Bastion Remnant

The Bastion Remnant is a ruined blackstone fortress held by piglins and the only place to find the netherite upgrade template. It generates in the Nether, across 4 biome types - Nether Wastes, Soul Sand Valley, Crimson Forest, and Warped Forest - which makes the Bastion Remnant moderately uncommon to come across as you explore.

Height-wise the Bastion Remnant sits in the Y 30 to Y 80 band, which narrows down where to look. Bastions generate in every Nether biome except basalt deltas and come in four layouts - bridge, hoglin stable, housing units, and treasure - each with its own chest placement and guard pattern. They share spawn regions with nether fortresses but never overlap one.

It was introduced in Minecraft 1.16, and the detail that defines it at a glance is simple: massive blackstone structure.

On Java Edition the quickest method is the command /locate structure minecraft:bastion_remnant, which prints the coordinates of the nearest Bastion Remnant and the distance to it.

Without commands, head for one of the Bastion Remnant's biomes (Nether Wastes, Soul Sand Valley, Crimson Forest, and Warped Forest) and search the Y 30 to 80 band. Because it is moderately uncommon, you will usually pass a few biomes before a Bastion Remnant appears.

Use /locate structure minecraft:bastion_remnant. Found in all nether biomes except basalt deltas. Large blackstone structures visible from a distance. Listen for piglin and hoglin sounds.

Once inside, loot lives in chests whose exact spots depend on the variant, and the treasure bastion's central chests are the richest. This is the sole source of the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, and a strong source of ancient debris, gold blocks, and the Pigstep music disc.

Among the Bastion Remnant's randomised drops, the most common pulls are Gilded Blackstone at about 44%, Gold Block at about 33%, Gold Ingot at about 33%, and Spectral Arrow at about 33%. At the other end of the odds sit the jackpot items: Music Disc (Pigstep) at roughly 5% and Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe at roughly 6%, so opening multiple Bastion Remnant chests pays off over time.

What makes the Bastion Remnant genuinely worth the trip is a set of exclusive rewards you cannot get reliably anywhere else - Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, Snout Armor Trim Smithing Template, Music Disc (Pigstep), and Enchanted Book (Soul Speed) - so this is the place to come for them.

Expect to face Piglin, Piglin Brute, Hoglin, and Magma Cube here, sometimes more than one at once. Being a Nether structure, the Bastion Remnant's mobs are immune to fire and lava, so neither works as a defence here.

The specific hazards to plan around: Piglin brutes cannot be distracted with gold and deal massive damage and regular piglins attack without gold armor. There is more to watch for too - Hoglins are aggressive, magma cube spawners in treasure rooms, and lava pools inside structure - so do not rush.

Built from blackstone, gilded blackstone, and polished variants, each bastion is a different ruined complex: open bridges, hoglin pens, stacked housing rooms, or a fortified treasure core ringed by magma-cube spawners and lava. Gold blocks and gilded blackstone stud the walls throughout.

Other things you will notice as you explore: four variants: bridge, hoglin stable, housing, treasure, Piglin brutes guard the structure, and gold block treasure in treasure variant.

Bastion remnants are the only source of the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, required to upgrade diamond gear to netherite. Piglin brutes cannot be pacified with gold armor and always attack on sight. Wearing gold armor prevents regular piglins from attacking. The treasure bastion variant has the best loot but is heavily guarded.