You’re Probably Missing Fortnite Chapter 6’s Best Vaults – Here’s Where the Keys Really Are

Why Vaults Decide Chapter 6 Games

Vaults in Fortnite Chapter 6 are jackpot rooms: concentrated high-rarity chests, gold, and usually a standout weapon. Cracking one feels like looting two or three POIs in a fraction of the time, which is why strong lobbies treat vaults as win conditions, not side quests. The catch is that Season 1 and Season 2 open vaults in completely different ways, and most players burn a whole match figuring that out the hard way.

The short version

• Season 1: Bring a Sprite to the NPC Bushranger at night to get a Vault Key, then open the vault in the centre of Nightshift Forest.
• Season 2: There is no key item. You blow bank vaults open with Thermite, and a Plasma Burst Laser speeds up the breach.
• The reward: Season 2 vaults pay out Dill Bits, the currency you spend at Black Markets for Mythic and Legendary endgame weapons.
• Bank vaults are guarded: NPC guards and alarms come with the territory, so clear the floor before you commit to the door.

The rest of this guide is concrete routes: where to land, what to grab first, and how to avoid getting third-partied while a door is opening.

Season 1 — Getting a Real Vault Key (Sprite → Bushranger)

In Season 1 the true Vault Key comes from a short quest involving a Sprite and the Bushranger NPC. Run it cleanly and you can go from the Battle Bus to a fully looted Nightshift vault in a few minutes.

Step 1 — Grab a Sprite

Sprites are found randomly across the island and at Sprite Shrines (they also drive extraction and leveling — see our guide to using Sprites). There is no single guaranteed shrine to camp and no fixed count per shrine, so treat the first Sprite you see as the one that matters and grab it.

Practical notes:

• Land on a weapon first, even a grey AR or SMG, then go for the Sprite. You do not want to be unarmed if another squad drops with you.
• Sprites are fragile and a stray bullet can delete one, so avoid firing near a Sprite once you are carrying it.

Goal: have a Sprite in your inventory in the opening seconds of the match.

Step 2 — Trade the Sprite to Bushranger (at night)

Take the Sprite to Nightshift Forest, on the central-western edge of the island. Bushranger spawns at one of three Tanuki Statue locations — the southern, north-western, or north-eastern part of the forest — and which one is random every match, so check all three if the first is empty.

The key mechanic most first attempts miss: you have to wait until it is night in the match to trade. Bring the Sprite to Bushranger at night and he hands over the Vault Key in exchange. There is no RNG roll on the trade itself.

Tip: drop the Vault Key in a consistent hotbar slot so you are not fumbling for it under third-party pressure.

Step 3 — Open the Nightshift Forest Vault

The Season 1 vault sits almost dead-centre in Nightshift Forest. Using the key is simple:

• Equip the Vault Key.
• Walk up to the vault door until the interaction prompt appears.
• Press the interact button to open it.

Expect multiple rare and epic chests, ammo, healing, and usually at least one standout weapon. If the bus path favours the south-west, Magic Mosses is also a Sprite-linked location worth a detour, with a secret vault you can reach by carrying a Sprite into its cave system.

Season 2 — Thermite Bank Vaults (the “new keys”)

By Season 2 the Vault Key is gone. Big bank vaults are opened by blowing them up with Thermite. The loop is the same — find the item, bring it to the vault, defend yourself while it opens — but the NPC guards and alarms make the details matter.

Where to find Thermite

Thermite is loot: you pull it from chests and bank guards, and it turns up in duffel bags around bank POIs. Loot a quick circuit rather than betting on a single bag, and grab at least two charges before you commit to a bank push so one missed throw does not end the run.

The Season 2 bank vaults are at:

• Crime City: bank in the south-eastern part of the area.
• Masked Meadows: bank in the south-west — a quieter rural option, easier to control as a duo.
• Seaport City: bank in the north-west corner; loot-dense but heavily contested.
• Lonewolf Lair: in the basement of the large mansion — isolated and good for safer farming.
• Train Vault: a moving POI. Open your map to find the train, and note it works differently from the others (see below).

How to open a bank vault with Thermite

• Step 1 — Clear the floor. Bank vaults come with NPC guards plus any players who landed with you. Clearing the lobby first drastically lowers the odds of getting beamed while you stare at the door.
• Step 2 — Plant the Thermite. Stand close to the vault door and place the charge on it. Blowing the door is the only way in.
• Step 3 — Speed it up with a Plasma Burst Laser. The Plasma Burst Laser, lootable from nearby duffel bags, chews through the vault faster than waiting on Thermite alone.
• Step 4 — Hold your angles. The breach is loud and pulls in reinforcements and rotating squads. In a squad, post teammates on roofs and windows while the door opens.

Inside, expect epic-level chests, gold, and Dill Bits — the currency you carry to a Black Market and spend on Mythic and Legendary endgame weapons. If you are low on health, grab the high-value pulls (weapons, mobility, Dill Bits, gold) and rotate rather than stripping the room bare with a team inbound.

The Train Vault is different

The Train Vault has its own wrinkle: the train is defended by turrets that will destroy your Thermite before it detonates. Disable the turrets first — they each drop Thermite when they go down, so clearing them also stocks you up for the breach.

Timing, rotations, and not dying in a doorway

Opening a vault is half the job; surviving with the loot is the other half. A few rules of thumb:

• Run Season 1 vaults early. The Sprite-and-Bushranger route is strongest in the first circle while the lobby is still scattered — just remember the trade only works at night.
• Hit Season 2 bank vaults mid-game. Crime City or Seaport are easier around circle 2 or 3, once the opening-fight sweat has thinned out. (How aggressively you can do this also depends on the mode — Zero Build’s recent rules rewrite changes the math.)
• Assign squad roles. One player carries the Sprite or Thermite, one or two hold high ground for overwatch, and someone floats to resupply and finish NPCs.
• Use the alarm as bait. Trigger a bank breach, then post up — rotating squads that assume you are stuck in the animation walk straight into your angles.

Common mistakes

• Trading the Sprite during the day. Bushranger only hands over the Vault Key at night. Show up early and you will stand there with nothing to do.
• Chasing one “perfect” shrine. Sprites spawn randomly and at shrines with no fixed count — take the first one you find instead of running the map.
• Pushing a bank with a single Thermite. One interrupted throw and the run is dead. Carry two, and grab a Plasma Burst Laser to cut the breach time.
• Throwing Thermite at the Train Vault before killing the turrets. They will blow up your charge first — clear them, collect the Thermite they drop, then breach.
• Over-looting after the alarm. The breach is audible across the POI. Take the weapons, mobility, Dill Bits and gold, then rotate.

Practical takeaway

Two systems, two plans. In Season 1, grab a Sprite, find Bushranger at one of the three Tanuki Statues in Nightshift Forest, trade at night for the Vault Key, and open the central vault. In Season 2, loot Thermite (and a Plasma Burst Laser) on the way into Crime City, Masked Meadows, Seaport City, Lonewolf Lair or the Train Vault, clear the guards, blow the door, and cash the Dill Bits at a Black Market. Treat every vault as a planned power spike, not a loot piñata, and your endgames change shape fast.