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There are many equally dangerous and difficult machines in Horizon Zero Dawn. There are so many, in fact, that it can get a bit confusing on which machine has which attack styles and which resources you can loot, as each machine is slightly different. But that's where this handy guide comes in — we've cataloged the entire spread and compiled a wealth of information on them. From the base game to the Frozen Wilds expansion pack, here's every machine Aloy is going to encounter and everything you need to know when it comes to taking them down.

RELATED: Horizon Zero Dawn: Some Mistakes Everyone Makes When Playing For The First Time

Small Machines

Watchers And Redeye Watchers

Horizon Zero Dawn Watchers

Breakdown

Watchers are the first machine you will come across in the game and one of the most common ones you'll find across the map. They do as their name suggests, they watch the areas around them, and often they can be found guarding a group of machines at a machine site. They have a big aggro range, meaning you will have to be extremely stealthy to be able to sneak up behind them.

Redeye Watchers behave in the same way as regular Watchers and are exactly the same apart from one thing — they're a lot tougher than Watchers. They take a little more fighting to bring down but their abilities and resources are the same.

Tip: The best way to avoid their gaze is to hide among the red grass when they are looking around. They are really useful to override as they can seek out other machines nearby and attack them.

Abilities

  • Once they are alerted to you, they will send out a warning that all machines nearby can hear.
  • They can attack you by shooting at you from their eye.
  • They like to attack in groups.
  • A flash of light that they emit from their eyes can briefly deafen and blind Aloy. She will be disoriented for a few seconds.
  • They lunge themselves at Aloy's feet first, if they catch her it will hurt her a fair amount.

Weak Spots

Watchers really only have one weak spot and that's their lens. It looks and acts like their eye. If you shoot it accurately in the center of the lens, the entire machine will go down. If you're unsure of where you're aiming then use your focus to scan the machine, it will highlight the weak spot in yellow.

The Best Ammunition Types To Use Against Them

  • All ammunition types work well against Watchers and Redeye Watchers.

Resources

When you destroy a machine, you can loot it for different resources. Resources are extremely useful as they can be used for anything from crafting ammunition to trading with Merchants for some really useful things.

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Watcher Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Watcher Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Crafting Items
  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Ammunition
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sparker

  • Crafting Items
  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Ammunition
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Metal Shards

  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition
  • Trading With Merchants

Important: Not every Watcher will have all of the resources at once all the time, which resources you can gather will vary from machine to machine. This goes for all types of machines.

Strider

Horizon Zero Dawn Strider

Breakdown

Striders are one of the more docile machines you can find in the game. They can be found across the entire map and they're typically grazing on grassy grounds in herds. They can be overridden, and once overridden, they can be used as a mount that Aloy can ride around on to get to places much faster.

Once mounted, a Strider can be used to attack enemies by pressing R1 and they do a solid amount of damage.

Tip: Striders can be easily ambushed from behind as long as you're not too noisy. They're often quite oblivious to their surroundings if they're not protected by Watchers.

Abilities

  • Can charge at you and trample you.
  • Will kick you with its hind legs if you're too close

Weak Spots

The main weak spot for the Strider is the Blaze Canister that's on its back. If you highlight the machine with your focus, it will be clearly highlighted yellow. If you hit this and knock it off or destroy it with any arrow, it will severely damage the machine. Alternatively, if you hit it with Fire-type arrows you can trigger an elemental explosion that will engulf the machine and any machines near it.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • All types of ammunition work well against Striders.
  • Fire-type arrows will work best against the Blaze Canisters if you want to destroy them.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Strider Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Strider Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Crafting Items
  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Crafting Ammunition
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Trading With Merchants

Sparker

  • Crafting Ammunition
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Trading With Merchants

Metal Shards

  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition
  • Trading With Merchants

Scrapper

Horizon Zero Dawn Scrapper

Breakdown

Scrappers can be found scavenging for metal scraps or dismantling deceased machines. They are rarely found on their own and they can use their numbers to their advantage when fighting against you.

Tip: If you override one of these machines it can protect you against the rest of its pack.

Abilities

  • Has a laser designed to help it cut metal, and it will use this against you in precise attacks.
  • It will lunge at you and swipe its claws to try to hit you.
  • Can gather its pack to overwhelm you.
  • It has a scanner that can pick you up if you're close to them, even if you're hiding.
  • The scanner can sense dead machines, so if you're hanging around some for too long then a Scrapper is sure to show up.
  • Can use its laser to fire at you in short bursts.

Weak Spots

Scrappers have two main weak spots and both are clearly visible if you scan them with your focus. The easiest one to hit is the Power Cell located at the rear of the machine. If you shoot this part with Shock arrows then it will cause an explosion that will Shock any machines near it.

The next weak spot is on top of its body at the point where its back arches, also known as the Radar. If you destroy this it will take a huge chunk of the Scrapper's health away and it will remove its ability to scan for you, which will make it easier for you to hide.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint arrows do a significant amount of damage anywhere on the machine.
  • Shock arrows do the most damage when aimed and shot at the Power Cell
  • All arrow types are good to use against Scrappers.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Scrapper Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Scrapper Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Grazer

Horizon Zero Dawn Grazer

Breakdown

Grazers are another one of the games more docile machines that can be found in herds. It's very rare to find a Grazer that's alone. They can often be found in herds whilst grazing on grassy areas and are typically guarded by Watchers. Their first instinct is to run from danger so Grazers are more likely to run than attack you. However, if they do decide to attack then they can be quite deadly.

