Prestige Key

The Prestige Key is the rarest and most valuable standard zone key in Marathon, a gold-tier item that drops from UESC Commanders on the Perimeter zone, most reliably from the Commander stationed near the Station POI guarding the Lockbox room. In addition to its use as a zone access key for high-value locked areas in Cryo Archive, the Prestige Key carries an assessed sell value of 2,000 credits, making it one of the most credit-valuable items a runner can extract with. UESC Commanders are elite enemies with reinforced shields and backup troops, so eliminating one to claim the key requires a coordinated squad with strong damage output and awareness of other runners who may contest the kill. Once retrieved, the Prestige Key should be vaulted or used in Cryo Archive to access locked areas that cannot be opened with lower-tier keys. The Prestige Key is also sometimes called the Gold Prestige Key by the community, distinguishing it from the narrative Marathon C-series prestige keys that form part of the game's ongoing ARG.