Ready to crack open Fortnite’s most coveted secrets? From the bustling streets of Crime City to the moving train circling the map, vaults in Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 and 3 are treasure troves packed with rare loot and high-tier weapons. But breaking in isn’t just about brute force-you’ll need thermite, teamwork, and a bit of strategy to blast through giant doors and outsmart NPC guards. Whether you’re on mobile, PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, this guide reveals every vault location and the exact steps to open them, turning you from a mere looter into a master heist artist.
The new map has several vaults filled with loot scattered throughout it. Some are located in a specific building, like a bank, whereas a special kind of vault moves around on the train. Breaking into a vault certainly has its risks, but a successful heist will reward you with loot. This season also has mini-vaults that travel around on armored cars.
This guide will show you all vault locations in Fortnite and further explain how to open a vault, including those on trains and armored transports.
All vault locations in Fortnite
Fortnite features multiple vault locations scattered across the map, including major spots like Crime City, Masked Meadows, Seaport City, Lonewolf Lair, and a moving train vault. Additionally, smaller vaults can be found on armored transports. These vaults are filled with valuable loot such as rare chests, gold bars, and other high-tier items. While some vaults are fixed within buildings, others like the train vault are mobile and require players to track them by following train tracks. Accessing these vaults involves using explosives like thermite to breach their doors, which triggers alarms and attracts enemies, making the process challenging but rewarding. The variety of vault locations and their dynamic nature add an exciting heist element to the game, encouraging strategic play to secure the loot inside.
There are five major vault locations in total. They are located in Crime City, Masked Meadows, Seaport City, Lonewolf Lair, and on the train. (Some smaller vaults are also located on armored transports.)
We’ve listed the four static locations on the map above. Note that the train vault location is not marked on the map – it is always moving. To find it, open your map in-game and then look for an icon that looks like a vault combined with a train. It might move, but it’s not that hard to find. You can easily spot it by checking the tracks that loop around the center of the map.
How to open a vault in Fortnite
To open a vault in Fortnite, you need to use an explosive item called Thermite. First, locate one of the five main vaults found in places like Masked Meadows, Seaport City, Crime City, Lonewolf’s Lair, or on the moving train. Once at the vault door, which usually has a large rotating handle, you will be prompted to place the Thermite. Attach the Thermite to the door and wait for it to detonate, breaking the vault open. Be cautious, as triggering the Thermite will set off an alarm that attracts enemy players and NPC guards. For the train vault, you must first disable the turrets on the train before placing Thermite to avoid being destroyed. Inside the vaults, you will find valuable loot such as chests, rare items, and gold bars.
This time around, you won’t be using any fancy keycards to break into a vault. You will have to brute force your way through and use explosives and other means to reach the loot-filled rooms of each bank. Here is how to open a vault in Fortnite:
- Before you attempt your heist, make sure you find and grab an explosive item called thermite.
- Next, go to any one of the vault locations listed above. If it’s in a building, look around until you find a large door that looks like it has a rotating handle on it. You’ll know you found the right spot when the game gives you the option to “Place Thermite.”
- Stick some thermite to the door and wait until it goes off. Be careful, though. Once you set the thermite, it will set off an alarm that could bring other players to you and prompt the NPCs to attack you.
- There are two ways to handle the next step of the process. The first is to wait until the bar at the top fills and the thermite goes off, thus opening the vault. If this feels like it’s taking too long, you can use a Plasma Burst Laser to speed up the process. To do so, use the Plasma Burst Laser to shoot the glowing parts of the door and destroy them. You know it’s working when you see the laser doing damage to the door.
- Once you damage one glowing part of the door, move on to the next and do the same thing. Keep repeating this and it will decrease the amount of time it takes to destroy the door.
- Once you wait long enough – or use the laser to destroy the weak points – the door will explode and you can walk through it. Your heist is done and you can go collect your spoils!
Epic Games said it will be adding another item called the Rocket Drill later on in the season. According to its description, it will have a similar function as the Plasma Burst Laser and will allow players to speed up the process of breaking into a vault.
