Armor Stand in Water/Lava + Fire Aspect Sword Inconsistency

Summary:

This is an issue with armor stands which has been happening since 1.21.4 (according to YouTube comments I’ve seen). It used to be the case that water would protect an armor stand from breaking from repeated hits by a fire aspect sword. However, in recent versions, when you have an armor stand in water, and repeatedly hit it with a fire aspect sword, the armor stand will break now. On top of that, I’ve noticed some inconsistencies with how this interaction works between water and lava. Anyway, here’s the actual report:

Steps to Reproduce:

Be in survival with any fire aspect sword. You can visualize the bug with 3 small setups (images attached):

1. An armor stand in water

2. An armor stand in lava

3. An armor stand in a lava cauldron

Place the armor stand as shown in the images, then start hitting it with the sword (in survival mode) and observe the results.

Expected Result:

From the eyes of someone who is learning the game, it should instead be the case that water protects the armor stand from breaking with a fire aspect sword, and lava should not. I think this makes the most sense as well.

Actual Result:

1. The water armor stand breaks after a few swings.

2. The lava armor stand is completely fine.

3. The lava cauldron armor stand burns immediately after placing.

I believe this should be considered a bug because that does not seem like the way fire works. I think it should work more like how I described in the expected result.