Released five years after Horizon Zero Dawn, the acclaimed new open-world single-player game Horizon Forbidden West vastly expands the sprawling post-apocalyptic setting of its predecessor. Aside from doubling the number of mechanical creatures, Forbidden West consists of 17 main quests, 49 side quests, and a slew of Errands for players to run during the game. As such, there are endless hours of content to explore and get lost in.
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Of course, in addition to a harrowing boss to face at the end of each main quest, the specific objectives of each quest present a series of challenges that require patience, health, the proper artillery, strategic gameplay, and several other factors.
The Embassy
The fourth main quest in the much anticipated PS5 game, The Embassy ends the honeymoon period for new players by considerably upping the difficulty level. The quest includes 10 objectives for Aloy to complete, including overriding a charger in the midst of a brutal mechanical ambush, defeating an army of rebel warriors raining arrows from range, and killing one of the toughest bosses in melee expert Grudda (Regalla's Champion).
Failing to obtain a Shock Warrior Bow at the Daunt Hunting Grounds as well as a Mount at the charger site will make this quest nearly impossible to complete. Even with those items in tow, the two marauding Bristlebacks that appear after defeating the rebels will give players extra trouble.
The Dying Lands
As ominous as its name suggests, The Dying Lands is the sixth main quest in the game. With one more objective than The Embassy, thegoal is to override the Repair Bay Core. To do so, Aloy must explore the Sacred Cave and override the network uplink before taking on a throng of killing machines and the almighty Grimhorn boss at once.
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What makes the quest so grueling is the sheer length it takes to complete despite boasting only 11 objectives. The most optimal playthrough will take nearly an hour to complete the entire task, completely exhausting players by the time they face the Grimhorn.
The Broken Sky
The eighth main quest in the content-rich open-world game, The Broken Sky tasksAloy with 13 objectives, including talking with Katallo, finding the Bulwark, battling the ultra-powerful Tremortusk boss and a rebel army, and ultimately destroying the Bulwark. One of the hardest parts of the quest is locating the Power Core beneath a hidden rock and obtaining the monitored Ravager Cannon to destroy the Bulwark.
However, the most difficult part of the quest is defeating the rebels and killing the almighty Tremortusk boss, a heavyweight mammoth-like mechanical beast that has impenetrable plates of armor, immense strength, andpunishingweaponry. Using frost attacks to destroy Tremortusk's Blaze Sacs is the best way to complete the quest in a timely manner.
The Kulrut
Once The Broken Sky is completed, Aloy will take on The Kulrut quest next. The main objectives include talking with Hekkaro at Memorial Grove, conversing with Dekka at the North Barricade, and engaging in grueling back-to-back battles with a horde of machines and the return of Slitherfang, one of the most formidable and destructive bosses in the game. Once completed, the quest ends with Aloy delivering AETHER to GAIA.
While the objectives of the quest are fairly straightforward, it's the relentless onslaught of enemies in the middle of the mission that proves the most difficult. Defeating Sliterhfang, a heavyweight machine with a powerful acid, shock, and purgewater attack, will require keeping a safe distance and using expert marksmanship to hit small weak spots.
The Sea Of Sands
With 20 odd objectives to complete, The Sea of Sands is one of the longest and most arduous main quests in Forbidden West. The quest includes finding POSEIDON in the underwater ruins below Las Vegas, draining the city, killing the deadly Tideripper boss, and ultimately delivering POSEIDON to GAIA.
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One of the hardest parts of the quest is foraging for raw materials and making a diving mask from scratch, which requires time, extreme patience, and precise directions from Morlund. Finding the primary pump node hidden in seaweed in order to drain the city is also a difficult chore to complete, only to be rewarded with battling the Tideripper, an amphibious heavyweight boss whose fire and purgewater attack modes are deadly on land and in water.
Seeds Of The Past
With over 25 key objectives to complete, Seeds of the Past continues to increase Aloy's difficult responsibilities. While the end goal is to recover DEMETER, one of GAIA's abandoned functions, the sheer amount of ground Aloy must cover en route to the west coast provides one harrowing challenge after another. To find DEMETER, Aloy must search three different Test Stations, kill a throng of ambushers and a gaggle of strangers, and restore power to the control room door.
If that wasn't exhausting enough, Aloy will be met rudely by the vicious Dreadwing boss, a heavyweight vampire-bat that can fly, and shoot acid, frost, and shock attacks at great distances. Even after killing Dreadwing, another 10 objectives are needed to complete the quest, including crafting a Vine Cutter from scratch using collected items in order to raze the Metal Flower Vines.
Faro's Tomb
The main objective of Faro's Tomb is to procure the Omega Clearance from Ted Faro's San Francisco bunker. While a modicum of searching is required, most of the quest's challenges come in the form of combat. The real surprise? Taking on the almighty Thunderjaw boss toward the beginning of the quest.
Known as one of the most formidable combat machines in the franchise, Thunderjaw is an apex predator proficient in deadly shock-based attacks in the popular open-world video game. Its only known weakness is its heart, which is very hard to hit without precise marksmanship. But even after defeating the Thunderjaw boss, Aloy will still have to kill the corruptors and the bodyguards in order to recover the Omega Clearance and escape safely.
Gemini
In the 14th main quest, Gemini requires Aloy to fight a charging Behemoth, redirect HEPHAESTUS back to the Core, kill the gnarly Slaughterspine boss, and override the Network Link. The latter objective is the most difficult, especially without having a Pullcaster to ascend the higher levels of the base.
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Even with the Pullcaster to help Aloy reach the two chambers to override two network links, players will be violently ambushed by a Fire Bellowback, Clawstrider, Leaplasher, and Grimhorn, four of the hardest creatures to fight in the game. And that doesn't even include the Slaughterspine boss, which can use acid, fire, shock, and plasma attacks.
The Wings Of The Ten
With one main objective, the penultimate quest in the game is an all-out battle to the death between Aloy and Regalla, the hardest boss to beat in Forbidden West. Ten straight minutes of unbroken combat will ensue in an ultimate mirror match of unbreakable wills and relentless fighting spirit. To defeat Regalla, Aloy will have to use all the tricks, moves, resources, and artillery accused over the course of the previous 15 quests.
The proud rebel leader, Regalla is extremely proficient at close-range melee attacks as well as long-ranged archery, requiring strategic methods to counter her lethal hyper-aggression. Using the elements and environment to counter Regalla's stealth attacks is an absolute must.
Singularity
It should surprise no one that the final quest in Forbidden West is the hardest to complete. Much longer and more elaborate than the others (over an hour long), the biggest challenge is defeating two brutal Far Zenith human bosses, Erik and Tilda, the latter of whompowers up with theomnipotent Specter Prime exo-suit that makes her nearly impossible to defeat in a single try.
Once Tilda goes into Specter Prime form, she can morph into several different shapes, using high-powered fire, shock, purgewater attacks, and impervious gold-plated armor. An absolute nuisance to conquer, the quest is extra difficult without a Boltblaster and plasma bolts to hit Tilda in her very few weak spots.
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