Match the key to the door
Use a Small Key for matching small locks, the Iron Key for the door beside the Jaguar corridor, and the Prison Key for the inner prison. The Jaguar Door needs three separately forged Key Pieces and opens into the Silver Dagger chamber.
Read the door's request before returning to camp or gathering materials. The Iron Key route leads to the chest containing the Prison Key, so start there when the prison entrance is blocking you. Sun and Moon Stone Coins belong to water-statue mechanisms; keep them separate from your search for an ordinary door key.
Key locations and matching doors
| Key | Matching door or outcome | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Small Key | Opens matching small locked doors encountered early in the dungeon. | Collect early pickups along the opening and scorpion-area routes. |
| Iron Key | Opens the door beside the Jaguar corridor, giving access to the area containing the Prison Key chest. | Cast its mold at the large forge using 5 Coal and 8 Scrap Metal. |
| Prison Key | Opens the Prison Door into the inner prison. | Loot the chest in the skeleton-guarded room beyond the Iron Key door. |
| Jaguar Key: three Key Pieces | Opens the Jaguar Door to the chamber containing the Silver Dagger. | Cast each piece separately from its own mold at the large forge. Each cast requires 5 Coal and 8 Scrap Metal. |
Find an early Small Key
For the opening key, climb the pillar to the left of camp and look beneath the broken pillar. Small Keys also appear along the early scorpion-area route. Match the pickup to a small-key lock before moving on to the forge route.
If your current goal is the Jaguar Door, leave the Small Key search behind and gather the Key Piece molds. If you need the Prison Key, work toward the Iron Key door instead. These are different progression routes, so choosing the correct destination saves an unnecessary return trip.
Prepare for the lower forge
Gather Coal and Scrap Metal, then carry the relevant mold to the large forge. The molds are objects you physically carry, so plan your return around bringing them back. The Prison Key comes from its chest beyond the Iron Key area; do not wait for a Prison Key recipe at the Workbench.
Forge the Iron Key and collect the Prison Key
- From the main room, take the staircase leading to the metal bars and break them with the Hammer. Enter the room beyond, go left, and pass through the ceiling opening to reach the smelter.
- Carry the Iron Key mold to the large forge. Make sure you have the mold for the Iron Key before supplying materials for that cast.
Supply 5 Coal and 8 Scrap Metal, place the mold, and pull the forge's lever. Collect the Iron Key before returning to the locked door.Playing this video connects to YouTube.
Use the Iron Key on the door beside the Jaguar corridor. Search the skeleton-guarded room beyond it and take the Prison Key from the chest.Playing this video connects to YouTube.
- Return to the Prison Door with the Prison Key and use it to enter the inner prison. Keep the Jaguar Key Piece search as a separate objective if that door is also on your route.
Cast the Jaguar Key Pieces
- Collect the three different Key Piece molds. Each piece has its own mold and must be cast at the large forge.
- Use the three Key Pieces at the Jaguar Door to open the chamber. Inside, collect the Silver Dagger from its altar.
Check whether the obstacle needs a key
- Rusty metal bars need the Hammer. Stop searching for a key when the barrier itself is a breakable metal fence.
- Broken prison levers need Iron Rods, while the counterweight Mechanism needs Chains. If it displays “Bring Chains to Fix it”, bring the repair material before trying the levers again.
- Spider webs need torch damage. Carry a lit Torch in your right hand to burn them rather than treating the blocked passage as another key lock.
- Water statues use Sun and Moon Stone Coins. Save your Small Key, Iron Key and Prison Key for their matching doors.
Check your keys after a death
Small Keys, Iron Keys, Prison Keys and Key Pieces stay with you after death. Check your inventory before repeating a key route. A Backpack also stays on the player after death, while items that are not kept go into a death pack.