You're standing there with a diamond pickaxe and a dream. Honestly, the first time you try to build a Minecraft portal, it feels like a rite of passage. It's that specific moment where the game stops being a "survival simulator" and starts being a weird, interdimensional fever dream. But here's the thing: most people waste way too much time mining obsidian or, even worse, they end up trapped in a basalt delta with no way home because they didn't understand how the coordinates actually link up.
The Nether is a nightmare. It’s hot, loud, and full of things that want to knock you into a lava lake. If you don't build your gate correctly, you're basically just inviting disaster.
The classic way to build a Minecraft portal (and why it’s slow)
Most players think they need to find a pool of lava, douse it with water, and then spend five minutes holding down the left mouse button with a Diamond or Netherite pickaxe. Sure, that works. It’s the "standard" method. You need at least 10 blocks of obsidian to make a 2x3 opening. Some people go for the full 14 blocks to fill in the corners, but that's just aesthetic flex.
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If you’re doing it this way, you’re basically playing the long game. You find the lava, you cool it, you mine it. Then you stack it in a frame. But if you’re trying to speedrun—or if you just don't have diamonds yet—this method is kinda garbage. It takes forever. Obsidian has a blast resistance of 1,200 and a hardness level of 50. To put that in perspective, stone has a hardness of 1.5. You are literally chipping away at the toughest mineable block in the game.
The "Speedrunner" mold technique
If you watch Dream or any of the high-level technical players on the Hermitcraft server, they don't mine obsidian. They "cast" it. This is the smartest way to build a Minecraft portal early on. You find a lava pool, you place a "mold" of dirt or cobblestone, and you use water buckets to freeze the lava into obsidian exactly where you want it.
Think of it like pouring concrete. You place a block of lava, hit it with water, and boom—instant portal frame. No diamond pickaxe required. You can actually get into the Nether within the first ten minutes of a new world if you find a surface lava pool. It’s a bit finicky though. If you misplace a water source, you might turn your entire lava pool into cobblestone, and then you’re stuck looking for a new one.
Sizing matters more than you think
While the 2x3 interior (4x5 exterior) is the minimum, the game actually lets you go much bigger. Since the 1.7.2 update, portals can be as large as 23x23. Why would you do that? Mostly for gold farms.
Large portals have a higher chance of spawning Zombified Piglins in the Overworld. If you’re building a massive industrial-scale farm, you aren't building one portal; you’re building dozens of 23x23 frames. But for a regular base? Stick to the small one. It’s cheaper and it doesn't take up half your chunk.
The math of the Nether: Don't get lost
This is where people actually screw up. They build a Minecraft portal at their base, go through, and then build another one 200 blocks away in the Nether, hoping to come out somewhere new in the Overworld. Then they realize they're just coming out of their first portal again.
The math is simple but rigid: 1 block in the Nether equals 8 blocks in the Overworld.
- Overworld to Nether: Divide your X and Z coordinates by 8.
- Nether to Overworld: Multiply your X and Z coordinates by 8.
- The Y coordinate: It mostly doesn't matter for linking, but if you're too high or too low, the game might struggle to find a safe spot and spawn a new portal in a cave.
If you want two separate portals to stay separate, they need to be at least 1024 blocks apart in the Overworld. Anything closer and the game might try to "pair" them to the same Nether exit. It’s annoying. I’ve seen players lose hours of progress because their return trip dumped them in the middle of a dark ocean instead of their bedroom.
Lighting the fire
Once the frame is up, you need a spark. Most people use Flint and Steel. Simple.
But what if you're stuck in the Nether and your portal gets blown out by a Ghast fireball? This is a genuine "end of run" moment for some. If you don't have a lighter, you have to get creative. You can lure a Ghast into shooting at the portal frame again—the explosion can reignite it. Or, you can find a Ruined Portal chest and pray for fire charges. You can even place wood near the portal and pour lava next to it, hoping the fire spreads to the frame. It's stressful. It’s basically Minecraft survival horror at that point.
Ruined Portals: The gift from 1.16
Since the Nether Update (1.16), you can find "Ruined Portals" scattered across the world. These are partially completed frames made of obsidian and Crying Obsidian.
Wait! Crying obsidian looks cool, but it won't work. You cannot build a Minecraft portal using the glowing purple stuff. You have to mine the Crying Obsidian out and replace it with regular obsidian for the portal to activate. These ruins are great because they usually have a chest with loot like golden carrots or enchanted tools, but don't get lazy—check the frame for missing corners.
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The technical side: Why it actually works
When you step into those purple swirls, the game isn't just "loading" a new area. It’s executing a search algorithm. It looks for an existing portal within a 128-block radius of your target coordinates. If it finds one, it puts you there. If it doesn't, it looks for a "safe" spot to generate a new 4x5 frame.
This is why "Portal Syncing" is such a big deal for advanced players. If you want a portal on the roof of the Nether (above the bedrock ceiling, which is a whole other trick), you have to manually calculate the coordinates and place the blocks yourself. The game won't naturally spawn a portal up there.
Getting your gear ready
Don't just jump in. The second you finish your build, you need to be prepared for the "loading lag." Sometimes, the game loads the environment before it loads your ability to move. You could spawn in and immediately get pushed off a ledge by a Magma Cube.
Always bring:
- A piece of gold armor (so Piglins don't jump you immediately).
- Blocks (cobblestone is best because Ghasts can't blow it up).
- Food. Lots of it.
- A shield. Seriously, shields are OP against Blazes.
Common misconceptions about the Nether Gate
Some people think you can make portals out of other materials if you use mods, and while that's true for things like the Aether or Twilight Forest, in vanilla Minecraft, it is obsidian or nothing. I've seen kids try to build frames out of Crying Obsidian because it "looks more magical." It doesn't work. It’ll just sit there looking pretty and doing absolutely nothing.
Another myth is that the shape matters beyond the rectangle. You can't make a circular portal or a triangle. It has to be a rectangle or a square. You can, however, hide the obsidian behind other blocks like stone bricks or wood to make it fit your base's aesthetic. The "portal" part is just the purple blocks in the middle; the frame just needs to be there to hold them.
Practical steps for your first trip
- Locate Lava: Look for surface pools or dig down to Y-level -54.
- Gather 10 Obsidian: Either mine it with diamond or "cast" it with water and lava.
- Build the Frame: 2 blocks on the bottom, 3 blocks high on the sides, 2 blocks on top. Corners are optional.
- Check your Gear: Put on one piece of gold armor. This is non-negotiable unless you want to fight every Piglin in a 50-mile radius.
- Light it up: Use Flint and Steel on the bottom inside of the frame.
- Write down your coordinates: Before you step through, hit F3 (on Java) or check your map (on Bedrock). Write down where your portal is in the Overworld. You will thank me later when you’re lost in a crimson forest and have no idea which way is home.
The Nether is a tool. It's a highway for fast travel and a source for potion ingredients. Once you've mastered how to build a Minecraft portal, the game really opens up. Just watch your step—that first block on the other side is usually a long way down.