The Locked Door quest in Genshin Impact is a short but easy-to-miss hidden challenge inside the House of Hesperides Mountain Mansion in Snezhnaya. There is a door on the Main Floor that you cannot simply push open — it needs a key. That key, the Key of Ancient Design, is tucked away inside a set of Matryoshka dolls nearby. The trick is knowing how to extract it and what happens when you unlock the door. This guide tells you exactly where to find the key and what to do with it.
TL;DR
- The Locked Door quest is on the House of Hesperides Main Floor inside the Mountain Mansion in Snezhnaya.
- The Key of Ancient Design is hidden inside a row of Matryoshka dolls on the same floor.
- Use the Prime Ice Construct Dismantle function on the icy Matryoshka doll, then pick up the doll inside three more times to reveal the key.
- Use the key on the door southwest of the doll location to free a Jack Frost that was locked inside by another Jack Frost.
- Follow the freed Jack Frost as it confronts the culprit to complete the quest and earn an Exquisite Chest.
What Is the Locked Door Quest in Genshin Impact?
The Locked Door quest is one of many small hidden challenges packed into the House of Hesperides, the grand Mountain Mansion belonging to Grand Duchess Pavlina in Snezhnaya’s Fellfrost Peak zone. The mansion is full of Jack Frost fae who are busy playing, cooking, hiding, and — as this quest reveals — occasionally locking each other in rooms.
The quest has a fun bit of Jack Frost drama behind it. A mischievous Jack Frost has locked one of its companions inside a room and is acting innocent by loitering near a display of Matryoshka dolls. The Key of Ancient Design — the key to that locked room — is hidden inside the dolls. Finding it and freeing the trapped Jack Frost reveals the culprit and leads to a satisfying payoff.
This is one of many challenges you can complete on the House of Hesperides Main Floor alongside others like the Hide-and-Seek Jack Frosts quest and the Jack Frosts in the Kitchen challenge. For a full rundown of every challenge in the mansion, see our All House of Hesperides Challenges guide.
How to Access the House of Hesperides
The Mountain Mansion is locked to begin with. To get inside, you need to obtain the Invitation to the “Ritual” — a key item given during the Hesperides of Love and Hate world quest chain.
To unlock that quest chain:
- Complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act III – Song of the Dragon and Freedom to enter Snezhnaya and receive the Eye of Graeae gadget.
- Advance through Archon Quest Chapter VII: Act I – Everwinter Without Mercy and complete Gunfire in the Silent Lands to unlock Snezhnayan world quests.
- Begin the Hesperides of Love and Hate chain, which eventually gives you the Invitation to access the mansion.
Once inside, fast-travel to the House of Hesperides Main Floor waypoint and start exploring.
Where to Find the Key of Ancient Design
The Key of Ancient Design is not lying on a table or in a chest. It is hidden inside a row of Matryoshka dolls on the House of Hesperides Main Floor. When you find the dolls, you will notice that one of them has an icy coating over it — a sign that something is inside.
A nearby Jack Frost will be acting suspiciously around the doll area. That is your first clue that something is going on.
To extract the key, follow these steps:
- Locate the row of Matryoshka dolls on a table on the Main Floor.
- Open the Prime Ice Construct building menu (press the exploration interaction button with the Eye of Graeae equipped).
- Aim the menu cursor at the icy Matryoshka doll.
- Select Dismantle to break off the ice coating and reveal the doll beneath.
- Interact with the Matryoshka doll that appears. Pick it up three more times — each interaction reveals a smaller doll inside, like a real Matryoshka nesting doll.
- After the third pick-up, the Key of Ancient Design drops out of the innermost doll.
When you extract the key, the suspicious Jack Frost nearby will react — it visibly looks worried. This confirms it is the one who locked its companion inside the room and hid the key here to cover its tracks.
How to Use the Key of Ancient Design
With the Key of Ancient Design in hand, turn around from the Matryoshka doll table and look for the locked door southwest of that location on the same floor. Walk up to it and interact with the door to use the key and unlock it.
The door swings open and a Jack Frost tumbles out — it has been trapped inside the room by the mischievous Jack Frost you spotted near the dolls. The freed Jack Frost is not happy.
Complete the Quest: Follow the Freed Jack Frost
After the door opens, follow the freed Jack Frost as it waddles back toward the Matryoshka doll area to confront the Jack Frost that locked it in. Watch the short interaction play out — the freed Jack Frost gives the culprit a firm smack for its mischief.
This short and satisfying scene marks the completion of the Locked Door quest. An Exquisite Chest spawns nearby as your reward.
