Most keys in ARC Raiders are a judgment call — is the detour worth the loot? The Stella Montis Archives Key isn't one of those. It's an Epic key on the game's highest-value map, and the room behind it is so stuffed that the only real problem is fitting everything into your bags. Shacknews put it bluntly after running it: "If there's one key in ARC Raiders you want to use as soon as you find it, it's the Stella Montis Archives Key." The catch is that it sits inside the Cultural Archives on Stella Montis — the endgame zone where everyone is kitted, Shredders roam, and the door itself screams when it opens. This breakdown gives you the exact door location, the safe way in, and the real loot profile, cross-checked against the ARC Raiders Wiki and the guides that actually cleared the room.
Quick answer (TLDR): The Stella Montis Archives Key is an Epic, single-use access key (weight 0.25, sells for 100 coins) that opens a massive supply-bay door on the top floor of the Cultural Archives, at the far northeastern edge of the Archives complex on Stella Montis (arcraiders.wiki). You get it from random scavenging — there's no guaranteed spawn. Inside: six high-value table drawers (endgame blueprints possible), a blue valuables suitcase, breachable boxes, lootable computers, and loose Medical/Mechanical loot. A documented clear turned ~45,000 coins of gear into 95,000+ — a 50,000+ coin profit in one room (shacknews). Verdict: use it the moment you find it — ideally with a teammate, because one bag can't hold it all.
What is the Stella Montis Archives Key in ARC Raiders?
The Stella Montis Archives Key is one of the game's map-specific access keys — consumable items that open exactly one sealed door, then vanish from your inventory. It was added in Update 1.2.0 and, per the official wiki, "unlocks a door in the Archives in Stella Montis" (arcraiders.wiki).
Here are the verified item-card stats, read straight off the in-game card:
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Epic |
| Type | Single-use access key (consumed on use) |
| Weight | 0.25 |
| Vendor value | 100 coins |
| Stack size | 1 |
| Map | Stella Montis |
| Unlocks | Storage room, top floor of the Cultural Archives |
Two things stand out. First, at 0.25 weight the key is effectively free to carry — keep it on you (in your safe pocket) until you can run Stella Montis. Second, this is an Epic key, not the Uncommon or Rare keys you find on the exterior maps — and the rarity is earned. Stella Montis is the endgame zone (Level 25+, the smallest map in the game with the highest-value loot density), and the Archives is one of its richest single rooms.
If you're working through the keyring, this sits alongside the other high-value rooms like the Dam Staff Room and the Buried City Residential Master Key — same "find the key, find the door" loop, just on a deadlier map.
How do you get the Stella Montis Archives Key?
There's one source: scavenging (arcraiders.wiki). There is no quest reward and no guaranteed spawn — the key is a random drop from lootable containers, so you can't force it. A few practical notes from players who farm Stella keys:
- Loot interiors, not open ground. Keys surface from drawers, cabinets, desks, lockers and crates inside buildings — never from open-world ground loot. Prioritize interiors as you move.
- High-value zones drop more keys. DualShockers reports the best luck finding keys on Stella Montis itself — "the Medical Research area is a great place to search for keys, as it has the most valuable loot" (dualshockers). Richer interiors = better key odds.
- Run a Map Condition. Looting Stella Montis under Night Raid (its signature condition) raises loot rarity across the board, which improves your odds of pulling a key.
- Keep it in your safe pocket. Stella Montis is PvP-heavy and brutal. A key in your safe pocket survives a death so you don't lose it before you ever reach the door.
- Loot the bodies. A raider who grabbed the key and didn't extract drops it — always check kills.
Don't dedicate a whole raid to fishing for it. Loot interiors as you pass through and let the key come to you.
Where is the Stella Montis Archives door?
The door is one of the most conspicuous in the game. It sits at the far northeastern edge of the Cultural Archives, on the top floor, and it's a massive supply-bay door (shacknews). The annotated map above marks the Storage Room waypoint at the northeastern corner of the Archives — that's your destination.
Getting there:
- Find the Cultural Archives. It's a long, hangar-style complex on Stella Montis — players often spawn or zipline in above it and drop through a large rectangular opening into the crate-filled interior. The Archives is itself a high-value loot area, so expect company.
- Push to the northeastern edge. Work through the Archives toward its far northeastern corner and head up to the top floor. The locked supply-bay door is large and obvious once you're on it.
- Mind the noise. That supply-bay door "makes an awful racket when opened," which tells every nearby raider exactly what you just did (shacknews). Open it only when you're ready to commit.
You'll also share the Archives with roaming Shredders — multi-legged ARC units — but as Shacknews notes, "they're a much smaller threat than roving bands of PvP-hungry raiders" (shacknews). On Stella Montis, the other players are always the real danger.
