Reconnaissance drones are a unique collectible item in Horizon Forbidden West. These small drones fly through each of the biomes in the game, emitting a characteristic “ping” sound and a beam of blue light. To collect their valuable data, Aloy must first capture them by throwing them to the ground. To find reconnaissance drones, look for large spheres of blue light in the sky that appear to be pulsing and beams of blue light.
As you wander through the post-apocalyptic world of Horizon Forbidden West, you'll find a total of ten drones surveying the Earth. To collect their modules, Aloy must land one by jumping on it from higher ground and looting it. While most robots in the Forbidden West only drop resources after being splashed with arrows and other caveman-level weapons, sadly you can't fire reconnaissance drones. Instead, you have to jump on them and weigh them down until they touch the ground.
To reach the drone, players must climb to the top of the building using the different grip and climbing points and then look for a yellow lightning bolt that can be knocked down with the Pullcaster. This will allow Aloy to continue climbing, eventually leading her to a yellow pipe that hangs directly from the edge of the roof. From here on, it's simply a matter of waiting for the drone to fly by and picking it up when it does. Once the player knows where the reconnaissance drone is, he must enter its focus mode by pressing R3 until he can scan the drone. At that time, the drone's flight path will be visible.
Observing the flight path will allow the player to see the best place to shoot it down. Jumping on the reconnaissance drone may seem impossible at first, but if players press the square button to start gliding after a running jump, they should have enough momentum to reach it. To make a reconnaissance drone fall to the ground, players must jump towards it and hold on to the yellow side bar. Players can find the No Man's Land Survey drone east of Jagged Deep Rebel Outpost, not far from a Thunderjaw site. The Spires Island reconnaissance drone can be found flying near a building north of the relic ruins of Spires Island. The Plainsong reconnaissance drone is located on a barricade in Old Ones, northeast of the Plainsong settlement itself, overlooking an area devastated by shepherds and sparrows.
The Graypeak Survey drone is floating above a Slaughterspine site located south-southwest of the Sky Sentinel settlement and east of Cliffwatch. The Thornmarsh reconnaissance drone is located along the northern border of The Raintrace, northeast of the Thornmarsh settlement and north of a firecracker site. The Sheerside Mountains reconnaissance drone is located north of The Bulwark, not far from the north end of the map. The Stillsands reconnaissance drone is located south of Tower of Tears, not far from the southern end of the map.
The Dry Yearn reconnaissance drone is near a Shellsnapper site northeast of Dry Yearn Relic Ruins. Reconnaissance drones were originally conceived by Project Zero Dawn as a way for GAIA to monitor conditions in biospheres. Unlike signaling lenses and black boxes which can be exchanged for useful items, reconnaissance drones don't really have any monetary value. However, they are linked to a special collection mission which alters the appearance of GAIA's room at The Base. Capturing these reconnaissance drones requires some skill and patience but is well worth it for those who want to complete their collection mission in Horizon Forbidden West.
