Keys are one of the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. The rooms behind locked doors hold better loot than almost anywhere else on the map. But keys are rare, single-use, and gone for good if you die with one in your pocket. This guide covers how to find keys reliably, where every locked door is across all six maps, which conditions give the best drop rates, and which keys are actually worth your time.
Table of Contents
How Keys Work in Arc Raiders
Keys are single-use consumables. You use a key on a locked door, the key is consumed, and you get access to the room. That’s it - the key is gone whether the room has good loot or not.
A few mechanics that matter:
Keys are lost on death unless protected. If a key is sitting in your regular inventory when you die, it drops and another player can take it. Always move keys to your Safe Pocket the moment you find them. You can use keys directly from the Safe Pocket - you don’t need to move them back to your main inventory to open a door.
The Safekeeper Mk.3 augment adds extra secure storage slots, which matters if you’re running multiple high-value keys in one raid.
Locked rooms reset every raid. If someone used a key and looted a room in a previous raid, it’s full again when the next raid starts. This also means: always check if a door is already open before using your key. Walk up to the door and look. If another player already unlocked it this raid, the door will be open and the loot might be gone. Don’t burn a key on an empty room.
Locked room loot scales with key rarity. Since Patch 1.22.0, higher-rarity keys pay out proportionally better loot inside their rooms. A Common key gives you a decent room. A Rare or Epic key gives you a meaningfully better one. This makes high-rarity keys worth saving for the right conditions rather than burning casually - the delta in loot value is real.
Map-specific keys only work on their own map. A Dam key does nothing in Buried City. Keep your keys organized and plan your raids accordingly.
Security Codes are not permanent keys. The Ancient Fort Security Code, Pilgrim’s Peak Security Code, and similar items only appear during the Locked Gate modifier. Since Patch 1.22.0, Security Codes only drop from Code Printers on the map - not from general containers - and they expire on extraction. You cannot carry a code out of a raid and use it next time. Use them in the same raid you find them or lose them.
How to Get Keys in Arc Raiders
Random Drops from Containers
Most keys come from looting. Cabinets, drawers, desks, and any openable container in residential and admin buildings all have a chance to drop a key. The drop rate is low - you can loot dozens of containers without seeing one - but they pile up over time because keys don’t stack in inventory.
The best farming zones by map:
- Dam Battlegrounds: Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments, and the Research and Administration Building. Hit every drawer and kitchen cabinet. This is the single best map for farming key drops.
- Buried City: The Hospital and Space Travel building containers drop keys more frequently than average.
- Blue Gate: The Village area. Houses and residential buildings have higher key drop chances here.
- Stella Montis: Security POIs and offices. Higher-rarity keys (Rare and Epic tier) show up more often in security zones across all maps.
Supply Drops can also contain keys, but they draw attention. Use them if you’re comfortable with the PvP risk.
Best Raid Condition for Key Farming
This is something most players don’t think about, but the raid condition you deploy into affects how many keys drop from containers - not just what loot quality is inside locked rooms.
Community testing across roughly 180 containers per condition on Buried City found:
- Cold Snap: 11 keys - best raw key volume in testing
- Night Raid: 6 keys - strong overall value, better for using keys you already have
- Day Raid: 5 keys - acceptable for routine loot runs, weak for key farming
- Hurricane: 1 key - worst condition for keys, avoid if farming is your goal
If you need more keys, run Cold Snap. Keep the useful ones and scrap low-value keys you won’t use. If you already have good keys and want to maximize what’s behind the doors, Night Raid gives better loot quality inside the rooms and access to unique blueprint drops.
Locked Gate is the best condition for high-end weapon drops but doesn’t outperform Cold Snap for key volume.
Looting Killed Players
Keys occasionally drop from players you eliminate - but most experienced players store keys in their Safe Pocket, so don’t count on it. When it does happen, check the inventory immediately before other players arrive.
Quest Rewards and Crafting
Some quests reward keys directly, which removes the RNG. Check your active quest list in Speranza to see if any of your current objectives have key rewards.
The Raider Hatch Key is the only key you can craft. It requires:
- Utility Station 2 in your Workshop (costs 50 Plastic Parts and 6 ARC Alloy to build)
- 3 Sensors and 1 Advanced Electrical Component per key
You can also buy one Raider Hatch Key per day from Shani (Security Trader) in Speranza for 9,000 coins, once you reach Level 12. The 24-hour cooldown applies in real time. If you can afford it daily, buying one every day and stockpiling them is worth doing.
All Keys in Arc Raiders - Every Map and Door Location
The wiki currently lists 35+ key items across all maps including Riven Tides. Here’s the full breakdown organized by map.
