As was the case with its predecessor, The Division 2’s Dark Zone is no joke. This endgame-focused area contains some great loot, but you’ll need to fight both NPC enemies and fellow players for it. The best loot offered in the Dark Zone is found in special Dark Zone Chests. To open those chests, you’ll need Dark Zone Keys, and there’s a number of ways to get them.
How to Find Dark Zone Keys in The Division 2
The main method for finding Dark Zone Keys is by slaying Elite tier enemies in the Dark Zone itself. If you’ve been playing a lot of The Division 2, you’re likely familiar with Elite enemies already. Elite enemies are tougher than standard foot-soldiers, have a yellow health bar, and sport unique names.
In the Dark Zone, Elite enemies are most often found near faction compounds, though they patrol certain spots as well. Whenever you kill an Elite enemy in the Dark Zone, they have a chance of dropping a Dark Zone Key.
Killing Other Players
If hunting and killing Elite enemies feels like too much work, you can also just kill other players. Dark Zone Keys are one type of loot players can drop when killed in the Dark Zone. One nefarious tactic you can use is letting other players do the hard work of killing Elite enemies. Once they’re done (and have likely exhausted their resources), you can finish them off and take whatever loot they had.
Manual Bypass
One final note is that Dark Zone Keys aren’t technically required to open Dark Zone Chests. If you don’t have a key, you can manually pick the chest’s lock. However, doing so is considered a rogue action and thus puts a noticeable target on your back. You should only use this method if absolutely necessary since it makes extracting your loot all the harder. Worse, if you die while in rogue status, you lose a sizeable portion of Dark Zone XP.
For more on The Division 2, be sure to read our guide on how to create a clan. We also covered how to claim The Division Shield and beta-exclusive rewards.