How to make a Minecraft nether portal without diamond pickaxe

Building a nether portal is an essential aspect of beating Minecraft. Without going to the nether, Minecraft players will not be able to obtain ender eyes that will lead those who throw them to the end stronghold.

Making a nether portal in Minecraft is not always easy, however. It requires at least 10 blocks of obsidian which cannot be mined or obtained without a diamond pickaxe. Diamonds are not commonly found early on during Minecraft gameplay, and players often do not have diamonds on them when they are ready to go to the nether.

Especially for players who like to speedrun Minecraft, making a nether portal quickly is a must. Luckily, there are a few different options when it comes to making a nether portal without needing a diamond pickaxe.

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How to make a nether portal in Minecraft without using a diamond pickaxe

Lava Pool

One of the main ways gamers can build a nether portal in Minecraft without a diamond pickaxe is through the use of a lava pool. Lava turns to obsidian when water is poured onto it, so if players can do this and shape the blocks currently, they’ll have a nether portal in no time.

This method is often done by speedrunners like Dream and requires at least one bucket and a water source.

When a lava pool has been located, players should use building blocks to help shape the outline of the portal. Once an outline starts to take shape, take the bucket and fill it with lava. Place the lava where the obsidian block will go.

Then, fill the bucket with water and place it next to or on top of the lava. This will cause it to instantly turn to obsidian. Players can repeat this process until the shape of a nether portal has formed, then all there’s left to do is light the portal.

It is important to pick up the placed water almost immediately after placing it. Because the water can easily flow onto the rest of the lava pool and turn it all to obsidian.

Ruined Portal

Image via Minecraft

Another great way to build a nether portal in Minecraft without a diamond pickaxe is through completing a ruined portal. Ruined portals are structures that can be found throughout any given Minecraft world in nearly every biome.

Ruined portals can be incredibly lucky finds for a number of reasons. Not only will they assist players who need to get to the nether quickly, they also often provide loot in chests and gold blocks for players to mine.

These structures always have some obsidian blocks in place already, typically in the shape of a half-completed nether portal. All players need to do is fill in the missing pieces. Some ruined portals have nearly every required piece of obsidian, while others have very scarce obsidian to start with.

Some players can get immensely lucky and find pieces of obsidian in the ruined portal loot chests. Sometimes, the obsidian in the chest is the exact right amount needed to complete the ruined portal. The chests even have flint or flint and steels sometimes. This is by far the quickest way to go about making a nether portal without a diamond pickaxe.

While it is rare for ruined portals to have all the materials needed for a complete nether portal, players can still use the ruined portal to their advantage with the correct supplies.

Lava + Ruined Portal

Image via Planet Minecraft

The two previous methods can easily be combined to create a finished nether portal. As long as players can locate a ruined portal and have lava and water sources handy, all they need to do is combine the water and lava in the places where the ruined portal is missing obsidian.

This method might require many buckets unless gamers are lucky enough to have lava pools or infinite water sources nearby.