Getting to the Nether should be more interesting

Getting to the Nether is both far too easy and a bit boring. Just look how getting there compares with getting to The End:

The End

• Go to the Nether
• Kill some Blaze
• Kill some Endermen
• Follow Eyes of Ender
• Brave a stronghold

The Nether

• Get a diamond pickaxe
• Mine obsidian
• Build and light a portal with flint and steel

These are both supposed to be mystical places that evoke fear and wonder, but only the process for reaching The End reflects that. I hope people have suggestions of their own how we can do this, but for now I would like to present one of my own.

Nether Portals

Nether portals would be constructed the same way they are now, but they could no longer be lit with a flint and steel. Instead they would be lit using a different tool. However, the components to build this tool could only be found in the Nether itself. Therefore the first time you go to the Nether you would do so using a different method.

Nether Rifts

This would be a new structure that only generates deep down close to bedrock in the overworld. It is a room built to resemble a nether fortress standing in a lava lake, and is surrounded by netherrack. Inside the room is a block that, when used, transports the user(s) to the Nether as if they just used a nether portal, but no portal would appear in the nether with them. Nether rifts would be sparse and relatively rare, so it may be difficult locating one.

Rift Stones

These stones would be crafted with prismarine crystals and a fermented spider eye. They would work similar to a compass to help find the nearest Nether Rift, but instead of pointing in a direction, the stone's color would give a rough indication how close you are. If close to a rift, the stones would shatter and break, knocking the player backwards.

Getting Back

I've gone kind of backwards up 'til now, but the intent is that getting to the Nether would require a more drawn out process. First you make some rift stones, then you locate a nether rift, then you go to the Nether... but it's a one-way trip so far. To get back, you would need to make a Nether portal with obsidian and light it using a special tool. I'm thinking it could be a wand made from a blaze rod and a Wither skull, or involve some new ores or biomes in the Nether, but I'm not really set on anything. The point is, you would get this tool, make a portal, and head home to the overworld. From that point on, the nether would work exactly like it does now, minus the flint and steel.