Where to use a Copper Key in Palworld

In your travels throughout the lands of Palworld, you may have stumbled on a Copper Key but cannot figure out how or where to use it. But you shouldn’t be surprised that, yes, the key does unlock something special — but it must be found first.

Copper Keys are uncommon-ranked (green) items in Palworld. They’re not quite as prevalent as Paldium Fragments, but you can find them as drops after defeating enemies or in one of the random chests that litter the in-game world. I managed to find three keys before actually figuring out what to even do with them.

A Copper Key can be used to unlock a certain chest in Palworld

You can use a Copper Key on a red chest in Palworld. Most chests I’ve stumbled across can be opened without keys, but the one that requires a Copper Key glows with a striking red aura. The light they emit makes them stand out pretty easily even across distances. I could see the one below from practically halfway across the area I was in.

If you find a red chest in Palworld, approach it and see if it requires a Copper Key to open. The chest I found only needed one, which was destroyed on use. Opening the chest, I received:

• 57 Gold Coins
• 14 Arrows
• Tundra Outfit Schematic 2 x 1

Beyond the coins and arrows, the chest awarded me with a rare-ranked outfit schematic. From what I can gather so far, red chests contain gear schematics and some random goodies. I found a second red chest later, and it also contained a schematic — this time for an Uncommon Feathered Hair Band. It’s not a guarantee that each red chest will award you with a rare item, but you could get lucky.

The first schematic, when used at a Primitive Workbench, allowed me to craft a Tundra Outfit without needing to unlock it in the ‘Technology’ tab first:

Can Copper Keys be used elsewhere?

So far, the red chest is the only thing I found in Palworld that uses Copper Keys. I will, of course, keep searching my world in the hunt for more sweet, sweet gear.