Just like with every Minecraft update, the upcoming 1.21 update doesn’t introduce only new mobs and blocks, but items as well. Some can be used in crafting recipes, while others have their own unique purposes. One of those special items is the trial key, which you can only get in the Trial Chambers. We dedicate this whole guide to this little item and share all you need to know about it. So, without further ado, let’s see how to get the trial key in Minecraft 1.21.
What is the Trial Key in Minecraft 1.21
The trial key is an item added in the Minecraft 1.21 update. It looks like a copper key with a dark blue spooky skull as the handle. Since the 1.21 update is in beta testing, the uses of this item are unknown right now.
It may have something to do with the copper doors, which currently behave just like other non-iron doors. Though, it may have a purpose only inside the Trial Chamber, since that’s the only place you can get it (more on this below). We’ll make sure to keep this guide up to date, so as soon as the new info gets released, you’ll know about it right away.
Where to Find the Trial Key in Minecraft
You can get the trial key inside the Trial Chambers and only inside this structure, which generates near the deepslate layer. If you wish to learn how to find Trial Chambers, we already have a guide in place to help you locate them.
Trial Key is a relatively rare drop you can get from multiple sources in this structure underground. Speaking of the sources, you can get the trial key from a chest near the entrance (6.8% chance), decorated pots in the corridor (3.6% chance), and as a reward for completing the trial spawner’s challenge (50% chance). Since you are most likely to get this item from a trial spawner, let’s go over it right now.
What is the Trial Spawner?
Trial spawner is a special spawner type that summons a limited number of mobs proportional to the number of players that join the battle. If you are playing in a single-player world, every trial spawner will spawn 6 mobs at a time. First, two mobs will appear and then once you kill one of them, a new mob will spawn. If you manage to kill two mobs at once, the spawner will spawn two more.
So essentially, you’ll be fighting two mobs from a trial spawner, except when you’ve killed 5 of them and the one remaining is the 6th and last mob. After you defeat all the spawned mobs, the trial spawner will go into the cooldown state that lasts for 30 minutes. It won’t spawn any mob during the cooldown, but after that, it will be ready to throw you another challenge. Moreover, it’ll give you rewards like precious items on top of itself. One of these items can also be the trial key you’re looking for.
The game chooses mobs this spawner summons from four categories. Every Trial Chamber has mobs from the melee, small melee, and ranged categories, as well as some Breeze mob trial spawners. Which mob the spawner will spawn is indicated by the blocks around it. So, the mobs trial spawner can spawn and the blocks associated with them are the following:
- Melee
- Zombie (mossy cobblestone)
- Husk (chiseled sandstone)
- Slime (moss block)
- Small Melee
- Silverfish (stone bricks)
- Baby Zombie (cobblestone and mossy cobblestone)
- Spider (stone and cobweb on top)
- Cave Spider (stone and cobweb on top and podzol with a red mushroom)
- Ranged
- Stray (packed ice)
- Skeleton (bone block)
- Skeleton with Poison Tipped Arrow (bone block and podzol with a red mushroom)
- Breeze (chiseled tuff)
Furthermore, every Trial Chamber contains trial spawners for only one mob per category. So, if you found this structure and the first trial spawner you see spawns skeletons, it means that the ranged mobs of the entire structure are skeletons. Therefore, you will not encounter other ranged mobs at all.
To sum it up, one Trial Chamber can spawn skeletons, zombies, and silverfish, while another one can spawn strays, husks, and spiders. The rule doesn’t count for the Breeze spawners, since every Trial Chamber 100% has these spawners scattered around.
As we mentioned already, the uses for the trial key are so far not certain. But it does seem like a very valuable and special item that you will very likely want to own. Though that’s all we know about it for now. What are your thoughts on the trial key? Let us know in the comments below!