Dam Battlegrounds Keys
Dam has five keys and is the best map for farming more. The Research and Administration Building area is the highest-density zone for both dropping keys and spending them.
Dam Surveillance Key - Opens the Water Treatment Control building. Decent room with a chance for a weapon crate. The Water Treatment area is quieter than central Dam, so you’ll usually have time to loot without interruption. Worth using if you find it early in a raid.
Dam Staff Room Key - Opens a room in the Research and Administration Building, first floor. Loot here tends to be average - materials and maybe a weapon, but nothing special. Use it if you have it, but don’t prioritize this room.
Dam Testing Annex Key - Opens the Testing Annex ground floor. Lockers in here consistently drop grenades and weapons. If you’re low on throwables, this room will sort you out. Solid mid-tier key.
Dam Control Tower Key - Opens the top of the Control Tower. The best key on Dam. Rare materials and weapons up top, one of the most consistent locked rooms on the map. The catch: the Control Tower is visible from almost everywhere, so other players know you’re there. Get in, loot fast, get out.
Dam Controlled Access Zone Key - Opens a door on the catwalks inside the Controlled Access Zone, south of the Power Generation Complex. Added with the Shrouded Sky update (Patch 1.17.0). Contains a puzzle mechanic alongside the standard loot room.
Best drop zones on Dam: Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments, Research and Admin Building desks and drawers.
Buried City Keys
Buried City has four keys, including one of the best in the entire game.
Buried City Hospital Key - Opens a room on the Hospital’s third floor. Good if you’re working on Medical Station upgrades in your Workshop - this room has the materials you need. The Hospital is a popular area, so expect company.
Buried City JKV Employee Access Card - Opens the Space Travel building, fourth floor. Good variety of weapon mods, and the Space Travel building is worth looting regardless. Found more often in Security POIs and during Night Raids.
Buried City Residential Mastery Key - Opens apartment doors in Grandioso Apartments and Main Street. Mostly trinkets and sellables. The name sounds better than the loot. Use it if you’re walking past the door, but don’t route your run around it.
Buried City Town Hall Key - Opens the main entrance to the Town Hall building. One of the best keys in the game. Unlike most keys that unlock a single room, this one opens the entire building - multiple floors of loot containers, weapon crates, and material spawns. If you find this key, save it for a Night Raid to maximize what’s inside.
Blue Gate Keys
Blue Gate has five permanent keys plus the Security Codes that appear during the Locked Gate modifier.
Blue Gate Communication Tower Key - Opens the Communication Tower near Pilgrim’s Peak. Good source of electrical components and crafting materials for workshop upgrades. Practical rather than flashy.
Blue Gate Confiscation Room Key - Opens the Security Wing underground area. Good loot, but the Security Wing is one of the hottest PvP zones on Blue Gate. If the server feels quiet, go for it. If there’s been constant gunfire, save the key.
Blue Gate Village Key - Opens a building in the Village’s western side. One weapon crate and some low-value items. The weakest key on Blue Gate. Only use it if you’re right next to the door.
Blue Gate Cellar Key - Opens a cellar west of the Ruined Homestead. Weapons, blueprints, and grenades. The location is off the main routes, so you’ll usually have it to yourself. Good key to use early in a raid when you need to gear up quickly.
Patrol Car Key - Opens armored patrol vehicles in the Traffic Tunnel. Works on Blue Gate and Riven Tides. Unlike other keys that open rooms, this one opens the rear door of parked patrol cars. Good weapon farming with consistent drops, and the tunnel provides cover.
Security Codes (Locked Gate modifier only): Ancient Fort Security Code, Pilgrim’s Peak Security Code, Raider’s Refuge Security Code, and Reinforced Reception Security Code. Since Patch 1.22.0, these only drop from Code Printers on the map - not from general containers. They also expire on extraction, so you cannot save them for a future raid. Use them in the run you find them or they’re gone.
Spaceport Keys
Spaceport has four keys, all solid. No duds on this map - but it’s one of the more competitive maps, so expect to fight for your loot.
Spaceport Trench Tower Key - Opens the North and South Trench Towers. Like the Buried City Town Hall Key, this one gives access to the full building rather than a single room. Multiple floors of loot across both towers. One of the best keys in the game for raw loot volume.
Spaceport Container Storage Key - Opens the upper floor of Container Storage. The best single-room key on Spaceport. High-value items and good density. Important tip: check if the upper floor doors are already open before using your key. Other players hit this room often. If it’s already unlocked, save your key for next raid.
Spaceport Control Tower Key - Opens Control Tower A6, accessed via elevator shaft. Very good loot, but the Control Tower is a PvP magnet on Spaceport. If you’re confident in your combat ability, the room pays well. If not, the Trench Tower or Container Storage are safer uses of your time.