They use their antlers to dig into the ground, and these antlers are the parts of them that you need to look out for.

Abilities

  • Very, very fast running speeds
  • Charging at you and attacking you with its antlers.
  • Can give a nasty kick from its front legs.

Weak Spots

Grazers have two main weak spots. The easiest one to hit and the one that does the most damage to the machine is the set of Blaze Canisters situated on the back of the machine, near its rear. If you hit these canisters with Fire-type arrows then it will cause an explosion of fire that will affect the machine and any other machines surrounding it.

The second weak spot is a little bit trickier to hit — their antlers. If you manage to hit their antlers with Hardpoint arrows then it will destroy them and knock them off of the machine. This not only disables the attack but also causes quite a bit of damage.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint arrows
  • Fire-type arrows
  • Tearblast Arrows
  • Blast bombs
  • Blast and Fire Traps

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Grazer Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Grazer Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Broadhead

Horizon Zero Dawn Broadhead

Breakdown

Broadheads are more aggressive than striders but they behave in a similar way. They can be found in herds whilst grazing on grassy areas and are very rarely found on their own. The herds are typically guarded by Watchers or near more powerful machines that can give them protection. The thing to watch for with Broadheads would be their horns, as they tend to fight back rather than simply running away.

You can mount this machine once you override it.

Abilities

  • Will charge at you with their horns and try to knock you down with them
  • Will kick you with their front and hind legs.
  • Can attack you as a herd

Weak Spots

A Broadhead has two weak spots. The easiest one to hit is their antlers. If you hit either of their antlers with a Hardpoint arrow then it will knock them off and destroy them which will take a large chunk of the machine's health away.

The second weak spot is represented by the Blaze Canisters located on the rear of the machine. If you hit either of these with Hardpoint arrows then it will destroy them and damage the machine. Also, if you hit them with Fire-type arrows then it will cause a large fiery explosion that will damage anything around the machine as well as the machine itself.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint Arrows
  • Fire-type arrows
  • Tearblast Arrows
  • Blast Bombs
  • Blast and Fire Traps
  • Shock Traps
  • Freeze Arrows
  • Freeze Bombs

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Broadhead Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Broadhead Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Charger

Horizon Zero Dawn Charger

Breakdown

Chargers can be found when you cross into the second section of the map. As with Striders, they can be found in herds and are rarely found alone. While they are normally unguarded, they can pack a serious punch when they fight back so they aren't really in need of protection. Instead of running, they will typically work together to attack you.

They can be mounted and when overridden they are a good asset.

Abilities

  • As the name suggests, they charge at you and try to ram you with their horns.
  • Strength in numbers — they can work together as a herd to charge at you and overwhelm you with attacks.
  • They will seek you out to attack you.

Weak Spots

Chargers have two main weak spots. The easiest one to hit and the one that does the most damage to the machine when destroyed would be the horns on either side of its face. If you destroy this part of them with any arrow type then it will remove their ability to charge you.

Their second weak spot is the Blaze Canister situated on its back. If you hit this with a Fire-type arrow it will cause a fiery explosion that will damage the machine and anything around it.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint arrows
  • Fire-type arrows
  • Blast Bombs
  • Blast and Fire Traps
  • Tearblast Arrows
  • Shock Traps
  • Freeze Bombs
  • Freeze Traps
  • Corruption Arrows

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Charger Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Charger Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Lancehorn

Horizon-Zero-Dawn-Lancehorn-1

Breakdown

Lancehorns are typically found in the colder areas of the maps, usually near the Mountains that split the map in two. They gather in herds and are rarely found by themselves. They are usually being guarded by stronger machines such as Watchers, or a Sawtooth. Their horns are what you need to watch out for when engaging with this machine, as they can be lethal.

They can run away but if they feel they are in immediate danger they will fight back and they're surprisingly fast.

Abilities

  • They will charge at you with their horns in an attempt to spear you with them.
  • If threatened they can charge as a herd and try to overwhelm you.

Weak Spots

Lancehorns have two main weak spots. The main weak spot will be their horns. If you hit these with any arrows, particularly Hardpoint arrows, it will destroy them. By doing this you will remove their ability to attack you.

The second weak spot does just as much damage as the first one if it's destroyed. There is a set of Freeze Canisters on the back of the Lancehorn. If you hit these with Freeze arrows it will cause an elemental explosion that will engulf the machine and freeze it, which will make it more vulnerable to attacks for a short period of time.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint arrows
  • Fire-type arrows
  • Freeze Type arrows (on its Freeze Canisters)
  • Blast Bombs
  • Freeze Bombs
  • Blast and Fire Traps
  • Freeze Traps

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Lancehorn Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Lancehorn Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Glinthawk

Horizon-Zero-Dawn-Glinthawk-1

Breakdown

Glinthawks patrol the skies so they tend to pop up anywhere on the map outside of The Embrace. They are a complete nuisance as often they will spot you before you spot them. By that point, they will have already alerted all the other machines nearby. Glinthawks are rarely found on their own and they will always fight you as a group.

