The latest update for Minecraft (being 1.16) is also dubbed the Nether Update. This update to the popular, pixelated survival game breathes new life into the infamous Nether, the game's equivalent of the underworld.

RELATED: Minecraft: Everything You Need To Know About The Dragonfire Mod

For the first time since the creation of the game, the Nether has a variety of biomes to explore and traverse through. Along with new biomes, there are many new items, blocks, and mobs that scatter the fiery landscape. Some of the new features may seem more interesting than others. One of the most unsuspecting pieces of the Nether Update is Blackstone. Blackstone is a new block that actually has more to it than meets the eye.

Bastion Remnants

Wide shot of Bastion remnant Minecraft

Bastion remnants are naturally generated structures found in the Nether. Bastion remnants are similar to Nether fortresses and woodland mansions in the fact that they are places where mobs can spawn in large quantities. The main mob that spawns within a Bastion remnant, however, is piglins, one of the new mobs added in the Nether Update. Bastion remnants are filled with piglins. They also contain treasure chests and blocks of gold. For the most part, bastion remnants are easy to spot because they are made out of the aforementioned Blackstone and its different variants which stands out against the contrasting red color of the surrounding Nether.

In Basalt Deltas

Basalt Delta Minecraft

As previously mentioned, the Nether Update adds new biomes to the Nether whereas before, there was only one: the Nether. Now the Nether now has five biomes to explore.

RELATED: 10 Mods That Make Minecraft Feel More Like Dark Souls

The one biome that is the most relevant in this case is the Basalt delta. The Basalt delta is a very dark biome filled with a lot of dark grey and black blocks. Part of the reason for these dark colors and blocks is Blackstone. A Basalt delta is the only biome in which Blackstone spawns and generates naturally. In other words, a player's best bet for finding Blackstone is either finding a Basalt delta or by finding a Bastion remnant.

Bartering With Piglins

Piglin in the Nether Minecraft

Piglins are hostile mobs to the player unless the player is wearing a piece of gold armor. Wearing a piece of gold armor makes piglins docile. This provides an opportunity for the player to barter with piglins. To initiate the bartering process, one just simply needs to drop a gold brick at the feet of a piglin, and they will pick it up and give the player something in return. There is a chance a piglin will drop some Blackstone. A piglin can drop anywhere between 8 and 16 blocks of Blackstone.

Gold Pickaxe Is Preferred

Large replica of a gold pickaxe Minecraft

The pickaxe is one of the most versatile tools in Minecraft in the sense that it is used to break down a wide variety of blocks from standard cobblestone to the adamantine structure of obsidian. The pickaxe can be made from any of the materials in the game used to make tools. The strength of the pickaxe increases based on the material of which it's made. When it comes to Blackstone, a gold pickaxe is the best option for mining Blackstone. A gold pickaxe mines Blackstone the fastest out of any other pickaxe, including netherite.

Blackstone Tools

Large replicas of tools Minecraft

There are a few materials that can be used to make tools. These materials include wood, stone, gold, iron, diamond, and netherite. In most cases, the tools are restricted to their respective materials. For example, diamond is used to make diamond tools, and gold is used to make gold tools. That isn't necessarily the case with stone tools. Before the introduction of Blackstone, the only way to make stone tools was to use cobblestone. With the Nether Update, however, players can now make stone tools with Blackstone.

Blackstone Appliances

Furnace cooking Minecraft

Stone tools are not the only thing for which Blackstone can be used. Furnaces are typically made out of cobblestone.

RELATED: Minecraft: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Crafting Table

However, Blackstone can be placed in the same shape in the crafting interface, and it will successfully craft a furnace. Brewing stands are another block for which Blackstone can be used. Brewing stands typically use a blaze rod and cobblestone, however, if a player finds themselves stuck in the Nether without any cobblestone, then Blackstone is a viable replacement for crafting brewing stands, following the same crafting recipe as with normal cobblestone.

Dispenser Minecraft

There are a lot of tools and blocks that require cobblestone to craft. Blackstone is a great material that can replace the cobblestone component of some of those tools and blocks in Minecraft. It cannot, however, be a component used to replace everything that requires cobblestone to craft. Blocks like observer blocks, pistons, dispensers, and droppers are examples of blocks for which Blackstone is not a viable replacement. Those types of blocks can only be crafted using cobblestone. However, it is important to know that players can craft Blackstone into the same things that cobblestone crafts into like walls, stairs, and slabs.

Pig Snout In Chiseled Polished Blackstone

Two Piglins in a bastion remnant Minecraft

Similar to stone, Blackstone can turn into different variations of the material: polished Blackstone and chiseled polished Blackstone. The methods of doing so are the same as the regular stone which is stonecutting and crafting. The polished Blackstone yields nothing extremely noticeable, but the chiseled polished Blackstone has a unique feature. The chiseled polished Blackstone has a design on it that looks oddly similar to a pig snout. This may suggest the fact that piglins are native to Bastion remnants because they are made of the material.

Gilded Blackstone

Gilded Blackstone Minecraft

There is a variant of Blackstone that exists in Minecraft called Gilded Blackstone. Gilded Blackstone is very unique in many ways.

RELATED: The 10 Rarest Items In Minecraft (& How To Get Them)

It doesn't generate naturally in any biome like regular Blackstone, but it can spawn as a part of Bastion remnants. It can also be found in chests within Bastion remnants. Gilded Blackstone can't be smelt because it is not an ore, but it does have a chance of dropping gold nuggets when mined with a pickaxe, making it the only non-ore material to drop an ore mineral. Just like with regular Blackstone, a gold pickaxe is the fastest way to mine Gilded Blackstone.

Piglins Like Gilded Blackstone

Piglin in a Bastion remnant Minecraft

Piglins like anything gold or gold-related which is why they don't become hostile to the player at the sight of gold or gold armor. Piglins will become hostile, however, if the player mines anything gold-related with their eyesight. That also includes Gilded Blackstone. This is because of the gold nuggets found in Gilded Blackstone. The texture of the block even has some gold in it. If a piglin sees a block of Gilded Blackstone, it will run towards it, inspect it for a few seconds, and grab it and place it into its inventory.

NEXT: 15 Brilliant Minecraft House Ideas