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Some crafting materials in NeiR: Automata are very difficult to come by compared to others. While not directly stated by a color or extra shine, some materials are much rarer and will not be easy to come across, much like the Pristine Screw.
While you can buy Pristine Screws from Emil, his inventory is always cycling, and sometimes it's just easier to hunt down machines to get what you need, along with being a lot cheaper. Here are some methods for trying to farm Pristine Screws.
Where To Get Pristine Screws In NieR: Automata
Screws are dropped from Goliath-Bipeds, the largest machines you'll fight that aren't bosses. There are multiple types of screws that can drop from a Goliath-Biped, and Pristine Screws are by far the most rare. The higher level of the Goliath-Biped, the better your chances of getting a Pristine Screw are, with it being practically impossible to get during the early hours of the game.
There are a few places that reliably spawn Goliath-Bipeds, with the first being the pit where you first fight Adam, also being a great place to farm Machine Arms. The only downside to this location is that the Goliath-Bipeds that spawn here are only a little over level 30, meaning they inherently have an even lower-than-usual drop rate for Pristine Screws. The upside to this location is that enemies constantly spawn, so you'll farm Goliath-Bipeds fairly quickly even at a lower drop rate.
You can also choose to fast-travel to the Forest Castle: Front access point during the third playthrough of the game to find two level 49 Goliath-Bipeds guarding the entrance. At a higher level, they have a better chance of dropping Pristine Screws, though they won't respawn like those in the pit. You'll have to fast travel somewhere else far away and fast travel back to keep killing those two Goliath-Bipeds over and over again.
Both methods can take advantage of a drop-rate up plug-in chip to slightly speed up the process.
Which Method Is Better?
Both methods have some merit, but it will come down to two major factors for which method is right for you.
- Loading time of your game and system.
- Your patience.
Farming Pristine Screws at all will take some time, and while fighting the machines in the Forest have a better drop rate, you'll be looking at a lot of loading screens and not actually playing the game as much. If this doesn't bother you, use the Forest method. If you want to constantly play the game and are interested in farming other materials, the pit will give you constant gameplay, materials, and XP.
