Honestly Golden Chests in Borderlands 4 are the best way to gear up a new character or fill gaps in your loadout when you're transitioning between Mayhem levels, each Golden Chest costs one Golden Key to open and gives you on-level gear scaling to your current level and Mayhem tier, the loot is always purple or legendary quality with anointment rolls that match your Mayhem level, and there are Golden Chests on every planet so you never have to travel all the way back to Sanctuary III just to use a key, here's the complete location guide for every Golden Chest in the game plus the Diamond Armory rooms
Sanctuary III Golden Chests
The main Golden Chest on Sanctuary III is located in the Living Quarters area on the lower deck near the Quick Change Station, this is the classic Golden Chest that's been in the series since Borderlands 2 and it's the most reliable source of on-level gear because you can access it at any point in the game, next to it is the Diamond Armory room which requires Diamond Keys and gives you three picks from a massive wall of legendaries
Sanctuary III Chests
Golden Chest: Living Quarters, lower deck near Quick Change Station. Requires Golden Key. Diamond Armory: Same room as Golden Chest — the Diamond Armory door is the large Eridian door opposite the Golden Chest. Requires Diamond Key. Cosmetic Chest: Near Moxxi's bar in the Cargo Hold. Requires key from Shift Codes. Contains exclusive character skins and heads.
Pandora Golden Chests
There are three Golden Chests on Pandora scattered across different regions, each one requiring a different amount of story progression to access:
The Droughts — Eastern Ridge
Located in a cave behind the large billboard near the entrance to Ellie's Scrapyard, this is the first Golden Chest most players will find and it requires no story progression beyond the first few missions, the cave entrance is hidden behind some wrecked cars and the chest is in a small alcove guarded by a single badass bandit, easy to reach from the drought's fast travel point.
Lectra City — Rooftop Arena
On the roof of the main combat building in Lectra City, accessible after you defeat Killavolt and the area becomes explorable, the chest is on a raised platform that requires jumping across some neon signs to reach, the jump is tricky but you won't take fall damage if you miss. Use this chest for mid-game gear upgrades around level 20-25.
Konrad's Hold — Maliwan Cache
Deep in Konrad's Hold past the main corridor in a sealed room that requires a Maliwan keycard to enter, the keycard is dropped by a named Maliwan officer called Commander Lawson who patrols the area near the chest room, kill him grab the keycard and open the room for the chest plus two red chests in the same room. This is the best Golden Chest on Pandora for loot density because you get three chests for one key.
Promethea Golden Chests
Promethea has two Golden Chests, one in the main city area and one in a more hidden location:
Meridian Metroplex — Atlas Vault
Inside the Atlas HQ building on the upper floor behind a locked door with an Atlas security panel, the panel requires you to complete the "Atlas Security Override" side quest which becomes available after you help Rhys with the Maliwan siege, the chest room also has a weapon vending machine and a crafting bench making it a convenient gear-up spot.
Athenas — Monastery Cellar
In the cellar of the main monastery building on Athenas, the entrance is behind a destructible bookshelf that you need to shoot, the cellar has some environmental hazards (poison gas vents) but the chest itself is unguarded, this is the most hidden Golden Chest in the game and many players miss it entirely on their first playthrough because nothing marks the destructible wall.
Eden-6 Golden Chests
Eden-6 has three Golden Chests, the most of any planet:
Floodmoor Basin — Reliance Safehouse
In the town of Reliance behind the bar in a locked room, the key is given by a side quest called "A Drinking Problem" that you get from the bartender in Reliance, the chest is inside a safe that you open after completing the quest, but the safe also requires a combination that you find in a note on the second floor of the bar.
Voracious Canopy — Waterfall Grotto
Behind the large waterfall in the northern section of the Voracious Canopy, there's a hidden grotto with a Golden Chest and two regular chests, the waterfall is near the Jakobs Estate entrance and the grotto also contains a Typhon Log and an Eridium deposit making it a high-value stop for resource gathering.
Jakobs Estate — Mausoleum
In the Jakobs family mausoleum behind a puzzle door that requires lighting three braziers in the correct order, the order is indicated by symbols on the wall near each braizer — fire them left to right based on the number of skull symbols (1-2-3), this chest has a slightly higher legendary rate than other Golden Chests because it's an endgame-area chest.
Nekrotafeyo Golden Chests
Nekrotafeyo has two Golden Chests, both in endgame areas:
Desolate Sands — Eridian Vault
Inside a small Eridian vault in the Desolate Sands accessible through a portal that opens after you complete the main story on Nekrotafeyo, the vault requires an Eridian key that you get from the final story boss, this chest gives Mayhem-scaled loot and is the best Golden Chest for endgame gear because it only appears after the story is complete.
Floating Tomb — Secret Chamber
In a secret chamber behind Graveward's arena, accessible through a hidden passage that opens when you interact with the Eridian console on the right side of the boss arena after defeating him, this chest refreshes every time you reload the area making it a farmable Golden Chest source — you can open it repeatedly if you save-quit between opens, but it still requires a Golden Key each time.
How Golden Keys Work
Golden Keys are redeemed through Shift Codes that Gearbox posts regularly on their social media channels, each key can be used on any Golden Chest in the game and the chest loot scales to your current level and Mayhem tier, the loot from Golden Chests draws from the world drop pool meaning you can get any non-dedicated legendary from them, the quality of the loot (parts, anointments) is determined by your Mayhem level with Mayhem 10/11 giving the highest quality rolls
The Diamond Armory
The Diamond Armory is a special room on Sanctuary III next to the Golden Chest that requires Diamond Keys (also from Shift Codes) instead of regular Golden Keys, when you enter the Diamond Armory you're presented with three walls of legendary gear — one wall of weapons, one of shields/grenades, and one of class mods/artifacts — and you can pick up to one item from each wall for a total of three items per key
The Diamond Armory is the best use of your rare keys because you can target specific gear slots and the quality is always max-roll legendary, if you need a specific class mod or artifact the Diamond Armory is the most reliable way to get one, always browse all three walls before making your selections and never just grab the first legendary you see
Honestly the Golden Chest system is one of the most player-friendly mechanics in BL4 because it gives you a reliable source of on-level gear regardless of your luck with boss drops, and knowing the locations of all the chests means you can plan your key usage efficiently, make sure to follow the Borderlands social channels for key drops and save those keys for endgame where they matter most