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The Keycard is one of the most commonly used items in Jailbreak. It can be used to open locked doors with keycard insert pads next to them, and also helps Criminals access the Rising City Bank and Crater City Bank.

Overview

Prisoners and criminals can get a keycard by pickpocketing police, kill a police officer so they drop the card (although there is only a 25% chance of getting a key), finding one in a Cargo Plane crate, or obtaining it from Rusty in the Prison in exchange for a donut. A player (as a prisoner or criminal) loses their keycard when they are arrested or killed. A keycard can also open the gate that is normally opened by punching the power box, but players can press the red button behind the gate to open it.

The keycard is a major mechanic that the game revolves around. Players cannot rob the Rising City or Crater City Bank normally without a keycard unless being let in by a cop or another criminal, although there are other places where they can rob that do not require a keycard, such as the Museum, Jewelry Store, Gas Station, Donut Shop, Passenger Train, Cargo Train, Cargo Plane, Cargo Ship, Power Plant, Tomb, Casino and the Mansion.

Function

Keycards are used to open locked doors where prisoners and criminals cannot access it. Criminals or prisoners must pickpocket a card by holding "E" while behind a police officer, or kill one to obtain a card. It is important to remind that police are alerted when their keycard (or their pistol and/or donut) has been pickpocketed and are likely to give chase.

The creators, asimo3089, and badcc realized it was "unfair" that the only way to get the keycard was to pickpocket a police officer, so keycards are later made to have a 25% chance of dropping when a police officer dies. This helped the function of the Jailbreak world to be more realistic and balanced. They later added another way of obtaining keycards, which is by looting it from one of the crates aboard the Cargo Plane. In the Prison Revamp Update, it was made possible for Rusty to give you a keycard in exchange of a donut that can be obtained in the Prison cafeteria. In the 2023 Winter Update, another way to obtain a keycard was grabbing one from Oil Rig Room #3. It can be used to unlock keycard-locked rooms to capture more oil barrels and to escape the robbery.

Places Requiring a Keycard

Escaping cops after pickpocketing

The majority of the time, police will chase after players who pickpocketed them. However, players can escape pursuit via many methods, which can be seen by the list below.

NOTE: Do not attempt any of these techniques if players are visible to the police or are being given chase very closely.

Prison Cells

If it happens in the area of the cell block, run up the staircase and try to get into the Security Office, as cops are unlikely to suspect that you went into it. Once players get into the security office, they can grab some weapons and escape via the backdoor. If the player pickpockets police on the top floor of the cell block, they can jump down, off the balcony, and then repeat similarly to the previous scenario. During the process, players can also drop the keycard in their cell or the Telephone Room if they are worried that they will be arrested. Once the coast is clear, they can now re-obtain their keycard, grab some weapons from the security office or the Prison Gun Shop and escape.

Cafeteria

In the Cafeteria, a player's best option is to try to hide behind the lunch counter or run out into the hallway and either shelter in the Telephone Room or escape via the security office.

Telephone Room

Although still not quite as good a hiding place as the cafeteria, if players are facing a large group of experienced police, dashing into the phone booths and crouching can often hide them, as most people may believe that they have gone somewhere else.

Yard/Courtyard/Outside

This method holds a large risk of failing. Pickpocket the police's keycard, then quickly hightail it and rapidly jump. Consistently changing the route prevents players from getting tazed, which obviously ruins this method (or any method in general). Make way and jump onto the trampoline. The police should follow and jump on the trampoline; jump off so the police cannot perform an arrest in midair, and since there can be lots of prisoners trying to steal a keycard, the police may get confused. Slip out of the chaos and get to an escape-way.

Police Stations

This method is slightly more risky, but if you manage to do it it works. Run into the police station (make sure there aren't cops inside the station first) and grab weapons. Shoot the cops if they come close to you and make your escape out the prison through the main doors, or, if you have time, hijack either the Helicopter or Little Bird from the top of the station.

Audio

When opening the doors that require a keycard.

Trivia

  • Despite not in their inventory, Police technically have a keycard at all times.
  • Keycards are quite illogical as they can open almost any door from the Bank. (but a necessary feature)
  • Before an update, the keycard used to only be available to Prisoners and Criminals by pickpocketing.
    • It also used to be available in safes.
  • If players get arrested and then get broken out, they will still lose their keycard. The same applies to all other items including mansion invites.
  • Police does not drop keycards if they reset, or killed by punching or by the electric fence, and only drop keycards if killed by criminals.
    • Police who got killed by Explosives won’t drop keycards. This does not apply to Black Hawk missiles or the Rocket Launcher’s rockets.
    • However, Police that are killed by airdrop NPCs can drop keycards.
  • Police can pick up a dropped keycard, but as police have infinite keycards nothing changes.
  • The keycard used to be completely blue. This was changed a few hours after Jailbreak's release.
  • If players look closely at the key in their inventory, it will say "SECURITY CLEARANCE L5" and an arrow pointing to the right. However, when they hold it, the text does not appear, only stripes.
  • If a player gets killed by a criminal and drops a keycard, they could "grab" it during the death message if their head fell close enough to the keycard. The same applies to the pistol. This was later fixed when the death animation changed to the ragdoll other then splitting into pieces.
  • Before an update, keycards and pistols had to be pickpocketed by just holding the left mouse button at the back of the police, but now, players must hold "E" to pickpocket police.
    • Players can pickpocket if they click on the "Hold E to pickpocket" symbol.
  • As of the 2019 Winter Update, the keycard can be obtained from a Cargo Plane crate.
  • As of the second day of the 2021 5 Days of Vehicles update, a keycard is no longer required to exit the cargo plane.
  • The keycard cannot be stored in cell drawers.
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