What will this unlock?
The trial spawners in the trial chambers of the Tricky Trials update all share one thing in common – and it’s not the word “trial”. Once defeated, all spawners will spit out a collection of tasty loot – bread, chicken, baked potatoes, potions, and our item of the month – the Trial Key.
Trial Keys have one purpose, and one purpose only. They exist to unlock vaults – the boxes in trial chambers that contain rare and precious goodies. But getting your hands on one isn’t easy. No, sir, it is not.
To obtain a Trial Key, you’ll need to defeat a Trial Spawner. That means carving your way through waves and waves of mobs. There’ll be lots of them, but eventually the cascade of pain will cease and if you’re still standing then the spawner will be exhausted and give up the goods. About half of the time, that loot will include a trial key.
The next step is to use it. Locate your nearest vault, which you’ll recognise from the big screaming skull face on the front. Insert the key into the skull’s mouth, and it’ll vomit up even more goodies. We’re just so generous to you. The loot here includes two to five stacks of various things, including arrows, iron ingots, enchanted books, diamonds, weapons and armor, and even banner patterns and music discs.
If you’ve teamed up with others to defeat the trial chamber, then don’t worry about having to share the loot. Each player gets their own chance to unlock a vault, and get loot of their own.
Image credit: John Hill // CC BY-SA 4.0
Keys are a thing in the real world too, of course – but did you know that they’ve been a thing for more than 6,000 years? It’s true. In the ruins of Nineveh, the capital of ancient Assyria, archaeologists found a type of “pin” lock, where a key inserted would push wooden pins out of the way and allow a bolt to be moved.
The Romans invented metal “warded” locks that would only work if the right key was inserted into them. Rich people kept their valuables in locked boxes, and wore the keys as rings on their fingers. They liked to do this not only to keep their valuables safe, but to show off their wealth to others.
Today, locks have become much more complex and sophisticated. “Tumbler” locks are one of the most common today, which have internal levers that prevent them from turning unless those levers are lifted to exactly the right height. These were invented by Robert Barron in 1778, substantially improved in 1818 by Jeremiah Chubb, and they’re still used today.
I’m not sure what kind of lock you’ll find in Minecraft’s trial vaults – Mojang’s security team is keeping that knowledge very close to their chests. Probably wise, or we’ll no doubt end up with an horde of illager lockpickers...
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