Table of Contents
Who this is for: Minecraft players learning about obsidian mining and portal construction.
Ready to jump in? Play minecraft games and start your block-breaking adventures today!
Play free games on Playgama.com
Diamond Pickaxe: The Standard Method
A diamond pickaxe is the most common tool for breaking obsidian in Minecraft. It takes about 9.4 seconds to mine one obsidian block with a diamond pickaxe, making it slow but reliable. You’ll need at least three diamonds and two sticks to craft one.
Netherite Pickaxe: Faster and More Durable
The netherite pickaxe is the fastest legitimate way to break obsidian, taking roughly 8.35 seconds per block. While significantly more expensive to obtain, it lasts much longer than diamond and mines slightly faster. You’ll need a diamond pickaxe plus netherite ingots to upgrade it.
Alternative Methods That Work
Several other approaches can break obsidian, though they’re often impractical:
- TNT explosions – Obsidian has high blast resistance, but enough TNT can destroy it
- Wither explosions – The Wither’s blue skulls can break obsidian blocks
- End crystals – Their explosions are powerful enough to damage obsidian
- Bed explosions in the Nether – Can break nearby obsidian blocks
What Won’t Work
Many tools simply can’t break obsidian effectively:
- Iron, stone, wood, or gold pickaxes won’t drop the obsidian block (though they can break it)
- Your bare hands will take over 4 minutes per block and won’t drop anything
- Most other tools and weapons are completely ineffective
Efficiency Enchantments Help
Adding Efficiency enchantments to your diamond or netherite pickaxe significantly speeds up obsidian mining. Efficiency V can reduce mining time to around 2.5 seconds with a netherite pickaxe. For large obsidian structures like Nether portals, this enchantment is almost essential.
Whether you’re building portals or mining in volcanic areas, having the right pickaxe makes obsidian much more manageable to work with in your Minecraft adventures.
TL;DR
Diamond and netherite pickaxes are the main tools for breaking obsidian in Minecraft. Explosions from TNT, Withers, or end crystals can also destroy it, but pickaxes are most practical.
