How to obtain flint in Minecraft Skyblock

Skyblock Survival is one of Minecraft's toughest maps, placing players in an incredibly resource-capped situation and forcing them to think on their toes.

When it comes to finding gravel, Minecraft players new to Skyblock may have some difficulty finding it. Although some Skyblock maps have been updated to accommodate the scarcity of gravel by making enemies such as zombies drop it, other vanilla Skyblock servers require much more effort.

For many players, snagging their first blocks of gravel will require some bartering with Piglins within the Nether.

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Minecraft: Getting gravel from Piglins and making a block duplicator

Image via Mojang

Once Minecraft players have access to a Nether portal, venturing inside and finding Piglins will be incredibly helpful towards getting a few materials not found within the overworld.

By tossing Piglins gold ingots, they will return the favor with randomized materials. Fortunately for Skyblock survivors, gravel has a higher drop rate in vanilla Minecraft Skyblock maps at approximately 8.71% compared to other materials such as Ender Pearls.

Once Minecraft players have some gravel, they may want to create a block duplicator if they've found their Skyblock map's Ender Portal. By dropping the most gravity-affected blocks into the End Portal, the blocks can be duplicated. This is insanely helpful for players if it operates correctly within their current Skyblock map and/or data pack.

In order to create a duplicator, Minecraft players must perform the following:

1. Find and activate their map's End Portal.
2. Remove the blocks and lava surrounding the portal. The duplicated blocks will likely fall into the lava otherwise.
3. Dig at least six blocks deep on opposite sides of the portal to provide extra room for the duplicator.
4. Go to the middle of each side of the portal's border and dig a two block deep hole one block away from the border.
5. Place dirt inside the hole, leave an opening the size of one block.
6. On top of the dirt block, place a mushroom and grow it to maximum size using Bone Meal.
7. By removing the side of the mushroom adjacent to the portal border, Minecraft players will notice that the portal border is now removed.
8. Repeat the same trick to the opposite portal border side.
9. Place one block underneath the portal but one block from where the portal border once stood.
10. Place a sticky piston facing outward on top of this block.
11. Add three redstone dust in a line in the direction the piston is facing.
12. Dig a 1x3 hole at the end of the line of redstone.
13. Set a repeater inside the hole and connect it adjacent to the redstone dust line, set the repeater to four ticks.
14. Add three more redstone dust on the opposite side of the repeater.
15. Place two building blocks on top of the repeater over the hole.
16. On the outer block built on top of the repeater, place an additional redstone repeater facing outwards.
17. Place redstone dust behind this repeater as well.
18. Add a block in front of this repeater.
19. Place a redstone torch on the other side of this block, it should hover over the portion of the redstone dust trail that has snaked itself out of the hole.
20. Add an additional redstone torch on top of the block as well.
21. Minecraft players will then need to add a lever to this block and activate it, they have made their on/off switch.
22. Facing inside, place an additional sticky piston in front of the topmost redstone torch.
23. Add two additional building blocks atop this sticky piston. One of these blocks should stand atop the highest redstone torch.
24. Minecraft players will next need to add a repeater atop these building blocks facing the End Portal. Set it to two ticks.
25. Add redstone dust behind this repeater as well.
26. Place another building block in front of the new repeater.
27. Add another block one block higher and one block further away, similar to a staircase.
28. Add redstone dust to the top of the lower block placed.
29. Minecraft players will next need to place three additional sticky pistons horizontally under the topmost "stair" block.
30. Place three slime blocks on the lower singular pistons, horizontally again.
31. Perform these same steps to the other side of the portal.
32. Build a standard Nether portal.
33. Create a 2x4 and three block deep hole in front of this portal.
34. Make additional room underneath the Nether Portal.
35. Place three droppers facing upwards from the right side of the Nether portal.
36. Place one dropper facing the portal atop these three.
37. Minecraft players next need to add a redstone comparator next to the bottom dropper, facing outwards.
38. Place a single building block outside of the comparator.
39. Add redstone dust atop this building block.
40. On top of the comparator, place an observer facing the redstone dust just placed.
41. On top of this observer, place an additional observer facing downwards.
42. Minecraft players will next need to place redstone dust atop this observer.
43. Add two hoppers connecting to the bottom dropper.
44. Place two iron rails on top of the hoppers.
45. Add building blocks on two sides of the rails.
46. Place two hopper minecarts on top of those rails.
47. Light the portal, either with a Flint & Steel or lava buckets burning a flammable block.
48. Build the exact same Nether portal device inside the Nether itself.
49. Minecraft players will next need to place a wall of blocks behind one end of this portal.
50. Return to the overworld and place one random item in the bottom dropper.
51. Place gravel blocks on top of the slime blocks that are closest to the End Portal.
52. Minecraft players must now remember that if they are going to activate the duplicator, they cannot stay in the overworld for too long. Doing so will crash the game every time the player enters The End.
53. Flip both levers to see where to build the collection system.
54. Entering The End, players should now see where to build their collection system indicated by the fallen blocks of gravel.
55. Add two temporary blocks on both sides of the obsidian floor.
56. Create a platform underneath the obsidian where chests can later go.
57. Add double chests starting from under where the temporary blocks were placed above. Work the double chests down and towards the inside.
58. Place hoppers under these double chests.
59. Replace the temporary blocks with hoppers as well.
60. Place buttons on top of these hoppers by placing a nearby wall, this will be in order to break the gravel blocks. Perform the same on the other side of the obsidian.
61. Once Minecraft players have performed these steps, all they will need to do is to flip their levers in the overworld and spend time in The End as the blocks duplicate.

This is an incredibly complex Minecraft machine requiring tons of blocks and resources, but it can generate thousands of blocks. For Skyblock players looking to generate a massive amount of gravel (but also sand, concrete powder, and red sand), this machine may be worth investing time and effort in.

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