Spaceport Warehouse Key - Opens the Shipping Warehouse second floor. Solid room that scales better during Night Raids than most locked rooms. If you’re holding this key and Night Raid conditions appear on Spaceport, that’s your window.
Stella Montis Keys
Stella Montis was added after launch and its keys are among the strongest in the game. The general advice: farm key drops on Dam, then bring the keys to Stella Montis for the best return.
Stella Montis Archives Key - Opens the Cultural Archives Storage Room. The best loot key in Arc Raiders by most accounts. Insane item density, regular blueprint drops, and some of the highest-value items in any locked room on any map. If you find one, put it in your Safe Pocket immediately and save it for the right run. Found more often during Hurricane, Night Raids, and Electromagnetic Storms in residential or security zones.
Stella Montis Assembly Admin Key - Opens a control room in the Central Corridor. Consistently above-average loot with good weapon and mod variety. The Central Corridor is relatively safe compared to other Stella Montis areas, which is a bonus.
Stella Montis Medical Storage Key - Opens the Medical Research building’s first floor north. Weapons, weapon mods, and medical supplies. Good if you’re building out your Medical Station workshop upgrades. Drops more frequently during Hurricane events.
Stella Montis Security Checkpoint Key - Opens the security bridge in the Northern Train Station lobby. Dense weapon crate room with high-rarity mods. If you need to kit out a loadout in a single key use, this is one of the better options. More frequent during Night Raids in Security POIs.
Riven Tides Keycards
Riven Tides, the newest map, introduced its own set of keycards. These work differently from the standard key system - Riven Tides uses numbered hotel room keycards and location-specific access cards.
The current Riven Tides keycards include:
- Hotel Panorama suite keycards (Room Nos. 102, 107, 113, 205, 208, 311, 404) - Each unlocks a specific suite in the Panorama Azzurro hotel.
- Crane House Keycard - Unlocks a door in one of the Crane Houses.
- Secure Storage Keycard - Unlocks the Secure Storage room in the Port Authority Building.
- Classified Records Keycard - Unlocks the Classified Records room in the Port Authority Building.
The Patrol Car Key also works on Riven Tides patrol vehicles alongside Blue Gate.
For detailed Riven Tides keycard locations and loot breakdowns, see our Arc Raiders loot map guide.
Raider Hatch Keys - The Extraction Key
The Raider Hatch Key is in a category of its own. It does not open a loot room. It opens a Raider Hatch for instant extraction - no countdown, no alarm, no waiting. Once you activate a Raider Hatch, your run ends immediately and everything you’re carrying is secured.
This makes the Raider Hatch Key a risk management tool, not a farming tool. Use one when:
- You’re carrying a blueprint, Epic weapon, or rare item you genuinely can’t afford to lose
- The remaining Cargo Elevators are in heavily contested areas
- The raid timer is running low and your position is compromised
Raider Hatches are placed away from the main loot zones and standard extraction points. That’s the point - they’re a clean exit when the normal exits are dangerous.
Keep Raider Hatch Keys in your Safe Pocket until the moment you use them. You can activate a Raider Hatch while alive but not while downed.
How to get them - three methods:
- Random drop from containers and Raider Field Depots (rare)
- Buy from Shani in Speranza for 9,000 coins once you reach Level 12, with a 24-hour cooldown between purchases
- Craft at Utility Station 2 using 3 Sensors and 1 Advanced Electrical Component
If you can afford to buy one daily from Shani, do it. They’re worth having in reserve even if you don’t use one every raid.
For more on extraction mechanics, see our Arc Raiders extraction guide.
Best Keys by Loot Value
If you need to decide which keys to prioritize using and which to burn on a low-risk raid, here’s how they stack up based on community testing and reporting:
- Stella Montis Archives Key - Highest loot density and most consistent blueprint drops of any locked room in the game.
- Buried City Town Hall Key - Unlocks the entire building. Multiple floors of loot in one key use.
- Spaceport Container Storage Key - Best single-room key on Spaceport. High-value items, good density.
- Dam Control Tower Key - Most consistent rare material and weapon drops on Dam.
- Spaceport Trench Tower Key - Full building access, massive loot volume across both towers.
Mid-tier keys worth using but not routing your raid around: Dam Testing Annex, Buried City Hospital, Blue Gate Confiscation Room, Stella Montis Security Checkpoint, Spaceport Warehouse.
Low-value keys to use only when convenient: Dam Staff Room, Buried City Residential Mastery, Blue Gate Village Key.
