How to Get the Trial Key in Minecraft 1.21

Just like with every Minecraft update, the upcoming 1.21 update not only introduces new mobs and blocks but new items as well. Some can be used in crafting recipes, while others have their unique purposes. One of those special items is the trial key, which you can only get in the Trial Chambers. We dedicate this whole guide to this little item and share all you need to know about it. So, without further ado, let’s see how to get the trial key in Minecraft 1.21.

What is the Trial Key in Minecraft 1.21

The trial key is a new item added in the Minecraft 1.21 update. It looks like a copper key with a gray spooky skull as the handle. This key is not used to open any mysterious doors, but instead the vault block. It’s a special loot block that so far only generates in trial chambers. Check out our linked separate guide on that topic.

Where to Find the Trial Key in Minecraft

You can get the trial key inside the Trial Chambers and only inside this structure, which generates near the deepslate layer. If you wish to learn how to find Trial Chambers, we already have a guide in place to help you locate them.

Trial Key is a drop you can get from multiple sources in this structure underground. Speaking of the sources, you can get the trial key from a chest near the entrance (6.8% chance), decorated pots in the corridor (3.6% chance), and as a reward for completing the trial spawner’s challenge (50% chance). Since you are most likely to get this item from a trial spawner, let’s go over it right now.

What is the Trial Spawner?

Trial spawner is a special spawner type that summons a limited number of mobs proportional to the number of players that join the battle. If you are playing in a single-player world, most trial spawners will spawn 6 mobs at a time. First, three mobs will appear and then once you kill one of them, a new mob will spawn. If you manage to kill two mobs at once, the spawner will spawn two more.

So essentially, you’ll be fighting three mobs from a trial spawner, except when you’ve killed 4 of them and there are two remaining. The only exception to this is the Breeze trial spawner. It will spawn two Breezes in total, but you’ll be fighting only one at a time. After you defeat all the spawned mobs, the trial spawner will go into the cooldown state that lasts for 30 minutes.

It won’t spawn any mob during the cooldown, but after that, it will be ready to throw you another challenge. Moreover, it will give you rewards like precious items on top of itself. One of these items can also be the trial key you’re looking for.

The game chooses mobs this spawner summons from four categories. Every Trial Chamber has mobs from the melee, small melee, and ranged categories, as well as some Breeze trial spawners. Which mob the spawner will spawn is indicated by the blocks around it. So, the mob trial spawner can spawn and the blocks associated with them are the following:

• Melee
  • Zombie (mossy cobblestone)
  • Husk (chiseled sandstone)
  • Slime (moss block)
• Small Melee
  • Silverfish (stone bricks)
  • Baby Zombie (cobblestone and mossy cobblestone)
  • Spider (stone and cobweb on top)
  • Cave Spider (stone and cobweb on top and podzol with a red mushroom)
• Ranged
  • Stray (packed ice)
  • Skeleton (bone block)
  • Bogged (bone block and podzol with a red mushroom)
• Breeze (chiseled tuff)

Furthermore, every Trial Chamber contains trial spawners for only one mob per category. So, if you found this structure and the first trial spawner you see spawns skeletons, it means that the ranged mobs of the entire structure are skeletons. Therefore, you will not encounter other ranged mobs at all.

To sum it up, one Trial Chamber can spawn skeletons, zombies, and silverfish, while another one can spawn strays, husks, and spiders. The rule doesn’t count for the Breeze spawners, since every Trial Chamber 100% has these spawners scattered around.

What is the Trial Key Used for?

The trial key doesn’t open any doors in trial chambers, but it opens a block called the vault. Vault is a special Minecraft 1.21 block that looks similar to the trial spawner, but you can tell the difference by the top-side texture and the gray pixels that don’t exist on the trial spawner.

Also, vault generates in the center of the square made of polished andesite blocks and chiseled tuff bricks.

On the front, the vault has a face whose mouth is by default closed, similar to the one on the trial key. Once you get close, the mouth will open indicating you haven’t unlocked it before. Use the key to unlock the vault by right-clicking and the mouth of the face will close and the vault will start spitting out items.

The special feature of the vault is that every player will be rewarded for opening it, not just the first one. But, in addition to that, you cannot farm the vault, as it’ll spit out items for a player only once.

So, the vault is not what most people expected to see, but it’s definitely such a unique feature. While raiding a trial chamber with your friends, you don’t need to worry about being the fastest in looting, as you’re guaranteed to get a reward. With that, what are your thoughts on the new trial key? Let us know in the comments below!