To make a Nether portal in survival Minecraft, you need to construct a rectangular frame out of Obsidian blocks and then ignite the inside area of the frame using a Flint and Steel.
Building Your Nether Portal
Creating a gateway to the Nether dimension is a key step in Minecraft survival. As noted by Rock Paper Shotgun, a Nether Portal is fundamentally built upon two core components and actions:
- Build the Frame: You must build a rectangular frame using Obsidian blocks.
- Activate the Portal: Light the inner space of this obsidian frame with a Flint and Steel.
Once activated, the inside of the frame will fill with a purple, shimmering effect, indicating the portal is ready for use.
Essential Materials
To build a Nether portal, you primarily need:
- Obsidian: This is a dark, hard-to-break block typically formed when water flows over lava source blocks. It requires a diamond pickaxe to mine.
- Flint and Steel: Used to ignite the portal. You can craft this with one Iron Ingot and one Flint.
Portal Dimensions
The size of your Nether portal frame isn't fixed, offering some flexibility. The rectangular frame must adhere to specific minimum and maximum dimensions:
- The frame can be anywhere from 4x5 blocks to 23x23 blocks in size.
- This means the outer dimensions can range from a minimum of 4 blocks wide by 5 blocks high, up to a maximum of 23 blocks wide by 23 blocks high.
Here's a simple table illustrating common sizes (Outer Dimensions):
| Width | Height | Obsidian Needed (Frame Only) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 14 |
| 5 | 6 | 18 |
| ... | ... | ... |
| 23 | 23 | 84 |
Note: The minimum 4x5 frame requires 14 obsidian blocks (4+4+5+5 minus the 4 corner blocks if you build the corners, or simply 2 sides of 4 and 2 sides of 5, which is 4+4+3+3=14 blocks). Many players skip the corner blocks as they aren't strictly necessary for the frame to work, although a complete 4x5 frame with corners uses 14 blocks.
Steps to Build
Here are the basic steps to construct your portal:
- Gather enough Obsidian for your desired frame size (minimum 14 for a 4x5 frame).
- Craft or find Flint and Steel.
- Place the obsidian blocks to form a rectangular frame within the valid dimensions (4x5 to 23x23 outer size).
- With the Flint and Steel in hand, right-click (or use the appropriate action button for your platform) on the inside face of any bottom obsidian block or the ground immediately adjacent to the inside bottom. This will ignite the portal.
If done correctly and within the valid dimensions, the inner area of the frame will turn purple, and you will hear the portal's distinct sound effect. You can then step into the portal to travel to the Nether.