Locked Door Quest Rewards
Completing the quest earns you an Exquisite Chest that can contain:
- Intricately Patterned Buttons – a collectible currency tied to the House of Hesperides Jack Frost guests
- Cryo Sigil – Snezhnaya’s regional currency used at Meeting Points
- Primogems
- Adventure EXP, Mora, and standard exploration materials
What Are Intricately Patterned Buttons?
The Intricately Patterned Buttons found in House of Hesperides chests are a special currency you can spend at the Jack Frost Goodie Shop in Jack Frost Village — the snowy igloo settlement of Jack Frost fae in Snezhnaya. The shop unlocks after completing the Small Jack Frost, Big Problems world quest.
Items available for exchange include:
- Weapon Appearance – an exclusive weapon skin called “A Touch of Frost in Scorching Summer!”
- Prime Ice Construct Appearance: Jack Frost – a cosmetic skin for your constructs
- Various level-up materials and Snezhnayan collectibles
Every House of Hesperides challenge you complete gives you more buttons, so it is worth doing them all while you are inside the mansion.
Tips for the Locked Door Quest
Look for the Suspicious Jack Frost First
The mischievous Jack Frost standing near the Matryoshka dolls is your first hint that something is off. If you are exploring the Main Floor and notice a Jack Frost that looks nervous or starts reacting unusually when you approach a table of dolls, you are in the right spot. That Jack Frost is the culprit, and the key is hidden in the dolls right in front of it.
Dismantle, Then Pick Up Three Times
Players often try dismantling the doll once and then interact with the door immediately, but the key is not revealed after just one dismantle. You need to pick up the inner doll three full times after the initial dismantle to work through all the nesting layers and reach the key at the center. Each interaction peels back one layer of the Matryoshka doll.
The Door Is Southwest of the Dolls
Once you have the key, do not go looking far — the locked door is very close to the doll table. Turn around from where the dolls are and look southwest on the same floor. The door is nearby and interactable as soon as the key is in your inventory.
Do Not Miss the Other Main Floor Challenges Nearby
Since you are already on the Main Floor, take the time to complete the other challenges in the same area. The Hide-and-Seek Jack Frosts challenge triggers just by walking near the group of four Jack Frosts, and the Wine Cellar challenge is accessible from behind the curtain near the southern stairs. You can knock out several quests in one visit.
About the Matryoshka Doll Mechanic
Using the Prime Ice Construct menu to Dismantle objects in the environment is a recurring mechanic throughout the House of Hesperides. In the Hide-and-Seek Jack Frosts quest, you also use Dismantle on an icy vase to reveal one of the hiding Jack Frosts. In the Locked Door quest, the same dismantle mechanic applies to the frozen Matryoshka doll.
Keep this in mind while exploring the mansion. If you see an object with an icy coating or a glowing interactive indicator, try dismantling it through the Prime Ice Construct menu before looking elsewhere — it may contain a hidden item, a Jack Frost, or a quest trigger.
Other House of Hesperides and Snezhnaya Guides
- Hide-and-Seek Jack Frosts Quest Guide
- All House of Hesperides Challenges Guide
- Jack Frost Train Puzzle Guide
- Yarina Prime Ice Construct Quest Guide
- Shadow Wingdrop Guide
- Excitement-Loving Jack Frost Challenge Guide
- Dizzy Jack Frost Quest Guide
- Pioneers Quest Walkthrough in Genshin Impact
- How to Explore the Facility Interior in Genshin Impact
- How to Unlock the Golden Hall Teleport Waypoint
- Prism Slime Mushteshir Guide
- Qiqi Stellar-Conduct Build
- Raiden Shogun – top Electro for Stellar reactions in Snezhnaya
- Kaedehara Kazuha – great Anemo support for any Snezhnayan team
- Zhongli – best shielder for Fellfrost Peak exploration
- Tartaglia – native Snezhnayan DPS and strong Hydro carry
- Fischl – reliable off-field Electro for Stellar-Conduct setups
- Bennett – best Pyro support and healer for Snezhnaya exploration
- Hu Tao – strong Pyro DPS for any Snezhnayan encounter
- Yelan – solid off-field Hydro support for any team
- Furina – excellent Hydro character for reaction compositions
- Neuvillette – high-damage Hydro DPS for Snezhnayan exploration
Where to Play Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is free to play on all major platforms. Download it from the official Genshin Impact website, on Android via Google Play, on iOS via the App Store, on PlayStation, on Epic Games Store for PC, and on Xbox.
