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Quick answer
- Pour water on a lava source block to turn it into Obsidian.
- Mine it with a
Diamond pickaxe or netherite pickaxe. Anything else drops nothing. - Ruined portals and bastion chests have it ready made.
You need obsidian for a Nether portal, an enchanting table and an ender chest. Here's how to get it safely.
Nether Portal CalculatorConvert Minecraft Overworld coordinates to Nether coordinates and back, so your portals link to the right place every time→
Making obsidian
- Find a lava pool. Each still lava block is a source.
- Pour a Water bucket next to it so the water flows over the lava.
- Lava sources turn into obsidian. Pick the water back up.
Watch your stepLava can hide under the obsidian. Mine with a block under your feet and never dig straight down.
Mining it
Only a diamond or netherite pickaxe drops obsidian. It's slow to mine, so Efficiency helps a lot.
Finding it ready made
- Ruined portals: broken portal frames, often with a chest.
- Bastion remnants and village weaponsmith chests.
- Piglin bartering: about an 8.5% chance per gold ingot.
Using it
| Build | Obsidian needed |
|---|---|
| Nether portal (4×5, no corners) | 10 |
 Enchanting table | 4 |
 Ender chest | 8 |
Explosion proofObsidian survives normal explosions, so it's great for protecting important parts of your base.
Cheat sheet
- Water on lava sources = obsidian
- Diamond or netherite pickaxe only
- 10 for a portal frame
- Ruined portals have free obsidian
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