They coordinate their attacks, so if one Glinthawk pulls back, there is another one to take its place to attack you. They're one of two flying machines in the game. Their elemental attack is based on ice, so taking an anti-freeze potion if you're fighting them is a good idea. One of the best outfits to wear whilst fighting them is a Banuk Ice Hunter outfit, as it gives good protection against Freeze damage.

They are extremely strong against any Freeze based attack, but weak against any Fire-based attack.

Abilities

  • They can fly, so they will evade your attacks much faster than other machines
  • Firing ice attacks at you from the sky (They do have an indicator for this attack - they let out a distinct sound that telegraphs it)
  • If all else fails then they will just dive bomb you and try to crush you.

Weak Spots

The main weak spot on a Glinthawk is only really accessible when it's up in the air. When it's on the ground, it often protects this spot with its wings. The weak spot is at the center of its chest and it's the Freeze Sac. If you destroy this with any arrow type, it will cause an explosion that will freeze the machine and any machine that is close to it. This will leave it vulnerable to your attacks.

The second weak spot is the Glinthawk's beak. This is easier to see if you use your focus to highlight the machine as it will be one of the things that turns yellow. It's extremely weak to tear type arrows, so hitting it with Tearblast arrows will cause a lot of damage to the machine.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against A Glinthawk

  • Fire-type arrows. They are weak to any flame attack. Hitting them with these will hurt them.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Tearblast Arrows. Use this arrow to knock off the beak component to cause a lot of damage.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Ropecaster. You can use this to tie the Glinthawk down and get a few good hits on it.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Glinthawk Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Glinthawk Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Small Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Medium Machines

Stalker

Horizon Zero Dawn Stalker

Breakdown

A Stalker is a machine whose attacks are mainly based on stealth and ambush. They are only found in the half of the map that has Meridian at the center of it. They can be found on their own or in groups of two or more. Stalkers can also be found hiding amongst groups of machines, and they will often know you're there before you spot them.

They have a built-in component that acts as an invisibility cloak. When this is active, they're hard to spot. The only giveaway that they have is that the environment will warp around them when in this mode. Stalkers are surprisingly quick with their attacks so you should stay alert around them.

Abilities

  • Cloaking ability that essentially turns them invisible.
  • They drop Proximity Mines that will explode if you get too close to them.
  • They drop Mines that act like Flares if you get near them, this will point your location out to the Stalkers once set off. These are a good tell-tale sign that there are Stalkers in the area when you come across them.
  • Stalkers have a projectile-firing Dart Gun attached to them.
  • Its tail can give a nasty swipe.
  • When desperate, it will lunge and swipe its front claws in an attempt to maul you.

Weak Spots

Stalkers move fast, so your best chance at hitting their weak spots will be to use your focus to highlight the machine. This will turn all of its weak areas yellow and make them easier for you to hit.

Their main weak spots are the Mine Launchers that are sat on the rear legs of a Stalker. If you destroy these with any arrow type, it will stop it from being able to use the Mine attacks.

The next weak spot you should tackle is at the center of its body, just behind its front legs. This is the part that generates the Stalker's ability to go into stealth mode. If you destroy this, it cannot disappear anymore and it will put you on equal ground.

The final weak spot you can hit is the Dart Gun which is sat on its shoulders. If you destroy this, it disables the Stalker's ability to use ranged attacks on you.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • The entire body of a Stalker is weak to Shock Ammunition.
  • Tearblast arrows do a lot of damage and make the components easier to destroy.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast and Fire Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Stalker Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Stalker Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Longleg

Horizon Zero Dawn Longleg

Breakdown

Longlegs are like the most extreme version of a really evil Ostrich. They are quite large and can do a serious amount of damage with one kick alone. It also has a radar which it uses to scan the environment, so there's really no hiding from it. Longlegs are often found alongside other groups of machines, like Chargers or Snapwmaws.

They are tough machines that will put up a fight if they feel they are in danger and they do not back down.

Abilities

  • Sonic Blast - this will deafen and briefly disorientate Aloy.
  • Jump and crush - it can jump from quite far away and try to land on you to crush you.
  • Powerful claw kicks - its legs have sharp claws at the end of them and it will try to kick you with these.
  • Alarm Call - it will send out an alarm call to other machines in the area and you can quickly find yourself fighting more than just a Longleg.
  • If it's desperate, it will jump and try to headbutt Aloy.

Weak Spots

Longlegs have a few weak spots, but there is one that does more damage than the rest. This is the Concussion Sac on its chest and it's always exposed, which makes it a really easy target. If you destroy this component, the best arrows are Hardpoint arrows, then it will cause an explosion that will do damage to anything around it.

RELATED: Horizon Zero Dawn: Every Type Of Arrow And How To Use Them

The next weak spot you should go for is its Alarm Signal Antenna on top of its head. This part of it mimics bird feathers, but it's the part that can cause you the most problems. If you destroy this, it will stop the Longleg from calling out to other machines for help.

