Escape From Tarkov Keys Guide

Every successful raid in EFT is often directly tied to the keys you possess. So it's important to know how to turn metal keys into safe profit and clean extracts without wasting raids. Here you'll learn why some rooms pay and others bait, how to build a simple key-route that hits two or three doors, loots the right containers, then leaves through the nearest exit before the lobby collapses on you. Discover where keys find their way into your stash, when to enable power, and which maps and rooms to unlock first across the wipe with this Tarkov keys guide.

How Key Value Works: Rooms, Containers and Exits

Not all keys are created equal. Value is a mix of the room type, what container spawns inside, how risky the doors are to approach, and the distance to a safe exit on the map. So a key that chains into a fast extract will beat a jackpot room if that jackpot drags you through two kill funnels.

Room types and why they pay

• Marked rooms: Highest ceiling. Look for rare weapons, barter items, and valuables. Marked rooms invite campers and third parties. Approach from an off angle, pre-aim the frame, and clear the corners before you commit to the container.
• Safe rooms: Consistent money from safes, jackets, and cash registers. These stack rubles, GP coins, bitcoins in rare cases, and intel scraps. Safes feel low risk but always hold a slice of attention for sound because players love to pinch safes on reset timers.
• Office rooms: Filing cabinets, PC blocks, and jackets. These produce keys, SSDs, RAM, and documents. You also gain Search XP quickly if you move one item per drawer which speeds early progression.
• Tech rooms or shelves: Powercords, Wires, GPUs, PSUs, Tetriz, and Working LCDs define them. Tech pays best early to mid wipe. If the power switch gates store shutters, evaluate lobby heat before flipping it.
• Med rooms: Salewas, injectors, LEDX in late zones, and pharmaceuticals that barter for profit. They are generally low volume but spike your value on a good roll.

Simple value model you can apply

• Start with Containers × Quality: Count safes, weapon boxes, PCs, medical crates, and loose valuable spawns.
• Subtract Door Ambush Risk: Doors near high traffic staircases and long hallways are dangerous. Position and pre-clear.
• Subtract Distance to Exit: If your route forces a long cross or a choke like a bridge, value falls.
• Subtract Power Tax if relevant: Keys that need power become stronger late in a raid or at night when traffic is lower.

Plan a route around two or three doors in one area, loot fast, and extract via the nearest exit.

Avoid crossing both wings or floors and pause ten seconds after any high-value open to listen. Remember, if you can't name the nearest exit, do not open the door.

Where Keys Actually Drop

Universal sources

• Jackets in dorms, offices, and maintenance areas.
• Filing cabinets and desk drawers in office clusters.
• Dead scavs and PMC bodies.
• Safes and cash registers in offices and hotels.
• Static spawns on tables, beds, and shelves for a handful of named keys.

Customs

• Big Red office then cross to Shipping building jackets near construction, extract ZB-1011 if quiet.
• Two story Dorms ground floor jacket loop then third floor file cabinets if safe, leave toward Crossroads.

Shoreline

• Resort Admin jacket sweep then one wing first floor offices, exit Tunnel instead of chasing fights.
• Power Station jacket and tool cabin then coast road ground stashes toward cottages.

Interchange

• Goshan back offices for filing cabinets then OLI small offices, leave through Railway.
• Tech wing without power sweep Techlite stairs to Rasmussen balcony and Mantis jackets, bounce.

Reserve

• Black Knight and White Knight offices for cabinets and PCs then Sewers
• White Bishop medical area jacket run, avoid glass peeks and exit through Hermetic

Run these loops during off hours and at night to reduce contest, then pivot to Scav raids that mirror the same buildings to double dip key spawns with almost no risk.

Key Priorities by Wipe Stage

A smart stash does not hold every key. It holds the ones that align with your goals right now. If a key does not fit your route or your spawn side, park it until you can use it in a low risk chain. Dorms safe keys remain a dependable backbone across wipes even when other metas shift, so they belong in every early plan.

Early Wipe

Focus on important rooms with safes, PCs, and med spawns. Dorms 110 and 114 pay through rubles and barter items. On Shoreline, East 222 and 226 give med and safe volume without crossing the whole hotel. Interchange is strongest when you run tech without power and exit fast.

