Wizard101 Skeleton Keys Guide

Wizard101 recently released the Test Realm. Inside was an interesting new feature - Skeleton Keys. These keys, which dropped from the bosses around the Spiral, particularly in the new areas, unlocked rooms with hidden rewards.

All Skeleton Key Bosses:

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Aphrodite Two Bellosh Billy the Cutter Bunferatu

Captain Hockins In'Zhizor Ixcax Cursedwing Lambent Fire

Omen Stribog Ra Sapoti Simon the Sayer

Takanobu Temple Phantom Verboten Mimic Skeleton Key Rooms

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In This Guide: Bellosh | Billy the Cutter | Bunferatu | In'Zhizor | Temple Phantom

Why Skeleton Keys are Significant

There are a lot of games that use a treasure hunt type system that is independent of any quest or activity and is instead an activity you can only participate in if you find a clue or key or whatever else. Wizard101's introduction incentivizes farming as a whole, but particularly of these new locations. Having the keys can be a fun group activity to be enjoyed by a wide range of players of all levels.

What Benefits Do Skeleton Keys Offer? These keys unlocked rooms that currently have one of two things. They could have a boss to fight, and some of them are pretty difficult. Or they could simply have a chest to open. Either way, you get a reward, and while it's a loot roll like everything else, you have the possibility of getting permanent pack mounts and new gear.

How Else Can You Use Them? If you DO use these keys, please invite three other players along. Not only could you win more keys, but you might as well provide as many rewards as possible. If using the keys isn't your thing, though, they make wonderful housing items, and you can actually place them along the walls of your homes as a rare decoration.

What Types of Keys Are There?

Skeleton Keys come in three types - Wooden, Stone, and Gold. Typically, you'll find and use Wooden Skeleton Keys in the first two new areas - Mooshu and Barkingham Palace. You'll normally find and use Stone Skeleton Keys in the new Krokotopia area. And finally, you'll typically find and use Gold Skeleton Keys in Darkmoor. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some key types are more common than others. Wooden keys are definitely the most common, but, surprisingly, you'll see a lot more Gold keys used than Stone ones, likely because there's a lot of Darkmoor farming going on and not as much in the level 60 dungeons of Krokotopia.

Wooden Key Overview Wooden Skeleton Keys can come from a number of bosses, though the primary spots are the new Mooshu (within Krokotopia) and Marleybone areas. There are two doors in the Mooshu village, two doors in Barkingham Palace, and one door in the Krokotopia areas. These are the most common key type.

Stone Key Overview Stone Skeleton Keys can come from wooden or other stone locations. They open only two doors in the Krokotopia areas. One in Lower Zigzag and one in the House of Scales, both of which have a boss fight. For this reason, you'll see more excess stone keys than any other type.

Gold Key Overview Gold Skeleton Keys are acquired from either stone or other gold locations. They're not too difficult to get, as the first boss in the first dungeon will drop them occasionally. Getting to a door to use them is a different story. There are two doors in Darkmoor, one of which is a boss fight, and one of which is a chest.

Where to Find Skeleton Keys

The following are sources of the three key types. I've also noted how many battles it takes before you reach them (and including the boss battle). Italicized keys indicate bosses that require a key to access.

Key Image		Key Source		Battles Required
		Wooden Skeleton Key Drops 1. Any chest in a room opened with a wooden key 2. Temple Phantom, end of Shangri-Ba (Wooden Key) 3. Master Tonkatsu, end of the Shangri-Baa dungeon 4. Tsutsui, end of the Pagoda of Harmony dungeon 5. The Woman's Right Hand, State Wing dungeon 6. Dr. Jackall, Rooftop dungeon 7. Billy the Cutter, State Wing dungeon (Wooden Key) 8. Chief Whip, Main Hall dungeon 9. Noxious Gas Golem, Main Hall dungeon 10. Mr. Poole and Mr. Utterson, Rooftop dungeon 11. Union Jack Golem, Rooftop dungeon puzzle fail		1. None 2. Four to five 3. Five to six 4. Three 5. Three 6. Three to four 7. Three 8. Two 9. Three 10. Two 11. Three
		Stone Skeleton Key Drops 1. Any chest in a room opened with a stone key 2. Bellosh, in the House of Scales stone door (Stone Key) 3. Moh’Lharz, end of the Lower Zigzag dungeon 4. Ammit the Devourer, end of the House of Scales dungeon 5. Lower Zigzag chest (Wooden Key) 6. In'Zhizor, Lower Zigzag (Stone Key) 7. Apep the Snaky One, House of Scales 8. Kus'Bhid, Lower Zigzag dungeon 9. Moh'Lharz, Lower Zigzag dungeon		1. None 2. Three 3. Four 4. Six 5. Three 6. Two 7. Five 8. Two 9. Four
		Gold Skeleton Key Drops 1. Any chest in a room opened with a golden key 2. Shane von Shane, in the Upper Halls & Graveyard 3. Howling Cheney, first in the Castle Darkmoor dungeon 4. Sir Blackwater, in the Castle Darkmoor dungeon 5. Bunferatu, in the Upper Halls (Gold Key) 6. Malistaire the Undying, Graveyard 7. Akhtang Wormcrawl, in the Upper Halls		1. None 2. Two to five 3. One 4. One to two 5. One to four 6. Three 7. One to two
		Unconfirmed Skeleton Key Drops 1. Briskbreeze Tower boss drop 2. Lord Blackwater, Castle Darkmoor dungeon 3, Spirit of Darkmoor, Upper Halls 4. Izft, in the House of Scales dungeon		1. Unknown 2. One to two 3. Two to four 4. Three

