Armor Tweaks -- Iron progression revamped!

A simple lightweight datapack that changes iron armor progression slightly and adds more early game strategies and challenge!



This datapack makes getting that early game iron armor slightly more expensive and interesting!

since, let's be honest, getting iron armor is way too easy in current vanilla.

With this datapack, those lower-grade armor tiers more viable, specifically, chainmail armor (which is now crafted from iron instead of iron armor) and leather armor (which can now be crafted from wool)


Iron armor is still craftable, it's just more of a process that will require you to have progressed further in the game!

It also provides some new neat early-mid game strategies: Will you grab some surface iron and make shears for some quick and cheap wool armor before heading deeper? Maybe you'll seek out a village for some valuable early game iron armor from a blacksmith building or blacksmith trades? Or will you save upgrading chainmail until you get an enchanting setup for better enchants?


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DATAPACK SUMMARY:

Iron armor recipes are changed -- Iron ingots yield chainmail armor.

You can upgrade chainmail armor to iron armor using the smiting table. -- Combine chainmail armor with an iron block in a smithing table to receive iron armor (will keep durability percentage and enchantments.)

Leather armor can crafted using wool as well as leather. -- Any wool color or combination of colors work! (You can use any color of wool to make leather armor. Leather recipe still works :] )


The new iron armor progression was added to both make chainmail a part of normal progression gameplay, instead of a gimmick-y slightly useless villager trade, and to make acquiring iron armor slightly harder, since currently it is super easy to do a cave-run and get iron armor early game. I wanted to make that early iron rush last a bit longer.

Better vanilla enchants:
Chainmail armor has a higher 'enchantability' than iron, which means you're more likely to get higher level enchants for the same XP cost. This adds some slight strategy to early-game enchanting, as now you can enchant a piece of chainmail armor before you convert it to iron to have a higher chance of getting better enchants on your iron armor! (Remember: like with diamond armor to netherite, upgrading chainmail armor to iron will keep any enchantments!)


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BUT WHY WOOL ARMOR?? (isn't it unrealistic?? Won't it break the game??)


Well, no. and no.
Historically, armor made out of wool or linen cloth was relatively common. This addition was made to reflect that and add an element of 'historical realism' to the game.

Also, leather armor is pretty useless. Sure, it's better than nothing, but it's definitely not worth the precious leather that could be used for bookshelves. Leather armor made from wool is cheap and expendable so now you'll actually use it and you won't feel bad ditching it for a better armor tier. Win-win!

It also fixes the problems acquiring leather armor early game, as lots of expendable leather is relatively hard to get when you start out, and leather armor is pretty useless. Wool is by comparison easy to get, so now you can gather wool to gear up before getting iron.


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Known issues:

Unfortunately I haven't managed to make the wool armor recipe output anything but plain leather armor because Minecraft doesn't support custom NBT data recipes... yet.


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Enjoy!