How to Open Treasure Chests in The Survivalists

The Survivalists is a fantastic and addictive pixel art survival game that I just can’t stop playing (I anticipated this being the case before the game ever came out, and I was certainly not wrong). However, The Survivalists can also be frustratingly vague at times.

For example, there’s an additional step to using the bow and arrows that the game doesn’t tell you about. And trying to figure out how to undo blueprints or demolish structures you’ve built can be an exercise in frustration.

One thing that took me a surprisingly long amount of time to figure out was how to treasure chests. You’ll find these scattered throughout the world in various places, at the ends of dungeons, and as rewards for trading with totems or wiping out orc villages. They are wrapped in chains and secured with a padlock. One might assume you would need a key to open them, right?

In fact, if you watched the game’s launch trailer, you might have noticed a shot where a group of players has key icons appear above their heads while exploring a dungeon.

If you’re anything like me, you saw this and said to yourself, “Hmm, it looks like you can earn keys in dungeons, so that’s probably how you open these chests.” As a result, I ended up letting my treasure chests pile up with nary a key in sight.

Alas, there are no keys. (Well, that’s not technically true. There are keys to getting into the game’s four Labyrinths. However, there are no keys for opening chests, and the “keys” shown in the trailer are just icons that let you know you’ve completed a dungeon chamber and can move onto the next one.)

If you want to open a treasure chest in The Survivalists, all you have to do is bust it open with a weapon or tool. Basically, just about anything you can use as a weapon will work here: a club, a spear, a sword, a pickaxe, even a bow and arrow. Just whack that sucker until it pops open and spills treasure everywhere like a wooden piñata.

It’s such a simple thing, but the game sort of assumes you’ll figure it out on your own and doesn’t take into consideration that its feeding you conflicting visual cues (the padlocks imply there would be keys).

If you’ve been letting your treasure chests pile up, waiting for the glorious day when you start finding keys in the pixelated world of The Survivalists, you’re not alone. I did the same thing myself. However, the only key you need is a good, solid pickaxe. Smash that treasure chest, friend, and scoop up whatever bounties are waiting inside.