How to Get Raider Hatch Keys in ARC Raiders: Shani, Crafting Recipe and Best Loot Spots

Every ARC Raiders player knows the feeling: a backpack full of good loot, a squad of strangers camping the last open Cargo Elevator, and nowhere safe to go. That's what the Raider Hatch Key solves. It opens one of the small Raider Hatches scattered across the maps and gets you back to Speranza without the crowd an elevator draws.

This guide is up to date for Live Update 2.3.0 (October 27, 2026) and the hotfixes that followed, including Hotfix 2.4.1 on November 5. Neither touched hatch keys, so the methods below still work.

Quick answer

Requirements

• Player level 12 to see the key in Shani's shop.
• A level 2 Utility Station in your Workshop to craft it. The upgrade costs 50 Plastic Parts and 6 ARC Alloy.
• Crafting materials: one Advanced Electrical Components and three Sensors per key.
• A Safe Pocket slot is not required, but it's the best place to carry the key.

Method 1: Buy one from Shani

1. Reach player level 12. The key doesn't show up in Shani's stock before then.
2. Visit Shani in Speranza. She's the Security Trader.
3. Pay 9,000 coins. Her stock is small and refreshes on a daily timer, so you can't buy a big pile at once.
4. Check back every day if you want a steady supply without crafting.

This is the most reliable method, but also the most expensive. Early on, 9,000 coins is a big slice of your budget, and you need coins to rebuild a loadout after a bad raid.

Method 2: Craft keys at the Utility Station

1. Upgrade the Utility Station to level 2. Bring 50 Plastic Parts and 6 ARC Alloy to the Workshop.
2. Collect three Sensors. They're a Topside material, so grab every one you see while looting.
3. Get one Advanced Electrical Components. It's a refined material and the scarcer of the two ingredients, so hold on to any you find.
4. Craft the key at the Utility Station. One set of materials makes one key.

Crafting is the cheapest long-term option. A key sells for only a fraction of what Shani charges, so it's far better to use them than to sell them.

Method 3: Finish Hatch Repairs

Hatch Repairs is a quest from Shani. It sends you to repair leaking hydraulic pipes next to a Raider Hatch, so pick a map where you know where a hatch is and head straight there.

Hand the quest in to Shani for a Raider Hatch Key and Binoculars. It's a free key, and it doubles as a safe way to learn how hatches work.

Method 4: Find keys Topside

Hatch keys are a rare drop, but they do appear in raids:

1. Search Residential areas. Houses and apartments are the most commonly named hot spots.
2. Open Raider Caches. These hidden stashes, including the buried ones, can hold a key.
3. Loot downed Raiders. Other players sometimes carry a key, and you get whatever they had on them.

Don't plan around this method. Treat any key you find as a bonus.

How to use a hatch

Raider Hatches show up on your map as a down arrow pointing into a semicircle. Walk up to one, make sure no ARC is chasing you, and interact to insert the key. The hatch opens for a short window, then you interact again to drop down and extract to Speranza. The key is used up. Hatches don't sound an alarm, so you leave without announcing your position to the whole area.

Tips

• Keep the key in your Safe Pocket. If you go down before you reach a hatch, you keep it.
• Use it when it counts. A key is worth spending when your loot or loadout is worth more than 9,000 coins, or when every remaining elevator is camped.
• Plan your route around the hatch. Check the map for the nearest one before you start looting, and finish your raid close to it.
• Craft more than you buy. Once your Utility Station is at level 2, Sensor runs are much cheaper than buying from Shani.

Common mistakes

• Selling spare keys. A key sells for far less than the 9,000 coins Shani asks. Its real value is the safe exit.
• Carrying the key in your backpack. If you lose the fight, you lose the key too.
• Opening the hatch with ARC nearby. You need a few quiet seconds to unlock it. Clear the area first.
• Expecting a big daily supply from Shani. Her stock is limited. Use crafting and quests to fill the gap.