How to get Ominous Trial Key in Minecraft

New dangerous adventures have arrived in Minecraft as part of the Trial Chambers – but you’ll need an Ominous Trial Key to truly benefit.

Trial Chambers are a massive part of the Trail & Tales update in the popular crafting game. They’re home to the brand new enemy, the Breeze, and include tons of new blocks, battles, and exciting rewards for you to get hold of.

However, to access the rewards, you need a key, and few are more coveted than the Ominous Trial Key. So, with that in mind, here’s how to get hold of one, how to use it, and exactly what it unlocks.

Ominous Trial Key location

You’ll find Ominous Trial Keys hidden inside Ominous Trial Spawners, which are located in the 1.21 update’s new structure, Trial Chambers.

It’s worth noting that Ominous Trial Spawners are much harder than regular trials, with buffed enemies, debuff clouds, projectiles, and armored mobs, so make sure you’re fully prepared before diving into the Chamber and starting your search.

How to get an Ominous Trial Key

Unlike traditional Trials, players will have to first complete a few tasks to turn the Trial Spawner Ominous.

To do so, follow the steps below.

Step One: Drink an Ominous Bottle

To activate the Ominous version of the trials, you need to drink an Ominous Bottle. You’ll find these in either Trial Chambers, Pillager Outposts, patrols, or with a Pillager captain holding the Ominous Banner, which has been highlighted in the image below.

Dexerto / Mojang

Once you kill the captain, they should drop an Ominous bottle, but don’t drink it yet, as it has a time limit.

Step Two: Activate the Ominous Trial Spawner

With the Ominous bottle in your inventory, you’ll want to head into the nearest Trial Chamber and take a sip once inside.

Trial Chambers are found between -20 and -40 in the Overworld, so if you’re having trouble finding one, you may need to dig further down.

When you do locate one and take a drink, you’ll find the nearest Trial Spawner glowing a different color, and monsters will start to spawn.

Step Three: Defeat all the summoned mobs & receive your reward

All that’s left to do is to fight all the summoned mobs. With it being an Omen Trial, the enemies will be a lot harder to take down, so be sure to prepare yourself with some sturdy armor from smithing templates, powerful weapons, and a few armored-up Wolves if possible.

Once you manage to take them all down, the Spawner will grant you a reward. However, it’s worth remembering that there’s only a 30% chance that you’ll get an Ominous Trial Key, so you might need to go through a few spawners to get the item you’re looking for.

How to use

Once you have an Ominous Trial Key, you can unlock the Ominous Vault, which grants tons of exciting rewards for each player.

To do this, locate an Ominous Vault in the Trial Chambers. They’re usually surrounded by copper grates, red-glazed terracotta blocks, and some candles and look different from the traditional Vault designs. Typically, these blocks are pretty tough to find, so make sure you look up high and carefully as you explore the chambers.

Once you find a vault, simply click on the block with your Key and your rewards will be waiting for you – with each player getting their own treasures.

Rewards

The Vault will grant will several rewards from the following lists, depending on the version of Minecraft you’re playing:

Java Edition

• Emeralds
• Wind Charge
• Arrow of Slowness IV
• Diamonds
• Flow Armor Trim Smithing Template
• Enchanted Golden Apple
• Block of Emerald
• Flow Banner Pattern
• Ominous Bottle III – V
• Enchanted Crossbow
• Block of Iron
• Golden Apple
• Enchanted Diamond Axe
• Enchanted Diamond Chestplate
• Music Disc (Creator)
• Heavy Core
• Enchanted Book
• Block of Diamond

Bedrock Edition

• Emerald
• Wind Charge
• Arrow
• Diamond
• Flow Armor Trim Smithing Template
• Enchanted Golden Apple
• Ominous Bottle III – V
• Flow Banner Pattern
• Music Disc (Creator)
• Heavy Core
• Block of Emerald
• Enchanted Crossbow
• Block of Iron
• Golden Apple
• Enchanted Diamond Chestplate
• Enchanted Book
• Block of Diamond

That’s all the information you need about Ominous Trial Keys in Minecraft. For more on the game, check out our guides for how to make a Crafter Block, 1.21 Bedrock Shaders, the best Minecraft seeds, house ideas, and crossplay explained.