Apex Legends vault locations: how to open vaults in Apex Legends season 3

(Image credit: Respawn Entertainment)

Apex Legends vaults are a feature of the new World’s Edge map, and they're a treasure trove of juicy loot. If you’re anything like me you’re eager to kick the door in and start vacuuming up piles of gold and purple goodies. Now that they’re accessible, there is the potential for a huge power swing for any team lucky enough to grab themselves a key during a round.

Here I am breaking down what we know about the vaults, including their locations and how to open them with Apex Legends vault keys. That's not all, however: these loot paradises will prove a bit of choke point, so I'm also going to go into how to escape with your freshly-plundered gear, and the best Legends to choose.

Apex Legends vault locations

As pictured below (courtesy of OpTechTV), there isn’t just one loot vault, but three. Two are located nearer to the middle of the map close to the Train Yard and Geyser respectively, with a third to the southeast near Lava city.

In all cases, the loot vaults are locked behind golden double doors with glowing orange locks. They're all buried underground in the small tunnel sections of World’s Edge, too, populated only with small amounts of supply bins and weapon spawns. These tunnels and rooms are excellent places to camp: whether you’re passing through or looking to use your shiny new loot vault key, it’s wise to proceed carefully.

Your best bet to get in safely is to bring Crypto, who can scout the area with his drone pal before heading in. Equally, take Bloodhound: they can check for recent signs of movement and scan to check for potential ambushes. Wraith can also be useful to portal in and out.

No matter whom choose, avoid lingering near the vaults, they’re certain to become hot spots once keys start appearing.

How to open Apex Legends vaults

To open a vault, you need a key. Cargo drones are the flying bots to look out for if you're hunting for these. However, you don't just want any old drone: the ones with red panels on are the ones you're looking for, although this can be tough to see from a distance. Getting a key isn't guaranteed and we don't know specific drop rates yet, though.

If you're lucky enough to get a Apex Legends key, the hey-holder in your team will see each of the three vault locations appear on their map. When you get to the vault entrance, note that it will take a few seconds to open, so stay vigilant for riving Legends lurking in the shadows. Typically there isn't enough to kit out a full team, so be nice and share, ok?

Sarah is a contributor for PC Gamer, formerly of TechRadar Gaming. With five years of experience writing freelance for several publications, she's covered every genre imaginable and probably a few she made up. She has a passion for diversity and the way different genres can be sandboxes for creativity and emergent storytelling, and loves worldbuilding. With thousands of hours in League of Legends, Overwatch, Minecraft, and countless survival, strategy, roguelike, and RPG entries, she still finds time for offline hobbies like tabletop RPGs, wargaming, miniatures painting, and hockey.