Walkie Talkies and uPhones sit on the critical path early in Escape From Duckov. You’ll need at least one Walkie Talkie for quests and to progress bunker upgrades, and the uPhone ties into early progression, too. The challenge is that both are tied to randomized loot pools. Here’s how to stack the odds in your favor without wasting raids.
Walkie Talkie locations and containers (early game)
Walkie Talkies are part of the electrical loot pool. They show up most often in:
- Safes and cabinets
- Occasionally in general loot boxes and small crates
- Enemy and boss drops, on a lower chance
In Ground Zero, focus on the mercenary camp around the beacon area and the gray house just below that camp. These spaces consistently roll electrical loot in their safes and cabinets. If you’re short on time, sweep the right side of Ground Zero; the residential houses there tend to spawn the right container types and are dense enough to check quickly.
uPhone spawns and a reliable fallback
The uPhone shares the same general loot logic as other small electronics. You can find it in:
- Cabinets and safes in residential interiors
- Occasional drops from enemies
- Rarely in generic boxes or small crates
If you’re striking out on map spawns, dismantling a Graphics Card can yield a uPhone. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s a dependable fallback when you’ve already looted a card and don’t need to sell it.
Routes that waste less time
When you need a Walkie Talkie specifically, your best time-per-check is to chain short cabinet-and-safe runs in Ground Zero:
- Spawn and beeline to the beacon-side mercenary camp; clear, then open all cabinets and the safe.
- Drop to the gray house directly below the camp and repeat.
- Sweep a few nearby residences on the right side of the map for additional cabinets.
- Extract and requeue if the loot feels cold.
If you’ve progressed into Warehouse Area, add the East Road Camp houses to your route. They can spawn the Gray House Key and have interiors with the same cabinet-and-safe density you want for electronics.
RNG rules that actually matter
Duckov’s loot rolls vary by run. When the quality roll is low, entire areas will feel dry; when it’s high, you’ll see multiple desirable items in a single sweep. Two habits improve your odds:
- If a few containers in your first building are junk, extract early and try again rather than sinking time into the same seed.
- Storms boost loot outcomes across the map. If you have the protection to survive the weather, farming during a storm can pay off quickly.
What to do with them (don’t sell the first one)
Hold onto your first Walkie Talkie for quest turn-ins and early bunker progress. It’s also required to build the Black Market Contact, so reserve one in storage rather than selling it. As a general rule, keep at least one copy of uncommon electronics in your warehouse—you’ll regularly encounter quests that check for specific one-offs.
Similar names, different items
Don’t confuse the Walkie Talkie with the Military Handheld Radio. Both are radios, but they’re separate items and are used for different turn-ins. If a quest specifies one by name, the other won’t count.
Quick reference
| Item | Item ID | Typical containers | Notable locations | Notes / uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walkie Talkie | #064 | Safes, cabinets; rare in boxes; enemy drops | Ground Zero beacon merc camp; gray house below the camp; right-side residentials | Keep for early quests and to build Black Market Contact |
| uPhone | #063 | Cabinets, safes; rare in boxes; enemy drops | Same loops as Walkie Talkie; Warehouse area interiors as you progress | Can drop from dismantling a Graphics Card |
If a run feels cold after your first building or two, bail and requeue; your time is better spent rolling for a high-quality seed. Once you’ve banked one Walkie Talkie and one uPhone in storage, you can safely sell extras to fund ammo and meds while you push deeper into Warehouse and beyond.
