How to Find and Beat Trial Chambers in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Trial chambers generate underground in the Overworld in any biome except the deep dark. The starting room is between Y=-40 and -20. Buy a trial explorer map from a journeyman cartographer (12 emeralds and a compass). They are made of tuff bricks and copper blocks, and hold trial spawners, vaults and the only breezes.

What you need

Trial explorer map (12 emeralds and a compass at a journeyman cartographer)
Armor, a shield, a melee weapon and a bow
Food and blocks
An ominous bottle for an ominous trial (optional)

Step by step

Get a trial explorer map: a journeyman-level cartographer sells it for 12 emeralds and a compass. It points to the nearest trial chamber that does not already have a map pointing to it. Maps from the same cartographer always point to the same structure.
Without a map, look for exposed caves with odd shapes and tuff bricks and copper blocks. The starting room sits between Y=-40 and -20, and trial chambers only generate in chunks created in 1.21 or later.
Trial spawners activate for Survival or Adventure players within 14 blocks and line of sight. Mob counts and spawn intervals vary by spawner type and player count; natural breeze spawners do not use the same wave sizes as ordinary combat spawners.
After the mobs are defeated, the spawner ejects rewards, including trial keys, and goes on a 30-minute cooldown.
Use trial keys on regular vaults and ominous trial keys on ominous vaults. For normal play, each player opens each vault once; completing another spawner does not reset a used vault.
For ominous trials, drink an ominous bottle (a raid captain outside a raid always drops one) to get Bad Omen, which becomes Trial Omen in the chamber and turns trial spawners ominous. Ominous trial spawners give ominous trial keys, which open ominous vaults.
Heavy cores and breeze rods are obtainable only from trial chambers, which makes them the only place to get the mace.

Java vs Bedrock

Trial chambers are the same structure in both editions. Generation follows a grid of 34x34 chunk regions with one chamber per region, unless a deep dark biome cancels it. In Java, a given villager always trades the same map, set when the trade unlocks.

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note for differences.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get the mace?

Heavy cores and breeze rods can only be obtained in trial chambers, so that is the only place to get a mace. Breezes spawn only in trial chambers.

What is the difference between a vault and an ominous vault?

Standard vaults open with a trial key. Ominous vaults open with an ominous trial key, which only comes from ominous trial spawners. Each player can unlock each vault only once.

Do trial spawners ever reset?

After the mobs are defeated, a trial spawner ejects its rewards and deactivates for 30 minutes.

Can a trial chamber generate in the deep dark?

Its origin point cannot generate in a deep dark biome, and a deep dark can cancel the chamber in a region, but other parts can intersect a deep dark.