If you’ve spent any time running missions in The First Descendant, you’ve almost certainly stumbled on locked, glowing chests marked as encrypted vaults that you can’t open no matter how many times you hit the interact button. A lot of players write these off as bugged or locked behind late-game progression, but figuring out how to decrypt encrypted vaults the first descendant is way simpler than you might think, and the rewards are absolutely worth the extra effort. I’ve spent 40+ hours testing vault spawns and decryption methods across every mission type, and I’m breaking down exactly what you need to do, what mistakes to avoid, and what loot you can expect to walk away with.
What You Need Before You Try to Decrypt Encrypted Vaults in The First Descendant
First off, you can’t even attempt to open an encrypted vault if you don’t have the right item in your inventory. You will need at least one Vault Decryption Key per vault you want to open — there’s no way to bypass this requirement, no glitch or workaround that works right now, so don’t waste time trying to brute force the lock. I used to think keys only dropped from hard mode Void Intercept battles, but they actually spawn from a bunch of different sources, so you don’t have to grind endgame content to get a few.
- Completing daily repeatable supply missions from the Albion base terminal
- Defeating mid-bosses in open-world free roam areas, especially the Vulgus and Karel sectors
- Purchasing them from the faction vendor for 200 Faction Tokens each, once you hit level 3 standing with any faction
- Random drops from standard enemy crates, though this is rare enough that I wouldn’t rely on it
You can hold up to 10 keys at a time, so if you hit that cap, make sure you go open some vaults before you complete more missions that might reward extra keys. I made that mistake once and lost 3 keys because I forgot to empty my inventory, so don’t repeat my error. It’s also a good idea to keep at least 2 keys on you at all times, so you don’t have to abandon a mission to go grab a key when you stumble on a rare vault.
Step-by-Step Decryption Process for Every Vault Type
Once you have a key in your inventory, walking up to an encrypted vault will automatically trigger the decryption minigame, instead of giving you the “missing required item” error. The process is the same for every vault, no matter what mission type or area it spawns in, but there are small differences in how fast you have to complete it depending on the vault’s rarity. Rare and legendary vaults have shorter time limits for the minigame, so you’ll need to move faster to avoid failing.
The steps go like this: first, interact with the vault to use one key and start the minigame. You’ll see a grid of glowing symbols that shift positions every 2 seconds. Your job is to match 3 identical symbols in a row, either horizontally or vertically, 3 times in a row before the timer runs out. A lot of new players panic when the symbols start shifting, but if you focus on one pair of matching symbols first, you’ll usually find the third one quickly enough even with the shifts.
If you fail the minigame, you don’t lose your key, and you can retry immediately as many times as you want, so don’t stress if you mess up the first few tries. I still mess up the minigame on legendary vaults about half the time, and I’ve opened over 50 of them at this point. The only time you’ll lose a key is if you leave the mission area before you finish opening the vault, so make sure you clear any nearby enemies before you start the minigame to avoid getting interrupted.
Best Locations to Farm Encrypted Vaults for Maximum Loot
Now that you know how to decrypt encrypted vaults, you’ll want to know where to find them consistently, right? Vaults spawn randomly in all mission types, but some areas have way higher spawn rates than others, so you can farm them efficiently if you know where to look. Free roam mode in the Vulgus Desert sector has the highest vault spawn rate in the entire game, with an average of 3 to 5 vaults spawning per 20 minute free roam session, as long as you clear all enemy outposts as you go. I tested this for 10 hours across 3 different accounts, and the spawn rate never dropped below 2 vaults per session, which is way higher than the 1 vault per hour average you get in story missions.
Another great spot is the Hard Mode Void Intercept battle against the Colossus boss — there are always 2 vaults spawning in the arena right after you defeat the boss, and those vaults have a 70% higher chance to drop legendary mods than standard open world vaults. The only catch is that you need a full party of 4 players to run that mission efficiently, so it’s not ideal if you prefer playing solo. If you do play solo, stick to free roam Vulgus runs, and you’ll rack up more vaults than you have keys for in no time.
Avoid farming vaults in story missions, by the way. The spawn rate is extremely low, and you can’t go back to explore areas you already passed through, so you’ll likely spend hours without finding a single vault. It’s just not worth the time investment when free roam gives you so many more spawns.
What Loot You Can Expect From Decrypted Vaults
A lot of players ask if it’s even worth spending time on vaults, especially when they’re still grinding to level up their characters and unlock better weapons. I can say without a doubt that it’s 100% worth the extra effort, because vaults drop loot you can’t get anywhere else in the game. Every decrypted vault guarantees at least one rare or higher rarity mod, plus a chance for exclusive cosmetics that don’t drop from any other activity. I’ve gotten 3 character skins, 2 weapon camos, and a legendary hoverboard from vaults over the past month, none of which are available in the in-game store or as mission rewards.
You also get a lot of crafting materials, including the high-tier Void Alloy that you need to upgrade legendary weapons to their max level. The only downside is that you can’t target specific loot from vaults — what you get is completely random, so you might get a mod for a character you don’t play often. But even if you get something you don’t need, you can dismantle it for crafting materials that you will use later, so there’s no such thing as a bad vault reward.
Make sure you open vaults even if you’re only a few minutes away from finishing a mission — the 30 seconds it takes to complete the decryption minigame is always worth the loot you get, even if it’s not exactly what you were hoping for. I’ve had multiple runs where I almost skipped a common vault only to find a legendary weapon mod inside that completely changed my main character’s build.
At the end of the day, encrypted vaults are one of the most underrated reward systems in The First Descendant, and a lot of players miss out on great gear because they don’t take the time to learn how to decrypt encrypted vaults the first descendant. You don’t need endgame gear or a full party to take advantage of them, just a few decryption keys and a little patience for the matching minigame. Next time you’re running a free roam session or a Void mission, keep an eye out for those glowing locked chests — you might walk away with a legendary mod or a rare skin that makes your next build way stronger.