One of the biggest PlayStation releases of last year, Horizon Forbidden West is a follow-up to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn. In this action role-playing game, the player takes on the role of Aloy, a hunter traveling through the post-apocalyptic Western United States who must survive among hostile and beast-like robots. The game released on Feb. 2022, but an expansion that takes Aloy to the game world's version of Los Angeles is due to release next month.
Players can explore the vast open world of the game through a variety of quests, some of which will take quite some time to finish. One of these time-consuming but satisfying quests is the Survey Drone location quest, which has the player hunting down various drones scattered across the map. This quest is difficult for even the most seasoned of players as the drones can be quite difficult to find, so here's a guide to help anyone who might be having some trouble finding them.
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How to Get the Survey Drones in Each Location
The Survey Drones in Horizon Forbidden West are small drones that hover around specific areas of a map, set on a predetermined path. They can be seen by looking for pulsing spheres and cones of blue light in the sky. Once the player knows where the Survey Drone is, they should enter their focus mode by hitting R3 until they can scan the drone. At that point, the drone's flight path will be visible. Taking a look at the flight path will allow the player to see the best place for them to take it down.
While Aloy's bow might be her signature weapon, it won't be very useful here. The only way to take down these drones is to use the surrounding environment to jump on them as they fly around. Doing so will pull the drones to the ground, making them crash and allowing Aloy to retrieve the module inside. While this process isn't exactly difficult, it's all about positioning and timing. Here is where each drone can be found.
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Module 024 Can Be Found in No Man's Land
This module can be found in the eastern part of the map in No Man's Land, east of the Jagged Deep Rebel outpost. It's located close to a patrolling Thunderjaw, so players should take care not to alert the beast to their presence unless they want to face off against this difficult foe. Along the Thunderjaw's path, players will see a large rock that they can climb up, giving the perfect platform to jump onto the Drone.
Module 047: Plainsong Will Be One of the First Drones Found
This is one of the earliest Survey Drones that the player is likely to encounter just because of how close it is to Plainsong. For this drone, players will need to be able to detonate Firegleam. Once in Plainsong, head northeast to an Old Ones barricade that is sealed with Firegleam. Blasting the gate open will get most of the job done, and then it's only a matter of climbing the walls to get the Drone.
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Module 143: The Dry Yearn Is Guarded by Shellsnappers
This next Drone can be found along the northern end of the Dry Yearn, northeast of the Relic Ruins that can be found in the area. Players should be on their guard as they may encounter a few Shellsnappers in the area. Eventually, they'll see a metal ramp that leads up a hill, which is the perfect place for players to jump onto the drone from.
Module 287: Greenswell Is Northeast of Scalding Spear
The Drone in Greenswell is actually not far from the previous drone in the Dry Yearn, located just north of it. It can be found northeast of Scalding Spear, flying around the cliffs near where the player will spot some Plowhorns. To intercept this drone, the player should climb up to a wooden platform along the cliffs and use this as a jumping-off point.
Module 367: The Stillsands Will Require the Use of the Pullcaster
The Survey Drone in Stillsands can be found at the southern edge of the entire map. It's relatively easy to spot compared to the other drones as it flies around a building directly south of the Tower of Tears. Players should use their pullcaster to climb up the stone tower with a few turrets on top then jump onto the drone from there.
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Module 398: Stand of the Sentinels Requires Some Aerial Acrobatics
The Drone in Stand of the Sentinels is one of the trickier ones to access but is best reached starting from Tide's Reach. From the town, head east, and look for a fallen tree. Climb the tree, following the grapple points to a platform that they can jump off from. Before attempting to get the drone, players should try to find the ladder on the platform and lower it, so that if they miss the jump, they won't have to navigate through the trees again.
Module 549: Thornmarsh Requires the Grappleshot to Obtain
The Thornmarsh Drone can be found along the northern border of the Raintrace. It can be found northeast of Thornmarsh, hovering near a campfire. For this drone, the Grappleshot is needed here as players will need to go up to the tallest dead tree possible for the best angle to jump off from to take down this Drone.
Module 678: The Graypeak Is Near a Herd of Slaughterspines
East of Cliffwatch and southwest of Sky's Sentry, this Drone is found in the snowy mountainous area of the map. Located near this drone are a number of Slaughterspines, so players should be careful when looking around for it. To ground this Drone, players need to locate a wooden platform on a cliff nearby and then jump off from there.
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Module 739: The Sheershide Mountains Is Tricky to Take Down
This Survey Drone is located pretty much at the edge of the map, north of the Bulwark in the Sheershide Mountains and not far from a Frostclaw site. Once the player spots it, they should navigate to a nearby Tenakth platform and then time their jump to intercept it. Nabbing this Drone can be a little difficult and players might need to glide a bit as they do so.
Module 863: Isle of Spires Will Require Using the Pullcaster
This Survey Drone will be one of the very last that the player encounters in the game. Located on an island along the western edge of the map, it can be found north of the Isles of Spires' Relic Ruins, flying its patrol loop near an abandoned building just west of Legacy's Landfall. To get this Drone, players need to scale the building and get as close as possible, climbing a yellow pole that they can pull down with the Pullcaster.
