Special effects

Most tiers do something beyond their stats. The item tooltip lists the effect in grey.

Copper

Lightning immunity Wear a full set of vanilla copper armor and lightning can't hurt you. All four pieces are needed.

Bronze

Fast mining underwater While you're in water, the bronze pickaxe, axe, shovel or hoe in your main hand glows and mines 3× faster.

Underwater mining is normally five times slower, so bronze gets you most of the way back to normal speed. With Aqua Affinity on your helmet, a bronze tool mines faster underwater than it does on land. The sword, spear and armor don't have this effect.

Steel

Faster attacks Steel swords and tools swing one attack per second faster than bronze or ruby ones.

Heavy Holding a steel sword or tool in either hand makes you walk about 20% slower. Holding two doesn't slow you more.

The steel spear and armor have neither effect.

Titanium

Fireproof Titanium armor, spears and maces survive fire and lava when dropped, like netherite.

Piglins stay neutral Wearing any piece of titanium armor counts as wearing gold.

Unbreakable mace The titanium mace never loses durability.

Titanium swords, pickaxes, axes, shovels, hoes and bows are not fireproof, so keep them away from lava.

Enderite

Unbreakable Every enderite tool, weapon and armor piece, including the bow, never loses durability.

Fireproof Enderite gear survives fire and lava when dropped.

Fire immunity Wearing any enderite armor piece blocks all fire, burning and lava damage, and puts you out when you catch fire.

Boots: safe landings No fall damage, and magma blocks don't hurt.

Helmet: water breathing You never drown. Crashing into a wall while gliding with an elytra doesn't hurt either.

Piglins stay neutral Wearing any piece of enderite armor counts as wearing gold.