<s>[INST] How can I make a nether portal in minecraft without a diamond pickaxe? [/INST] A nether portal can be build by building a rectangular frame of obsidian. The minimum size for a nether portal is 4x5 blocks. After building the rectangle it needs to be activated by lighting it on fire using a flint and steel.

Without a diamond pickaxe you cannot mine obsidian so you must obtain it by other means such as finding it in chest. Obsidian can spawn as loot in villages, ruined portals, bastion remnants or nether fortresses. One popular method of building a nether portal without a diamond pickaxe is by using a lava bucket and a water bucket. Lava can turn into obsidian if water runs over it. With careful placement of lava and water, you can build yourself a nether portal without a diamond pickaxe or without any obsidian blocks.</s>\ <s>[INST] nice thank you! which of the methods you mentioned is the fastest? [/INST] Which method is the fastest depends on random chance but on average using a bucket to create obsidian from lava will be the fastest. Compared to the other methods it only requires some iron which is very common and thus can be found quickly. Diamonds by comparison are more rare and will thus on average take more time to find than iron. Villages are similarly rare and in a single village there may not be enough obsidian to construct a nether portal. Of course, it's possible to find diamonds or a village full of obsidian right away; so the optimal strategy would be to focus on constructing the nether portal using buckets but to switch to another method if the procedurally generated map presents you with a better opportunity.</s>