Night raids and spawn-side routes cut key competition and let you secure rooms like 110 and 114 before the lobby floods the building.

Mid Wipe

Pivot into rooms with higher ceilings and longer routes if you are confident on your spawns. Add Dorms 204 and 214 on Customs to finish a fast two story run. On Shoreline, East 218 and East 203 balance med and tech. Checkpoint and Shortcut utility doors on Customs often save more kits than an extra loot room because they bypass bridge and yard funnels.

Late Wipe

Push marked rooms and long chains when your kits and experience absorb risk. On Customs, Marked 314 pays with rare guns and valuables, but leave through ZB exits immediately. On Shoreline, West 301 and West 216 become worth it once you can pass between wings with minimal exposure. Streets and business offices that need power scale when your team can guard the switch and hold lanes. The Customs late-wipe core stays tight around 110, 114, 204, 214 and Marked 314 which keeps your chain profitable when other rooms fall off.

Tarkov Customs Keys: Dorms, Offices, Shortcuts

Dorms loot: 110, 114, 204, 214, Marked Room

Dorms reward speed and discipline. 110 and 114 in two story stack a safe, jacket, and loose valuables. Approach from the back side through the window to avoid the main doors where players pre-aim. After you scoop the safe content, either drop to the courtyard or run the external staircase to reset sound. Your default exit should be ZB-1011 or ZB-1013 if the generator is active.

On three story, 204 and 214 give another safe and containers plus high chances for quest items. Move vertically instead of horizontally to avoid long hall engagements. A quiet crouch walk for the last five meters to the door beats a sprint every time because it hides your final approach.

Marked Room 314 is a different game. Peek the landing and check for pre-nades before you step through the frame. Loot fast and leave the building immediately. The best play is a hard rotate through construction to RUAF or down toward ZB-1011 without fighting in the yard.

Factory/Big Red office key

The Customs Office key unlocks two filing cabinets, a safe, and multiple PC blocks. It pays reliably early and mid wipe. Clear the stairwell before you open the office since aggressive PMCs like to pinch from windows. After looting, you can jump out the back and run the train line to Crossroads or slide right to ZB-1011 depending on spawns. If pressure builds, move one item from each drawer for Search XP then bail. Crossing the road on the north fence side after Big Red is safer than walking the front because you break vision with stacked containers.

If your spawn is near Big Red, slot the Director's Office early because it pairs with a slow Customs route and keeps you away from Dorms heat.

Utility keys: Checkpoints and shortcut

Utility doors such as the Military Checkpoint and the Shortcut gate do not shower you in loot. They create tempo. A clean Shortcut saves two minutes and strips you out of common ambush funnels, which increases survival more than a marked roll that fails one in three attempts. As lobbies become more competitive near the end of a wipe, a utility key is often better than a loot key because it guarantees more raids finished and more items extracted. Use the Checkpoint utility door to avoid the river bridge when Dorms and Construction are popping because that bridge is where many solos lose their run.

Tarkov Shoreline Keys: East Wing Focus

East wing: 203, 205, 218, 222, 226

On the map, the location of East wing rooms sits on the right building when you enter the Resort from Admin. Enter through Admin double doors, sweep a small office for a jacket, and then take the first floor through glass toward East. Keys to prioritize:

• East 222 and 226: Both contain safes and med spawns that chain into quick rubles. Check the corridor first, open, loot, and backtrack the exact way you came. If someone is holding the long end window, break visual with the short inner corridor rather than challenging the angle.
• East 218: Strong for medical loot and injectors. Peek the stairwell, listen for enemies moving on metal, then commit. If audio is messy, rotate down one floor and come back up to desync the timing.
• East 203 and 205: Solid general rooms. Pair them with a 222 or 226 run and you get two to three rooms in one tidy pass. If a fight breaks in West while you are in East, finish your room and leave instead of crossing the courtyard.

If you must pass between floors, use the center staircase, not the end staircase near the roof fight. After two rooms, leave the wing and exit through Tunnel or Road to Customs. Do not cross to West unless you have a task that forces it.

