🌀 How to Find Ruined Portals in Minecraft 26.1

Ruined portals are partially-constructed Nether portal structures found both in the Overworld and the Nether. They contain a loot chest with gold items, obsidian, flint and steel, and enchanted golden equipment. They're one of the most accessible structures in Minecraft and can provide a significant early-game boost.

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This guide covers how to find ruined portals and maximize their value in Minecraft 26.1.

What Are Ruined Portals?

Ruined portals are incomplete Nether portal frames surrounded by netherrack and magma blocks, with a chest next to them. They come in many size variants, from small 4-block incomplete frames to massive underground ruins. Key features:

• Partial obsidian frame — missing some blocks, never fully complete
• Loot chest — contains gold items, obsidian, and potentially enchanted gold armor/tools
• Netherrack — scattered around the portal, a Nether block in the Overworld
• Magma blocks — damage you if you walk on them without sneaking
• Crying obsidian — decorative variant, used to craft respawn anchors
• Gold blocks — rare giant variants contain gold blocks in the frame

How to Find Ruined Portals

Method 1: MC Seed View

Enter your seed into MC Seed View to see all ruined portal locations. Useful for finding the nearest one from spawn or finding rare giant variants.

Method 2: Overworld Exploration

Ruined portals are extremely common. Just exploring the overworld — walking, boating, or flying with Elytra — will naturally reveal them. Look for the telltale netherrack and obsidian on the surface, which stand out against natural terrain.

Method 3: Underground Discovery

When mining or caving, you may stumble upon buried ruined portals. The netherrack is unmistakable underground — if you see red blocks where they shouldn't be, a ruined portal is nearby.

Method 4: /locate Command

Use /locate structure minecraft:ruined_portal to find the nearest portal. Variants like ruined_portal_nether find Nether versions.

Ruined Portal Loot Table

The chest beside ruined portals contains some excellent early-game items:

• Obsidian (1-2) — for completing the portal or crafting enchanting tables
• Flint and steel — immediately usable to light a completed portal
• Fire charge (1) — alternative portal lighter if no flint and steel
• Gold ingots (2-8) — for golden apples and powered rails
• Gold nuggets (4-24) — common, smelt into ingots
• Golden sword/axe/hoe — sometimes with enchantments
• Golden helmet/chestplate/leggings/boots — sometimes enchanted, useful for Piglin bartering
• Enchanted golden apple — extremely rare (~1.5% chance)
• Golden carrot (4-12) — excellent food source and Night Vision potion ingredient
• Golden apple — moderately rare, useful for healing and curing zombie villagers
• Iron nuggets (9-18) — less common but useful

Completing the Portal

You can complete any ruined portal to create a working Nether portal. Here's how:

1. Inventory the frame — count how many obsidian blocks are missing
2. Replace crying obsidian — crying obsidian (purple speckled) doesn't work as a portal frame. Mine it with a diamond pickaxe and replace with regular obsidian
3. Add missing obsidian — use obsidian from the chest, mine nearby lava pools with a water bucket, or bring your own
4. Light the portal — use flint and steel, fire charge, or even lava + wood near the frame
5. Minimum portal size — 4 wide × 5 tall (including corners), but corners can be any block

Early Game Strategy

Ruined portals are one of the best early-game structures because:

• Free Nether access — complete the portal without needing a diamond pickaxe to mine obsidian
• Gold for bartering — the gold from loot is useful for Piglin trading in the Nether
• Golden armor for Piglins — wearing any gold piece prevents Piglin aggression
• Enchanted equipment — even gold enchanted gear gives early access to enchantments you can combine
• Crying obsidian for respawn anchors — set Nether spawn points (each use costs 1 glowstone)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you complete a ruined portal to reach the Nether?

Yes! Most ruined portals need only 1-5 obsidian blocks to complete. Replace any crying obsidian (purple speckled block) with regular obsidian — crying obsidian doesn't work in portal frames. Use the obsidian from the loot chest, mine it from nearby lava lakes using water, or bring your own diamond pickaxe.

What's the difference between crying obsidian and regular obsidian?

Crying obsidian is a purple-speckled variant that emits particles and light. It cannot be used in Nether portal frames but is used to craft Respawn Anchors (set spawn points in the Nether, costing 1 glowstone per use). It requires a diamond or netherite pickaxe to mine, just like regular obsidian.

How do I find giant ruined portals?

Giant variants are rare — they have a much larger obsidian frame and sometimes contain gold blocks. Using MC Seed View helps identify them since all portal locations and sizes are shown. Giant portals are worth seeking out for the free gold blocks and extra loot.

Can ruined portals generate underwater?

Yes! Ruined portals can generate underwater in ocean biomes. They're identifiable by their netherrack and magma blocks on the ocean floor. The loot chest still has items, though you'll need water breathing to access it conveniently.

What to Do After Finding a Ruined Portal

A ruined portal visit can be the catalyst for entering the Nether far earlier than you otherwise would. Here's how to capitalize on the find:

Entering the Nether Early

Most players don't enter the Nether until they have a diamond pickaxe to mine obsidian. A ruined portal lets you skip that requirement entirely:

• Count the missing blocks — the portal frame is always the same size. Count gaps and cross-reference with the obsidian in the chest
• Mine obsidian from nearby lava using a water bucket if the chest doesn't provide enough — you only need a bucket and patience, no pickaxe required
• Replace crying obsidian — crying obsidian (speckled purple) does NOT work in portal frames. Mine it with a diamond pickaxe and replace with regular obsidian
• Light with flint and steel or fire charge — often found in the ruined portal chest

Nether Entry Preparation

If this is your first Nether trip, the ruined portal loot can prepare you well:

What You Have	What It Enables
Gold ingots from chest	Craft gold armor for Piglin bartering safety
Enchanted gold equipment	Early enchantments to combine at anvil later
Golden apples	Emergency healing for dangerous Nether mobs
Crying obsidian	Craft Respawn Anchor to set Nether spawn point
Fire charges	Re-light the portal if Ghasts extinguish it

Using Crying Obsidian Effectively

Crying obsidian has one unique function: crafting Respawn Anchors. Each anchor requires 6 crying obsidian and 3 glowstone. When charged with glowstone (1 piece = 1 charge, max 4), it sets your spawn point in the Nether. This is invaluable for long Nether exploration trips — dying in the Nether no longer sends you all the way back to the Overworld.

Ruined Portal Farming Strategy

For players who need large amounts of gold or crying obsidian, systematic ruined portal farming is surprisingly efficient:

1. Use MC Seed View to identify clusters of ruined portals in your world
2. Travel between portals by Elytra or horse — they're common enough that routes can be planned
3. Each portal chest has a reasonable chance of gold ingots and nuggets
4. Giant portal variants (rare, identifiable by their massive frames and gold blocks) are the jackpot — gold blocks have 9 ingots each when broken
5. Nether ruined portals can be accessed once you're established in the Nether — they follow the same loot table

Biome-Specific Portal Variants

Ruined portals adjust their appearance based on the biome they generate in:

• Desert — uses sandstone and terracotta as surrounding decor, portal is half-buried in sand
• Jungle — heavy vine coverage, partially submerged in shallow water
• Mountain — embedded in cliff faces, partially inside stone
• Swamp — stilted above water, with lily pads and vines
• Ocean — completely submerged, surrounded by gravel and magma blocks
• Nether — uses blackstone and basalt instead of stone, surrounded by magma