How to Get Armadillo Scutes in Minecraft: A Comprehensive Guide

Minecraft’s 1.20 update, also known as the Trails & Tales update, introduced a variety of new features, including the adorable armadillo mob and, more importantly, its unique drop: armadillo scutes. These scutes are not just decorative; they are essential for crafting wolf armor, a long-awaited addition that dramatically increases a tamed wolf’s survivability. This guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough on how to find armadillos, how to make them drop scutes, and how to effectively farm them, ensuring you can equip your loyal canine companions with the best protection.

Understanding Armadillos and Their Behavior

Before we dive into farming, it’s crucial to understand the armadillo’s behavior and habitat. Here’s a breakdown:

• Spawn Location: Armadillos spawn in warm biome regions, specifically savanna and badlands biomes. You’ll often find them roaming around in grassy areas or near bodies of water.
• Appearance: Armadillos are relatively small, tan-colored mobs with distinctive segmented armor plating. They curl up into a ball when threatened.
• Passive Mob: Armadillos are passive mobs and won’t attack the player or any other mob.
• Scared Behavior: If the armadillo senses a threat – usually a player or other mob moving quickly nearby – it will curl up into a protective ball. While curled up, the armadillo cannot be interacted with, nor will it drop scutes.
• Drop Behavior: The main way to obtain armadillo scutes is through brushing the armadillo. The second way is that they can drop them on rare occations upon death, but this is less efficient than brushing.
• Breeding: Armadillos are currently not breedable in Minecraft. This means you can’t create a farm by breeding armadillos.

Steps to Obtain Armadillo Scutes

Now that you understand the armadillo’s behavior, here are the detailed steps to obtain their scutes:

Step 1: Finding Armadillos

The first and foremost task is to find an armadillo. As previously mentioned, they spawn in savannas and badlands biomes. These biomes are fairly common, so you should be able to find them within a reasonable distance from your spawn point. Here’s what you should keep in mind while searching:

• Exploration: Start exploring savanna and badlands biomes methodically. It might be helpful to walk along the edges of these biomes to spot them more easily.
• Time of Day: Armadillos spawn more often during the daytime, so search when the sun is up.
• Listen: Armadillos make a small, distinctive scurrying sound which can sometimes help you locate them if you are having trouble visually spotting them.
• Biome Variations: Keep in mind that different variations of savannas exist, such as the normal savanna, the savanna plateau, and the shattered savanna. They all can have armadillos, so don’t rule out any variations.
• Use a Seed: If you are having immense trouble finding these biomes, consider using a seed that has spawns near a savana and a badlands biome. This might be cheating, but it will make your search a lot easier.

Step 2: Acquiring a Brush

Once you’ve located an armadillo, you’ll need a brush. This item is essential for extracting scutes from armadillos. If you have a brush already skip to Step 3.

• Crafting: To craft a brush, you’ll need one stick, one feather, and one copper ingot. These resources are relatively easy to find.
• Obtaining Sticks: Sticks can be obtained by breaking down wooden logs.
• Obtaining Feathers: Feathers are dropped by chickens. Chickens are common and can be found around your spawning point.
• Obtaining Copper Ingots: Copper ore is mined and smelted into copper ingots. Copper ore can be found below level 0, though it is most common on levels 47 and 48. Mining it requires at least a stone pickaxe. Smelt it in a furnace using fuel such as coal or wood.
• Crafting Table: Place the materials in the crafting table using the proper pattern for a brush, which is: Stick in the central slot, Feather on the top right slot, and the Copper Ingot at the bottom left slot.

