The Sinking City 2 Chapter 5: All E.R.C. Pen and Crate Locations

Chapter 5 closes out The Sinking City 2 in Antarctica, and it hides the last three Emergency Relief Crates in the game. Two of them hold rifle attachments — Keene’s Timeglass and Keene’s Widowmaker — which matter because the final boss fight goes considerably faster with a fully modded rifle. The third pays out Dream Essence. None of it is optional if you want the crate trophy, and none of it can be picked up after you go through the portal.

Quick answer: Take the pen in the Portal Room and open the crate in the camp tent for Keene’s Timeglass, take the pen in Upper Storage and open the crate in the Portal Room cave for Keene’s Widowmaker, then take the pen in the Gallery and open the crate in the Subterranean City for Dream Essence.

Chapter 5 pen and crate pairings

Each crate needs its own E.R.C. Activator Pen. The pens burn out the moment a crate pops open, so you can never carry a spare forward or reuse one. Three pens, three crates, in this order.

Pen location	Crate location	Reward
Portal Room (wooden crate)	Camp area, inside the tent	Keene’s Timeglass
Upper Storage (yellow box in the cave)	Portal Room area cave	Keene’s Widowmaker, Engraved Pod
Gallery (wooden crate)	Subterranean City cave	Dream Essence

Both weapon accessories are rifle mods. Keene’s Timeglass is a scope described in-game as one that “stretches moments for the perfect kill,” while Keene’s Widowmaker is a recoil pad built for precision shots. Fit both before the last fight.

Keene’s Timeglass: Portal Room pen, camp tent crate

Work through the Portal Room and look for the wooden crate holding the first E.R.C. Activator Pen. Pick it up before you head back out toward the camp, since the crate it opens sits in a completely different area.

Travel to the camp area and go into the tent. The Emergency Relief Crate is inside, and with the pen in your inventory you can interact with it straight away.

Camp area map with the Activate the Portal objective marked as in progress — The camp map with the “Activate the Portal” objective still in progress — the first crate is in the tent here. Image: Frogwares

Open it. The unlock prompt reads “Chapter 5 – E.R.C Pen And Boxes 01/03 – Keene’s Timeglass,” and the scope goes into your inventory. Equip it on the rifle from the weapon menu whenever you like.

Keene’s Widowmaker: Upper Storage pen, Portal Room crate

Head to Upper Storage. The second pen is sitting on a yellow box inside the cave section, out in the open rather than tucked behind anything.

Antarctica map marker pointing to the Upper Storage area where the second pen sits — The map position for the second Activator Pen in Upper Storage. Image: Frogwares

Go back to the Portal Room area and find the crate tucked into the cave there. It is the second of the three, and the pen you just picked up is the only thing that opens it.

Investigation screen with the Portal Room marker highlighted during the portal objective — The Investigation screen with the Portal Room highlighted — the second crate is in the cave here. Image: Frogwares

Open the crate for Keene’s Widowmaker plus an Engraved Pod. The banner confirms it with “Chapter 5 – E.R.C Pen And Boxes 02/03 – Keene’s Widowmaker.”

Dream Essence: Gallery pen, Subterranean City crate

Make your way to the Gallery. The last pen is inside a wooden crate here, and it is the one people most often walk past on the way to the portal.

Investigation map for Antarctica with the portal objective active and the Portal Room visible — The Investigation map during the portal objective, showing the route back toward the Gallery. Image: Frogwares

Aim at the small wooden box and interact to take the pen. Nothing else is needed from the Gallery for the crate run.

Player aiming at a small wooden box on a workbench to collect the third Activator Pen — The third Activator Pen sits in a small wooden box on a workbench. Image: Frogwares

Drop down into the Subterranean City and open the final crate in the cave. You will see the “Dream Essence Obtained” message, which is your confirmation that all three are done.

Why a crate refuses to open

There are only two real failure points. The first is not carrying a pen — an Emergency Relief Crate cannot be forced, pried, or shot open, so if the interact prompt does nothing, the pen is the missing piece. The second is spending a pen on the wrong crate order and then assuming you are out of luck; you are not, because each Activator Pen works on any crate, and Chapter 5 hands out exactly three of each.

Note: There is no chapter select in The Sinking City 2. Once you step through the portal for the final confrontation, Antarctica is closed off, and any unopened crate is gone for that playthrough. Learned talents are the only thing that carries into New Game Plus, so everything else has to be gathered again.

Checking your count before the portal

Chapter 5 is the last of 13 Emergency Relief Crates across the campaign, and clearing all of them in a single run is what awards the Behind Every Crate Man… trophy. The on-screen counters in Antarctica make the check easy, since each unlock is labelled 01/03, 02/03 and 03/03.

Before you commit to the portal, open the map and sweep the Antarctica areas for anything still unmarked. Fitting the Timeglass and the Widowmaker to the rifle at the same time is the practical payoff here — ammunition is plentiful during the final battle, and a scoped, stabilised rifle is the cleanest way through it.