If you’ve spent any amount of time running missions in The First Descendant, you’ve almost certainly stumbled on those glowing, locked vaults tucked away in side corridors or hidden behind destructible walls. They look like they’re packed with amazing loot, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll just stare at a locked prompt and move on empty-handed. I’ve spent over 40 hours grinding vault runs to optimize my loot farming, and today I’m breaking down exactly how to decrypt vaults in The First Descendant so you never miss out on rare mods, weapons, or crafting materials again.
What You Need Before You Start Decrypting Vaults in The First Descendant
First off, you can’t just walk up to a vault and crack it open with no preparation. The first thing you’ll need is vault decryption keys, the single required item to trigger the decryption process. You can earn these keys from weekly Void Intercept mission rewards, elite boss drops, seasonal event challenges, and even as a random login bonus. Most new players get their first key within 5 hours of playing, so you won’t have to grind for days to get started.
You also don’t need any specific character or build to decrypt vaults, though faster movement skills do make it easier to track down vaults before a mission timer runs out. You don’t need to save your keys for later either, a common mistake I see new players make all the time. Vault loot scales directly with your current player rank, so you’ll get useful gear no matter when you use them, as long as you’re running missions that match your level.
If you’re playing multiplayer, you don’t have to fight over who gets to use a key, either. Every player on the team gets their own separate reward pool when a vault is opened, so even if one person uses their key, everyone gets loot. That means it’s always worth opening a vault if you have a key, even if your team already opened three that run.
Step-by-Step Process to Decrypt Vaults Successfully
Decrypting a vault is a pretty straightforward process once you know what to expect, but the timed minigame can trip up new players if they don’t know what’s coming. I’ve broken the full process down into three simple steps so you can get it right on your first try:
- First, interact with the vault to trigger the decryption prompt. You’ll need at least one key in your inventory to proceed, so double check your stock if you’ve been running back-to-back missions without emptying your inventory. If you don’t have a key, the prompt will be greyed out, and you won’t be able to start the process.
- Next, complete the timed matching minigame. You’ll see 9 symbol tiles pop up on your screen, and you need to match 3 pairs of identical symbols before the 10-second timer runs out. You get two free retries if you mess up, but a third failed attempt will lock the vault for the rest of the mission, so take your time even with the timer running.
- Once you complete the minigame, the vault will open immediately. Grab your loot within 30 seconds, as the vault will despawn if you leave the area or take too long to collect your rewards. You don’t have to click on individual items, they’ll automatically be added to your inventory if you’re standing close enough when it opens.
If you struggle with the timed minigame, don’t feel bad, I failed three vaults in a row during my first hard difficulty Void run before I figured out a simple fix. Turn off cross-input sensitivity in your control settings to make your cursor or analog stick movement slower and more precise, and you’ll hit the matching tiles way faster. This simple process works for every type of vault you’ll find, whether it’s a regular mission vault or an event vault, so you don’t have to learn different rules for how to decrypt vaults in The First Descendant depending on the location. If you’re playing with a team, let the person with the fastest reaction time handle the minigame, you can ping the vault for them if you find it first.
Best Vault Locations to Farm for Rare Rewards
Not all vaults are created equal, and some locations have way better loot drops than others. I’ve tested every mission type to find the most efficient vault farming spots, so you don’t have to waste hours running low-reward missions.
The best spot by far is medium or hard difficulty Void Intercept Battles. These missions have 2-3 vaults per run, and the loot pool includes legendary mods, exclusive weapon skins, and high-tier crafting materials you can’t get anywhere else. Hard difficulty vaults have a 30% higher drop rate for legendary items compared to normal difficulty, so it’s worth bumping up the challenge if your build can handle the extra enemy damage.
You can also find hidden vaults in the open world Vespers region that don’t require keys to open. These vaults have smaller reward pools, but they’re a great way to get extra resources when you’re exploring between missions. Just look for glowing rock walls you can destroy with your weapon, most hidden open world vaults are tucked behind those.
Seasonal event missions also have event-exclusive vaults that drop limited-time crafting materials and character skins. I always check the event tab first before I start my grind each week, because these vaults are only available for a few weeks at a time, and the rewards can’t be earned once the event ends.
Common Vault Decryption Mistakes to Avoid
Even if you know the basic process, there are a few common mistakes that can make you waste keys or miss out on rare loot. I’ve made all of these myself, so I’m sharing them to help you skip the frustration.
The first big mistake is wasting keys on low-difficulty missions when you’re already level 30 or higher. The loot you get from normal difficulty vaults at max rank is almost always useless, so save your keys for hard or extreme difficulty missions where you’ll get legendary and epic drops that actually improve your build.
Another mistake is starting the decryption process before you clear all nearby mobs. I’ve had elite bosses jump me mid-minigame more times than I can count, and if you run away to fight, the decryption resets, and the vault will often despawn before you can come back. Clear all enemies within 20 meters of the vault before you start the minigame, it takes 10 extra seconds but saves you from wasting a key.
If you’re playing multiplayer, don’t open a vault without pinging it for your team first. Even though everyone gets their own separate reward pool, players have to be within 10 meters of the vault when it opens to claim their loot. If you open it without warning, your teammates might be across the map fighting a boss and miss out on their rewards, which is an easy way to annoy your squad.
Once you get the hang of how to decrypt vaults in The First Descendant, it becomes second nature, and it’s one of the most efficient ways to farm rare loot without spending hours grinding the same boss over and over. I now open 9 out of 10 vaults on my first try, and it’s doubled the amount of legendary gear I get per week, so it’s well worth taking a few runs to practice the minigame and get comfortable with the process. Next time you spot a glowing locked vault on your mission, you’ll know exactly what to do to get all the great loot inside.