Step 3: Brushing the Armadillo

Now with the brush in hand, approach the armadillo. It’s important to approach slowly as armadillos can become frightened when rushed or confronted quickly. This is how to effectively get your scutes:

• Approaching: Slowly approach an armadillo. Avoid sprinting or making any sudden movements. If you scare an armadillo, it will curl into a ball and you’ll have to wait for it to uncurl again.
• Using the Brush: Once you’re close enough, use the brush on the armadillo. This will cause the armadillo to drop one scute. Each time you use the brush, a new scute can drop.
• Patience: Keep in mind the brush action is not instantaneous. It takes a bit to fully brush the armadillo for it to drop a scute. Be patient, keep brushing and you should see the scute drop soon.
• Repeating the Process: Brush the armadillo multiple times to collect as many scutes as you need. You can keep doing this as long as you have a brush.
• Armadillo Remains: Remember that armadillos will also drop scutes upon death, but this is much less efficient than brushing. It will only occur on rare occasions upon death, so avoid killing them for their scutes, as it is counterproductive.

Step 4: Setting Up an Armadillo Scute Farm (Optional)

If you plan to frequently use wolf armor, setting up a small farm can be more efficient than wandering around for armadillos. Since armadillos cannot breed, the idea is to contain multiple armadillos and use the brushing method to farm their scutes. Here’s a basic farm setup:

• Enclosure: Build a small, secure enclosure near your base. This could be made from any material, but fences or walls work best. Make sure the enclosure is well-lit to prevent hostile mobs from spawning.
• Capturing Armadillos: Lure armadillos into your enclosure. You can accomplish this by walking towards an armadillo while not sprinting. If it doesn’t go in right away, just stay near it and it will slowly walk towards you. Once it reaches the enclosure, simply go around and close it in with a gate or blocks.
• Multiple Armadillos: Collect as many armadillos as you can fit into the enclosure. The more armadillos you have, the more efficient your scute collection becomes.
• Farm Setup: Ensure you have easy access to the armadillos without needing to constantly move or get them scared. Consider incorporating a pathway that you can easily walk around while brushing the armadillos.
• Mob Protection: If you can add light sources, this will ensure that no hostile mobs can spawn in the farm area and harm the armadillos.

Tips for Efficient Scute Farming

Here are some additional tips to make your armadillo scute farming more efficient:

• Multiple Brushes: Always keep multiple brushes on hand, in case one breaks. As they are relatively cheap to craft, it is best to make a stack of brushes at the start of your adventure.
• Light the Area: When setting up a farm, ensure it is well-lit to prevent hostile mobs from spawning. This will keep your armadillos safe and prevent them from being scared by mob sounds.
• Strategic Approach: When brushing armadillos, move slowly and deliberately. Don’t rush up to them to prevent them from curling up into balls.
• Sound: If the armadillo is not dropping scutes it could be that a hostile mob is nearby. Listen for mob noises, and if you hear any, check the area around the farm for possible mobs.
• Backup Scutes: If you encounter armadillos while exploring, brush them even if you don’t immediately need the scutes. This can give you a backup supply for future crafting.
• Chunk Loading: When you start building the farm, make sure to test if the chunks around the farm are always loaded. If the chunks are not loaded, then the farm might have issues functioning when you are away.
• Chunk Border: Make sure not to build the farm in chunk border, as it might cause the entities (armadillos) to bug out.

Using Armadillo Scutes: Wolf Armor

The primary use for armadillo scutes is to craft wolf armor. This armor is crafted by using six scutes and gives your tamed wolf significant protection. Here’s the process:

• Crafting Recipe: Place the scutes in the crafting table in the shape of a horseshoe. You’ll need six armadillo scutes.
• Applying the Armor: Once crafted, hold the wolf armor and simply use it on a tamed wolf.
• Durability: Wolf armor has a durability system, meaning it can break over time when the wolf takes damage. Keep extra scutes on hand to craft replacement armor as needed.
• Repairing Wolf Armor: Damaged wolf armor can be repaired by using armadillo scutes. No crafting table is needed to repair. Simply hold the scutes and interact with a wolf with damaged armor. This will repair the armor.

Conclusion

Collecting armadillo scutes in Minecraft is a fairly straightforward process, albeit one that requires patience and the correct tools. By understanding armadillo behavior and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily obtain the scutes needed to craft wolf armor and keep your loyal companions safe. Whether you choose to roam around looking for armadillos or build a farm, remember to be patient and strategic. Happy crafting!

By focusing on these steps and tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master scute collector in Minecraft!