Fortnite‘s long winter season has come to a close, and now we’re hip-deep in another of Fortnite’s favorite twists on its battle royale formula: Chapter 6 Season 2 is a new heist season. Like we saw in Chapter 4, the battle royale map is now full of giant vaults you can break into to steal all sorts of high-quality weapons and gadgets–not to mention the new Dill Bit currency that you can use to buy legendary and mythic weapons from new vendors around the island.
But these vaults are different than the ones we kept pillaging in past seasons of Fortnite. There aren’t any keys lying around that you can use to open these things. So how do you open these Fortnite vaults? Read on to find out.
Vault locations in Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2
There are currently four vaults located across the Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 map. Vaults can be found in:
- Lonewolf Lair
- Crime City
- Seaport City
- Masked Meadows
Each of them will spawn in every round, so there’s no element of randomization to worry about. But since the loot inside is so valuable–both in terms of gold and the new Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 weapons, you may be best trying to target whichever is farthest from the Battle Bus’ flight path.
It might be the case that additional vaults show up later this season, and it’s also worth pointing out that armored trucks seen driving around the map in each round are essentially mobile vaults, so the methods we mention below will help you bust those open, too.
How to open vaults in Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 – fastest method
This season, you’ll have to open Fortnite vaults the hard way: breaking those suckers open with thermite explosives that you can find as loot from enemies and chests, or by searching heist duffel bags, which you can typically find all over the place in the named locations where the vaults are.
Once you’ve got your thermite and have found your vault–they have large icons on your mini-map, so the vaults are easy to find–you simply plant the thermite on the door (throwing it near it works too), which starts the lengthy process of burning through the vault door. Doing this will sound an alarm that will spawn a bunch of guard NPCs that you’ll have to fight–and the alarm is sure to also draw in any other players in the area.
As the thermite breaks down the vault door, it will gradually burn through four weak spots that encircle the door’s center–you’ll see those spots glowing red as the thermite does its work. But you don’t have to just wait for it to finish. Instead, you can accelerate the process by placing or throwing additional thermite or shooting the glowing red spots, which will open the door significantly faster.
The best way to do that is by using the new Plasma Burst Laser weapon, which, like other key heist materials, is a possible drop from the nearby duffel bags. If you’re busy with enemies, though, the thermite will eventually open the door without your help. Once you’ve planted the thermite, there’s no turning it off.
The best method, then, is to place the thermite and destroy the weak points as fast as you can while managing the clown car of NPCs who descend to stop you. Ideally, you can also throw down a Pulse Scanner which will repeatedly ping for enemies within its range, including enemy players and NPCs alike.
On top of the stationary vaults and armored trucks, the train now has a vault on it, too–and three automated turrets to defend it. While you’ll need thermite to open this vault too, you don’t actually need to bring your own, because destroying a train turret will drop a stack of three thermite charges that you can use. The train vault opens much quicker than the stationary vaults, but once you blow it up, the train will stop dead in its tracks, and will spawn guard NPCs.
Best team roles for Fortnite heists
Putting it all together, let’s assume you are playing in a team-based mode–you can crack open vaults in solo games, but it will naturally be tougher. Like any good heist movie, you’ll be best to come prepared and assign roles.
- One or more players bring thermite and work on dismantling weak points, ideally with a Plasma Burst Laser.
- One or more players handle NPCs, place a Pulse Scanner, and call out enemy teams.
- Place a Port-A-Cover to give yourself some waist-high walls to hide behind as the firefight kicks off.
- Once the vault is opened, don’t delay. You may have teams waiting to third-party you. Get in, get the goods, and get out of there.
- Have an exit plan. I like to place a (newly unvaulted) launch pad somewhere convenient so I can quickly get out of the chaos zone once I’ve collected my high-end loot and gold. If you don’t have a launch pad, know where the vehicles are before you begin, and consider moving a car, truck, or motorcycle (or two) to a smart location outside the vault building.
Once you’ve gotten into these vaults, you’ll be greeted by several epic chests, a couple of display cases with Dill Bits in them, and a whole lot of gold bars. You can use the Dill Bits to buy very nice weapons from vendors at Black Markets, marked on your map as small shacks, though they also have Epic and Legendary weapons you can buy for gold bars.
