Quick Links
For several updates, the developers of The Planet Crafter have offered tantalizing hints that the player (and even other terraformers) aren't the first inhabitants of the planet. Now that the game is complete, you can discover the full story of the Wardens, but only if you can track down all the Warden Keys.
The first key is easy enough to find thanks to an obvious location and an email. However, as players explore the Warden ruins throughout The Planet Crafter, these keys become increasingly hard to spot. That's why this guide will show players where to find every last Warden's Key without spoiling too much about what these ruins hide.
Updated April 17, 2024, by Chris Drumm: This guide has been updated to include information on where to find the Hidden Warden Keys in The Planet Crafter. Videos showing other Warden Key locations have also been added to make life easier for players.
The Planet Crafter: Recycling Machine Guide
The Recycling Machine is the only way in The Planet Crafter to get back materials you have used to make things like microchips or packs.
The Mushroom River Ruin Warden Keys
Somewhere around the Insect terraformation stage, the player will get a transmission from Riley that asks them to go to the coordinates -248:42:93. You can see your current coordinates in the lower-left corner of the HUD, and if you go to the location indicated you'll find yourself in the Meteor Field looking at one of the entrances to the Mushroom River cavern. One of the fastest ways to get there from the standard start location is through the iridium-osmium cave in the Broken Spires region.
You should also see a white waypoint that will lead you to the first of the Warden's Keys inside the cave. If this waypoint doesn't trigger for some reason, the Warden's Key is right beneath the biggest mushroom at -217:-45:490.
The Warden's Key sits on a plinth, and written on the plinth is another set of coordinates: -464:-40:97. These point to another location in the Mushroom River where you should find a Warden's Altar. By placing the key on the altar, a nearby door will open.
Players who go through the door will enter a room filled with pillars. There are stone tablets with messages on the left and right sides of the room and two exits on the far wall. The right exit has something remarkable at the end, and the left exit has a new Warden's Key with a new set of coordinates: 964:68:1744.
Something important to note is that the jetpack doesn't work inside Warden ruins, and it's impossible to craft machines or buildings in most of these locations. This means crafting materials are best left outside, and players should stock up on air, water, and food before exploring.
The Planet Crafter: DNA Manipulator Guide
In order to get trees, you will need a DNA Manipulator in the Planet Crafter, and that is a fairly late-game machine to build and use.
The Ancient City Warden Keys
The newest set of coordinates point to the super alloy cave near the Highlands biome, specifically to the strange door in the back. Placing the first ruin's Warden's Key here will open the door to a tunnel that leads deep underground.
Take the first left to find the new ruin's first Warden's Key. This plinth has no coordinates on it, but that's because you'll need to find three keys for the next altar. The right path goes across a bridge and into a massive open space with a second Warden's Key at its center.
At this point, you should enter the building on the left and then take the left exit from the first room. You should enter a room with a wooden ramp that goes up, and at the top are two more ramps. One leads to another message, and the other leads to a golden crate.
Once you're back outside, head to the building on the right and use the stairs and wooden ramps to climb to the roof. From there, a wooden walkway leads to a fork. The right hallway has an interesting sight at the far end, and the left walkway goes up to a spire with a message inside. On the other side of the spire is another wooden walkway that leads to the left building's roof.
The third Warden's Key and the last set of coordinates (1565:109:2500) are on this roof. You should be careful on the walkways since the jetpack won't cushion any falls, but jumping down from the last key's location won't cause fall damage.
The Planet Crafter: Where to Find Obsidian
The Volcanic Update added a volcanic zone to The Planet Crafter, and with it a new resource: obsidian.
The Lost Paradise Warden Keys
The last of the Warden ruins is at the north end of the Highlands, and you may have spotted the altar that opens the way if you explored the area thoroughly. Once you insert all three keys, a massive piece of the stone wall to the north will descend.
You can explore the first two ruins early on in The Planet Crafter, but a big block of ice blocks the entrance to the third ruin, and it only melts at 2 GTi. This milestone is about when Riley's message arrives, so you should be good to go if that's what started your exploration.
Fortunately, the ruin is worth the wait. Players who reach it earn the achievement "Ancient Paradise," and it lives up to the name. Serena butterfly larvae appear here at random, and a few Golden butterfly larvae are inside the ruin's inner sanctum. Also, you can build freely in the Ancient Paradise, though the jetpack still doesn't work.
