November 16, 2014Guides,Wizard101
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Wizard101 recently released the Test Realm. Inside was an interesting new feature - Skeleton Keys. These keys, which dropped from the bosses around the Spiral, particularly in the new areas, unlocked rooms with hidden rewards.
All Skeleton Key Bosses:
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Why Skeleton Keys are Significant
There are a lot of games that use a treasure hunt type system that is independent of any quest or activity and is instead an activity you can only participate in if you find a clue or key or whatever else. Wizard101's introduction incentivizes farming as a whole, but particularly of these new locations. Having the keys can be a fun group activity to be enjoyed by a wide range of players of all levels.
What Benefits Do Skeleton Keys Offer? These keys unlocked rooms that currently have one of two things. They could have a boss to fight, and some of them are pretty difficult. Or they could simply have a chest to open. Either way, you get a reward, and while it's a loot roll like everything else, you have the possibility of getting permanent pack mounts and new gear. | How Else Can You Use Them? If you DO use these keys, please invite three other players along.Not only could you win more keys, but you might as well provide as many rewards as possible. If using the keys isn't your thing, though, they make wonderful housing items, and you can actually place them along the walls of your homes as a rare decoration. |
What Types of Keys Are There?
Skeleton Keys come in three types - Wooden, Stone, and Gold. Typically, you'll find and use Wooden Skeleton Keys in the first two new areas - Mooshu and Barkingham Palace. You'll normally find and use Stone Skeleton Keys in the new Krokotopia area. And finally, you'll typically find and use Gold Skeleton Keys in Darkmoor. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some key types are more common than others. Wooden keys are definitely the most common, but, surprisingly, you'll see a lot more Gold keys used than Stone ones, likely because there's a lot of Darkmoor farming going on and not as much in the level 60 dungeons of Krokotopia.
Wooden Key OverviewWooden Skeleton Keys can come from a number of bosses, though the primary spots are the new Mooshu (within Krokotopia) and Marleybone areas. There are twodoors in the Mooshu village, twodoors in Barkingham Palace, andonedoor in the Krokotopia areas. These are the most common key type. |
Stone Key OverviewStone Skeleton Keys can come from wooden or other stone locations. They open only two doors in the Krokotopia areas. One in Lower Zigzag and one in the House of Scales, both of which have a boss fight. For this reason, you'll see more excess stone keys than any other type. |
Gold Key OverviewGold Skeleton Keys are acquired from either stone or other gold locations. They're not too difficult to get, as the first boss in the first dungeon will drop them occasionally. Getting to a door to use them is a different story. There are two doors in Darkmoor, one of which is a boss fight, and one of which is a chest. |
Where to Find Skeleton Keys
The following are sources of the three key types. I've also noted how many battles it takes before you reach them (and including the boss battle). Italicized keys indicate bosses that require a key to access.
| Key Image | Key Source | Battles Required | ||
| Wooden Skeleton Key Drops1.Any chestin a room opened with a wooden key 2.Temple Phantom, end of Shangri-Ba (Wooden Key) 3.Master Tonkatsu, end of the Shangri-Baa dungeon 4.Tsutsui, end of the Pagoda of Harmony dungeon 5.The Woman's Right Hand, State Wing dungeon 6.Dr. Jackall, Rooftop dungeon 7. Billy the Cutter, State Wing dungeon (Wooden Key) | 1. None 2. Four to five 3. Five to six 4. Three 5. Three 6. Three to four 7. Three 8. Two 9. Three 10. Two 11. Three | ||
| Stone Skeleton Key Drops1.Any chestin a room opened with a stone key 2.Bellosh, in the House of Scales stone door (Stone Key) 3.Moh’Lharz, end of the Lower Zigzag dungeon 4.Ammit the Devourer, end of the House of Scales dungeon | 1. None 2. Three 3. Four 4. Six 5. Three 6. Two 7. Five 8. Two 9. Four | ||
| Gold Skeleton Key Drops1. Any chest in a room opened with a golden key 2.Shane von Shane, in the Upper Halls & Graveyard 3.Howling Cheney, first in the Castle Darkmoor dungeon 4.SirBlackwater, in the Castle Darkmoor dungeon | 1. None 2. Two to five 3. One 4. One to two 5. One to four 6. Three 7. One to two | ||
| Unconfirmed Skeleton Key Drops1.Briskbreeze Towerboss drop 2. Lord Blackwater, Castle Darkmoor dungeon | 1. Unknown |
Using the Keys
It's important to understand this: Keys do not open doors forever and you can only use them once. They're like treasure cards; they will be removed from your inventory when you unlock a door. When you do unlock a door, everyone in your dungeon will have access to the room. No one can teleport into these dungeons, so make sure you have everyone you want before you start.
Once you use your key, it's gone.When you exit your dungeon, the door will re-lock and you can use another key to open it for another chance at loot later on. If you die, you can still return within your 30-minute window or via Dungeon Recall.
Where to Use Keys: Rare Loot and Bosses Inside
So, where do you use these fancy keys? There are currently nine locations to choose from, with five requiring wooden keys, two requiring stone keys, and two requiring gold keys. Some locations only contain chests, but some contain enemies and bosses that you'll want to prepare for.
Note: What is inside these doors can vary. The minions can be different, and it appears that even boss health can change. I fought Bellosh twice, both times with two max-level wizards, and at one point, he had 32,000 health, and then the second time, he had 8,000 health.
Here's a collection of all of the locations and some of the drops you can receive from the bosses or chests there.
Wooden Skeleton Key Door Locations and Rewards
Notable drops are italicized or and/or pictured.
Pagoda of Harmony (Click to Show/Hide)
Hollow Mountain (Click to Show/Hide)
State Wing (Click to Show/Hide)
Main Hall (Click to Show/Hide)
Lower Zigzag (Click to Show/Hide)
Stone Skeleton Key Door Locations and Rewards
Lower Zigzag (Click to Show/Hide)
House of Scales (Click to Show/Hide)
Gold Skeleton Key Door Locations and Rewards
Castle Darkmoor (Click to Show/Hide)
Upper Halls (Click to Show/Hide)
Tips, Tricks, and Reminders
Don't forget these things when dealing with skeleton keys:
- If you die while fighting a cheating boss, you can return and try again with your group as long as that instance is still open.
- When you use a key, everyone in the dungeon has access to that room for that dungeon only.
- You can only use each key once, but you can visit the same room as many times as you want with different keys.
- Once a dungeon closes, you can no longer enter the room without another key.
- Oftentimes, bosses at the end of instances drop keys. If you've had to do a lot of the instance to get to a room, go ahead and finish it.
- Don't forget to bring as many people along as possible. That's more chances to get another key, and if you shared with them, chances are they'd share with you.
- In Darkmoor, the gargoyle "mobs" are not part of the quest. They have a battle pull trigger, but it only activates once. Like in the Malistaire dungeon, have someone go in to use up the trigger, then the rest can sneak around. The person in the battle can then flee and return and walk around with no issues.
- If you are looking for Wooden Skeleton Keys, my number one recommendation for farming is the Pagoda of Harmony. It's the shortest to your boss.
- Don't forget that no one can teleport into dungeons, so bring everyone you want or need at the beginning.
Under Lock and Key
What other rewards might await us behind these doors? What would you like to see these bosses drop? Have you received anything notable?
Help is always appreciated! Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral! Thanks to the following for pictures or running bosses with me: Flash33, Iridian Willowglen, Johnny, Calamity, Paige Moonshade, Harmony Everheart, Amber Firesword, Sophia Soulcatcher, Blaze, Duncan Stormthief, Shadowblade, and Lucas Silver.
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