You're standing in the middle of a wasteland, ammo is low, and you know there’s a legendary loot haul just behind a locked door. It’s frustrating. Borderlands 4, or BL4 as the community has already dubbed it, doesn't just hand these things out on a silver platter. If you are looking for all vault key locations bl4, you’ve probably realized that Gearbox changed the formula this time around. It isn't just about killing a boss and grabbing a shiny object anymore. It’s about environment puzzles, hidden verticality, and sometimes, honestly, just being in the right place at the right time during a specific planetary alignment.
The vault keys in this installment are fragmented. They are pieces of a larger puzzle. You don't just find "The Key." You find shards, or you find map coordinates that lead to a hidden stash where a piece is guarded by a mini-boss that doesn't even have a health bar on the main UI. It’s a grind. But the gear inside those vaults? It’s arguably the most "broken" in the best way possible.
The Fragmented Reality of the First Key
The first set of keys you’ll likely go after are on the crag-ridden surface of Eridanos. Most players think they can just follow the main questline and stumble upon them. You can't. Well, you can get one, but the others require you to actually look at the architecture.
Near the "Silent Reach" fast travel point, there is a collapsed spire. Most people drive their Outrunner right past it because it looks like background set dressing. It isn't. If you climb the jagged rocks to the left—and I mean really hug the collision box until you feel like you're going to glitch out—you’ll find a small opening. Inside is the first shard. It’s tucked behind a pile of Eridian rubble that looks like junk.
Why the Second Fragment is a Nightmare
Now, the second piece of this specific key is a total pain. It’s located in the "Sunken Archives." You have to trigger a specific sequence where you drain the coolant from the main reactor. If you don't do this, the floor remains electrified and you literally cannot stand still long enough to interact with the pedestal. I’ve seen streamers try to "lifesteal" their way through the damage. It doesn't work. The damage tick is too high.
Just find the three yellow valves. They are spread across the upper catwalks. Once the floor is dry, the fragment rises from the center console. It’s simple once you know, but maddening if you’re just trying to brute-force the mechanics.
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All Vault Key Locations BL4: The Deep Space Hidden Pieces
Once you leave the first planet, the hunt gets significantly more complex. You’re looking for the "Nebula Shards." These are floating in the debris fields around the Asteroid Belt station. This is where the low-gravity combat comes into play.
The first is inside the "Hollowed Husk." It’s an old freighter cracked in half. You have to use your boost jumps to navigate the interior without hitting the laser grids. If you touch a grid, the container locks for sixty seconds.
The next is held by a rare spawn named "Thrax the Unyielding." He doesn't show up every time. You might have to save-quit a few times to get him to appear in the loading bay. He’s a shield-heavy tank, so bring shock damage or you’ll be there all day.
The final piece of this set is actually a reward for a side mission called "The Ghost in the Machine." A lot of people skip side quests to rush the endgame. Don't do that. You cannot get into the second vault without finishing this specific chain because the NPC gives you the final frequency to tune the key.
Honestly, the way Gearbox hid these is kind of brilliant but also borderline sadistic. You’ve got to pay attention to the audio cues. When you’re near a piece of a vault key, there’s a distinct low-frequency hum. It sounds almost like a broken refrigerator. If you hear that, stop running. Look up. Look under the stairs.
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The Misconception About the "Master Key"
There is a huge rumor going around the forums that there is a "Master Key" that opens everything. Let's clear that up right now: it doesn't exist. There are data miners who found a gold-colored key icon in the files, but that’s for a seasonal event, not the base game vaults. If you see a YouTube thumbnail claiming to show you the "Master Key location," it’s clickbait.
Each vault requires its own unique, reconstructed key. The "all vault key locations bl4" search usually leads people to think there's a single map. There isn't. You are building these keys planet by planet.
The Volcanic Shards of Ignis Prime
Ignis Prime is probably the hardest area to search. The heat depletion mechanic means you can't stay outside for long. One key fragment is located inside the "Magma Chamber." You have to use the cryogenic barrels to create temporary platforms across the lava. If you miss a jump, you’re dead. There’s no "oops" here.
Another fragment is hidden behind a destructible wall in the "Obsidian Mine." Look for the cracks that have a faint purple glow. Use a grenade—specifically a MIRV if you have one—to blast through. The key piece is sitting on a pedestal made of literal bone. It’s creepy, sure, but the shotgun that drops from the vault this key opens is a 10/10 fire-element monster.
Tips for Speeding Up the Hunt
If you’re tired of wandering around aimlessly, there are a few things you can do to make finding all vault key locations bl4 a bit more tolerable.
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- Equip a movement speed class mod. The faster you move, the more ground you cover. Simple math.
- Listen for the "Eridian Ping." It’s a sound effect that triggers when you are within 50 meters of a key shard. Turn your music volume down to 20% and your SFX to 100%.
- Check the skyboxes. Sometimes the "location" is actually a floating platform that only becomes accessible after a specific world event.
- Don't ignore the ECHO logs. A lot of the time, the logs give you a riddle. "Under the shadow of the titan" means the key is literally in the shadow cast by the largest statue in the zone at "noon" in-game time.
The complexity of these locations is a response to the community saying previous games were "too easy." Well, we asked for it. Now we have to actually work for our loot.
The final key, the one that opens the "Vault of the Seventh Star," is the most elusive. It’s not on any map. You have to collect the previous six vault rewards, take them to the Great Arch, and sacrifice a specific amount of Eridium to "forge" the final path. It’s an endgame grind that will take you a dozen hours at least, but the cinematic alone is worth the effort.
Practical Next Steps for the Vault Hunter
Don't try to find everything in one sitting. You'll burn out. The game is massive, and the drop rates for some of the mini-bosses holding shards are low. Start with Eridanos, get those two pieces, and then move to the Belt.
Your immediate checklist:
- Finish the "Ghost in the Machine" side quest immediately.
- Check your inventory for "Incomplete Shards." You might already have one and not realize it.
- Join a Discord community. People are sharing real-time screenshots of the rare spawn locations, which change slightly with every hotfix.
- Make sure you have a reliable cryo weapon for the Ignis Prime platforming; it makes the lava sections trivial.
The vault gear in BL4 is game-changing. We’re talking about shields that reflect 100% of projectiles and pistols that shoot literal mini-black holes. It’s worth the headache. Just keep your eyes peeled and stop fast-traveling over the interesting bits of the map. The keys are rarely where you want them to be, but they are always exactly where they should be.
Check your map for the "Hidden Signals" icon—this was added in the latest patch and it highlights the general search area for key fragments once you've completed the regional story. It’s a massive time-saver. Get out there and start digging through the trash; the universe isn't going to save itself, and it certainly isn't going to give up its best guns for free.