Block of the Week: Weeping Obsidian

Experiencing death in Minecraft can be quite frustrating, but facing demise in the Nether is even more challenging. Not only do you have to retrace your steps from your home to your point of death, but there’s also the risk of falling into lava and losing all your belongings.

While death in the Nether cannot be alleviated, there is a way to address another issue. In the latest update for the Nether, players can now set their spawn points not only on the surface but also within the depths of the realm. To achieve this, we require a block known as crying obsidian. This unique material can be discovered at ruined portals—structures that once functioned actively, transporting players between worlds. However, due to the relentless passage of time, these portals have gradually lost their capabilities and eventually crumbled into individual blocks. Ruined portals serve as a hint to users unfamiliar with the Nether, indicating that there are still mysterious, uncharted territories to explore. Developer Java Brandon Pearce elaborates:

“Initially, the portals appeared to be completely shattered. However, I wanted to maintain their shape so that players would remember what a portal should look like. Cracked obsidian turned out to be the perfect choice. With it, we were able to construct the portal in its familiar form, while the cracks indicate that it is damaged and needs repair.

During the development of the resurrection anchor, I recalled the classic crying obsidian—a block that allows players to set their spawn point anywhere. I thought, why not combine these concepts and create a versatile block that can be used for both respawning and as a broken portal? That’s how crying obsidian came to be.”

If you have been playing Minecraft for a while, you might recall that crying obsidian was introduced in beta version 1.3. It was initially intended to be used for creating spawn points, but ultimately beds took on that function, leading to the removal of crying obsidian in beta version 1.5. You can obtain crying obsidian not only from ruined portals; you can also trade with piglins or search chests in bastion remnants. Currently, acquiring it is not as exciting and challenging as it could be:

“Initially, we thought it would be interesting to create crying obsidian by throwing regular obsidian through a portal or striking it with lightning. However, we decided to involve piglins and assigned them the role of traders. Naturally, the ruined portals couldn’t be overlooked since they are essentially made of crying obsidian.”

We also had another concept. We developed a prototype where crying obsidian would teleport when ignited. But there was no practical application for this idea, so we chose to abandon it.

The next time you come across ruined portals in Minecraft Bedrock, if you don’t have any crying obsidian on hand, make sure not to walk past them. Otherwise, it won’t just be the obsidian that cries when you die in the Nether next time; it will be you as well.