Using the Keys

It's important to understand this: Keys do not open doors forever and you can only use them once. They're like treasure cards; they will be removed from your inventory when you unlock a door. When you do unlock a door, everyone in your dungeon will have access to the room. No one can teleport into these dungeons, so make sure you have everyone you want before you start.

Once you use your key, it's gone. When you exit your dungeon, the door will re-lock and you can use another key to open it for another chance at loot later on. If you die, you can still return within your 30-minute window or via Dungeon Recall.

Where to Use Keys: Rare Loot and Bosses Inside

So, where do you use these fancy keys? There are currently nine locations to choose from, with five requiring wooden keys, two requiring stone keys, and two requiring gold keys. Some locations only contain chests, but some contain enemies and bosses that you'll want to prepare for.

Note: What is inside these doors can vary. The minions can be different, and it appears that even boss health can change. I fought Bellosh twice, both times with two max-level wizards, and at one point, he had 32,000 health, and then the second time, he had 8,000 health.

Here's a collection of all of the locations and some of the drops you can receive from the bosses or chests there.

Wooden Skeleton Key Door Locations and Rewards

Notable drops are italicized or and/or pictured.

Pagoda of Harmony (Click to Show/Hide)

The Pagoda of Harmony Room requires a Wooden Key. This is a chest room.

Access to this room requires completing three battles in the Pagoda of Harmony, Kembaalung Village.

Exact room location: Complete the three battles in the Pagoda and the door with the lock is in the back.

Room notes: This is one of the easiest rooms to get to, with only three very low-level battles required. Bring friends!

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 122-491
Pet Snacks: Mooshu Cheddar, Fire Passion Fruit
Furniture: Shangri Ba Explorative Theme, Wooden Skeleton Key
Reagents: ?
Treasure Cards:
Gear: Kembaalung Blizzard Charm, Jade Oni pet, Red Panda pet, Sunfire Foo Dog pet, Asura's Ring of Fire, Plague Ninja pet, Athame of Himoolayan Sleet, Asura's Ring of Strife

Most Notable Drop(s):

Hollow Mountain (Click to Show/Hide)

The Hollow Room requires a Wooden Key. This is a boss room.

Access to this room requires completing three battles, or four if you fail the Temple Guardian's puzzle in the Hollow Mountain, Kembaalung Village.

Exact room location: Complete the initial cave battles, pass the puzzle, and inside the first room in the underground temple, there will be doors on either side of you. Look to the door on the left.

Temple Phantom, Balance, 2850 health; Enthralled Body Monk, Storm, 1055 health; Enthralled Mind Monk, Fire, 1145 health; Enthralled Spirit Monk, Ice, 1235 health

Battle notes: This boss does not cheat. He will prove somewhat challenging for a level 25 wizard, so be sure to bring friends if you're in that range. Otherwise, you can easily solo this boss at max level. Even with the variety of schools, resist, at this point, is not great enough to worry too much about.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 102 - 494
Pet Snacks: Mooshu Cheddar, Crunch Apple, Eggplant, Fire Passion Fruit, Large Watermelon, Large Fish, Fire Cracker
Furniture: Shangri Ba Explorative Theme, Wooden Skeleton Key, Orange Dandelion
Reagents: Bone, Mote of Wisdom
Treasure Cards:
Gear: Kembaalung Blizzard Charm, Blade of Himoolayan Ice, Longblade of the Asura, Kris of the Calamitous Hoof, Edge of the Himoolayan Sun, Snows of Kembaalung Saber, Spirit Monk's Torc of Grit, Stone of Discord, Himoolayan Blizzard Helmet, Smoking Ember Walkers, Himoolayan Hailstone Vial, Spirit Monk's Footwraps, Himoolayan Hailstone Loop, Silver Kirin (Permanent), Blue Kirin (Permanent), Helm of the Smoking Ember

