How to get Europan drone components in The Forever Winter

The first proper non-Scav quest you take in The Forever Winter tasks you with gathering three Europan drone components. Up till this point, your usual water collection runs will be faction-neutral. That said, the Europan drone quest Friends in Hostile Places is likely to be the first point of contact with the warring parties of The Forever Winter.

If you're not sure where you can find these Europan drone parts to fulfill the quest, you've come to the right guide.

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How to find Europan drone components in The Forever Winter

To get Europan drone components, you have to loot fallen Europan drones in The Forever Winter. One of the three major military factions vying for control, Europans will deploy these drones to scout out the battlefield.

There will be various types of airborne fighting instruments you'll come across in the game, but the Europan drones are those with the less complex design. They'll have a wide metal brim on the top, and a drum-like appendage below.

This is what you're looking for (Image via Fun Dog Studios)

To find a Europan drone, your best bet this early on is to go to Cemtery in the Scorched Enclave region. This is one of the two entry points in the very first region, and it will be selected by default when you load into a mission for the first time. In other words, it's possible to get started before you even receive the Friends in Hostile Places quest.

Once you spawn, scout out the perimeter for ongoing skirmishes. Cemetery is a very highly contested entry point, and firefights between Europans and Euraska break out often. If a fight is ongoing, don't bother crouching down. Start sprinting toward the first secure cover you can see, as the enemies will not actively seek you out when already locked in on other factions.

The rest of it is a waiting game. Wait in a secluded spot till a Europan drone is nearby. Idle Euraskan or Eurasian military will shoot it down on sight, saving you some ammo. However, the safer option is to find a spot far away from patrol routes, find an isolated Europan drone that drifted nearby, and shoot it down yourself.

The drones don't fight back, but they explode before they crash, which will damage you if you're close. Once the drone falls, you can loot it to pick up one Europan Drone Debris.

Europan drone components can only be found in units of one from a crashed drone (Image via Fun Dog Studios)

Gunshots may attract unwanted attention, so you want to do this with the lowest TTK strat possible. This early on, the fastest method is to use your Surplus Shotgun and shoot at the drum of the drone when it's close or directly over your head.

If you get lucky, you'll get opposing drones fighting each other with no infantry nearby. This is the easiest way to collect the loot, as the enemy drones will quickly drift elsewhere, and there will be no foot soldier movement to be afraid of.

To beat the mission, simply find three of these components. You don't need to do this in one single extraction. The mission will be complete as long as you have three total Europan drone components in stash.