The other weak spot that is easy to hit and does a lot of damage is the duo of Power Cells located on its back just behind the wings. If you hit this with Shock type arrows then it will create an explosion that will inflict Shock damage on the machine and any machine around it.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint Arrows.
  • Shock ammunition.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Tearblast Arrows.
  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Blast, Fire, and Shock Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Longleg Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Longleg Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Shell-Walker

Horizon Zero Dawn Shell-Walker

Breakdown

Shell-Walkers can be very dangerous but they're also extremely useful to hunt. They carry a cargo hold on their backs and this often carries extra resources on top of the ones that the machine already has. This means that the loot you get off of a Shell-Walker is almost always good. They are often found in groups and it's rare to find a Shell-Walker on its own.

They have a ranged elemental attack that can cause a lot of damage and it has the ability to shield itself from your arrows.

Abilities

  • Shield — on its left claw it has the ability to create an energy shield. This can block any attack from you, but it's pretty easy to destroy.
  • Lightning Gun — its right claw has the ability to shoot at you with Shock ammunition and it can easily electrocute Aloy.

Weak Spots

Shell-Walkers have a few weak spots. The ones that you should go for are its claws, as destroying both of these will remove its ability to attack you and shield itself. Both can be easily destroyed using Hardpoint arrows.

The next weak spot that you should attack is the cargo hold on its back. If you use Tearblast ammunition on this part of it, it will still cause the machine damage, but it will remove the cargo hold in one piece so that you can loot it after you've won.

The other weak spot on a Shell-Walker is hard to get to as it's situated underneath the machine. The Power Generator is on the underside of its body. If you do destroy this, it will disable everything on the Shell-Walker and leave it extremely vulnerable.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: Shell-Walkers are strong against Shock Ammunition, so do not use this as you will be wasting your time and assets.

  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Fire Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Shell-Walker Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Shell-Walker Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

​​​​​​​

Trampler

Horizon Zero Dawn Tramplers

Breakdown

Tramplers are herd machines and are almost impossible to find on their own. Even though they are strong on their own, they are deadly as a group and they will stop at nothing to protect their herd. They are on the bigger side of the medium-sized machines in the game and they can easily crush you if given the chance.

To make matters more difficult, Tramplers can often be found near machines with radar abilities such as Longlegs, so they can easily be alerted to any danger.

Abilities

  • Fire attacks - can surround themselves in an explosive flame attack.
  • Will charge at you with the intention of gouging you with its horns.
  • As the name suggests, it will run at you and try to trample you beneath its hooves.
  • Will swing its head to try to pick you up and throw you with its horns.
  • Can use its horns that are designed for digging to kick up a stream of rocks to throw at Aloy.

Weak Spots

Tramplers have two main weak spots that you should exploit to cause them the maximum amount of damage. The first weak spot is their horns. If you destroy these using Hardpoint arrows then it will damage the machine and it will stop their ability to charge you.

The next weak spot is the yellow ball on its stomach. This is where their flame attacks generate. You should repeatedly hit it with fire-type ammunition and it will explode, engulfing the machine in flames.

The other weak spot is a little trickier to reach, but it's the set of Power Cells on the back of the Trampler. Hitting these with Shock type arrows will cause an explosion of the same element.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: A Trampler's body is strong against fire, but the processing unit on its stomach is weak to it.

  • Fire-type ammunition - not on its body.
  • Shock ammunition - mainly aimed at the Power Cells.
  • Ropecaster - tying this machine down will give you a better chance of hitting those precise areas.
  • Hardpoint arrows - they always do a good amount of damage to any machine.
  • Blast traps - can trip the machine up and strip it of certain parts once triggered.
  • Tearblast arrows - can remove specific parts of a Trampler.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Trampler Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Trampler Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Fire And Freeze Bellowbacks

Horizon Zero Dawn Freeze and Fire Bellowback

Breakdown

These are the same machine but there are two types, the Fire Bellowback and the Freeze Bellowback. They have the same attacks (aside from the associated elements) and are made of the same components. Even though they are large, they are still considered to be medium machines. They can be found on their own or with a few others of their kind. They're commonly found alongside Watchers.

RELATED: Top 10 Most Powerful Horizon Zero Dawn Machines

They can be quite tricky to fight, but once you know how to exploit a major weak spot, they can be taken down in seconds.

Abilities

  • Fire/Ice streamer - it can fire its element in a steady stream at Aloy.
  • Elemental Floor Hit - it can get low to the ground and fire waves of its element towards Aloy.
  • It will charge at you and swing its head to knock you down.
  • It can trample you.
  • If it's close enough, it will swing its large tail around. If it hits you, it will take a large chunk of your health.

Weak Spots

Bellowbacks have a few weak spots, but there is one major spot to note. On the back of a Bellowback, there is a large container holding liquid specific to their element. This allows them to create their elemental attacks. If you destroy this with an arrow type that matches their element, it will cause an explosion that can engulf the machine and it will reduce the health of the machine by almost half. So it would be fire-type arrows for Fire Bellowbacks and freeze-type arrows for Freeze Bellowbacks.

The same can be done for their next weak spot, which is located under the chest and near the neck. You need to do exactly the same as you did with the liquid cargo sac. If you attack both of these weak spots, the Bellowback usually only takes a few more arrows before it's defeated.

