How to Get the Master Key in Rust (Bandit Camp)

The Master Key is the tool that lets you break into an occupied apartment room inside a safe zone. It is a single-use item, and it is the only sanctioned way to force open a rented room that belongs to another player.

Quick answer: Buy the Master Key from the Produce Exchange vendor at Bandit Camp for 1,000 Scrap (prices rise with demand). It restocks every 12 real-life hours and is consumed after one break-in.

Where to buy the Master Key and what it costs

Head to Bandit Camp and find the Produce Exchange vendor. The base price is 1,000 Scrap, but the cost is not fixed. Demand pushes it up, and it can climb close to 3,000 Scrap when players are buying heavily.

Detail	Value
Where to buy	Bandit Camp, Produce Exchange
Base cost	1,000 Scrap
Peak observed cost	Nearly 3,000 Scrap
Restock time	Every 12 real-life hours
Uses per key	One (consumed on use)

The restock timer runs on real time, not in-game hours. If the vendor is out of stock, you wait up to 12 hours for the next one to appear.

Rent a room before you can find targets

You need to rent an apartment room to reach the apartment computer, which is how you scout rooms worth raiding. The cheapest room is enough if all you want is access to that computer.

Room type	Rent	Daily upkeep
Basement	100 Scrap	25 Scrap/day
Standard	200 Scrap	50 Scrap/day
Penthouse	400 Scrap	100 Scrap/day

If you forget your own room number, ask the apartment NPC again before you start hauling loot around the building.

How to use the Master Key on a room

Rent any apartment room, then open the apartment computer. It lists occupied rooms, available rooms, room type, storage slots, and an estimated value rating for each room.

Use the value rating as your filter. Pick an occupied room showing Medium or High value. Skip anything listed as Null or empty, and only touch Low value rooms if your key was cheap.

Walk to the target door with the Master Key in your inventory. Hold interact to begin breaking in. You cannot move while the unlock runs, so you are exposed to anyone in the hallway.

Wait for temporary access to be granted, then loot fast. Grab explosives and rockets first, then Scrap, HQM, weapons, components, and armor. Leave before your access window closes.

Image credit: Facepunch Studios / Rusty Old Man

The break-in is complete once the door grants you entry. Access is temporary, and the key vanishes after a successful break-in, so treat every second inside as limited.

When a Master Key raid is worth the cost

Because the key is consumed on use, one empty room burns your entire investment. Match how picky you are to how much you paid.

Key price	Only raid
1,000 Scrap	Medium or High value rooms
2,000 Scrap	High value rooms first
3,000+ Scrap	High value or confirmed loot only

A High value room usually holds strong loot such as C4, rockets, explosives, HQM, weapons, or large Scrap stacks. It is the best signal you get, though it is never a guaranteed payout. Normal storage is lootable, but apartment upkeep Scrap appears to be protected and cannot be taken.

Note: If your own room ever jumps to High value after you store something, you have made yourself a target. Move the expensive items out, split loot across rooms, and keep your best boom in your main base rather than in a safe-zone apartment.