Obsidian allows the player to create a portal to the nether dimension. [2] X Research source 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. Alternatively, you can buy diamond pickaxes from master-level tool smith villagers. See Find and Mine Diamonds Fast on Minecraft for tips on finding diamonds. Diamonds are important in Minecraft because they are the ingredients for some of the most durable and efficient tools. [3] X Research source
Putting out the lava can also remove your light source. Put some torches down before placing the water so that you can still see.
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 in the water, be careful that the flow doesn’t push you into the exposed lava.
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.
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. That being said, you might have to consider bringing extra obsidian, probably another ten blocks, in case a ghast breaks or destroys the portal (although that is not common considering the strength of obsidian).
