Mortal Kombat 1: How to get Ornate Keys in MK1

This lock needs a key.

A player character runs down a pathway surrounding by farmland and forest with a misty town in the distance in Mortal Kombat 1.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Many of the unlockables you can earn in Mortal Kombat 1 can be obtained within Invasion mode. This sometimes involves finding Ornate Keys and using them to unlock Ornate Chests you may come across. Without a key, you won’t be able to open the chest, which means you’ll miss out on some important rewards. Just how do you get an Ornate Key, though?

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Although very useful throughout Invasion mode in MK1, Ornate Keys aren’t always easily obtainable. You may have to do a little searching around the Messa maps to gather them when necessary. But they are well worth the effort of going through to find them and unlock chests that can yield some pretty good rewards.

Here’s how to get the Ornate Keys you need to unlock chests within Mortal Kombat 1.

How to find Ornate Keys in MK1

The image is of items in the menu of the game. The ornate key is displayed with stats and a description.
Pick up your Ornate Keys when possible. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Ornate Keys are commonly found in the inventory of the Kollector shop. You can find the Kollector on the Messa map as you play, which will sell you all kinds of items and relics. The Kollector shop will also refresh after a given amount of time, so if you buy multiple items and they sell out, they’ll replenish later on. Ornate Keys cost about 100 Krowns to purchase, and you can only buy one key from the Kollector at a time.

To earn Krowns, all you need to do is complete matches you find on the map. Certain battles you finish will earn you more Krowns than others and in some cases, none at all. You need the Ornate Keys to open Ornate Chests that you come across on the map. If you find one and don’t have a key, you’ll be prompted to go and find one first.

Some Ornate Keys can be earned from completing certain Towers you come across within Invasion mode, like on the Sun Do Festival map. Even if you find the Kollector, he may not have an Ornate Key for sale. So if you find him and there’s no key for you to buy, try going through the map and completing any Tower you find. You’ll most likely earn the key after finishing it.

Rewards from Ornate Chests in MK1

So what do you earn from opening up Ornate Chests after you find an Ornate Key? You can actually unlock all kinds of rewards from these chests, including skins and color palettes for different fighters. You can find an average of at least two to three items within an Ornate Chest, which is often higher rarity items or better unlockables.

A Tower sits in the middle of a small town un the evening dusk with a palm tree and lanterns floating in Mortal Kombat 1.
Ornate Chests can give some pretty cool rewards. Image by WB Games

You can also gain Seasonal Kredits, Krowns, and other related rewards by opening these chests. Seasonal Kredits are used to spend on special skins and other cosmetics that are specific to the ongoing season, while Krowns are spent at the Forge or Kollector Shop for upgrades and items like Talismans and Relics.

Ornate Chests will not always give you the same rewards when you open them. The chests have limited access based on the Invasion mode season, which will change when a season is over. This is why it’s always helpful to find and hold onto an Ornate Key so you can open a chest as soon as you find it.

Author
Image of Jakejames Lugo
Jakejames Lugo
Jakejames Lugo is a writer and creator that has been covering video games, movies, and general entertainment for over a decade. He has published various articles on many outlets, and makes videos regularly for platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Jakejames continues to share gaming related content daily over social media for everyone to enjoy.