The Minecraft 1.21 update is truly full of surprises. From the trial chambers and new mobs like The Bogged to trial spawners and vaults that grant you rewards, there are a lot of combat challenges in store for you here. However, there is an even harder version of the combat challenges in Minecraft 1.21 called ominous trials. In order to start them in the first place, you’ll need to get your hands on ominous bottles. So, let me teach you how to obtain ominous bottles and what to use them for.
The ominous bottle is an item you can drink to obtain the Bad Omen effect in Minecraft. It doesn’t behave like other potions, as you cannot turn it into a splash or lingering potion and it stacks up to 64. Once you consume it, it will disappear from your inventory.
There are five different ominous bottles, which apply a different level of Bad Omen, from 1 to 5. The level of this effect matters as it determines how long or difficult the appropriate ominous event will be. You can learn more about this in the last section of this guide.
Get Ominous Bottles in Minecraft 1.21 (3 Ways)
You may get ominous bottles in three ways. In the following section, we’ll walk you through all the ways to obtain them here:
Method 1: Kill Pillager Raid Captains
The ominous bottles are closely tied to pillagers for the reason we will talk about at the end of the guide. They are a drop from pillager raid captains who spawn around the pillager outpost, or as a part of pillager patrols.
The captain has an ominous banner above their head. When you kill this mob, they’ll drop the banner and an ominous bottle. This item can provide a Bad Omen effect of any level.
Method 2: Loot Vaults
Apart from pillagers, you can get ominous bottles from the standard vaults found in trial chambers. They generate in rooms in various quantities and locations.
To open one of these blocks, you’ll need a trial key, an item commonly ejected by trail spawners. Use the key on a vault (with an 18.6% chance) to get an ominous bottle. Unlike the pillager captain drop, this item can only be level 1 or 2.
Method 3: Loot Ominous Vaults
Similarly to regular vaults, you can open ominous vaults to obtain the ominous bottles. They are spread throughout the trial chambers, though they are harder to spot. They also look darker and spookier thanks to the three-headed texture.
These vaults require an ominous trial key to open, which is only available from ominous trials, one of the ominous events the ominous bottles are needed for. You can check out our dedicated guide to learn about ominous trials in detail or just check out the next section of this article, where we’ll be explaining what their main purpose is.
Once you open an ominous vault, there is a 13.4% chance, you’ll receive an ominous bottle, which may apply Bad Omen from level 3 to 5.
What to Do with Ominous Bottles?
Ominous bottles are used to trigger ominous events. There are two types of ominous events – raids and ominous trials.
1. Raids
A raid in Minecraft is a complex event of illager waves attacking a village. You can trigger it by entering the village area with the Bad Omen effect. Pre 1.21 update, you killed the raid captain and automatically got the Bad Omen effect. The ominous bottles make this a choice.
Once you drink the bottle, you’ll receive Bad Omen, so it’s not automatically applied. You may then walk into a village and the Bad Omen will transform into Raid Omen effect. It will last for about 30 seconds, allowing you to prepare for the raid or cancel it by drinking milk.
Otherwise, the raid will begin. The raid functions the same as the pre-1.21 update. The Bad Omen level determines how difficult the raid will be — the higher the level, the more waves and stronger mobs.
2. Ominous Trials
Ominous trials are a more difficult version of trial spawner challenges. By drinking an ominous bottle, you will receive the Bad Omen effect. Then, when you get close to a trial spawner, the Bad Omen effect will turn into a Trial Omen.
Not only that, but the spawner will turn into an ominous trial spawner. This block glows blue and spawns mobs will equipment most of the time, as well as random projectiles and potions above the players and mobs. It provides a chaotic and fun experience with great rewards.
There is a 30% chance the ominous trial spawner will eject the ominous trial key, which you can use to open the ominous vault. This block can then give you the heavy core, which you can use to make a mace in Minecraft 1.21. The Bad Omen level determines how long the Trial Omen will last for, with each level increasing the timer by 15 minutes.
So, it’s best to bring a couple of the ominous bottles into the trial chamber. Then, you can use all the time you have to gather as much precious loot as possible. You will most likely get ominous bottles back from the ominous vault, so you can continue raiding this structure without having to go out to get more ominous bottles elsewhere.
And that’s all you need to know about ominous bottles in Minecraft 1.21. They are not only a great quality of life addition but also offer an opportunity for you to face one of the newest challenges in all of Minecraft even more difficult and amusing. However, this change does nerf some super OP raid Minecraft farms in the process as well.