What's behind the door — the loot breakdown
The honest caveat first: like every locked room in ARC Raiders, the exact contents are randomized — anyone promising a guaranteed weapon is guessing. What's consistent is the container set that spawns inside, and on Stella Montis that set is exceptional. Per Shacknews's documented clear (shacknews):
| Spawn (documented in the Archives room) | Type | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Six high-value table drawers | Container | The core of the room — can hold endgame blueprints |
| Blue valuables suitcase | Container | "Almost more items than you can carry" on its own |
| Several breachable boxes | Container | Various crafting materials |
| At least one computer | Container | Basic electronic items |
| Loose Medical & Mechanical loot | Loose | Meds, components, trinkets |
MSN's breakdown corroborates the same layout — "several breachable storage crates, drawers, and even weapon cases and raider backpacks" (msn). One thing to set expectations on: like every Stella room, the Archives has a loot theme. As one player put it on the ARC Raiders subreddit, "you won't get 5 guns like you will from Control Tower or Town Hall, but BPs, Heals, and Trinkets are also good." This room leans blueprints, materials and meds over raw weapons — which, on the endgame map, is arguably more valuable.
How much is that worth? Shacknews's single clear is the best-documented number: they "entered the room with about 45,000 Coin in gear, and left with over 95,000, a profit of more than 50,000 Coin" — and reckoned it would "easily balloon past 60,000" if they'd dropped spare ammo and meds to make room (shacknews). That one run also pulled an Aphelion (a legendary sniper), an Epic Defensive Augment, and more valuables and materials than a purple Looting Augment could carry. For a 100-coin Epic key, that's one of the best returns in the game.
If grinding a contested endgame room for a specific blueprint sounds like a lot of RNG and risk — because it is — that's exactly the grind we shortcut:
Skip the key grind, get the gear directly:
- ARC Raiders Blueprints — from $0.99 — 60+ blueprints, unlock rare weapons, fast & secure delivery.
- ARC Raiders Materials — from $0.02 — every rarity, instant delivery, trusted.
- All ARC Raiders services — everything topside, without the RNG.
Is the Stella Montis Archives Key worth it?
Yes — it's a use-on-sight key. At 0.25 weight it costs nothing to carry, and the room reliably returns far more than the key's 100-coin price — documented at a 50,000+ coin profit in a single clear, weighted toward blueprints, materials and meds rather than guns. On the game's highest-value map, that's elite.
The catch is logistics, not value. There is "simply too much loot for a single raider to carry," which is why Shacknews calls it "the only [key] I can wholeheartedly recommend for a team to use" (shacknews). Bring a Looting Augment for extra carry, ideally bring a teammate, and have an extract picked before you crack that loud supply-bay door. Stella Montis punishes greed — loot fast, watch the entrance, and get out.
Want the gear without the dice rolls — or the firefight? Our ARC Raiders services deliver weapons, blueprints and materials directly. See our how to get blueprints fast and how to get materials fast guides for the free-but-grindy route, or the best weapons tier list to decide what's actually worth chasing.
FAQ
Where do you use the Stella Montis Archives Key? On the massive supply-bay door at the far northeastern edge of the Cultural Archives, on the top floor, on Stella Montis. The door is large and conspicuous, and it's loud when it opens — so commit only when you're ready to loot and defend the room.
How do you get the Stella Montis Archives Key? Only through random scavenging — there's no quest reward and no guaranteed spawn. It drops from drawers, cabinets, lockers and crates inside buildings. High-value interiors (and running Stella Montis under Night Raid) improve your odds, and you can always loot it off a downed raider.
Is the Stella Montis Archives Key single-use? Yes. It's consumed the instant you open the door, so one key equals one entry. If you die before using it, it's lost with the rest of your carried gear — keep it in a safe pocket.
What loot is in the Stella Montis Archives? Randomized high-tier loot built around six high-value table drawers (endgame blueprints possible), a blue valuables suitcase, breachable boxes, lootable computers, and loose Medical/Mechanical loot. The room leans toward blueprints, materials and meds. A documented clear turned ~45,000 coins of gear into 95,000+.
Is the Stella Montis Archives Key worth using solo? It's worth using always, but the room holds more loot than one raider can carry — Shacknews recommends running it with a team. Solo, bring a Looting Augment, prioritize the drawers and suitcase, and accept you may have to leave some behind.
What's the difference between the Stella Montis keys? Each Stella Montis room has its own loot theme. The Archives leans blueprints, materials and meds; rooms like the Control Tower lean weapons. The Archives is widely considered one of the best value-per-key rooms on the map because blueprints and materials are the endgame bottleneck.
