One of the key gameplay loops about extraction shooters is finding keys and opening up "locked spaces". These "locked spaces" are generally rooms or large areas on the map that can serve several purposes, but a few key ones include having rare loot, being required for a mission, or being the location of a high-value target that must be dealt with.
Now within DMZ, it is important to understand what exactly counts as a "locked space". The highly coveted Drifting Supply Bag on Ashika Island is not a locked space, but the Old Lighthouse Citadel Room on Al Mazrah is. This distinction is important, especially for newer operators, but also helps with this list, so an operator of any level knows what keys to keep an eye out for.
Credit to https://dmzmap.net/ for the images.
Al Bagra Underground (Al Mazrah)
Many operators may know Al Bagra as one of the most deadly POIs on the map due to almost exclusively housing tier 3 AI. This is intentional as the AI are defending what might be one of the best places to acquire high-tier loot...the Al Bagra Underground. This area is also required for a mission, so inevitably operators will have to take down this fortress.
Unfortunately due to being housing tier 3 AI, the area isn't recommended to be the place operators use for the "regain round". Even when clearing the area for the required mission, it is highly recommended that operators go in with a full team of 3 for the best chance at survival.
Lost Room 403 (Ashika Island)
Located on the 4th floor of a large office building next to the City Hall from the northern side of the Beach Club, Lost Room 403 is one of the best "locked spaces" on Ashika Island and is also a mission requirement. Due to being a mission requirement, there will likely be some competition when going for the room, but for the team that comes out on top, the reward will be a fully modded weapon, a large amount of cash, killstreaks, and other rare valuables.
The room is also a great place to go for solo operators looking "regain" after a bad round since it's quite close to two spawns. Since there is "soft" mission-based matchmaking in DMZ if the operator isn't on Tier 2 Crown missions there is a good chance this space can be reached without much issue.
Old Lighthouse Citadel Room (Al Mazrah)
The Old Lighthouse Citadel Room can be found only a few feet from the Sarrif Bay Lighthouse spawn on the bottom flower of the lighthouse with an entrance from the main front room and one behind at the stairwell to the lighthouse. Due to it being so close to a spawn, there is a chance other teams that spawn here will open it, but if not what awaits operators is four supply boxes, one wooden supply crate, up to $15000 in cash, high-tier vests/backpacks, and a modded weapon.
Once again the Old Lighthouse Citadel Room is a good place to "regain" with the added bonus that if valuable items are found in the room such as a gold bar or gold skull, those can be immediately sold if a buy station spawns at the Lighthouse.
Tsuki Castle Hideout / Tsuki Castle Weapons Locker (Ashika Island)
Located at the center of the map, the Tsuki Castle hideout houses the weapon case, up to $40000 in cash, a max of six random weapons, six random pieces of equipment, and an assortment of rare items that can be sold or used for missions. The benefit of using the key rather than destroying the Wheelson to gain access to the hideout is that if the door is opened with a key it will not sound the alarm that spawns more AI. Even with this benefit, this is one of the POIs on Ashika Island operators will want to avoid for the "regain" round due to being a hotspot for enemy operators.
If operators also bring the Tuski Castle Weapons Locker key to open the lockers found on the first floor of the castle, at least one locker will be guaranteed to have a GPU. This is currently the only place on Ashika Island where the GPU can be found.
Police Armory / Police Locker (Al Mazrah)
With three different locations for possible use, the Police Armory key might be one of the most useful keys in the entirety of DMZ. There is a slight downside in that players have to match the coordinates on the key to the specific police armory, but that is at most a minor inconvenience. Armories usually contain a few modded weapons, up to $5000 in cash, a max of four random pieces of equipment, and six to eight weapon lockers that contain the "real" loot.
If an operator also has an accompanying Police Academy Locker Master key that matches the coordinates of the Police Armory key it can be used to open up to three lockers inside the room. These lockers will contain up to six fully modded weapons, killstreaks, plate vests, backpacks, and other rare valuables.
City Hall Hideout (Ashika Island)
The City Hall Hideout is located on the southwest region of the map opposite the gas station from the north side of the Beach Club. As one of only two fortresses found on Ashika Island, it isn't uncommon to find operators fighting over who gets to loot the building. Of course, the loot is very much worth any player's time as it includes up to six modded weapons, at most $25000 in cash, and six random pieces of equipment.
The location is also necessary to complete the Tier 1 Crown mission "Whistleblower" so operators should be wary of enemy operators in the area. To help in this situation operators should look to use the UAV tower that has a high chance of spawning on the outside roof of the building.
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