There's just one final hurdle: you need five more keys to open the door to the inner sanctum. You won't have to go far, because they're scattered throughout the ruin. To find them:
- Head down the stairs from the Warden's Altar, walk straight past the monolith, and find the first key next to the stream.
- Stand next to the monolith and look left of the stairs to spot the second key on the lowest level near a wooden ramp.
- Look to the right of the stairs to find another wooden ramp. Climb it to the second level and look in the far corner to get the third key.
- Go past the third key and around another corner to see yet another wooden ramp that leads to a much higher level. Walk along this level, climb a wooden ramp, and then climb a vine to reach a spot just above the water wheel. The fourth key is here.
- Return to the monolith and look directly east. Another set of ramps starts here and ends next to the blue dome. This is where the fifth key hides.
Once players place all five Warden's Keys in the altar, the door to the inner sanctum will open. At the far end of the tunnel is a beautiful dome full of butterflies and trees with one more message from the Wardens and two golden chests full of goodies.
The Planet Crafter: How to Use Drones
With the Fish and Drones update, players can build drones and automatically fill their lockers with resources gathered from across the map.
The Cenote Ruin
West of the Meteor Crater biome is a giant sinkhole full of water, something called a cenote (seh-NO-tay). A giant ice plug will prevent you from descending, but this plug starts to melt when the planet reaches 32 GTi.
Once the ice melts, you can descend a natural ramp to reach the water, or you can jump straight down. Either way, look west once you reach the water to find a tunnel. It's hidden behind some vines, but it's there. Reach the end of the cave to discover a second completely submerged sinkhole.
Before you go any further, make sure you have at least one Oxygen Capsule with you. You may have reached the Breathable Atmosphere stage when you hit 32 GTi, but your oxygen bar still depletes when you're underwater. Exploring the tunnels will take time, very possibly more time than an Oxygen Tank T4 can handle.
There are two tunnels at the base of the underwater sinkhole. The one to the south contains a golden crate, and the one to the north leads to a flooded terraformer's platform. You can explore the platform to find resources and a message, but be sure to keep track of your oxygen.
Keep going north from the platform to find a small Warden ruin surrounded by osmium. You can't mine the osmium here, but you can read the tablet. Head further north to find a giant staircase, and eventually you'll climb back out of the water. At the center of the cenote ruin, you'll find one last tablet and a small golden crate with a special blueprint.
If you decode this blueprint, you'll be able to craft the Warden Key Detector at the Advanced Craft Station. You'll need the rare Solar Quartz to make it, though. Equip the detector to uncover the last 10 Warden's Keys and access the Warden ending to The Planet Crafter.
The Planet Crafter: Where to Use the Fusion Cell
The fusion cell is one of the last items unlocked in the current version of the game. But it's not at all obvious what makes this item so valuable.
Where to Find the Hidden Warden Keys in The Planet Crafter
So long as the Warden Key Detector is in one of your equipment slots, you can find and collect the ten hidden Warden's Keys. Each one is in a golden altar that shimmers into existence once you get close enough. All ten of them are in places you've probably visited before, and none of them are underwater. Here's where to look:
Coordinates | Location Description |
|---|---|
1588:51:565 | Next to the shipwreck in the Labyrinth Canyons biome |
1536:22:2216 | In the central Highlands area, to the west but not on the rocks |
1892:75:263 | On a plateau in the Grand Rift, use vines to reach it |
1433:74:-761 | Directly below the fallen stargate in the Gate Desert |
1254:17:246 | On the Central Plateau between the Labyrinth Canyons and the Aluminum Hills |
713:68:1714 | Below the Sand Falls |
-927:88:-630 | West of the shipwreck in the Volcanoes |
-1437:118:554 | On a hill next to the wreck between the Waterfall and the Southern Ocean |
-1329:91:1321 | On the large western island in the Southern Ocean |
-384:28:1493 | On the island in the middle of the Meteor Crater |
Once you have all ten Warden Keys, you'll be able to access the Warden ending of The Planet Crafter. You'll still need to complete the terraformation process, but you'll have options once you do.
The Planet Crafter
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- April 10, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Miju Games
- Genre(s)
- Open-World , Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 19 Hours
