Finished the game, never found a way to open the golden chests.

[NatePrawdzik]

I cleared out every cave except for the level 200 one, pressed on all the walls, did all the quests I could see on the map when I scrolled out, etc. Finally beat the boss and restarted thinking that it must be a feature in new game+ or would be awarded after beating the boss, but I got nothing. What am I missing?

[界安]

you need to explore the WHOLE map to find the secret

[kaki_gamet]

Above suggestion is 100% spoiler free : ) Search around if you want a spoiled version ; )

[Kelrycor]

The place you get the key is missable if you just only follow the story paths. If you go on a large scale exploring you might find it. Actually it can be found about half way through the game.

Be an adventurer, venture out into the wide wide world :D

[Icedfate]

i saw this post last night and was determined not to read it, because i didn't want to spoil anything. glad i didn't read this, because yeah, it's not that hard to figure out. you just need to be more thorough in exploring. it's on the map.

[NatePrawdzik]

I explored and cleared every single cave in the game. Every dungeon, killed every monster. I flew around in circles and checked the edges of the world. It's pretty aggravating to find out that I missed this and has kind of deterred my motivation to keep going since now I'm probably way behind where I should be in the game loop.

[kaki_gamet]

Not really, equipment from Gold Chests are a bit better than others but you can get them anyway from the blacksmith (5,000 Gold chest) and your leveling up alone will fill the gap without problems. What one really needs is good timing and magics, and you have done well by completing it anyway : )

[Icedfate]

hint, once you get water walking, check the ship wreckage near where you first landed in the world.
the sspirit thing following you will then give you advice on where to look next.

don't feel bad, because i didn't find it either until i had flight and was level 70 and had pretty much run through almost every dungeon already and then had to run through all of them again once i got the key.

I knew the key would be tricky to find because this thread exists, but i was determined to find it on my own.
I suspected it was a side quest somewhere.

[NatePrawdzik]

Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement. :)