How to get military tech in Dying Light 2

Update: As of patch 1.2 loot does not seem to respawn in airdrop crates making it impossible to keep getting military tech from them. The method below remains the same, but at this time you can only open the box and get the rewards once.

Crafting and upgrading in Dying Light 2 uses a wide range of resources, most of which can be found by simply exploring, looting, or in the case of infected trophies, killing certain enemies. But there is one material that is a little more elusive, and it’s something you’ll need at higher tiers.

The resource is military tech, and while you don’t need nearly as much of it as other materials, its scarcity makes finding a good source even more important.

Fortunately, when you know what you’re looking for, it’s a little easier to locate. It all hinges on finding military airdrops.

How to find military airdrops to get military tech

Airdrops aren’t a foreign concept in the world of Dying Light. In the first game they were a focal point of parts of the story. In Dying Light 2, poised to be one of the best Xbox games of 2022, you’re less likely to need to fight off any bad guys to claim one, but getting them isn’t exactly easy.

The first thing you’re going to need is the paraglider, which means you’ll need to have played through the campaign far enough to meet Lawan and unlock it. Generally speaking, you’re going to be hunting for these on tall buildings, so stamina and being able to leap from adjacent buildings are key.

Locating them is a little easier than going across every building in Villedor, though. As with other POIs in Dying Light 2, you can pop open your binoculars and as you come across one it will be marked on your map.

They’re not all on really tall buildings, for example, you can find one on the roof of a church in the southeastern portion of the Central Loop map. But all will require some kind of climbing puzzle, be that with the paraglider, the grappling hook, or sheer parkour skill. Like some of the windmills, if your stamina isn’t at the required level, you’ll see the icon in red on your map. It doesn’t mean you can’t get there, but you might struggle.

Unlocking military airdrops

Military airdrops are just regular crates so you don’t need lockpicks to open them. There are two parts to the crate and the first will house some decent loot. The military tech is locked behind a panel on the right-hand side of the crate and needs the GRE key to open.

Once the crate is opened for the first time it used to stay open but loot would respawn. From patch 1.2 this no longer seems to be the case so when it’s opened, it’s done.

There is also one catch. At points in the story, you lose the GRE key and when this happens, you won’t be able to use it to open the military airdrops. It’s not a total loss, as you can still open them using lockpicks in this instance only, but it’ll consume a lot of lockpicks. So if you’re looking for military tech it’s a good idea to go hunting at points you have the GRE key in your possession.

Using military tech is just the same as any other crafting material. When you need to use it, it’ll be deducted from your inventory.