How to open a vault on a train
To open the vault on the train in Fortnite, you first need to track the moving train on the map since it constantly circles the map and does not stop. Once you catch up to the train, climb aboard and immediately focus on disabling the two turrets on top of the train cars, as they will attack and destroy the thermite needed to breach the vault door. After taking out the turrets, collect the thermite they drop, then proceed to the vault door located on the third car. You must place thermite on the vault door twice to fully open it, waiting for the explosion each time. Be prepared to face hostile NPC guards that spawn once the door is breached while you loot the valuable contents inside.
Opening a vault on a train works a little differently from opening a vault in a building. It’s not all that difficult but can be confusing if you don’t know what to do. Here is how to open one:
- Before you get started, make sure you have guns and ammo to protect you. You will have a tough time breaking into the vault otherwise. Once you have some weapons, start by finding the train on your map. You can do this by looking at the moving icon that looks like a vault combined with a train.
- Once you get to the spot marked by the map, board the train by jumping and climbing on top of it. The moment you climb up, turrets stationed on top of it will start shooting at you. Shoot the turrets to destroy them.
- Once you destroy a turret, walk over to where it was stationed. It will look like a destroyed machine and the game will give you the option to, “Extract the thermite core.”
- After that, we recommend destroying the other turret because it can do a lot of damage. Walk over to it and shoot it until it’s destroyed. You can grab more thermite if you’d like.
- Now head towards the front of the train. Jump from cart to cart until you see a wolf icon in a circle on the top of one of them. Then place some thermite there.
- Wait until the thermite explodes and you have now opened the vault on the train. Note, there are some NPCs in the train cart so be prepared for a fight.
How to find and open an armored transport
To find and open an armored transport in Fortnite, look for one of the three Armored Transports that spawn during the closing of the second circle, with their locations marked on the map and HUD near areas like west of Magic Mosses, Shining Span, and west of Shiny Shafts. These transports are heavily guarded by multiple NPC guards, so it’s best to eliminate all of them before attempting to loot. To open the armored transport’s vault, you need to have Thermite; placing it on the back of the transport will start a progress bar as it melts through the vault door. During this process, be prepared to fight off four waves of additional guards. Once the Thermite finishes, the vault opens, granting access to loot including Epic weapons, healing items, Gold Bars, and a guaranteed random Mythic Enhanced Weapon.
If you want to take on an armored transport vehicle, first, you’ll need to find one – which isn’t a foregone conclusion in our experience.
These cars spawn across the map and you can encounter them in several locations. We spotted them around points of interest like Hopeful Heights, Shining Span, and Outlaw Oasis. In our experience, these vans don’t show up at the beginning of a match but tend to spawn around the halfway point. Each van is marked on the map using a tiny car icon.
- Approach a van with an escort and shoot at the vehicle or one of the NPCs surrounding it. Eliminate NPCs until one drops some thermite. Pick up the thermite.
- Now aim and throw the thermite so it lands on the armored car. It will stick to the side of the vehicle as well, so just make sure you hit some part of it. If the car drives away, you can ride one of the motorbikes that one of the henchmen rides to catch up to the car.
- Wait until the thermite explodes and fight any NPCs that attack you.
- When the thermite explodes, the loot will fall out the backdoor of the armored vehicle and you can collect it.
Want to discover the easiest way to open Fortnite vaults without keys
The easiest way to open Fortnite vaults without keys involves a clever glitch: build a box above the vault, place a boat inside it, then simultaneously press the cone (build) button and drive the boat to glitch inside the vault. To exit, spam the cone and drive buttons again. This method allows you to bypass the usual need for key cards or defeating bosses, but be cautious of nearby henchmen guarding the vault area.
What’s the simplest trick to open Fortnite vaults without keys
The simplest trick to open Fortnite vaults without keys is to use a rideable animal or vehicle to glitch inside. For example, you can build a ramp near the vault, ride an animal or a vehicle like a Choppa or Rogue bike up the ramp, then dismount at the right spot to phase through the vault door and enter without needing a keycard. This method has been shown to work on many vaults and only requires precise positioning and timing, making it a quick workaround to bypass the usual boss fights or keycard hunts.
