Trial Chamber Survival Guide: Keys, Vaults and Safe Clearing

What you will get

Trial chambers were added in version 1.21 (Java and Bedrock). They generate deep underground, usually between Y -40 and Y -20, and contain combat rooms with trial spawners, reward vaults, copper bulbs and dispensers. This guide shows you how to find one, prepare, clear it room by room and get the most loot out of the vaults, including ominous trials.

Materials

Iron or diamond armor, a shield, sword or axe, bow with 64 arrows, 1–2 stacks of blocks, torches, 20+ cooked food, water bucket, optional: golden apples, potions of healing and a Protection-enchanted chestplate.

Step-by-step

Step 1: Locate a chamber. Explore large caves below Y 0 and look for tuff bricks, copper blocks and copper grates. Cartographer villagers can also sell a trial explorer map (Java) that points to the nearest chamber.

Step 2: Prepare your inventory. The main dangers are breezes (wind charges knock you around), skeletons, strays and cave spiders. A shield blocks most attacks and a water bucket saves you from falls.

Step 3: Enter and mark your route. Place torches on the right-hand wall as you go. Take the corridors one by one and remember that dispensers in hallways can shoot arrows or fire charges.

Step 4: Activate a trial spawner. A spawner starts when a player comes close and has line of sight. It spawns a wave sized to the number of nearby players. Fight near a doorway so mobs come one by one.

Step 5: Collect the reward. Once all mobs of the wave are dead the spawner ejects items – often a trial key, emeralds, arrows or food – and then stays inactive for about 30 minutes.

Step 6: Open the vaults. Hold a trial key and use it on a normal vault. Every vault remembers which players already opened it, so each player can loot it once. Look for the mace heavy core in ominous vaults.

Step 7: Try ominous trials. Drink an ominous bottle (dropped by raid captains) to get Bad Omen, then enter the chamber: it turns into Trial Omen. Spawners now create stronger waves and drop ominous trial keys for ominous vaults.

Step 8: Leave safely. Wait until the chamber is quiet, collect everything and either wall off the spawners or keep the chamber as a repeatable farm for later visits.

How to check it works

The chamber is cleared when every trial spawner shows its calm (unlit) state and every vault shows a closed, empty face for you. Count your torches: every room should have one.

Common mistakes

Fighting in the middle of a room – wind charges will push you into other mobs.
Wasting trial keys on vaults you already opened – they will not open a second time.
Using ominous keys on normal vaults – ominous keys only fit ominous vaults.
Forgetting that new mobs spawn if another player walks in – fight as a group.

Variations

Solo players should bring more healing. In multiplayer each player gets separate vault loot, so bring friends for more total rewards. Speedrunners can skip rooms and only open the vaults they need.

Tip: Place a torch at every room you cleared. The chamber is a maze and it is easy to walk in circles.

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