How to get the Ominous Trial Key in Minecraft

This won't be easy.

Ominous vault in Minecraft
Screenshot by Dot Esports

The Ominous Vault is the most desirable object in the new Trial Chambers added to Minecraft in update 1.21. To open these vaults, you need the Ominous Trial Key, and here’s everything you need to know about how to get one.

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Where to find Ominous Trial Key in Minecraft

Ominous Trial Key
A sacred drop. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To get an Ominous Trial Key in Minecraft, you must clear the Ominous Trial Spawner. Ominous Trial Spawners are a variation of regular Trial Spawners that appear only when you have the Bad Omen effect.

The easiest way to get the Bad Omen effect is to drink the Ominous Bottle that drops from regular Vaults inside the Trial Chamber. Clear regular spawners to get Trial Keys, open as many vaults as possible, and you should get at least one bottle. You can also get the Ominous Bottle from Raid Captains.

When you enter the Trial Chamber with the effect, the Ominous Trial event begins, transforming Trial Spawners into the Ominous Trial Spawners. Be aware, though, as these spawners spawn stronger and more armored enemies. Almost every skeleton that I encountered in my room had some sort of armor, ranging from leather to diamond chestplates. Snowballs in Dispensers are also replaced with arrows after triggering the event.

Tip:

Don’t worry if you’ve already cleared most of the spawners in the structure before drinking the Ominous Bottle. You can clear all the spawners again once they transform, so I highly recommend clearing every normal vault first and then clearing them all again in the Ominous form.

Start clearing the Ominous spawners and one of them might drop the Ominous Trial Key. I had more luck with Breeze spawners than others, so that’s where you can start as well.

After you get the key, head to the Ominous Vault which is usually up high in big rooms, and open it. You can get Diamonds, Emeralds, Enchanted Crossbow, and other items from this vault as a reward.

Author
Image of Edward Strazd
Edward Strazd
Freelance News and SEO Writer for Dot Esports, covering everything from live service games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite to new releases. Writing about games since 2021. When he's not writing, he's probably grinding for loot in Destiny 2.