Overview
A vault is the reward block of a trial chamber, and it works on a rule no other container in the game uses: it opens per player. Each player who uses a trial key on a vault receives their own loot roll, and the same vault gives nothing more to that player afterwards — so a group of four all get a full reward from one vault, and none of them can farm it. That is what allows trial chambers to be genuinely repeatable in multiplayer without becoming an exploit. The vault does not open with redstone, cannot be broken and collected, and Silk Touch does nothing; it exists where it generates and nowhere else. Ordinary vaults take trial keys, which trial spawners eject when their waves are cleared, and hold emeralds, enchanted gear, diamonds and useful blocks. Ominous vaults, which glow a different colour, take ominous trial keys earned under Trial Omen, and they are the only place in the game a heavy core generates. Since the heavy core plus a breeze rod is the mace recipe, an ominous vault is the entire supply chain for the game's newest weapon.
Per-player loot that cannot be farmed: enchanted diamond gear, emeralds, diamonds and trial-specific items, and from ominous vaults the heavy core that the mace is built from.
Vault is a functional block in Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.4. Expect to wait: its hardness of 50 is well above average. Light level 6 is decorative rather than functional — mobs can still spawn beside it.
Light passes through it, so it will not darken the space behind it. Sixty-four fit in one inventory slot. No recipe takes it as an ingredient.
How to get it
Vaults generate only in trial chambers, between roughly Y -40 and Y 0. Use 1 trial key on an ordinary vault or 1 ominous trial key on an ominous one; keys come from clearing trial spawner waves.
Tips
- Every player in the group gets their own roll from the same vault, so bring friends rather than taking turns.
- Ominous vaults need ominous trial keys, which only drop from spawners activated while you have Trial Omen.
- You cannot collect a vault or reuse one you have already opened, so map the chamber and visit each vault once.
- Heavy cores come only from ominous vaults; expect several chamber runs before you have 1 for a mace.
Version notes
Vaults, trial keys, ominous trial keys and the heavy core were all introduced in 1.21 (Tricky Trials) and are unchanged in 1.21.4.
Properties
Blast resistance on Vault is 50, so an explosion nearby will usually take it out. It lets light pass and gives off light level 6. A single slot takes 64, the usual full stack. Being non-renewable, every one in the world is finite.
- Transparent
- Yes
- Required tool
- Any
- Renewable
- No
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get Vault in Minecraft?
Vault generates naturally in the world and does not drop anything without Silk Touch.
What tool do you need to break Vault?
No specific tool is required — Vault can be broken by hand.
Is Vault blast resistant?
Vault has a blast resistance of 50, so an explosion nearby will destroy it.
How many Vault fit in one stack?
64 per stack, so a double chest holds 3,456 Vault.
Is Vault renewable?
No. Every Vault in a world is finite — there is no way to produce more of it, so anything you spend is gone for good.