They do have another weak spot which is the set of elemental canisters located between its legs. To get to these you first need to remove the metal panel covering them with a few Hardpoint arrows. Then, once exposed, you can destroy them with Hardpoint arrows. This hurts the machine, but not as much as the other weak spots.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against Them

  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Freeze-type ammunition.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Freeze Bombs.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Tearblast Arrows.
  • Corruption Arrows - Their size means they can take on other machines that are similar sized or smaller and will usually win.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Bellowback Heart

Trading With Merchants Selling For Metal Shards

Bellowback Lens

Trading With Merchants Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

Trading With Merchants Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

Selling For Metal Shards

Blaze (Fire Bellowback) Chillwater (Freeze Bellowback)

Trading With Merchants Selling For Metal Shards Crafting Items ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

Trading With Merchants Crafting Items ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sawtooth

Horizon Zero Dawn Sawtooth

Breakdown

Sawtooths can be found across the entire map, including in The Embrace. They are one of the first medium machines that Aloy comes up against. They're quite ferocious at first, but once you know how to defeat them they become much easier to fight. They are often found on their own but they can be found in a group of two or more.

They can be found guarding weaker machines such as Lancehorns.

Abilities

  • Claw swipe - one swipe of its claws will knock Aloy down and take a chunk of her health away.
  • Large lunge - it can jump very far so if you think you are safe at a distance from a Sawtooth then think again.
  • Melee Attacks - these attacks are pretty much all it can do.

Weak Spots

Sawtooth machines have a few weak spots. The easiest one to exploit is the one located on its back near its rear. This weak spot does not show up when you highlight the machine with your Focus. If you hit it repeatedly with Hardpoint arrows you will destroy it and it will reduce some of the machine's health.

The next weak spot is another one that will not show up with your Focus — the spiky area on the machine's shoulders. Again, hitting this repeatedly with Hardpoint arrows will destroy it and take down the health of the machine even more.

The only weak spot the Focus does show is the Blaze Canister located on the underside of the machine. You can destroy this with fire-type arrows to create an elemental explosion, but it's far trickier and riskier to target than the other two weak spots.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

  • Fire-type arrows.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Corruption arrows - they're really useful machines to have in a fight.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast and Fire Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Sawtooth Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Sawtooth Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

​​​​​​

​​​​Ravager

Horizon Zero Dawn Ravager

Breakdown

Ravagers are like Sawtooth 2.0, they look very similar but they're better, faster, and much stronger. In addition to having all of the deadly melee attacks that a Sawtooth does, it also has its own ranged attacks with specialized weaponry.

They are typically found prowling around with other machines.

Abilities

  • Agile - for a larger machine it is surprisingly fast.
  • Ravager Cannon - this cannon has lethal projectiles.
  • Melee attacks - one swipe from this machine will significantly reduce your health.
  • Lunge attacks - it will jump an impressive distance to you and try to snap you up in its jaws.
  • Shock attack - it can surround itself with electricity and project it, subjecting everything nearby to Shock damage.

Weak Spots

Ravagers have a few weak spots, but there is one that you should exploit before the rest. Use your Focus to scan the machine and all the weak spots will turn yellow. You should target the Ravager Cannon that's sat on top of its shoulders. Hit this with Hardpoint or Tearblast arrows to remove it. Once it has been removed it is the best weapon to use against the Ravager. All you need to do is pick it up then fire it at the machine.

The next weak spot you should exploit is the duo of Power Cells sat behind where the Ravager Cannon is. If you hit these both with shock-type ammunition then it will cause an explosion of the same element. This will electrocute the machine, making it vulnerable to your attacks for a short time. If you simply remove them, that will still take its health down.

The other weak spot is slightly harder to hit due to the machine's agility. The best way to hit this one is to wear the machine down first, that way it will slow down enough for you to get the hits in. There is a Freeze Canister on the chest of the machine, and if you hit this with freeze-type arrows, there will be an explosion of the same element that will momentarily freeze the entire machine.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It.

Important: A Ravager's body is strong against Shock based ammunition. If you're going to use this ammunition then it has to be aimed at the weak spots or it won't be too helpful.

  • Shock-type ammunition - not on the Ravager's body.
  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast and Fire Traps.
  • Corruption arrows - if you haven't damaged them before corrupting them, they are a powerful asset.

Resources

Resources

What They Are Used For

Ravager Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Ravager Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Snapmaw

Horizon Zero Dawn Snapmaw

Breakdown

Snapmaws look a lot like prehistoric Crocodiles, they are huge and they can lurk beneath the water, which can make them really hard to spot if you're not looking properly. They are most deadly in the water. If they ambush you in there, there is very little you can do to fight back, all you can really do is try to swim away and get to land. When they're on land they are dangerous too, as they can launch themselves at you and they can run pretty fast.

They are always found in or around bodies of water and only ever found on the half of the map with Meridian at the center.

Abilities

  • Powerful Jaws - if it catches you in its jaws, it's going to hurt a lot.
  • Lunge attacks - it can propel itself out of the water and onto land with extreme accuracy. It can do the same to close the distance between you and the machine whilst on land.
  • Ice Blasts - it has a ranged attack where it propels shots of ice at you from a distance away. They're easy to dodge as they can take a while to get to you.
  • Tail Swipes - if all else fails then it will run at you, then spin around and swipe you with its tail.

Weak Spots

Snapmaws have a few weak spots, but it's easiest to hit the panels going down its spine. There are a few of these panels on the machine, so you have a few opportunities to cause a lot of damage. The best way to hit these is by using Hardpoint arrows as they have a quick reload speed and can inflict a lot of damage in just a few shots.

