Vanilla Armor Upgrades+
by justkorphi
Vanilla Armor Upgrades+ replaces the vanilla armor path with a staged upgrade chain, so a player must master each tier before reaching the next.
What it does
The mod overhauls Minecraft's progression by adding armor upgrade steps between the standard materials. Leather, chainmail, iron and diamond armor each sit at a tier, and a piece of a higher tier can only be reached by completing the one below it. The extra steps make the route to a full diamond set longer and more deliberate than in the base game.
The smithing table gains a larger role: crafting armor on the regular crafting table is removed, which pushes players toward the smithing table for every armor step. A chainmail armor line is also added, serving as a required step before iron. The mod is meant to be played alongside Better Gold Equipment, and it suits players who want a slower, more gradual armor progression than vanilla offers.
Installation requires NeoForge 1.21.1. The server and every player need the mod installed. The files target only 1.21.1, with 1.0.2 as the latest build, released on 2026-02-09. It is released under All rights reserved and is not open source.
Key features
Staggered armor tiers
Each armor material is split into steps, and a higher tier is locked until the one before it is complete.
Expanded armor tiers
Additional upgrade levels sit between the vanilla leather, iron and diamond armor sets.
Chainmail armor line
A chainmail armor line is added as a required stage between the lower tiers and iron armor.
Smithing table crafting
Armor is crafted at the smithing table, and the regular crafting table no longer produces armor pieces.
JEI item lookup
The mod works with JEI so the recipes for each new upgrade step can be browsed in the item viewer.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players who want a longer, stepped armor progression on NeoForge 1.21.1, and server owners who want the same pace on a multiplayer world. Players who prefer vanilla armor crafting may find the changes too restrictive.
How it compares
Gearsmithing is a NeoForge mod for 1.21.1 – 1.21.11 under the Apache License 2.0, running on client and server. Armor Crafting is a NeoForge mod for 1.21.1 under the MIT License, also running on client and server. Easy Netherite Upgrade (Neoforge) is server-side only, covers 1.21.1 – 1.21.8 and is released under the MIT License, so players join without installing it.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla Armor Upgrades+ | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-02-09 |
| Gearsmithing | NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-02-05 |
| Armor Crafting | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-05-16 |
| Easy Netherite Upgrade (Neoforge) | NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 1.21.8 | Server-side only | 2026-08-05 |
Questions
Does Vanilla Armor Upgrades+ need to be installed on the server?
Which loader and game version does the mod support?
Does the mod need another mod to work well?
In the catalog
Vanilla Armor Upgrades+ is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 7,420 Equipment mods for NeoForge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
Tired of speedrunning from Iron to Diamond in a single session? Vanilla Armor Upgrades+ overhauls Minecraft’s progression system by introducing armor upgrade for each armor tier. JEI (Just Enough Items) - Meant to be played with Better Gold Equipment -
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/vanillaarmorupgradesplus
- Owner
- justkorphi
- Published
- 2025-05-18
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-02-09
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15