What to open if keys are limited

• Open this: East 226 + West 216 or East 222 + East 226 (when you only have East keys)

Players love West for 301, 216, and jackpot rooms. If you own one West and one East early, pick East 226 paired with West 216 because both include safe or med value that converts reliably. If keys are very limited, run East 222 and East 226 as your two-key start.

These create a short route that gets you in and out without needing power or long hallway fights. If you spawn on the beach, run the coastal stashes first and enter Resort at minute six to ten which lets the first PvP wave end before you step inside.

Factory & Interchange: Quick Hits and Power Plays

Treat Interchange power like a signal that attracts rotations and plan to open target rooms then exit immediately rather than running the whole mall.

Factory key logic

1. Carry and use the Factory emergency exit key for survival shortcuts to Cellars/Courtyard after two quick stops.
2. Avoid opening extra doors or forcing Gate 3 when it's camped.
3. Pivot to Cellars, touch one Scav for Search XP, and leave fast.

The Factory emergency exit key opens Cellars and the Courtyard exit and lets you cut third-party chains after you clear office drawers or the med room. Use it to bypass a contested main lane and reset a fight rather than to chase kills.

The second useful Factory key, often labeled for closed areas in the east section, gives you a compact stash of parts and containers near forklifts. Grab what fits, touch one dead Scav for Search XP, and leave.

Interchange power and tech routes

• Safe loop: With power off, run Techlight stairs → Rasmussen balcony → Mantis jackets → OLI PCs → Extract.
• If flipping power: Treat the switch like an alarm, open your target rooms and exit immediately, skip KIBA unless you control both sides.

The route above supports early-wipe GPUs and Powercords without becoming a gun magnet. When you decide to flip power, teams hear the switch and rotate. The play that works is to open what you came for first, then step out to your exit immediately. If you cannot control KIBA with bodies on both sides, leave KIBA for a second loop on a new raid rather than staying in the mall. Players who flip power straight off spawn often get beaten to KIBA by rotating teams, which is why delayed power or no-power tech routes feel safer for solos.

Quick Tarkov Routes by Map

From Keys to Clean Extracts

The best loot in Escape from Tarkov is behind locked doors. Now you know which keys to look for and where to find them on different maps, so you can create your optimal key set and get ready to raid. Choose the map and loot you prefer, and go hunting. Your keys will fund every kit you want to run. Also remember, simplifying your key set to a few proven rooms on one map at a time raises survival and profit more than chasing every possible unlock.

FAQ

Which Customs Dorms keys pay off most consistently for solo?

Dorm 110 and Dorm 114 in two story win for solo players because both hold a safe, they sit close together, and the back entrance that faces the fence avoids the main hallway crossfire. Run them early in the raid or at night, move through the window side, then take ZB-1011 without touching three story unless a task requires it.

What Shoreline East rooms are worth opening early-wipe?

East 222 and East 226 are the best two to start. Each offers a safe with consistent ruble pull and useful barter items. Pair one of them with East 218 if you want med chances. Enter Resort through Admin, open your two rooms, and exit Tunnel instead of crossing to West. This pattern keeps survival above sixty percent while still producing solid money.

How do I plan a safe exit after looting marked rooms?

Treat a marked door like a loud alarm. After you loot, count to three while listening, then rotate away from the building on a line that breaks vision. On Customs that means leaving three story through the outside stairs and cutting behind walls toward RUAF or construction before the lobby collapses on the roof. Do not check extra rooms on your way out. Your profit is already in your bag.

Are utility keys better than loot rooms mid-wipe?

Often yes. Mid wipe lobbies punish long hall holds. A Shortcut key on Customs, the Factory exit key, or business office passes on Streets remove minutes of exposure which is another way to print value. Use loot keys when your spawn and audio are clean. Use utility keys when noise or timing raises your risk.

Where do I find office keys that unlock real value?

Office keys drop from filing cabinets, PC blocks, and jackets in the same office clusters you want to open later. On Customs, the Big Red office and Dorms ground floor jackets are reliable. On Interchange, the back rooms of Goshan and OLI have multiple cabinets in one stop. If you loot those spots with purpose, you will pull the keys you need without relying on market luck.