Spawner vs trial spawner in Minecraft: How different are the two blocks?

Minecraft is a sandbox game that boasts an infinitely expansive open world teeming with diverse biomes and mobs. Encountering new mobs to interact with while exploring this varied environment is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the title. Many mobs spawn naturally, while others originate from specialized blocks known as spawners.

With the announcement of the Minecraft 1.21 update, a new variety of spawner block called the trial spawner was introduced. This article delves into the fundamental features of this new spawner and compares it with the existing monster spawner.

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Comparing trial spawners to monster spawners in Minecraft

To efficiently farm mobs in Minecraft for their drop items and excel in the game, it's crucial to understand the basics of mob spawner mechanics and stay updated on new features.

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Location and design

Spawner locations (Image via Mojang)

Monster spawners, as mentioned earlier, can be found in various structures. Here's a list of structures where they may appear:

• Dungeon
• Mineshaft
• Woodland mansions
• Stronghold
• Nether Fortresses
• Bastion remnant

On the other hand, trial spawners can only be exclusively found in the corridors of the new trial chambers. These chambers are underground structures located in the Overworld, specifically designed to present players with a mid-game challenge.

Both regular spawners and trial spawners share a common appearance resembling a cage block, featuring a miniature version of the mob spinning inside, indicating the type of mob it will spawn.

However, trial spawners distinguish themselves with an identical shape adorned with orange accents around the corners and center.

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Spawning mechanics

Breeze trial spawner (Image via Mojang)

In terms of spawning mechanics, there are notable differences between the regular monster spawner and the trial spawner.

The regular monster spawner begins summoning when a player is within a 16-block radius. However, to facilitate spawning, the surrounding area should not be excessively bright; otherwise, it won't spawn any creatures.

Conversely, the trial spawner operates differently. It summons mobs in waves. A new mob is summoned every two seconds when a player is within a 14-block radius. However, no new mobs will be spawned if two summoned by it are still alive or if the block has spawned six since the last period of inactivity.

In a multiplayer Minecraft world, trial spawners adjust their behavior when additional players enter their range. For each extra player, the spawner summons two additional mobs. Moreover, the spawning intervals and other values change based on the number of mobs already spawned by the same block.

Players may also encounter a variant of the trial spawner that exclusively summons breeze. This particular block allows only one alive breeze to exist at a time and ceases spawning after the second one.

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Completion

Trial key ejected by a trial spawner (Image via Mojang)

A regular monster spawner will continue spawning creatures as long as its conditions are met.

However, once the player has defeated all the mobs spawned from a trial spawner, the block undergoes a 30-minute cooldown period. Additionally, it rewards the player with useful loot or a trial key, and the orange accents on the block turn grey.