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Through world exploration in Guild Wars 2, you will undoubtedly build up a hefty stack of Black Lion Chests. These unique chests contain four rare items, but you will first need a Black Lion Chest Key to open one. Unlike the chests, the keys can be quite difficult to obtain, especially if you don't want to buy them from the Gem Store.
In this guide, we are going to go over the best ways to farm for Black Lion Chest Keys. Before we go over some farming methods, let's take a look at why you may want to gather these keys in the first place.
What's Inside A Black Lion Chest?
When opening a Black Lion Chest, you will get four rewards, and a small chance to find a fifth one.
Upon opening the chest, you are guaranteed to get a Potion of the Mists and one Black Lion Statuette. These statuettes can be traded for a variety of items at a Black Lion Merchants.
In addition to these two items, basic items such as dye and Revive Orbs will have a common chance to drop.
Black Lions Chests also contain weapon skins, ranging from uncommon to rare. Lastly, you will have a super rare chance to find permanent and endless contracts. These are permanent items that can be used for several things, such as repairing gear or accessing your bank.
Now that you know what a Black Lion Chest might contain, let's go over how to farm the keys.
Buying Keys From The Gem Store
This method isn't technically 'farming', but if you need a Black Lion Chest Key quickly and have the gems to spare, you can buy one from the Gem Store.
Currently, you can buy one key for 125 gems. On occasion, this may be discounted, as well as included in various bundles that come with other items.
This is the most efficient way to obtain Black Lion Chest Keys, since you have a 100 percent chance to get one.
Converting Gold To Gems
Farming gold is a great way to buy gems instead of using real money. Gold can be converted into gems, with 125 gems being worth around 40 gold.
Below, you can check out some great ways to farm gold.
- Do Your Dailies! This will earn you two gold a day.
- Complete Meta events and sell the items you get.
- Complete events all around the world.
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Sell extra items that you don't need.
- During festivals, you can sell loot bags and unique materials for a decent amount of gold.
- Complete Fractals.
This is not a full guide on how to farm for gold; there are tons of player-recommended methods to farming gold quickly. Overall, do your dailies and sell expensive items that you are not going to use.
Map Completion
When you visit all vistas, waypoints, points of interest, hero challenges, and renowned hearts on a single map, you will achieve map completion.
Completing a map will give you a variety of rewards, including a small chance to receive a Black Lion Chest Key.
The chance to find a key isn't the highest, but map exploration is a natural part of Guild Wars 2, so you can passively earn Black Lion Chest Keys while exploring Tyria. You will have a chance to get a key on every map except the main cities and Southsun Cove.
It's important to note that you will not be able to get a Black Lion Chest Key if you complete a level 80 map with a character who is not yet at this level.
Completing A Level 10 Personal Story
By completing your level 10 personal story, you will earn one Black Lion Chest Key. Your personal story is your race-specific story that you begin at the start of the game. For example, if you chose to play as a Norn, your personal story will take place in Hoelbrak and involve Eir Stegalkin. These stories will vary slightly depending on the traits you choose while making a character, however, the overall results remain the same.
Each week, you can earn one Black Lion Chest Key with this method. To do this, you just need to make a new character and complete their personal story. If you are looking to quickly get this done, try playing as a human; this race has the quickest personal story.
You can earn Black Lion Chest Keys through the storyline later (levels 40 and 60), but this isn't quite farming due to the amount of content that you need to complete.
PvP Track Rewards
PvP isn't for everyone; it's totally okay to play Guild Wars 2 and never participate in PvP. If you do love this game mode though, you will have a chance to earn Black Lion Chest Keys.
For example, in the Bonus Mist Champion: Turai Ossa Mini Reward Track, you can receive a Black Lion Chest Key as a tier four reward. Also, various PvP tracks will reward you with a Black Lion Chest Key, so if you are a fan of PvP, then this is a good way to gather keys.
Now you know the best ways to farm for Black Lion Chest Keys. Overall, it can be difficult to get your hand on this little key, but the rewards inside a Black Lion Chest are definitely worth it.