The next weak spot is the Blaze Canisters that are sat just behind the Snapmaw's head. If you hit these with fire-type ammunition then it will cause an explosion of the same element. This will engulf and damage the machine as well as any Snapmaws around it.

The other weak spot is a little harder to hit but it's worth the risk because of the amount of damage it inflicts. The Snapmaw has a Freeze-sac located under its chin, and this is where it creates its projectile freeze attacks. If you destroy this with a freeze-type arrow it will cause an explosion of the same element which will briefly freeze the machine. Whilst frozen, the Snapmaw will take extra damage from Hardpoint arrows anywhere on its body. Also, by destroying this part you will have stopped its ability to perform any ranged attack.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

​​​​​​​

Important: The Snapmaw's body is strong against Freeze ammunition. If you're going to use this type of ammunition then it needs to be targeting the parts of the machine that are weak to it. Otherwise, it's pretty much useless.

  • Freeze-type ammunition - not the Snapmaw's body.
  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Snapmaw Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Snapmaw Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Corruptor

Horizon Zero Dawn Corruptor

Breakdown

Corruptors are machines that you will not find just scattered across the map in the wild. They are one of the two machines that will only appear as part of a quest. They don't appear at any other time. Corruptors can control other machines and turn them hostile. They are very fast and have a few dangerous weapons attached to them, but their ancient status means they're weak against certain attacks.

Abilities

  • Can call on and corrupt other machines, after which it can control them.
  • They can jump really high then land on top of Aloy, piercing her with its legs.
  • It has a Grenade Launcher attached to its body.
  • It has a Spike Launcher.
  • Corruptors can swing their tails to knock Aloy over, causing a serious amount of damage to her.

Weak Spots

The very weapons that make the Corruptor dangerous can also be its downfall. The easiest ones to target are the Grenade and Spike launchers that are situated on either side of the machine at the top. They are easy to destroy with Tearblast arrows or Hardpoint arrows, either type will cause enough damage to destroy the parts with little effort.

The next weak spot is the entire body of the Corruptor. This machine is extremely weak to any fire-based attack and it takes a lot of damage from them. If you hit the body with any fire-based attack, you will inflict a lot of damage.

The other weak spot is harder to hit and it will only be revealed if the Corruptor overheats. The Heat Core will raise on the side of the machine once the machine overheats. You can get it to overheat by consistently attacking it and taunting it to get it to attack you. Once it's exposed, hit it with Hardpoint arrows to destroy it.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: Corruptors are strong against Corruption type arrows, so there is no point in using them.

  • Fire-type ammunition.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Fire traps.
  • Blast Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Corruptor Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Corruptor Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Metalburn

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Large Machines

Rockbreaker

Horizon Zero Dawn Rockbreaker

Breakdown

Rockbreakers are a machine that you run into in the latter half of the game, and they are formidable opponents. They can dive and burrow beneath the ground to escape your attacks. This also gives them a huge advantage against you in battle, as they can disappear then reappear beneath you and snatch you up in their jaws.

They are massive machines but despite their size, they are very good at ambush attacks as your Focus will not pick them up if they're underground. Due to their ability to disappear and reappear so quickly, the best way for you to approach fighting them is from a distance. If you can manage it, then fighting them from a high point like a tall rock where they cannot reach you is the best idea.

Abilities

  • Can fire a steady stream of rocks at you.
  • Can track you from underground and launch itself up beneath you to crush you in its jaws.
  • If found in a pair, they will work together and time their attacks to constantly bombard you.

Weak Spots

If you scan a Rockbreaker with your Focus when it's above ground, you will see that it has quite a few weak spots. It's your choice which ones you choose to attack but here are the top 2 that you should go for.

The first weak spots you should go for are the Rockbreaker's Digging Arms. You need to attack all four of them and destroy them in order to disable its ability to go below ground. These four weak spots are extremely vulnerable to Tearblast arrows, so they are your best bet for removing them quickly.

The next weak spot you should go for is the Exhaust Port on its back. It's the only component on its back that will turn yellow with your Focus scan so it should be easy to see. This is weak against any and all types of ammunition, but the best ones to hit it with are Hardpoint and Tearblast arrows as they inflict a lot of damage in a short space of time.

You can go for the fuel sac under its stomach, as destroying this will cause a fiery explosion that engulfs the machine. However, it's very tricky to get to and if you want to keep your distance from the Rockbreaker then it's not ideal.

Best Ammunition Type To Use Against It

​​​​​​

Important: The body of a Rockbreaker is strong against fire-type ammunition so don't use it.

  • Tearblast arrows - this makes removing components much easier.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Freeze Bombs - the body of a Rockbreaker is actually weak to ice.
  • Sticky Bombs.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Rockbreaker Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Rockbreaker Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Large Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Crystal Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Behemoth

Horizon Zero Dawn Behemoth

Breakdown

Behemoths are, as the name suggests, huge — they can cause you some serious problems when you come across them. Their size is the thing that makes them most dangerous, but they're surprisingly agile so they can charge at you and crush you in a matter of seconds.

They can be found alone or in herds of two or more. As with most of the large machines in the game, this one is best fought at a distance if the environment allows it.

