How to open The First Descendant Encrypted Vaults

A player opens an Encrypted Vault in The First Descendant in an industrial area

(Image credit: Nexon)

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Finding Vaults
How to open Encrypted Vaults
Farming Code Analyzers
Encrypted Vault rewards

The First Descendant Encrypted Vaults need Code Analyzers to open them up and get their rewards. Missions like Magister's Hidden Assets will direct you to some, but generally finding them is a bit of a search - done through signifiers of small holograms, and then through sounds made by your scanner to home in on the Vault's location.

Below I'll cover everything you need to know about the Encrypted Vaults in The First Descendant, including how to find them, how to farm Code Analyzers to open them, and what rewards are inside the vaults themselves.

Encrypted Vault Locations in The First Descendant

A player finds the green hologram marker that indicates a nearby Encrypted Vault in The First Descendant — (Image credit: Nexon)

You can find Encrypted Vaults in The First Descendant in various locations around the world (we've found a lot in The Sterile Land Classified Area). Here's how to locate them:

Locating Encrypted Vaults begins when you find a small square green hologram (like in the image above).
Turn around, triggering your scanner (R3), while looking in all directions, until you hear a new Pinging sound, like sonar.
This noise indicates there's an Encrypted Vault in that direction. Start travelling that way.
Keep your scanner pinging as you travel and it'll get louder as you get closer. Use it to home in on the exact location.
Check behind walls and in dark corners, and you should find the Encrypted Vault. It looks like a robotic sarcophagus with a face, floating upright, like in the image below.

A player opens an Encrypted Vault in The First Descendant in a grassy area — (Image credit: Nexon)

Once you've found a Vault, you still need to open it, which will require some sort of Code Analyzer. Vaults can be found even if you don't have the Analyzer to open them, so it's worth checking your inventory to see what you have and making sure you have at least one or two of each types before you start vault hunting.

You also don't have to find the green hologram - that just indicates that the Vault is nearby. It's entirely possible to use the scanner unrelatedly, and just happen to hear the telltale "Ping" that means an Encrypted Vault is close.

How to open Encrypted Vaults in The First Descendant

A minigame used to hack Encrypted Vaults open in The First Descendant — (Image credit: Nexon)

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To open an Encrypted Vault you'll need a Code Analyzer, these come in basic, Precision and Ultra-Precision variants. When you approach an Encrypted Vault, it will ask for one of these three Analyzers specifically and only that type will work.

When you choose to input an Analyzer it uses it, removing it from your inventory, and begins a minigame wherein you hack open the Encrypted Vault. A line will spin in a circle - you need to press the button mentioned when you see it enter the highlighted zone.

This timing is very sensitive, and frankly a bit suspect. Aim to get it square in the middle of the highlighted zone when you press it. The whole minigame is timed, and mistiming the input will cause the timer to drop even faster.

If you fail to complete all the inputs before the timer runs out, you lose the hacking minigame and get kicked out - your Analyzer still used up in the process. If you succeed, the vault opens and you get the reward inside.

How to farm Code Analyzers in The First Descendant

A Code Analyzer, an item used to open Encrypted Vaults in The First Descendant — (Image credit: Nexon)

All three kinds of Code Analyzers are found in locations around the game, and are a rare drop from many kinds of missions and miniboss enemies. You'll get them just by playing the game, but if you want to farm Code Analyzers, we suggest playing the mission Anticipated Ambush Point in The Sterile Land over and over, which is easy, simple, quickly unlocked in the campaign, and doesn't take long to do at all.

Encrypted Vault rewards in The First Descendant

A Negative Ion Particle, a rare resource in The First Descendant — (Image credit: Nexon)

The main unique rewards for opening Vaults in The First Descendant are Negative Ion Particles, a rare resource used for researching many of The First Descendant best characters. Opening Vaults can also sometimes tie into optional side quests, like Magister's Hidden Assets.