How to Survive in Minecraft/Nether

The Nether is a dangerous but also rewarding place where you can get a variety of resources, but there are a lot of dangers such as lava, Ghasts, Blazes, falling, and more.

How to get in the Nether?

First of all, you either need some buckets or a diamond pickaxe to get the obsidian in the right positions to make the Nether Portal frame. Then you need to light it with a Flint and Steel. Nether portal frames need to be 4*5 or bigger to work.

Pickaxe method

Crafting recipe:

Diamond	Diamond	Diamond
	Stick
	Stick

This makes a diamond pickaxe.

A diamond pickaxe can be used to get obsidian for a nether portal frame and for an enchanting table. You only need 10 obsidian for a frame, as the corners can be removed and the portal will work just fine. Lava replaces air in caves past Y=-54, so bring some water there and spill it over, and you can mine the obsidian while the water protects you and the obsidian from the lava.

Bucket Method

With a few buckets, you can place lava in the correct spots for a nether portal frame then pour water all over the lava to make a bunch of cobblestone, stone, and obsidian. Mine out the stone and cobblestone, and that will also give you the frame needed.

Flint and Steel

After that, you can light the nether portal by right clicking an obsidian block inside the frame with the Flint and Steel, and it should activate. Crafting recipe:

Iron Ingot
	Flint

This makes A flint and steel.

What do you bring?

Of course, going to the Nether with no items will bring a quick death, but for your first time, you probably don't have fire resistance potions, an elytra, or other things. This is just a suggestion to what you should carry.

Armor

Gold Helmet
Iron/Diamond Chestplate
Iron/Diamond Leggings
Iron/Diamond Boots

Explanation

Of course, the iron/diamond pieces are for protection, but you may notice the gold helmet at the top. The gold helmet stops Piglins from attacking you on sight as they see gold on you.

Wood logs	Iron ingots	Gold ingots					Some sort of marking block	Cobblestone (if available)
								Cobblestone
Diamond Pickaxe (optional)	Crafting Table			Flint and Steel	Arrows			Cobblestone
Iron Pickaxe	Iron/Diamond Sword	Iron/Diamond Axe	Iron/Diamond Shovel	Food (Salmon, beef, just any good one	Bow			Cobblestone

Explanation

Tools

• Pickaxes are for mining.
  • The reason why an iron pickaxe is preferred to a diamond pickaxe is that a diamond pickaxe mines netherrack at the same speed as an iron pickaxe, which is almost instantly which can lead to wasting its durability.
• The rest of the tiered tools are self-explanatory.
• Flint and steel is for lighting fires, which can be useful if your portal is unlit by a Ghast.
• Bows and arrows are for fending off mobs from great distances
• A crafting table is for crafting of course.
• The food is to restore hunger after exploring.

Blocks

• The cobblestone is for building a Nether shelter around the portal to protect yourself.
• The marking block can be anything that is non-flammable and not found in the nether, such as our good old friend cobblestone.
• Wood logs are for making extra tools, sticks, and crafting tables
• Iron ingots are for spare tools, while gold ones are for trading with Piglins to get items.

Nether shelter

When starting out in the Nether, you do not have the time to build a super fancy shelter so a durable, but simple one will have to do.

Do

• Use a blast-resistant block
• Use a block not found in the Nether
• Use a common block, so obsidian is not your best bet.

Do not

• Don't use a flammable block!

• Do not use netherrack, it is flimsy and blends into the nether.
• Do not use a block that blends into the surrounding landscape.

• Do not make your shelter huge, as Ghasts may spawn in there and tear up the shelter from the inside.
• Don't leave your portal partially exposed!

Considering all of these, the best block to use is cobblestone, as it is common (mined from stone), not from the Nether, rather blast-resistant, not flammable, and doesn't blend into the surrounding landscape.

Tips

• Have windows of glass so you can see what is outside without the outside seeing you.
• Doors are helpful to not let mobs wander in.

Exploration

When exploring in the Nether, it is important to consider a few things to stay safe and not get lost, the first of which is to find a Nether Fortress to get Blaze rods.

Marking

Marking every few dozen blocks allows you to make a trail to follow back to your shelter if you don't have enough supplies to continue. To do this, you can make a pillar 3 blocks tall out of cobblestone or a marking block if preferred.

Finding a Nether Fortress

A nether fortress is instantly recognizable via the tall nether brick pillars and bridge above, but finding one can be a game of cat and mouse. Using a Strider on a lava sea is able to cover more ground which is a higher chance for a fortress to be found. You may have to travel hundreds or thousands of blocks at times, but sometimes the fortress generates right next to you.