Overview
On the Nether side a ruined portal is more useful as infrastructure than as loot. Repairing one and lighting it gives you a linked Overworld portal without carrying a single block of obsidian through the dimension, and because Nether coordinates map to the Overworld at a ratio of 1 to 8, a portal placed here lands you 8 times further out over there — which is exactly how long-distance Nether highways are built. Find one near a fortress or a bastion you intend to revisit and you have a permanent doorway to it. The catch is where these frames generate: on ledges over the lava sea, high on cavern walls, and on ceilings, so the repair job is often a scaffolding problem before it is a mining one. The gold blocks scattered around the frame are free ingots, but mining one in view of a Piglin angers every piglin that can see you, and in the Nether that is rarely one. Clear the area, or wall yourself in, before you touch the gold. Ghasts will also shoot you off an exposed cliff while you are holding a flint and steel.
A repairable two-way portal that saves hauling obsidian, plus a chest with obsidian, flint and steel, gold, golden apples and occasionally a bell. The gold blocks around the frame are the fastest bartering stock available in the early Nether.
The Nether-side counterpart, generating on cliff faces, floors and ceilings throughout every Nether biome with the same crumbling obsidian frame and loot chest. Finding one is often more useful than the loot, because a repairable frame gives you a linked portal back to the Overworld without hauling obsidian, and the surrounding gold blocks are free material. Mining the gold blocks in view of a piglin will anger every piglin nearby, so clear the area first.
It is common in the The Nether, restricted to Nether Wastes, Crimson Forest, Warped Forest, Soul Sand Valley and 1 more, and it generates anywhere in the Nether, including high on cavern walls and near the lava sea.
How to get it
Nether-side ruined portals are common throughout nether wastes, crimson forest, warped forest, soul sand valley and basalt deltas, at any height. A single 200-block walk through open Nether terrain will often pass 1 or 2, usually visible as black obsidian against red or blue.
Tips
- Repair one near a fortress or bastion you plan to revisit: a linked portal there is worth more than the chest ever will be.
- Nether distances map to the Overworld at 1 to 8, so a portal here saves 8 blocks of surface travel for every 1 you walk.
- Wear gold armour or clear the area before mining the gold blocks, or every piglin with line of sight will turn hostile at once.
- Frames on cliff ledges are ghast targets — build a wall on the lava side before you start placing obsidian.
Version notes
Added in 1.16 with the Overworld variant. The piglin aggression rule around gold blocks arrived in the same update and has not been relaxed since.
Properties
It generates in the Nether, where one block of travel covers eight in the Overworld, water evaporates on placement, and beds explode instead of setting a spawn point. In a world with cheats on, /locate structure minecraft:ruined_portal_nether gives the coordinates of the nearest one. Without cheats, an explorer map from a cartographer villager is the reliable route for the structures that have one; everything else is exploration.
- Biomes it generates in
- 5
- Notable loot items
- 7
Where it generates
Ruined Portal (Nether) generates in 5 biomes: Nether Wastes, Crimson Forest, Warped Forest, Soul Sand Valley, and Basalt Deltas. Outside those it will not generate at all, however far you travel.
Notable loot
Its loot includes Obsidian, Flint and Steel, Gold Ingot, Golden Apple, Gold Nugget, Fire Charge, and Bell. These are the notable entries rather than the full loot table — the common filler (bread, coal, iron nuggets) is omitted, and in some structures the best of it comes from a vault or a spawner rather than a chest.
Mobs found here
Zombified Piglin, Piglin, Ghast, and Magma Cube generate here. Several of them spawn nowhere else, which is usually the reason to make the trip.
What to watch out for
3 things to prepare for before you go in:
- Frames generate on ledges over the lava sea
- Mining the gold blocks angers watching piglins
- Ghast fireballs while you stand exposed on a cliff
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
Do Nether ruined portals link to the Overworld correctly?
Yes, once lit they behave like any portal and generate a matching Overworld portal at one-eighth the coordinates. That is why they are the backbone of Nether highway travel.
Is the loot different from an Overworld ruined portal?
Very close — obsidian, flint and steel, gold, golden apples and fire charges. The practical difference is location, not contents.
Why do piglins turn hostile when I mine the gold?
Piglins react to any player breaking a gold block, a gold ore or a container in their line of sight, regardless of armour. Break line of sight first or lure them away.
How do I find Ruined Portal (Nether)?
Ruined Portal (Nether) generates in the The Nether, only in Nether Wastes, Crimson Forest, Warped Forest, Soul Sand Valley and 1 more, and is common. /locate structure minecraft:ruined_portal_nether finds the nearest one instantly with cheats on.
What loot is in Ruined Portal (Nether)?
The notable entries are Obsidian, Flint and Steel, Gold Ingot, Golden Apple, Gold Nugget, Fire Charge and 1 more.
When was Ruined Portal (Nether) added?
Ruined Portal (Nether) was added in Java Edition 1.16.
Related pages
Structures that share Ruined Portal (Nether)'s loot, its mobs or its biomes — not simply the next few in the list.