Most Notable Drop(s):

State Wing (Click to Show/Hide)

The State Wing Room requires a Wooden Key. This is a boss room.

Access to this room requires completing two battles in the State Wing, Barkingham Palace.

Exact room location: Complete the first two battles and look for a door with a lock on your left.

Billy the Cutter, Fire, 6075 health; Lanyon Scratcher, Storm, 1255 health (x3)

Battle notes: This boss does cheats. He will steal any shields you cast. Often when you attack him, he will attack you, so attempt a one-hit-kill. He has an additional cheat that appears to be glitched, where he'll attack you and say "You'll pay for that" and attacks you again (Relentless carry-over from Pirate?). He uses a Frost Giant each time you heal.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 575 - 773
Pet Snacks: Jelly Baby, Kola Nuts, Dragonhorned Melon, Flapjacks, Baby Carrot
Furniture: Wooden Skeleton Key, Cyan Waves Floor, Black Waves Floor, Blue Waves Floor
Reagents: Bone, Mote of Beauty
Treasure Cards: ?
Gear: Jackall's Ring of Duality, Barkingham Blade of Blight, Barkingham Hearthfire Relic, Amulet of the Misty Palace, Dapper Corgi pet, Barkingham Dirk of Thunder, Empire's Torc of Calamity

Most Notable Drop(s):

Main Hall (Click to Show/Hide)

The Main Hall Room requires a Wooden Key. This is a chest room.

Access to this room requires completing two battles in the Main Hall, Barkingham Palace.

Exact room location: Complete the first two battles and look for a door with a lock on your left.

Room notes: This room is a quick and easy way to get rewards that are better for your level than the 25+ gear from the Kembaalung Village and seems to be surprisingly generous with its additional wooden key grants.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 121-653
Pet Snacks: Jelly Baby, Dr. Jalapeno, Sun Fruit
Furniture: Purple Waves Floor, Wooden Skeleton Key
Reagents: Mote of Beauty, Mote of Severity
Treasure Cards: ?
Gear: Ring of Marleybone Fog, Barkingham Blade of Blight, Barkingham Claw of Insight, Wolf Hound pet

Most Notable Drop(s):

Lower Zigzag (Click to Show/Hide)

The Lower Zigzag Room requires a Wooden Key. This is a chest room.

Access to this room requires completing three battles in Lower Zigzag, Krokotopia.

Exact room location: Complete the first two battles, lower the toll bridge, and complete the next "mob" battle, then look for a door through which you can see the sky right next to the third battle area. Go through it to find the wooden door.

Room notes: This is one of the harder rooms to get to, and probably the hardest of the wooden keys. Oddly out of place in Lower Zigzag, this is a wooden key alternative that provides level 60+ gear instead of 25+ from Kembaalung Village or 40+ from Barkingham Palace.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 173 - 990
Pet Snacks: Glowing Star Fruit, Nettle Root
Furniture: Wooden Skeleton Key, Stone Skeleton Key, Grey Waves Floor, Orange Waves Floor
Reagents: ?
Treasure Cards: ?
Gear: Dagger of the Devourer, Blade of the Fire River, Ring of the Simmering Evil, Ring of the Ravenous Teeth, Stone of the Longest Hall, Mummy Cat pet, Scales of Justice Band, Royal Ibis Pet

Most Notable Drop(s):

Stone Skeleton Key Door Locations and Rewards

Notable drops are italicized or and/or pictured.

Lower Zigzag (Click to Show/Hide)

The Lower Zigzag Room requires a Stone Key. This is a boss room.

Access to this room requires completing one battle.

Exact room location: Complete the first and go through an archway next to a prisoner to an attached island.

