Keys have long been important to DMZ and became arguably more crucial following the release of Season 4 and the Vondel exclusion zone. It introduced many locked locations and caches, meaning DMZ’s Skeleton Keys became even more sought after.
What are Skeleton Keys?
They’re basically master keys in Warzone’s DMZ. The overwhelming majority of keys in DMZ only serve a single or, at most, two locations. For example, the Barista’s Bag Key opens – you guessed it – the Barista’s Bag. The Bike Parking Key opens the two bicycle garages, and so on.
Skeleton Keys open any lock and gives players access to whatever is behind the lock. Typically, that’s a lot of cash, another key and rare items.
As with other keys, they come in three varieties to reflect the number of uses they offer players. The keys’ conditions are:
- Pristine = 3 uses
- Used = 2 uses
- Worn = 1 use
Getting Them: Missions, Bartering & Recipes
There are two ways to get hold of them. The first is bartering at a Buy Station, the second is by completing missions that offer them as rewards.
Bartering
First, to unlock the barter trade for these items, players must reach Reputation Level 2 in the White Lotus Faction. That’ll unlock the bartering system at Buy Stations in DMZ’s exclusion zones, giving you the option to trade in lootable items for high value items. Needless to say, Skeleton Keys are one of the rewards you can trade items in for.
There are different requirements for Skeleton Keys depending on the zone you’re in. Unsurprisingly, they’re difficult to craft. The items needed are at a premium and are not especially common. The best way to get the items you need is just through standard looting.
Every recipe for Skeleton Keys is detailed below:
| Location | Skeleton Key Recipe |
| Al Mazrah | GPU and two Gold Bars |
| Ashika | Videocassette Recorder, two Gold Bars, Vintage Wine, and an Encrypted Hard Drive |
| Vondel | Three 3-Plate Armor Vests, three Self-Revive Kits and a Gold Bar |
| Building 21 | Three Encrypted Hard Drives |
Once you’ve collected enough materials, you can go to the Buy Station and select the ‘Barter’ section to begin crafting. It’s then a case of trading in the items required to earn the reward.
Missions
With DMZ Season 4, a series of new missions were added and old ones reset. Some offer Skeleton Keys of different conditions as rewards for completing them.
These tend to be the more difficult missions at higher tiers. That tracks with the rarity and value of Skeleton Keys, deliberately designed to be difficult to acquire.
Below, we’ve listed every mission, its Tier and Faction, and the condition of the key it awards:
| Mission Name | Faction & Tier | Skeleton Key Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Committed Shopper | Black Mous – Tier 1 | Worn |
| Untouchable | Black Mous – Tier 5 | Pristine |
| Gear Up | White Lotus – Tier 4 | Used |
| Chemist’s Sources | White Lotus – Tier 4 (Story Mission) | Used |
| The Route Forward | White Lotus – Tier 5 | Used |
| Tactique-Verte Testing | Crown – Tier 1 | Worn |
| Case By Case | Crown – Tier 5 | Pristine |
That’s the low down on DMZ’s Skeleton Keys. They’re high value, difficult to acquire… and incredibly useful in-game. Check out the related content below for even more on DMZ and Call of Duty.
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