One of the items DMZ players have been tasked with finding and extracting from an exclusion zone are Encrypted Hard Drives, a rare version of the common hard drives found all over the mode’s exclusion zones. Here’s how and where to get Encrypted Hard Drives in DMZ Season 5.
What Are They Used For?
There’s two major uses for them in DMZ Season 5. The first is to expand players’ wallets for the second time. Players need to extract 2 Encrypted Hard Drives alongside 8 Hard Drives, 4 Thumb Drives and 4 Laptops to increase its capacity by an extra $150k.
The second is as part of Go For a Drive, a Tier 3 Phalanx Mission. Players need to acquire an Encrypted Hard Drive, drive around in a Chop Top with said drive and then deposit it at Vondel’s Zoo Dead Drop. It’s fairly simple – once you’ve found the drive.
How to Get Encrypted Hard Drives in DMZ
Guaranteed Locations
We still only know of one guaranteed spawn for Encrypted Hard Drives in Warzone DMZ. This is in the Smuggler’s Drop, located in the far northwest of Vondel, beyond the Castle POI.
Players need the Smuggler’s Drop Key, which can currently be found via the Restaurant Briefcase or by looting. Unfortunately, this requires the Restaurant Briefcase Key, which requires another key, and so on. Players may need to work their way backwards through Vondel’s key chain. See the attached guides for everything on doing that.
Once players have the key they need, head for the L-shaped building northwest of the Castle POI, closest to the coastline.
Inside the building – note that it can be a Stronghold or part of a Contract – there’s a small wooden crate on the floor as you look south. That’s the Smuggler’s Drop. Use the key to open it up and stow the Encrypted Hard Drive that’s inside.
Looting
They are still acquirable without the Smuggler’s Drop Key. It’s just a process of looting around the right areas for them. As previously mentioned, we don’t know the exact locations of Encrypted Hard Drives beyond the aforementioned Drop.
However, they spawn frequently in and around computers and technological hotspots. These computers will be known to any DMZ player, typically found under desks and in offices or studies.
A lot of the time, they’re found in clumps of three or four. They often contain lower value items like Thumb Drives or Hard Drives (which are also important for expanding your wallet). On occasion though, they offer Encrypted Hard Drives.
You’ll know it’s an Encrypted Hard Drive when you see one because it will have the Special Item background and be worth $2000, rather than the $200 a common hard drive is worth.
They can also be located across any of DMZ’s Exclusion Zones. We opted for Vondel and headed to the University region in the north. There’s a lot of Computers on and around the campus, as well as a tech shop nearby. It’s just as viable to use Ashika Island or Al Mazrah though. The choice is ultimately yours.
It’s also worth looting high-value areas like Strongholds and Supply Drops. Not only do they give players generally better loot and a lot of cash, they often provide high-value items like Encrypted Hard Drives, Gold Skulls and GPUs.
That’s everything to know about getting Encrypted Hard Drives in Warzone DMZ. Be sure to extract quickly once you’ve found one – dying with it will put you back to square one.
