007 First Light Guide: How to Get the Compound Basement Keys

Q: What is inside the Compound Basement?

The basement opens into a large room with three soldiers inside. Use the Q-Watch to distract them before moving in, which gives you room to neutralize them on your terms rather than reacting to an alert. The main reason to come here is sitting on top of a pallet: the "7 of Roses" playing card collectible. There are also additional resources scattered around the room worth grabbing before you leave.

The Compound Basement in 007 First Light sits behind a locked door that most players walk straight past during the "Search the Compound" mission. Miss the keys and you miss a playing card collectible, some useful resources, and a clean alternate route through the Malta training facility. The whole detour takes maybe five minutes, but you need to know exactly where to look.

Where to find the Compound Basement Keys

The keys appear right at the start of the "Search the Compound" mission inside the "A New Home" chapter. The moment James enters the large compound area of the training facility, look for a broken structure off to the side where a group of soldiers has gathered around a TV.

The Compound Basement Keys hang on the left wall of that structure. You have two ways to get them: sneak around the soldiers without being spotted, or take them out first. Which approach you pick depends on which challenge objective you want to tick off. Either way, the keys are in the same spot.

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If you want to stay undetected for a stealth challenge, crouch and time your approach when the soldiers are focused on the screen. The Q-Watch can help create a distraction if you need one.

Key location on left wall

How to reach the Compound Basement door

Once you have the keys, the route to the basement is a short but guard-heavy walk.

From the structure where you picked up the keys, take a right and head across the steps.
You will arrive on a balcony where two soldiers are mid-conversation.
Wait for one soldier to move away, then sneak behind the remaining guard and cross the area without triggering an alert.
Follow the corridor to its end, then go down the steps.
The locked basement door is on your left at the bottom of the stairs.

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Do not rush past the two soldiers on the balcony. If both are still present and you move too quickly, you will likely trigger a detection. Wait for the patrol split before crossing.

Balcony guard patrol path

What is inside the Compound Basement?

The basement opens into a large room with three soldiers inside. Use the Q-Watch to distract them before moving in, which gives you room to neutralize them on your terms rather than reacting to an alert.

The main reason to come here is sitting on top of a pallet: the "7 of Roses" playing card collectible. There are also additional resources scattered around the room worth grabbing before you leave.

7 of Roses card on pallet

Is the Compound Basement worth visiting?

Short answer: yes, especially if you are hunting collectibles or want to complete stealth challenges in the same run. The 7 of Roses card is the primary draw, but the extra resources make the detour worthwhile even if you are not a completionist. The route through the basement also keeps you away from heavier guard concentrations elsewhere in the compound, so it can actually make the rest of the mission cleaner.

The "A New Home" chapter has more going on than just this basement. If you are working through other locked areas and code puzzles in the game, the 007 First Light all safe codes and door codes guide has every combination in one place.

For everything else the game throws at you, the full 007 First Light guides collection covers puzzles, collectibles, and mission walkthroughs across every chapter.