How to Make a Nether Portal in Minecraft

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Craft a Diamond Pickaxe.

   In order to mine obsidian, you'll need a Diamond Pickaxe.
   
   You'll need three diamonds and two sticks to craft the Diamond Pickaxe.
   
   If you want to build a Nether Portal without a Diamond Pickaxe, you can build a "mold" using other materials and create obsidian in the correct shape for the portal.
   
   Click here for instructions.
   
   See Find and Mine Diamonds Fast on Minecraft for tips on finding diamonds.
2. 2

   Step 2: Fill some buckets with water.

   Obsidian is created by pouring water onto lava.
   
   One bucket of water will create one block of obsidian.
   
   You'll need at least ten blocks of obsidian, and you'll want to have extra water on hand in case something goes wrong, so pack accordingly. , You'll need to find some lava to turn into obsidian.
   
   Lava typically occurs deep underground, though you can stumble across a lava lake anywhere in the world.
   
   You'll have a very good chance of finding lava on level 1-10 above the bedrock, as all air pockets are replaced with lava at this elevation. , The principle here is to spread the water over the lava blocks.
   
   Any water the lava comes into contact with will become Obsidian.
   
   The tip here is maximum coverage. , By doing so, the Obsidian underneath will be revealed. , You need 10 to make a portal.
   
   Rinse and repeat the water bucket trick as necessary.
   
   Note that mining obsidian takes a very long time (9.4 seconds).
   
   You can speed this up with the "Efficiency" enchantment.
   
   If you're standing the water, be careful that the flow doesn't push you into the exposed lava. , You'll likely want to build the frame near your home so that you can easily resupply when you return from the Nether.
   
   The frame needs to be at least 4x5 blocks, but you don't need the corners, meaning you'll need ten blocks at minimum.Place two obsidian blocks next to each other on the ground, and then place a placeholder block on each end.
   
   Place three obsidian blocks in columns on each of the placeholder blocks.
   
   Put a placeholder block on the top of each column.
   
   Place two more obsidian blocks between the top placeholders.
   
   You can now remove the placeholder blocks to create the corner-less frame.
   
   The inside area should be 2x3 blocks of empty space. , You can light the portal with anything that creates fire, but Flint and Steel is the most reliable.
   
   The middle of the portal will glow purple when activated. , After four seconds, you'll be transported to the Nether.
   
   You can abort the teleport at any time by stepping out of the portal.
   
   A return portal will be created in the Nether where you enter.
   
   Make sure to bring your Flint and Steel with you into the Nether.
   
   A Ghast can put out your return portal, requiring you to re-light it.
3. 3

   Step 3: Find lava.

4. 4

   Step 4: Pour a water bucket on the side of the wall

5. 5

   Step 5: over the lava blocks.

6. 6

   Step 6: Collect the source water block using an empty bucket.

7. 7

   Step 7: Using your Diamond pickaxe

8. 8

   Step 8: mine the Obsidian.

9. 9

   Step 9: Build the frame for your Nether Portal.

10. 10

    Step 10: Light the portal with Flint and Steel.

11. 11

    Step 11: Stand in the portal for four seconds.

Detailed Guide

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