How to Get Ominous Trial Keys in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Drink an Ominous Bottle for Bad Omen, then fight trial spawners in trial chambers: the effect turns them into ominous trial spawners, and each completed one has a 30% chance to eject an ominous trial key. Use the key on an ominous vault while Trial Omen is active to get the best loot.

What you need

Ominous Bottle (raid captains or vault loot)
Trial chamber location
Strong combat gear, shield and food
Bad Omen / Trial Omen effect active

Step by step

Get Bad Omen: kill a raid captain (pillagers with an ominous banner on their head, found at outposts and in patrols) for a 100% Ominous Bottle drop, or loot bottles from trial chambers vaults. Drink the bottle.
Head to a trial chamber: they generate underground in the deepslate layers. Explore caves or dig down - look for copper and tuff blocks.
Walk up to a trial spawner while Bad Omen is active: it converts into an ominous trial spawner and your effect becomes Trial Omen. Normal spawners you've already cleared also convert once their cooldown ends.
Win the harder fight: ominous trials spawn mobs with enchanted armor and weapons, and the spawner throws potions and projectiles from above. Bring your best gear, food and a shield.
Collect the key: when the last mob dies, the spawner ejects rewards - there's a 30% chance that includes an ominous trial key for every nearby player.
Spend it on an ominous vault: these darker vaults sit higher up in the chambers, often hidden in walls and ceilings. You must still have Trial Omen active when you use the key, so don't let the effect run out mid-loot.
Repeat: ominous vaults are the only source of the heavy core (for the mace), the flow armor trim and Wind Burst books, plus top-tier loot like enchanted golden apples.
Java quirk: a renamed ominous trial key can't open a standard ominous vault due to a bug - keep your keys vanilla.

Java vs Bedrock

Ominous trial keys work the same in Java and Bedrock: 30% from completed ominous trial spawners, one use per vault per player. Java-only bug: renamed or otherwise modified keys can't open standard ominous vaults.

Versions: Added as experimental content in Java 1.20.5 (24w13a) and Bedrock 1.21.0 (Preview 1.21.0.20), then fully released with 1.21 (Tricky Trials, June 2024).

Frequently asked questions

How do you get ominous trial keys?

Complete ominous trial spawners in trial chambers. Drink an Ominous Bottle first so Bad Omen converts normal trial spawners into ominous ones; each completed ominous spawner has a 30% chance to eject a key.

What do ominous trial keys open?

Ominous vaults - the dark, harder-to-spot vaults in trial chambers. You need the Trial Omen effect active when you use the key. Ominous vaults hold the best loot: heavy cores, flow armor trim, Wind Burst books and enchanted golden apples.

Can you reuse an ominous trial key?

No - the key is consumed when the vault opens, and each player can only open each vault once. Farm more keys by clearing more ominous spawners; they reset after a 30-minute cooldown.