Key Safety Tips
A few habits that prevent losing keys unnecessarily:
Check the door before you use the key. Walk up to any locked door and look at it. If another player already opened it this raid, it will be unlocked. Save your key - the room is already accessible.
Store keys in the Safe Pocket immediately. The moment you pick up a key, move it to your Safe Pocket. Don’t wait until you’re about to use it. Players who die with keys in their regular inventory lose them permanently.
Run a budget loadout when using keys. The loot behind the door is the upgrade. You don’t need to bring your best gear to use a key - bringing expensive equipment just means more to lose if something goes wrong. See our Arc Raiders budget loadout guide for a solid low-risk setup.
Clear the area before opening the door. The sound of a key being used is audible to nearby players. Check corners, listen for footsteps, and secure the area before you start looting. A locked room that attracts another player while you’re inside is the most common way to lose everything you just found.
Match key tier to raid conditions. Don’t use the Stella Montis Archives Key on a Day Raid. Save your best keys for Cold Snap or Night Raid conditions when loot quality is higher. Since Patch 1.22.0, locked room loot scales with key rarity - so a Rare or Epic key used on the right condition pays out significantly more than the same key burned casually. The difference is real.
Note on Night Raid as of Patch 1.33.0 (June 2026): Free loadouts are currently disabled for Night Raid and Close Scrutiny as a time-limited test. This means you cannot enter Night Raid on a free kit - you need to bring your own gear. Factor this into your risk calculation when deciding whether to use a high-value key during Night Raid conditions.
Key Takeaways
- Keys drop from containers in residential and admin buildings. Dam Battlegrounds, specifically Ruby Residence and the Research and Admin Building, gives the highest drop density.
- Cold Snap is the best raid condition for farming key drops. Night Raid is better for maximizing loot inside the rooms.
- All keys are single-use and lost on death unless stored in your Safe Pocket. Move keys there immediately.
- Always check if a door is already open before using your key - other players may have beat you to it this raid.
- The Stella Montis Archives Key and Buried City Town Hall Key are the strongest loot keys in the game.
- The Raider Hatch Key is not a loot key - it’s a guaranteed extraction tool. Craft or buy these and save them for raids where you’re carrying something valuable.
- Run a budget loadout when using keys. The room is the upgrade, not what you bring in.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get keys in Arc Raiders?
Keys drop randomly from containers like cabinets, drawers, and desks in residential and admin buildings across all maps. You can also pick them up from players you kill, earn them as quest rewards, or craft the Raider Hatch Key specifically at the Utility Station. Most players find keys as random drops while running normal loot routes.
Where is the best place to farm keys in Arc Raiders?
Dam Battlegrounds is the best map for farming key drops. Focus on Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments, and the Research and Administration Building. Loot every drawer and cabinet you can find. Running Cold Snap conditions gives the highest key drop volume based on community testing - roughly double the keys compared to a standard Day Raid.
Are keys single-use in Arc Raiders?
Yes. Every key in Arc Raiders is a single-use consumable. When you use a key to open a door, the key is consumed immediately. The locked room resets between raids, so if you find the same key again in a future run, the room will be full of loot.
What happens to keys when you die in Arc Raiders?
If a key is in your regular inventory when you die, it drops and can be looted by other players. To protect keys, place them in your Safe Pocket before heading into a raid. Keys stored in the Safe Pocket are kept even if you die.
What is the best key in Arc Raiders?
The Stella Montis Archives Key is considered the best loot key in the game, with the highest density of high-value items and regular blueprint drops. The Buried City Town Hall Key is a close second because it unlocks the entire building rather than a single room.
What is the best raid condition for farming keys?
Cold Snap gives the highest key drop volume in community testing - roughly double the keys compared to a standard Day Raid across the same container count. Night Raid is better if you want to maximize the value of keys you already have, since locked room loot quality increases.
What does the Raider Hatch Key do?
The Raider Hatch Key opens a Raider Hatch for instant extraction from any map with no countdown timer and no alarm. It does not unlock a loot room. Use it when you are carrying high-value items and want a guaranteed safe exit without fighting for a Cargo Elevator.
Can you craft keys in Arc Raiders?
You can craft the Raider Hatch Key specifically. It requires a Utility Station 2 upgrade in your Workshop and costs 3 Sensors and 1 Advanced Electrical Component per key. Other loot room keys cannot be crafted and must be found as random drops or earned through quests.
How do you protect keys from being lost in Arc Raiders?
Place keys in your Safe Pocket as soon as you find them. Keys in the Safe Pocket are not dropped on death. If you use the Safekeeper Mk.3 augment, you get additional secure storage slots, which is useful when carrying multiple high-value keys in a single raid.
