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Acquiring certain crafting materials in NieR: Automata proves significantly more challenging than others. While not visually indicated, some resources, like the Pristine Screw, are exceptionally rare.
Although purchasable from Emil, his inventory fluctuates, making direct acquisition from machines a potentially faster and cheaper alternative. Below are two farming strategies for Pristine Screws.
Where To Find Pristine Screws in NieR: Automata
Goliath-Bipeds, the largest non-boss machines, drop screws. Pristine Screws are the rarest variety. Higher-level Goliath-Bipeds yield a greater chance of dropping them, making early-game acquisition extremely difficult.
Several locations reliably spawn Goliath-Bipeds. The pit where Adam is first encountered is one such location, also ideal for farming Machine Arms. However, the Goliath-Bipeds here are around level 30, resulting in a low Pristine Screw drop rate. The advantage is their constant respawning, allowing for rapid farming despite the low drop rate.
Alternatively, during the third playthrough, fast travel to the Forest Castle: Front access point. Two level 49 Goliath-Bipeds guard the entrance, offering a higher drop rate. However, these do not respawn; you must fast travel to a distant location and return to repeat the process.
Both methods benefit from using a drop-rate boosting plug-in chip.
Which Farming Method Is More Efficient?
The optimal method depends on two key factors:
- Game and system load times:
- Your patience level:
Farming Pristine Screws is inherently time-consuming. While the Forest method offers a higher drop rate, it involves frequent loading screens, minimizing actual gameplay. Choose this method if load times are negligible. If uninterrupted gameplay and simultaneous material/XP farming are preferred, the pit method, despite its lower drop rate, provides consistent action.