Obsidian

Obsidian173
Information
Type	Block
Sub-Type	Ore
Placeable	Yes
Max Stack	999
Quality
Sell Value	No Value
Crafting
Material In	Hellstone Bar Obsidian Brick Obsidian Skin Potion Obsidian Skull Obsidian Chest

Obsidian is a block created whenever water touches lava. When this occurs, the lava or water (whichever is below the other material) becomes Obsidian. It can only be mined with a Nightmare Pickaxe/Deathbringer Pickaxe or better. However, if the player creates obsidian directly on their spawn point (not a bed) and then teleports back there, the obsidian will be broken. This is the only other method of mining obsidian other than using bombs. Gathering obsidian through the use of dynamite proves the most effective when it comes to using explosives.

Obsidian can be crafted into an Obsidian Skull, an accessory that provides protection from ores such as Hellstone and Meteorite ore when equipped. Obsidian is also a component required for crafting Hellstone Bars, as well as Obsidian Skin Potions. Obsidian is hard to find naturally due to Water rarely spawning on Lava, but the use of a Bucket makes gathering Obsidian much easier. If you don't have a Nightmare Pickaxe you can also use Dynamite or Bombs to blow up the ores and gather it, although caution is advised; Bombs being the safer of the two options due to their smaller explosion radius.

Creating Obsidian below the ground:

1. Find an Underground body of water.
2. Dig a tunnel at the bottom of this water, so that the water drains lower and lower.
3. Whenever you see a cave or another body of water through the walls, connect your current tunnel to them so that the water drains faster and there is more water.
4. If you are running out of air, dig a small side passageway with a "bubble" above the water level so you can breathe from time to time.
5. Continue your ever expanding water tunnel until you find lava. When you find lava, allow the water to come in contact with the lava to produce Obsidian.
6. Using this method, you should have a near limitless supply of water above you, and can therefore produce as much Obsidian as you want.

This method is quite tedious considering the simplicity of building a water generator.

Creating obsidian in the underworld:

1. Find an ocean, which should be on either edge of the map.
2. Build your hellavator next to the ocean.
3. Once your hellavator is complete, create 1-block gaps in the sides of it so water will flow onto the surface of the underworld.
4. Remove the sand blocks between the ocean and your new hellavator and wait for the ocean to drain out into it.
5. The underworld will be partially flooded, rendering the surfaces of some lava pits harmless.
6. The water will eventually drain out due to the underworld's intolerance to water.
7. When mining Obsidian from lava pits in this fashion, you will need a Nightmare Pickaxe or Deathbringer Pickaxe, as bombs are too sloppy. Stand directly on the Obsidian block of choice and mine it. Then fill it in with a non-falling block. Any other way and the Obsidian will either burn up in lava or you will.

Building a simple Obsidian farm:

A simple obsidian farm

1. Build a large container (about 20x20) out of blocks. To avoid accidents, be sure to use a sturdy material such as dungeon bricks.
2. Build two smaller containers (10x10) next to it.
3. Craft four sets of Inlet and Outlet Pumps.
4. Pour water in one container and lava in the other, and set up a pump in each to duplicate the liquids inside of them.
5. Place an inlet pump in the top part of each container, and link it to an outlet pump inside the bigger container.
6. Link all sets of pumps to a Switch or Lever.

The large container should fill completely with Obsidian within minutes.

Trivia

• Prior to 1.0.2 Obsidian could be mined using any pickaxe. In patch 1.0.2 and later versions, Obsidian can only be mined with a Nightmare Pickaxe or better.
• Even though Obsidian is of White rarity, it doesn't get destroyed by Lava when completely submerged.
• Obsidian can be broken if it is created at the spawn point of the player. When they teleport back to it, they will break the obsidian. This only works if the obsidian is actually above the ground where the player spawns.
• Obsidian doesn't form when water pours onto a block of lava which has an environmental doodad submerged in it. The water will keep draining and annihilating until the doodad is removed.
• When portrayed in game, obsidian appears to be a purplish-black color, even though in real life obsidian is black. This is most likely due to the fact that a completely black block wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing.

Update Info

v1.2

• Max stack increased from 250 to 999.

v1.0.1

• Now requires Nightmare Pickaxe/Deathbringer Pickaxe or higher to mine.

PC release

• Added to the game.

Gallery

Using underground lakes of lava and water to produce obsidian

Mine obsidian without having to move!

Obsidian viewed in the map^Console

Obsidian Machine with Pumps. Pumps completely submerged in their substance will replicate slowly. Set on timer will produce lava and water automatically.