After a slight delay, update 1.2.0 finally released for Destiny late last week, bringing with it a number of big changes to the game including Crucible adjustments and tweaks to reputation and mark gains. Along with those key improvements, players also saw the return of the Queen's Emissary, bringing along new bounties and rewards.

While fans are in the final countdown for Destiny's new House of Wolves content, player attention for the time being has been focused on one of those new bounty rewards called Treasure Keys. After collecting these items, players were then unsure what to actually do with them, but new information has surfaced that suggests they are extremely useful.

Treasure Keys can be found after completing the new Queen's Bounties received from Petra Venj. Essentially, players accept these missions and then hunt down the enemies in question during special events found on patrol missions. After taking down the target, players will have ninety seconds to find a hidden Ether Chest in the area which can grant various rewards like materials, engrams, and the much sought after Treasure Keys.

As it turns out, these highly valuable Treasure Keys can be used after surviving a full round in the new Prison of Elders area within the House of Wolves expansion. After taking down the final boss, a locked chest can be opened using a treasure key, which in turn grants players a shot at an exotic or Legendary piece of gear.

Interestingly enough, these keys have a chance of dropping once players beat the final wave in Prison of Elders. In addition, treasure keys are also only able to be used once per run, so even though players may have more than one key in their inventory, they'll need to run the mission multiple times to use a new key. So, if players find a Treasure Key out in the wild, they then have an incentive to complete Prison of Elders again.

Even though House of Wolves isn't out yet, resourceful players have already found ways to game the system. Once spawned, Ether Chests remain active for the entire ninety seconds, even if looted by the player. As many saw in our Treasure Key guide video, if the player character physically leaves the zone and then rushes back in, the chest can be looted again a second time. Considering the valuable items potentially contained in these chests, it's probably only a matter of time before Bungie fixes this issue.

Let us know what you think of the big changes House of Wolves is bringing to Destiny below in the comments.

Destiny's House of Wolves expansion releases May 19 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Source: IGN