Location ranking
This ranking is built from what players and press report about chest density, filtered through one question: how many chests can you actually reach before somebody shoots you. A location with a hundred chests and four squads landing on it is worse than a quieter spot with half as many.
| # | Location | Risk | How to fit it in | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lantern LandingRepeatedly named as the highest chest density POI on the island | High — contested landing spot, digging leaves you exposed | Drop here first, then rotate out | forbes.comfarming guide, 2 Nov 2026 |
| 2 | Cursed CavernNamed as the second stop on the standard Lantern Landing rotation | Medium — caves funnel players into each other | Same-match rotate after Lantern Landing | forbes.comfarming guide, 2 Nov 2026 |
| 3 | SS RockyThird stop on the reported single-match rotation; a Captain's ship POI | Medium — open deck, easy to third-party | Finish the rotation here before the circle closes | forbes.comfarming guide, 2 Nov 2026 |
| 4 | Fortune's FortListed among the POIs reported to hold the most chests per match | High — named hotspot for squads | Alternative drop when Lantern Landing is overloaded | insider-gaming.comguide, 2 Nov 2026 |
| 5 | Plunder PortListed among the POIs reported to hold the most chests per match | Medium — wide layout, harder to cover on foot | Pair with a Fortune Sprite to cover the warehouses | insider-gaming.comguide, 2 Nov 2026 |
| 6 | Locked vaultsVaults are reported to contain four rare chests plus sprite chests | Low once inside — but you need a vault key | Rush the vault the moment a key drops | reddit.com1,200+ chest log thread, 2 Nov 2026 |
Two entries deserve a note. Vaults are ranked low because you cannot plan around them — they need a key, and keys are luck. But when a key does drop, a vault is the best chest-per-second room in the game, so take it every time. Fortune's Fort and Plunder Port sit lower because they are named hotspots: the chest supply is real, the survival rate is not.
The one-match route
The route below is the version that shows up repeatedly in farming reports: one drop, two rotations, then leave. It is built to be repeatable rather than clever — you should be able to run it half-asleep while listening to something.
Route overlay to be added as a WebP with explicit width and height.
- Drop at the top POI while the bus is still over water. You want to be the first body in the loot, not the fourth. If three other squads are clearly going there, divert immediately — contested drops turn a thirty-chest start into a five-chest firefight.
- Sweep outward in a spiral, not room to room. Chests cluster near walls and roofs. A spiral covers the perimeter and the centre in one pass, and it keeps you moving rather than doubling back.
- Take the first rotation toward Cursed Cavern. Same match, no requeue. The point of the rotation is that fresh chests cost you nothing compared to a new loading screen.
- Finish at SS Rocky if the circle allows. If the storm is pushing you the other way, skip it. Walking across the map through a closing circle for three chests is a net loss.
- Leave before the lobby thins out. Once the player count drops, contested POIs get quiet but picked-over. A fresh match with untouched loot beats a late-game sweep almost every time.
Spawn rate caveats
Nobody has published a per-POI chest count, and the numbers you see in videos are estimates from individual matches. Three variables move them around:
- Mode. Zero Build is widely recommended for farming because chest density is reported as higher and movement items are more common. If you only play builds, you will still find chests, just fewer per minute.
- Respawns. Reported to respawn after a delay, so a POI you cleared ten minutes ago is not necessarily empty when you loop back.
- Weekly events. Treasure Sunday is described as boosting drops and handing a Captain's weapon at match start, which changes the value of a farming session on those days. See the Captain's Day schedule.
What has not been reported anywhere is a location with a higher token rate. As far as any source we found goes, POIs differ in chest volume, not in token odds per chest. You are optimising the number of rolls, not the die.
Sprites and movement
The single most useful tool is a sprite that reveals chests through walls — players name the Fortune Sprite as the pick, because it turns a building you would have skipped into a visible checklist. It does not raise the drop rate. It raises the number of chests you find per minute, which is the same thing in practice.
For movement, players report two habits worth copying: carry shockwaves or a knockback pistol and actually use them between POIs rather than saving them, and treat bunny-hopping with momentum as part of the route. Both shave seconds per rotation, and seconds are chests.
Habits that cost you chests
- Fighting for a POI you already lost. If another squad got there first, the chests are gone. Rotate instead of revenge-fighting.
- Looting bodies instead of containers. Eliminations do not drop the token. Ammo, mats and meds do not help you open more chests.
- Standing still to read the map. Learn the two POIs well enough that you do not need to open the map mid-route.
- Leaving a match you are still getting chests from. The token can drop on the last chest of a match just as easily as the first. Leaving early is only rational when the POI is empty.
Every location ranking on this page comes from community reporting, not from an Epic map. Exact chest counts per POI are not published anywhere, so the ranking is ordered by the reports cited rather than by a count.
Content last reviewed November 3, 2026. Pirate Shop Access is a fan site and is not affiliated with Epic Games.