Abilities

  • It can levitate rocks around it and send them out flying in all directions.
  • Can churn up rocks and fire them at you in a steady stream.
  • Can lift large Boulders and hurl them at you.
  • Behemoths can and will trample you.
  • They are very agile for a big machine.
  • You can hide from them, but their size means they can easily knock down trees, so don't hide there!

Weak Spots

Behemoths have a few weak spots, but there are some that are more effective than others. You need to scan a Behemoth with your Focus to see all of its weak spots, this will make it easier for you to target them in a fast-paced battle.

The first weak spots you need to focus on are the Force Loader components on either side of its head. They look a lot like Blaze Canisters, and they allow the machine to lift up rocks. They're extremely weak to Tearblast arrows. If you destroy this weak spot then the machine cannot lift rocks to use against you.

The next ones you should focus on are the Freeze Canisters located on the rear of the machine. If you destroy both of these with Freeze arrows then it will cause an explosion of the same element. This can briefly freeze the entire machine which will make it twice as vulnerable to your attacks for a short period of time.

The easiest weak spot to hit is the Crate Holder on its stomach. It's the big yellow ball. If you remove this component with either Tearblast or Hardpoint arrows, it'll do a lot of damage.

There is a Power Cell located behind its head near the Force Loaders, hit this with Shock arrows to destroy it and cause an elemental explosion.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Behemoth is strong against any kind of Shock damage so avoid using that ammunition type.

  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Freeze arrows - Extremely effective on the Freeze Canisters.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Fire Traps.
  • Shock arrows - Only targeting the Power Cell.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Behemoth Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Behemoth Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Large Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Crystal Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Stormbird

Horizon Zero Dawn Stormbird

Breakdown

If you thought Glinthawks were hard machines to fight, then you're probably not going to be too happy to hear that there is an even bigger and deadlier flying machine in the game. Stormbirds patrol the skies on the half of the map that has Meridian at the center. They have a powerful ranged attack, and when all else fails, they can bring their attacks to the ground.

They are hard to hide from as they can easily scope you out from the air, so once you're spotted your options are to fight or to run. For a machine of this size, sometimes running is the best option if you're not ready to fight them.

Abilities

  • Ranged attack where it fires electricity balls at you with extreme accuracy.
  • Deafening sonic blast - this can temporarily deafen and disorient Aloy.
  • On the ground, it can create a large energy charge of electricity around it then discharge it, subjecting everything nearby to Shock damage.
  • Can swoop down and crush you by landing on top of you.
  • In the air it can get low to the ground and flap its wings with extreme force, knocking Aloy back onto the ground.

Weak Spots

A Stormbird has many weak spots, but the easiest one to hit and the one that does the most damage to the machine is the Lightning Gun on its chest. This part of it is constantly exposed, whether it is on the ground or in the air. This component is very weak against Tearblast arrows, so the best way to destroy it is to repeatedly hit it with that ammunition until the component comes off. Once this is destroyed, the machine cannot fire electricity attacks at you from the sky. It also takes the Stormbirds' health down a lot.

The next weak spots that you should go for are the Engine parts that are dotted up and down the underside of the wings. If you have scanned the machine with your Focus, these will be easy to spot. Again, these are extremely weak to Tearblast arrows so this is the best ammunition type to use.

The machine does have two other weak spots, but they are much harder to hit as a Stormbird will rarely turn its back on you. There is a Blaze Canister located on its lower back, and if you destroy this with Fire-type arrows then it will trigger an elemental explosion that can result in the machine being set alight.

The other one is the Freeze Canister which is located on the back of the machine's neck. If you destroy this using Freeze arrows then an explosion of the same element will occur, which can result in the machine being frozen for a short amount of time.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Stormbird is strong against Shock damage so avoid using any Shock based ammunition.

  • Tearblast arrows - they inflict the most damage across the entire machine.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Fire-type arrows - mainly on the Blaze Canister.
  • Freeze-type arrows - mainly on the Freeze Canister.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Sticky Bombs.
  • Freeze Bombs.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Stormbird Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Stormbird Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Large Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Crystal Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Thunderjaw

Horizon-Zero-Dawn-Thunderjaw in desert with sun behind

Breakdown

Thunderjaws are the most dangerous machine that you will come across whilst exploring the wild environment of Horizon Zero Dawn. They are massive, they're smart, and they have a variety of weapons attached to them that make them experts at ranged attacks. Also, they have a scanner attached to them which means that they can find you even if you're hiding from them. They are considered to be one of the best machines to hijack.

If the heavy weapons weren't bad enough, a Thunderjaw can also use its colossal size to crush you.

The best way to fight this machine is to be smart about it and fight from a distance. Setting traps using Tripcasters will help you bring down the machine without needing to get too close to it.

Abilities

  • It has a Disc Launcher that can float in the air and fire lasers at you.
  • Thunderjaws have small cannons located on either side of the face.
  • It can fire several lasers at once in a line from the ground up to try to slice you.
  • It has dangerous tail swipes that will knock Aloy down if she is too close.
  • It can run to you and trample you under its feet. It will stamp on you repeatedly if given the chance.
  • It can charge at you and lift you up in its jaws.

