You'll find a lot of chained doors in Cronos before you know how to open them. That's because the bolt cutters you need are a big early objective in The New Dawn, and until you reach them you won't be able to open any of the chained doors. It won't take too long, although you should expect a few big fights along the way. So here is what's involved and when you'll eventually get the bolt cutters in Cronos.
Where to find the bolt cutters in Cronos
While you pass several chained doors in Cronos, you won't be able to start your search for the bolt cutters until you find this chained elevator, around an hour or two into the game. At this point, with an objective to search the building and 'head to the dive point', getting the bolt cutters will now be your main goal - so that you can then get into the elevator and use it to reach the higher levels of the building.
By now, if you explored the area around the entrance to the building, you might have seen the bolt cutters through the window of this tool shop:
However, to get them you'll need to stay on track with the current objective back in the building with the lift. There's a lot of fighting and some tougher enemies ahead, so check in on my Cronos tips for a guide on combat, dealing with the acid polyps you'll encounter, and more.
The progress at this point is basically linear: work your way up the building. You'll have to deal with a few enemies and various exploding acid things until, ultimately, you'll reach some biomass blocking your way. You'll be able to shoot some fuel visible through a nearby hole in the wall to burn it away.
Eventually you'll reach a room with a doorway blocked by a fallen cabinet, which you can move to get inside. The room is full of biomass and feels like a trap... and it is - you'll be attacked by acid creatures as soon as you enter, but they're slow and easy to deal with. Pick them off one by one, and save the fuel you can see in the middle of the room as you'll need it later.
Use the balcony to get to an adjacent room, where you'll find the key for the Jedrus tool store:
Pick the key up and you'll be attacked when you re-enter the previous room, and you'll probably be glad you saved the fuel... With those enemies defeated, head down and then out of the building but be ready - from this point it's just a constant, ongoing assault until you reach the bolt cutters.
When you reach the little plaza area with the dead trees outside the building, you'll be attacked by an acid spitter on the steps. Take that out before you go any further, as when you enter the plaza you'll be attacked by several enemies of different levels. Just take it slow and try to stop them merging. Lead them around the various fuel cans and take your time until they're all gone - you'll have to come back this way, so you might as well deal with them now.
Once they're gone, you can finally use the key to get into the tool shop, via the locked door inside the building. Once you're in, you'll need to look through a window to shoot some fuel and burn away the biomass blocking the door to a small office. Doing that will, however, release a heavy enemy. Sigh. Kite him around the shelves in the middle of the room and take shots until he's done.
With the brute Orphan dead, you'll (finally) be able to grab the bolt cutters in Cronos.
You can now open all the chained doors you've been seeing. The game will lead you back though some previously explored areas as well, so you don't have to worry about going back out of your way to find them. The only downside is that the cutters take up one of your valuable inventory slots. It's worth keeping them to hand though, as the rooms they open are full of useful things and you'll only kick yourself if you can't access them.
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