What is the most difficult block to obtain in Minecraft? [closed]

I want to host a competition where my friends go and collect materials to make a block. In order to make it more difficult, I wanted to make them get it.

Except for command blocks, structure voids and all other unobtainable blocks, which block is the hardest block to obtain?

For example: an Emerald ore block is hard to get, as Emerald ores are rare.

Solution 1:

If you consider using glitches, the recently obtained Bedrock in Java Edition is the most difficult to obtain actually obtained block. A viable theory about how to obtain spawners, End portal frames and such has been developed but nobody has been successful in constructing the necessary contraption in survival so far.

Netherite block, while requiring quite a bit of effort, isn't actually difficult at all - after you've descended to y=8 in the Nether, basic caution against lava and patience with digging will get you the required 36 Ancient Debris, and transforming them into Netherite at that point is trivial. Comparing the amount of time and effort in a new world, I'd say Mycelium is more rare and sponges are more dangerous and difficult to obtain. Even stupid Conduit in 1.16 after the fishing farm nerf got sufficiently difficult it tops Netherite in difficulty.

Dragon head, if counting effort and difficulty 'from start to finish' would be the top block, but it usually 'happens in the process' - it isn't a goal by itself, it just appears near other, more desirable endgame goals. Another hard-to-obtain block is a creeper head - killing a creeper through explosion of a charged creeper requires plenty of effort if you don't already have a channeling trident.

The Beacon is probably most challenging though. First, you must kill an obscene amount of wither skeletons - on average 54 if you have a Looting 3 sword, or 120 without. This done in a Nether Fortress which is rather challenging. It can be automated but building a farm by itself is quite a bit of a challenge. Then you must construct a Wither and kill it. It's possible to 'cheese' this fight but it's probably more difficult than the Ender Dragon fight if done 'legit'.

Solution 2:

Risk-wise, the single most difficult block to obtain is the activated Regeneration Beacon, since there are many steps to it, and many of these steps are very risky to make.

Compared to Netherite, it may not take as long to obtain, but it's definitely harder to do so. Here's why:

• You have to get into the Nether, which requires getting diamond tools to build a portal.
• You have to find a fortress and get to it safely.
• You have to obtain 3 wither skulls, which involves killing Wither Skeletons that have a 2.5% chance of dropping a Skull, so you will have to kill 120 Wither Skeletons on average. You can speed up your progress by getting Looting on your weapon, but that also takes a lot of time.
• Next you have to build and fight the Wither, which is the single most difficult mob to defeat to get a nether star.
• Finally, craft the Beacon and build 164 mineral blocks underneath it and activate it with a single mineral in addition to have Regeneration activated on the Beacon.

Keep in mind that this is still one single block, even though it requires other blocks (the mineral pyramid beneath) to be in this state.