Quick answer: Trial Keys unlock Vaults inside Trial Chambers, and Ominous Trial Keys unlock Ominous Vaults. Each key is consumed when used, and each vault rewards you with loot once. Trial Keys were added to Minecraft in the 1.21 “Tricky Trials” update.
Trial Chambers are packed with loot, but the best rewards are locked behind vaults — and vaults only open with the matching key. This guide explains exactly how to get Trial Keys and Ominous Trial Keys, what each one unlocks, and the rules that catch a lot of players out. If you are heading into a chamber for a mace, keys are how you cash in.
How to Get a Trial Key
Trial Keys are found only inside Trial Chambers, the underground structures added in 1.21. There are three sources:
- Trial spawners — the main source. When you clear a trial spawner’s waves, it has a 50% chance to reward a Trial Key.
- Entrance chests — roughly a 6.8% chance to contain a key.
- Corridor pots — the decorated pots have a small 2.8% chance to drop one when broken.
Because the spawner reward is the reliable source, the loop is simple: find a trial spawner, survive its mob waves, collect the key it drops, and take it to a vault.
Ominous Trial Keys
An Ominous Trial Key is the tougher-tier version. You earn it from ominous trial spawners — the variant that activates when you enter a Trial Chamber while carrying the Bad Omen effect (which turns the spawner ominous). Ominous trial spawners throw harder, more dangerous waves at you, and in return they reward Ominous Trial Keys instead of standard ones.
What Trial Keys Unlock
| Key | Unlocks | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trial Key | Standard Vault | Trial spawner (50%), entrance chest (6.8%), pot (2.8%) |
| Ominous Trial Key | Ominous Vault | Ominous trial spawner (entered with Bad Omen) |
To open a vault, walk up to it holding the correct key and interact with it. The vault ejects its loot and the key is consumed in the process — one key opens one vault. Ominous Vaults hold the better loot pool, which is the whole reason to take on the harder ominous waves.
Important Rules to Know
- Keys are single-use. Using a key on a vault consumes it — you cannot reuse the same key on multiple vaults.
- Each vault rewards you once. A given vault only pays out once per player, so you cannot farm the same vault repeatedly with more keys. (The vault does track players individually — it resets only after more than 128 different players have opened it, which matters on busy multiplayer servers.)
- Play with friends. Because vaults reward each player once, everyone in your group can open the same vault with their own key — Trial Chambers are designed for co-op. A shared Minecraft server hosting plan keeps your chamber runs online for the whole group.
FAQ
Can you craft a Trial Key?
No. Trial Keys have no crafting recipe — they only come from Trial Chambers via trial spawners, entrance chests, or corridor pots.
Do Trial Keys work on any vault?
A standard Trial Key only opens a standard Vault, and an Ominous Trial Key only opens an Ominous Vault. The key type must match the vault type.
How do I make a spawner ominous?
Enter the Trial Chamber while under the Bad Omen effect. This converts the chamber’s trial spawners into ominous trial spawners, which drop Ominous Trial Keys.
What loot do vaults give?
Vaults eject a curated loot pool that can include enchanted gear, emeralds, and trial-chamber exclusives; Ominous Vaults hold the stronger rewards. Pair anything you pull with the right enchantments to get the most out of it.
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