Learn how to find and use keys in Palworld!
Palworld's map is scattered with loads of tantalizing chests for you to loot, but some chests will lock you out if you don't have the right keys. Getting keys isn't as straightforward as acquiring other resources, but if you know where to look, you can farm them a little bit easier.
Keys drop from chests, successful base defense during Raids, and from slaying the Dark Element Pal, Leezpunk. You can't trigger Raids automatically, but you can go Pal hunting to try and get keys. Here's everything you need to know to start hoarding keys for your key ring and looting every chest in sight.
Updated on April 17, 2024, by Eva Csaki: Since chests are an infinitely replenished resource on the Palpagos Islands, they're one of the most reliable ways to secure high-value loot, quickly. The trouble is, keys are a lot more difficult to find than the chests they unlock. With a never-ending need for loot and resources to power your bases, comes the need for reliable loot sources. As such, we've returned to this guide to update you on even more ways to find and collect keys in Palworld. If you're struggling to obtain keys for the chests you find, look no further, we've got you covered.
What Are Keys Used For?
There are four types of chests in Palworld, Regular, Copper, Silver, and Gold. You won't need keys to unlock regular chests, which contain regular, common loot, but you'll need keys to unlock any of the higher chest rarities, and loot rarity will scale with rarity level.
There are three types of keys in Palworld; Copper Keys which open Copper chests, Silver Keys which open Silver chests, and Gold Keys which open Golden chests — the highest chest rarity.
If you don't have the right key in your inventory, trying to open a locked chest will trigger a notification on the left middle of your screen and the chest itself will have a notification over it, telling you which key you need to use.
Both notification types will tell you if you are missing the right key for the job, but if you happen to have the right key in your inventory already, interacting with the chest will automatically consume that key. Once a key is consumed, you cannot reuse it.
You can guess which chests will need keys by the color of the chest itself. Glowing Copper chests tend to need Copper Keys while glowing Silver chests need Silver Keys.
Chests opened by Copper Keys contain better loot than regular, unlocked chests, and Silver Keys will unlock even better loot. Gold Key chests contain the best loot out of the chest types so far, and their keys are the most difficult to obtain.
Either way, you must interact with the chest to see if you have the right keys, and if not, you'll find out which one you need to look for.
Chests respawn around the map, but the same rarity chest does not spawn in the same place every time.
Keys have weight to them, so if you're hoarding too many keys in your inventory, you may hit your weight limit more quickly. Consider how many keys you realistically need when adventuring and leave the rest at your base .
Chest respawns also randomize the rarity of the chest, similar to how Skill Fruit Trees randomize what Skill Fruits regrow.
Considering this effect, it's worth it to keep a few keys handy while you travel to places you know you have found chests before, as you might get lucky and find a higher chest rarity than before.
How To Get Keys
There are several ways for you to collect keys. Almost all methods for obtaining keys have a chance to drop either a Copper Key or a Silver Key, but Copper Keys will drop in more abundance.
Beat Pal Raids
First, you can obtain Copper and Silver Keys by successfully defending your base from Pal, Syndicate, and other kinds of Raids.
Keep in mind that you will only get keys if you successfully defeat the Raiders invading your base; if you and your Pals die, then the Raiders win, and you won't get any keys for your trouble — just some bruises and regrets.
You can't manually trigger Raids, but the best way to ensure that you do trigger them is to stay at your base often. Consider idling at the base while you get some crafting done as you might get lucky and get Raided.
Kill Leezpunks
The second way that you can find keys is by killing Leezpunks, and even though some Raids will include several of them, you can also head to where Leezpunks spawn on the Volcanic Island, on the very far left of the world map.
Leezpunks spawn on the southern side of the Volcanic Island, but it's worth noting that they also spawn at higher levels than the Pals on the main island, so make sure you're prepared for a tricky fight.
Dark Element Pals are weak to Dragon Element Pals , so it's best to bring along as many Dragon Element Pals as you can when Leezpunk hunting, to ensure you have the best possible chances to survive a confrontation.
Find Keys In Chests
You can also find keys in chests that you loot. Locked chests will reward better loot, and there's a chance to get a key of higher rarity from opening a chest of any rarity.
Kill The Black Marketeer
Finally, you can collect Gold Keys by killing the Black Marketeer. The Black Marketeer is a very strong semi-boss that you can find in remote and hidden locations around the islands.
Fighting the Black Marketeer is one of the most difficult ways to obtain keys, as the Black Marketeer is often protected by powerful Pals, and hits for some serious damage. He's also often found in remote areas that are difficult to defend. There is a good reason why his name has a skull symbol beside it.
The Black Marketeer also spawns into the game at higher levels than other merchants or Raiders and has a much beefier health bar. If you're going to fight the Black Marketeer, make sure you're prepared for a difficult fight.
Bring along powerful Pals, lots of ammunition, and your best armor if you want to survive a run-in with the Black Marketeer. The fight is difficult, but worth it for the value of a rare Gold Key.
You want to prioritize Pals with a high Attack stat and Pals that can help you heal when necessary. The Black Marketeer can easily one-shot a low-level player character, so we don't recommend taking him on until you have leveled up a bit.
The Black Marketeer that is st to Spawn (33, -417) spawns in at level 40 , so it's best to take him on when you are at or beyond level 40.
When you successfully manage to defeat the Black Marketeer, you won't just earn valuable Gold Keys. The Black Marketeer also drops a huge chunk of Gold Coins. You won't, however, be able to loot any of the contraband Pals that the Black Marketeer sells.
If you want to buy or sell Contraband Pals to the Black Marketeer, you have to do so before initiating combat.
Tips For Farming And Using Keys
We touched briefly on some things you can do to get the most out of your key hunts, but here's a breakdown of the best practices you can use when collecting keys.
- Have a key-specific chest at your base, so your player inventory isn't bogged down by the weight.
- Use Dragon Element Pals to fight Leezpunks and protect yourself from Dark Element Raiders.
- Mark chest locations on your player map with the map marker categories, so you can check back later.
- Mark Black Marketeer Locations on your map with the map marker categories.
- Equip powerful Pals in your Party to go after the Black Marketeer.
- Schedule yourself idle crafting time at your base, so you have the most opportunity to harvest keys from Raiders.