In'Zhizor, Ice, 7320 health; Condemned Soul, Death, 1970 health (x3)

Battle notes: This boss does not appear to cheat. He is essentially just a challenge because of his fairly high health for level 60 in addition to his minions. He does like to stun and cast Frost Giant. Beware of Virulent Plague (-40% damage charm to all enemies) from his death minions.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 266 - 1147
Pet Snacks: ?
Furniture: Brown Waves Wallpaper, Grey Waves Wallpaper, Stone Skeleton Key, White Desparagus, Red Waves Floor, Orange Dandelion, Green Waves Wallpaper, Red Bell Pepper
Reagents: Leather Straps, Spider Silk, Amber Dust, Mote of Severity
Treasure Cards: Fire Serpent, Krokotillian
Gear: Wrath of Anubis Staff, Grimoire of the Condemned wand, Pit Viper's Venom Blade, Ash Spider pet, Stave of the Devoured, Royal Ibis pet, Deck of Sand Squalls, Ammit's Claw of Revolution, Rod of the Burning Scales, Blade of the Soul Eater, Medallion of the Condemned, Condemned Soldier's Arcana, Hall of Justice Compendium, Sailback Skink pet, Anubis' Staff of Redress

Most Notable Drop(s):

House of Scales (Click to Show/Hide)

The House of Scales Room requires a Stone Key. This is a boss room.

Access to this room requires completing two battles.

Exact room location: Complete the first two battles, and continue through, but instead of turning left to face the first boss, continue straight until you run into a locked door.

Bellosh, Balance, 8165 health; mix of possible minions: Ravenous Tooth, Life, 2075 health; Condemned Mander, Myth, 1805 health; Pit Viper, Balance, 2735 health

Battle notes: This boss, at one point, had 32,000 health. It is unknown if his health is random upon entry, but I believe it was simply lowered to 8,000. This boss does cheat, just like Belloq. You must hit him once per round, so if you do not have a full team, minions are helpful. Take out his minions quick. He has a number of nasty spells, so be prepared and have your hits ready. Every round that he is not hit, he will interrupt the next and cast Ra doing around 2,000 damage to all enemies, and increasing as the battle progresses. Remember on Damage over Time (DoT) spells like Heck Hound that they do not hit the first round, so that could not count as the hit for the round.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 310-1139
Pet Snacks: Mooshu Cheddar, Cauliflowers
Furniture: Venus Fly Trap, Stone Skeleton Key, Gold Skeleton Key, Salmon Waves Floor, Orange Waves Wallpaper
Reagents: Amber Dust, Bone, Spider Silk, Mote of Severity, Bronze Gear, Leather Straps, Ectoplasm
Treasure Cards: Locust Swarm
Gear: Ring of the Ravenous Teeth, Ampul of Desert Squalls, Blade of Anubis' Verdict, Mander Palaquin (Permanent), Deck of Sand Squalls, Duat Traveler's Gallery, Stone of the Longest Hall, Dagger of the Devourer, Kris of Thunderous Resolve, Anubis' Tunic of Judgement, Condemned Soldier's Arcana

Most Notable Drop(s):

Gold Skeleton Key Door Locations and Rewards

Notable drops are italicized or and/or pictured.

Castle Darkmoor (Click to Show/Hide)

The Castle Darkmoor Room requires a Gold Key. This is a chest room.

Access to this room requires completing two battles, or none if you activate the trigger on the first two battles and have the others run past, then use Dungeon Recall and pass yourself.

Exact room location: Complete the first two boss battles, then look along the staircase going up on your way to the Observatory. You can't miss it.

Room notes: This is probably the hardest chest room to get to, requiring two tough boss battles to be completed beforehand. For that reason alone, you'll want to have a full four people. By the time you get here, you'll basically be done with the dungeon. Enjoy the level 100+ rewards!

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 235 - 1500
Pet Snacks: Boom Stroganoff, Snow Apple Pie, Cornbread Fruit, Cold Snap Peas, Wrath's Grape Juice, Rye Bread Fruit, Huckleberry Pie, Granny Snow Apple, Bread Fruit Fruit, Desparagus Salad
Furniture: Lilac Waves Wallpaper, Gold Skeleton Key, Darkmoor Tense Theme, Violet Waves Wallpaper, Purple Waves Floor, Darkmoor Combat Theme, Darkmoor Main Theme
Reagents: Ore, Stone Block, Mote of Eternity, Sunstone, Black Lotus, Bronze Gear, Lava Lily, Mist Wood, Fossil, Astral Shard, Bone, Golden Pearl, Deep Mushroom, Red Mandrake, Fire Blossom
Treasure Cards: Reliquary, Sun Serpent, Deer Knight
Gear: Sharp Edge of the Void, Relic of the Fetid Lagoon, Thunderous Darkmoor Hand, Von Shane's Hand of Doom, Pendant of Love's Grace, Embodiment of Death Charm, Blackwater's Band, Lovelorn's Spirit Amulet, Thunderclap Spike, Vial of the Unchecked Ego, Ample of Carpathes, Ring of Mortis, Vial from the Fetid Lagoon, Brimstone Torc of Darkmoor, Collar of the Betrayed, Chaplet of the Death Knight, Squire's Torc of Deception, Howling Werewolf's Collar, Herald of Darkmoor's Seal

