Obsidian Farm
Intermediate Java + Bedrock
Produces: Obsidian for Nether portals, enchanting tables, ender chests and beacons
Quick answer: Obsidian forms when water flows onto a lava source block. Renew it three ways: pour water over lava cauldron output, mine the 5x5 obsidian platform that regenerates every time an entity enters the End, or re-mine a fresh Nether portal.
How it works
- Water + lava SOURCE = obsidian (water on flowing lava makes cobblestone instead - only the source block converts).
- Only a diamond or netherite pickaxe harvests obsidian; anything else just takes forever and drops nothing.
- The End farm: every entity that passes an End portal spawns on the obsidian platform, which regenerates to the full 25 blocks (5x5) each time - break it, toss an item or mob through, mine it again.
- End pillars regenerate their obsidian every time the ender dragon respawns - a slow but real supply.
- Portals are renewable too: a newly generated Nether portal creates fresh obsidian, and in Java a portal that generates midair spawns 4 bonus blocks at its base.
- Lava is renewable since 1.17: pointed dripstone above a lava source drips lava into cauldrons - pair it with a water bucket and you never touch a lava lake again.
Materials
- Diamond or netherite pickaxe (Efficiency V strongly recommended)
- For the cauldron method: cauldrons, pointed dripstone, one lava bucket, water bucket
- For the End platform method: access to the End plus a way to push entities through the portal
- Haste II beacon (optional) for fast mining
Build steps
- Simple start: find a lava lake, stand on solid ground, pour water from above onto the source blocks, mine, retract, repeat.
- Renewable setup: hang pointed dripstone under a block with lava above it, place cauldrons beneath - each filled cauldron is one obsidian once you pour water on it.
- Late game: build a small chamber around the End spawn platform, mine the 25 obsidian, then send any entity through the End portal (a thrown item works) to regenerate the platform.
- Breaking an ender chest without Silk Touch also refunds its 8 obsidian - a tidy way to move obsidian home.
- Withers can break obsidian and end crystals blow it up - caged-wither designs automate End platform mining if you want true AFK rates.
Rates
Output depends on the design, the version and how much of it you build, so we do not quote an hourly figure. Build the layout below, time it for a few minutes in your own world and scale from there.
Tips
- Never dump water from below - you will convert only the top layer and swim in lava. Pour from the edge, standing on the obsidian you just made.
- A single bucket of lava in a cauldron still converts to one obsidian - the dripstone loop makes every lava drip count.
- A Nether portal frame is a vertical rectangle from 4x5 up to 23x23, and the corners are not required.
- Crying obsidian is NOT farmable this way: it comes from bartering with piglins or ruined portals.
- Source: minecraft.wiki Obsidian.