Key Prices and Which Locked Rooms Are Worth Opening

Keys unlock specific locked rooms across the Hazard Operations maps, and every key carries a market price that moves with supply and demand. Because prices change between patches — and between days — this page deliberately quotes no numbers. It gives the test instead. The right question is never “is this key expensive” but “does this room pay more than the key plus the risk of opening it.”

Why key prices move

Key prices follow the same forces as any traded item:

• Supply spikes when many players farm the same key, often after a quest or event sends everyone to one map.
• Demand spikes when a room’s loot becomes meta-relevant or a new quest chain points at it.
• Both decay as the map’s player population moves on.

The market flipping guide covers the general timing pattern; keys are simply the item where it is most visible.

The room test

Before buying or using a key, answer four questions:

Question	Open the room if	Skip it if
Expected loot value	Clearly above key cost plus your entry gear	Marginal, or unknown to you
Player traffic	Quiet approach, or you can hold the room	Hot PvP zone with no exit plan
Key reusability	The key serves multiple rooms or repeat runs	Single use for one uncertain payout
Exit distance	You can leave quickly after looting	The room sits deep in contested space

A room earns the key when the value answer is “clearly above” and at least two of the other three factors point the same way. One strong factor rarely justifies a bad exit.

Where keys fit in your budget

Keys are a coin-denominated bet, so treat them like any other spending: the coin flow page explains where the money goes. Two rules keep keys profitable:

1. Carry expensive keys in the secure case. A key in your backpack dies with you; the secure case priority page explains what earns a slot.
2. Never open a room you cannot leave. Loot value is only realized on extraction, and contested rooms are where cheap runs go to die — the runner page covers when low-budget attempts lose money.

Check current key prices and which rooms they open in-game; mappings change with patches, and this page intentionally avoids coordinates that would expire.