Most Notable Drop(s):

Upper Halls (Click to Show/Hide)

The Upper Halls Room requires a Gold Key. This is a boss room.

Access to this room requires completing one battle, three if you cannot manage to sneak around the gargoyles in the Upper Halls, Darkmoor, or or none if you activate the trigger on the first two battles and have the others run past, then use Dungeon Recall and pass yourself.

Exact room location: Complete the first boss battle (and two mob battles if you can't go around), then look along the staircase going up. You can't miss it.

Bunferatu, Death, 29500 health; mix of possible minions: Scarlet Wampire, Death, 7415 health; Darkmoor Squire, Death, 7415 health

Battle notes: This boss does cheat. The first round, he will interrupt and cast Doom and Gloom, which you cannot replace. At the end of every other round (round 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on), he will use a Dark Pact and blade combo, removing your Feints and traps. Every third round (3, 6, 9, 12, and so on), he will use Call of Khrulhu. If you intend to take more than three rounds, be prepared to replace traps. High death resistance is a must. The Squires have Virulent Plague (-40% damage charm to all enemies), so keep wand hits or Cleanse Charm handy. Note that the Wampires have a Vampire/Frankenstein combo spell that does damage and beguiles you for a round or two, which can really hurt your plans to kill quickly. And killing quickly is essential to winning the battle.

My recommendation is to place blades on your hammer on rounds one and two. At the end of round two, he will use his blade combo including Dark Pact. On round three, you will need to survive one Call of Khrulhu. During this round, place many Feints - regular, potent, item, TC, pet, whatever. On round four, place your final traps and/or blades and hit before the Pact at the end of the round. It is not essential to kill the minions in this time frame, but getting rid of Bunferatu is a huge help by removing the blade cheat, so at least place your Feints to take him out.

Potential Rewards:
Gold: 243-1685
Pet Snacks: Cornbread Fruit, Granny Snow Apple, Boom Stroganoff
Furniture: Gold Skeleton Key, Red Waves Wallpaper
Reagents: Golden Pearl, Black Lotus, Bronze Gear, Red Mandrake
Treasure Cards: Sleet Storm, Hex, Punishment
Gear: Beguiled Gargoyle pet, Depths of Darkmoor cover, Herald of Darkmoor's Shoes, Brimstone Gear of Darkmoor

Most Notable Drop(s):

Tips, Tricks, and Reminders

Don't forget these things when dealing with skeleton keys:

• If you die while fighting a cheating boss, you can return and try again with your group as long as that instance is still open.

• When you use a key, everyone in the dungeon has access to that room for that dungeon only.
• You can only use each key once, but you can visit the same room as many times as you want with different keys.

• Once a dungeon closes, you can no longer enter the room without another key.

• Oftentimes, bosses at the end of instances drop keys. If you've had to do a lot of the instance to get to a room, go ahead and finish it.

• Don't forget to bring as many people along as possible. That's more chances to get another key, and if you shared with them, chances are they'd share with you.

• In Darkmoor, the gargoyle "mobs" are not part of the quest. They have a battle pull trigger, but it only activates once. Like in the Malistaire dungeon, have someone go in to use up the trigger, then the rest can sneak around. The person in the battle can then flee and return and walk around with no issues.

• If you are looking for Wooden Skeleton Keys, my number one recommendation for farming is the Pagoda of Harmony. It's the shortest to your boss.

• Don't forget that no one can teleport into dungeons, so bring everyone you want or need at the beginning.

Under Lock and Key

What other rewards might await us behind these doors? What would you like to see these bosses drop? Have you received anything notable?

Help is always appreciated! Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral! Thanks to the following for pictures or running bosses with me: Flash33, Iridian Willowglen, Johnny, Calamity, Paige Moonshade, Harmony Everheart, Amber Firesword, Sophia Soulcatcher, Blaze, Duncan Stormthief, Shadowblade, and Lucas Silver.

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