Among the toughest resources to get in Minecraft, Obsidian is by far the slowest to mine. Regardless of which pickaxe you use, it’ll take pretty long to gather an obsidian block into your inventory.
You might get in contact with Obsidian during the early game since the mineral isn’t precisely that tough to find. However, it’s doubtful that you’ll be able to acquire it by then.
Instead, Obsidian asks for late-game tools.
Although finding them isn’t highly challenging, it’s still pretty dull. Obsidian naturally sits at the deepest levels of the game, requiring you to either dig down or get in profound caves to find them; they appear consistently at the lava level.
Still, there are valuable solutions to acquiring these minerals, which we’ll discuss briefly. Moreover, you can also use methods of farming Obsidian anywhere without having to travel to the world’s deep core.
Let’s discuss how to get Obsidian in Minecraft more practically and effectively.
Obsidian
Obsidian is a mineral in Minecraft known for its sturdiness. The mineral is the most potent element in terms of blast resistance.
Moreover, you can use it to craft items, create buildings, and in-game mechanisms.
Location
You’ll find Obsidian blocks where lava meets water on exterior levels, generally in underwater volcanoes or deep ravines.
Still, you can find Obsidian in generated structures within the game world, such as ruins and temples. The mineral also appears differently and in distinct volumes throughout the game’s different dimensions.
For instance, in the overworld, you’ll find Obsidian in:
- Woodland Mansions: In this structure, Obsidian might arise on the mansions’ second and third floor, with a diamond block concealing it.
- Ruined Portals.
- Ravines, Caves, Underwater Volcanoes.
- Ocean Ruin: This type of structure has a chance of appearing with a single Obsidian block inside.
Now, in the Nether, you’ll find Obsidian in:
- Ruined Portals
The “End” dimension will contain Obsidian in:
- Obsidian Pillars: You can find this type of structure on the End’s main island, anywhere down to Y=0.
- End Ships
- End Cities
Acquiring Obsidian
You’ll need either a diamond or a netherite pickaxe to get Obsidian. A pickaxe from any inferior material will cause the Obsidian to break without dropping anything.
Chests
Alternatively, you might find Obsidian inside chests on Nether fortresses, bastion remnants, ruined portals, and villages.
The chances range from 8% in Nether fortresses to 46.4% in ruined portals. In villages and bastion remnants, the prospects sit between 24% to 25%
In villages, look for the weaponsmith’s chest to find Obsidian. The weaponsmith’s house is a shelter-like structure with no walls, doors, and windows surrounding it.
Bartering
You can attempt to barter with Piglins. If you give them a gold ingot, there’ll be an 8.71% chance of the Piglin presenting you with an Obsidian block.
Obsidian Farms
As with most entities in Minecraft, you can develop techniques and mechanisms to cultivate specific blocks, mobs, and items; Obsidian is no different.
You can quickly develop an artificial alternative by understanding the natural process it takes for Obsidian to spawn in the game.
The farming options for Obsidian in Minecraft are many. There are distinct mechanisms and structures to help your cause. Let’s see a few of them.
Semi-Automatic Obsidian Farm
This mechanism will farm Obsidian for you any time you need it. The structure won’t produce the mineral to a constant degree; instead, it’ll work whenever you activate it.
Here are the materials you’ll need:
- 2 Slab
- 1 Bucket of Water
- 8 Redstone Dust
- 2 Hopper
- 1 Rail
- 1 Stair
- 1 Redstone Repeater
- 1 Comparator
- 4 Chests
- 2 Ladder
- 1 Minecart With Hopper
- 1 Dispenser
- 1 Button
- 64 Stone Blocks
For the first part of the structure, begin by finding a clear and flat location. Start by stacking two stone blocks on top of each other. Then, place two more stone blocks horizontally, adjacent to the other two.
Next, place a double chest on top of the horizontally-placed stone blocks and a hopper behind the chest. See the image below.
Now, stack two more blocks adjacent to the hopper while simultaneously behind the chest.
Place two stone slabs on the top slab, one adjacent to it and the other closing a roof above the chest.
Finally, place more stone blocks skirting around the hopper at one block high. Next, place a rail above the hole where you’ll see the hopper’s top and finish up by setting the “minecart with hopper” block above the rail.
Now, get back at the two stone blocks you stacked first and place two ladders in them.
This way, you’ll be able to climb to the mechanism’s central part. Then, place a dispenser facing the “minecart with hopper” block.
On the opposing side of the dispenser, place a stair and build another row of three stone blocks horizontally. Next, stack five extra stone blocks surrounding the stair without being adjacent to the hopper’s gap.
Use the bucket of water on the stairs and place a button on the dispenser. Finally, close the entire structure’s roof with slabs, except for a corner next to the dispenser, where you’ll place another hopper instead.
Build a double chest on top of the last hopper you’ve placed.
Go to the structure’s bottom and find the first hopper you’ve built; next to it, you must place a line of three stone blocks horizontally. On the first block, closer to the hopper, place a comparator facing outwards from the structure.
Place a repeater facing the same direction on the second block.
Then, you need to make a path connecting the third stone block you’ve last placed with the dispenser above. This path will channel Redstone dust through the structure. See how I did mine:
Finally, place as many lava buckets as you have on the structure’s top chest. The hopper below the chest will throw lava buckets into the adjacent dispenser. As a result, the dispenser will launch lava, which will come in contact with the water on the stairs.
Consequently, Obsidian will form on top of the middle hopper, which you’ll be able to break with a diamond or netherite pickaxe. The central hopper will then tunnel the dropped Obsidian to the bottom chest, where you’ll pick up your loot.
So, by climbing the two sets of ladders you’ve placed on the structure at the beginning, you’ll stay on an adjacent level to the Obsidian that will form. There, you’ll be able to press the button on the dispenser. You’ll only need to push it once.
You can control the amount of Obsidian that the mechanism will produce by setting the number of lava buckets you’ll put inside the top chest. Every time you break a formed Obsidian, the structure will create another one, subtracting one lava bucket.
There are various other farming structures that you can build to get Obsidian. Some alternatives include mechanisms that farm automatically, without the player’s presence.
Enchantments
Either you decide to get Obsidian by going the natural route or building a farm, you’ll need the ideal tools. As aforementioned, the only method of mining Obsidian is with either a Netherite or Diamond pickaxe.
You can improve this method by applying specific enchantments to the pickaxes. By checking our article about the best enchantments for a bow in Minecraft, you’ll notice how vital it is to enchant tools and weapons in the game.
Among a pickaxe’s enchantments in Minecraft, Efficiency stands out. A pickaxe with the Efficiency enchantment will have a drastically faster mining speed. This enchantment can go up to level 5.
Apply this trait to a diamond or netherite pickaxe.
In addition, since Obsidian is one of the sturdiest minerals in the game, they have a considerable impact on a pickaxe’s durability. Therefore, adding the Unbreaking enchantment to your chosen tool is highly beneficial.
The Unbreaking enchantment can be upgraded up to level 3. Each upgrade of this trait improves the tool’s durability by one more “life”. For example, if a wooden tool’s durability is 60, adding the Unbreaking enchantment will improve it to 120.
When reaching its maximum level, the Unbreaking enchantment will cause a wooden tool’s durability to go from 60 to 240.
