You're probably stuck on "Checking." It’s that early-wipe rite of passage in Escape from Tarkov that everyone dreads because Customs is basically a meat grinder for the first three weeks of a patch. Prapor wants you to find a bronze pocket watch. To get that watch, you need a very specific piece of metal: the company director's room key tarkov players usually just call the "Tarcone key."
Honestly, it’s a bottleneck. If you don't have it, you're just staring at a locked door in the Big Red warehouse while some sniper on the silos lines up a headshot on your shiny Level 4 helmet.
Where to Actually Find the Company Director's Room Key
Let’s get the spawn locations out of the way because waiting for RNG to bless you is a losing game. Most people think you just stumble upon it. You might. But usually, you’re looking in the wrong pockets.
The most reliable way to get your hands on the company director's room key tarkov requires is through jackets. Jackets are the undisputed kings of key spawns in Tarkov. If you see a blue or brown coat hanging on a wall, search it. I’ve found more Tarcone keys in the dorms on Customs or the power station on Interchange than anywhere else. Scavs also carry them. Check every dead Scav. Seriously. Even the one you think isn't worth the five seconds of searching might have that single slot occupied by the key that unlocks your progression.
There is a static spawn, but it’s a gamble. On Customs, in the Three-Story Dorms, room 214 has a chance to spawn it. But here is the kicker: you need another key (the 214 key) just to get in there. It’s a bit of a "chicken and the egg" situation that makes the Tarkov early game feel like a cruel joke.
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The Barter Secret Everyone Forgets
If the loot gods are hating on you, stop relying on luck.
Therapist has a barter. It’s available at Loyalty Level 1, so you can do this immediately. She wants four crackers and two cans of squash. These are "common" food items, but in the first 48 hours of a wipe, they are worth their weight in gold.
- Pro Tip: Scav into Interchange. Run straight for Goshan. The back shelves are a grocery store. You’ll find the squash and crackers in one or two runs, easy.
Once you have the items, just trade them. It beats spending 100,000 Roubles on the Flea Market later on. Actually, you can't even use the Flea Market until Level 15 now, so for most players, the Therapist barter is the only "guaranteed" path that doesn't involve begging a teammate to open the door for you.
Why the Big Red Warehouse is a Death Trap
The company director's room key tarkov unlocks the office upstairs in the large industrial building on the west side of Customs. We call it "Big Red." It’s a terrible place to be.
Why? Because there is only one way in and one way out. Once you run up those metal stairs, every player within 200 meters hears your footsteps. Clang. Clang. Clang. It’s a dinner bell for PMC hunters.
When you get inside, you aren't just looking for the pocket watch. The room has three PCs, a safe, and some loose loot. It’s actually a decent spot for early-wipe farming if you can get in and out quickly. But the "Checking" quest item—the literal reason 90% of players are there—isn't even in the office. It’s in the tanker truck parked outside. You just need the key to find the "notes" or the lead that points you to the truck.
Actually, I should clarify: in the current version of the game, you need to enter the office to trigger the sub-task, then go to the truck. Don't flip that order or you'll be running across the bridge twice. Nobody wants to cross the Customs bridge more than they have to.
Breaking Down the Door: Mechanics and Nuance
Tarkov isn't always about keys anymore. Since the introduction of the breaching and vaulting mechanics, people keep asking if you can just kick the door down.
No. Not this one.
The Tarcone office door is reinforced. You need the company director's room key tarkov specifically. No amount of "Breach" commands will work. It’s a hard gate.
Something to keep in mind is durability. Most keys in Tarkov have 40 or 50 uses. The Tarcone key is no different. You might think, "I only need it once for the quest," but keep it in your Secure Container (Alpha, Beta, or Gamma). Why? Because if you die after opening the door but before getting the watch from the truck, you have to do it all over again.
Common Misconceptions About the Key
A lot of newer players get confused by the name. In the quest dialogue, it’s often referred to as the "Director's Office Key" or the "Customs Office Key." On the actual item in your inventory, it says company director's room key (Customs).
Don't confuse it with the "Director's Office Key" for the Record Office on Ground Zero. That’s a totally different map. If you buy the wrong one on the Flea Market because you were rushing, you’re out a chunk of change and still stuck on Prapor’s quest. Always check the map tag in the item description. If it doesn't say "Customs," it's not the one you want.
Tactical Advice for the Quest Run
If you are a solo player, going to Big Red at the start of a match is suicide.
Wait.
The raid timer is your friend. Most of the "Chad" players who are looking for PVP will hit Big Red in the first five minutes and then rotate toward the crackhouse or dorms. If you sit in a bush or a storage container for fifteen minutes, the area usually clears out.
Check the door. Sometimes, a generous player has already opened it. If the door is swung wide, just walk in, grab what you need, and leave. You don't even need the key in your inventory to progress if someone else did the heavy lifting for you.
What’s Actually Inside?
Is it worth keeping the company director's room key tarkov after you finish "Checking"?
Sorta.
The loot density isn't amazing, but the safe is one of the few on that side of the map. If you spawn at the "Trailer Park" or "Crossroads" extracts, hitting the office is a quick way to fill your pockets before heading toward the river.
- Computers: Good for GPUs and CPU fans.
- The Safe: Crucial for finding "Found in Raid" flash drives for Skier.
- The Jacket: Another chance to find more keys.
It’s a solid "B-Tier" loot room. It won't make you a millionaire, but it pays for the insurance on your SKS.
Actionable Steps for Success
To move past this bottleneck and actually progress your Tarkov career, follow this specific sequence. It’s the most efficient way to handle the quest without tilting.
- Check Therapist First: Don't even look for the key in-raid. Check your stash for 4x crackers and 2x squash. If you have them, do the barter immediately.
- Scav Interchange: If you don't have the food, run your Scav on Interchange and hit the back of Goshan. It’s a 100% safe bet for food spawns.
- Night Raids: If you're struggling to survive the Big Red warehouse, go at night. Bring a flashlight or cheap NVGs. Most players avoid the warehouse at night because it’s a maze of shadows.
- Secure Container: Never leave the key in your pockets. Even if it’s a cheap key, losing it means losing progress.
- The "Exit" Strategy: Once you get the pocket watch from the truck, do not go looking for a fight. Head straight to "Smuggler’s Boat" or "RUAF Roadblock." If you die, the watch is gone, and you have to go back into the warehouse to reset the quest trigger.
The company director's room key tarkov is a symbol of the early-game struggle. Getting it is the first real hurdle. Use the barter, play slow, and stop sprinting across the metal stairs like a madman. You'll get the watch, turn it into Prapor, and then you can finally move on to the next nightmare: trying to survive the Woods for Jaeger.