Tweaks | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2025-12-01 |
Questions
Which loaders does Better Smithing Upgrades support?
Do both sides need the mod installed?
Are enchantments kept when an item is upgraded?
In the catalog
Better Smithing Upgrades is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 9,216 Equipment mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
More from robinfrt
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What the author says
This mod expands the concept of smithing upgrades beyond Netherite, adding upgrade recipes for all tools and armor from Wood and Leather up to Diamond. You can now keep the same gear throughout your playthrough and upgrade it along the way, without losing your enchantments!
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/better-smithing-upgrades
- Owner
- robinfrt
- Published
- 2026-03-14
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-03-28
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15