Game Theory: How Much is Minecraft Diamond Armor Worth?

The episode explores the real-world monetary value of a complete set of diamond armor in Minecraft.

The editing was handled by Ronnie Onnie Edwards, host of 'Digressing and Sidequesting,' another game analysis show on the channel.

The analysis aims to determine not only the cost of diamond armor but also whether it would provide adequate protection in actual combat scenarios.

Diamonds are the most sought-after ore in Minecraft, enabling players to craft the strongest items in the game including armor.

Each Minecraft block equals 1 meter in height, with each block face measuring 16 pixels by 16 pixels in the original graphical style.

• One meter divided by 16 pixels equals 0.0625 meters per pixel • Cubic volume of each pixel: 0.000244 cubic meters

• Helmet: 172 pixel blocks • Chestplate: 186 pixel blocks • Shoulder pads: 116 pixel blocks • Leggings: 144 pixel blocks • Total: 618 pixel blocks

The complete armor set comprises 0.15 cubic meters of diamond material.

• Diamond density: 3,510 kilograms per cubic meter • Total weight: 526.5 kilograms or 1,160 pounds

5,000 carats equal one kilogram, making Minecraft diamond armor weigh 2,632,500 carats.

• Cullinan diamond: 3,100 carats (largest rough gem quality diamond ever found) • Hope Diamond: 45.52 carats

Minecraft diamond armor vastly exceeds the weight of any real-world famous diamond.

• Carat: already calculated at 2,632,500 • Cut: plain and basic, adding no significant value • Clarity: I3 (included) with poor transparency • Color: tinted blue

Minecraft diamond armor has poor clarity and cannot be seen through, earning the lowest clarity grade of I3.

A colorless, cloudy diamond without a fancy cut costs approximately $1,615 per carat.

Without accounting for color, the armor would be worth approximately $4,251,487,500.

The blue color in Minecraft diamonds comes from boron or hydrogen present during diamond formation.

Blue diamonds are significantly rarer and more valuable than colorless diamonds.

A cloudy blue diamond costs approximately $33,500 per carat, compared to $1,615 for colorless.

A complete set of Minecraft diamond armor would be worth $88,188,750,000.98, exceeding the GDP of Rwanda.

Diamonds are the hardest natural mineral on Earth, but hardness and toughness are different properties.

• Gemstones are crystals with regular atomic structures • Crystals have cleavage planes where they can be easily split • Diamonds have four cleavage planes

Flat, blocky Minecraft armor has all cleavage planes at 90-degree angles, making it vulnerable to straight slices from any direction.

Despite costing $88 billion, diamond armor would fail to protect adequately against sword strikes or explosions due to its crystalline brittleness.

Diamond armor weighs thousands of pounds and falls apart when struck along its cleavage planes, making it ineffective protection.

At $88 billion, diamond armor would make the wearer 11 billion dollars richer than the world's richest person.

In Minecraft's economy, there is no practical use for such wealth or resources.

It's just a theory, a Game Theory.