Weak Spots

Fortunately, a Thunderjaw has many weak spots that you can exploit. The main one that you should focus your efforts on is the Disc Launcher on the back of the machine, near the tail. If you knock this component off by using Tearblast arrows you can pick it up and use it against the Thunderjaw. It's the most effective weapon to use against it. You can destroy it with Hardpoint arrows if you feel you want to, but either way, removing it will damage the machine.

The next weak spot you should focus on is the Tail. If you destroy this with any arrow type then you will stop the Thunderjaw from using it against you. This will make it less risky to get close to it to try to hit the other weak spots.

The Thunderjaw has a radar on top of its body. If you target this with Tearblast arrows it will destroy it, and this will make it harder for the machine to track you down. This can give you valuable time to breathe and boost your health.

The other weak spots you can go for are the Cannons on either side of its face. If you destroy these then it will stop the Thunderjaw from being able to fire them at you.

There are Power Cells located on the underside of a Thunderjaw's tail, but to get to them you first need to hit the metal panel covering them. To do this, fire at it with Hardpoint arrows. Once this is removed, the Power Cells will be exposed. Once exposed, if you hit them with Shock type arrows it will cause an explosion of the same element.

The final weak spot is only accessible when the health of a Thunderjaw is extremely low. Once the health of the machine is low enough, the Heart of the Thunderjaw will be exposed at the center of its body. This is really vulnerable, so hitting it with any ammunition type will do significant damage.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Thunderjaw is strong against Shock based ammunition. If you're going to use Shock arrows then make sure they're aimed at the parts of the machine that are weak to it, otherwise, it's a waste of ammunition.

  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Fire-type arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Sticky Bombs.
  • Proximity Bombs.
  • Blast traps.
  • Fire traps.
  • Shock arrows - Only on the part that is weak to it.

Resources

​​​​​​​

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Thunderjaw Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Thunderjaw Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Large Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Crystal Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Deathbringer

Horizon Zero Dawn Deathbringer

Breakdown

You will only come across Deathbringers at a few key points in the main story. You don't need to worry about running into one of these machines in the wild. They are large machines but their size is their downfall as they are not very agile, meaning you can literally run circles around them. Deathbringers have a nasty habit of overheating and breaking down when they're too hot, which can be a big help.

However, they are definitely still dangerous as they are equipped with multiple (and powerful) ranged weapons.

Abilities

  • It has a Cannon Turret which will fire projectiles at you.
  • Deathbringers have two Flamethrowers attached to them.
  • Grenade Launchers.
  • Gun Turrets.
  • There is another Cannon that does heavier attacks, but much slower.
  • Swarm Launcher — this launches projectiles that act a lot like missiles.

Weak Spots

Their entire body is extremely weak against any fire-based attack.

Deathbringers have many different weak spots that differ between machines. As you make your way through the story, you will encounter different versions of the machine so you need to scan it with your Focus to highlight which weak spots it has.

All of its weaponry, such as the Grenade Launcher and Flamethrowers, are weak to every single type of ammunition (apart from Corruption). Tearblast arrows, fire-based attacks, Hardpoint arrows, and Blast Bombs will do the most damage in a short period of time.

When a Deathbringer overheats it will briefly shut down and expose its cooling vents. When they're exposed they are the machine's weakest spot and one you should hit with everything you've got. Once destroyed, you will have significantly hurt the machine and it will take much longer to recover from overheating. This will leave the machine vulnerable for longer periods of time.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Deathbringer is strong against Corruption so don't use this ammunition type against it.

  • Fire-based attacks - the machine is extremely weak to any fire-based attack.
  • Shock-based ammunition - the body of a Deathbringer is also weak to this.
  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Fire Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Deathbringer Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Deathbringer Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Crystal Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Large Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Metalburn

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Vessel

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Corrupted Machines

Horizon Zero Dawn Corrupted Machines

Breakdown

Corrupted Machines have been infected with the madness that turns machines hostile and incredibly dangerous. When a machine is corrupted, it is much more dangerous than its original form and it can be much harder to fight. Even a corrupted Grazer can be deadly. If you get too close to a Corrupted Machine then you can become infected too, as the corruption will poison Aloy for a short period of time.

Weak Spots

The weak spots on a Corrupted Machine will be exactly the same as the weak spots of their original form. It's best to fight these machines from a distance to avoid being poisoned.

The entire body of a Corrupted Machine is susceptible to fire damage and will burn faster.

Best Ammunition Types

  • Fire-based attacks, particularly fire-arrows.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Fire Traps.
  • Sticky Bombs.
  • Proximity Bombs.

Resources

Corrupted Machines carry the same resources as their uninfected original forms, and they can carry Metalburn.

Frozen Wilds Machines

Frostclaws

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Frostclaw Hind Legs Stance

Breakdown

Freezeclaws are gigantic machines that pose a serious challenge for even the most seasoned Horizon Zero Dawn gamers. Like all the machines added through the expansion, it is unlike anything seen in the game before. The large size of the machine would fool many into thinking it would be slow, but a Freezeclaw is actually extremely fast.

The machine can stand on its two back legs, making it seem massive. Whilst walking on two legs, a Freezeclaw will use its claws, which are charged with its element (ice).

Abilities

  • Can walk on its hind legs and cover a lot of ground very quickly.
  • Can fire streams of Ice towards Aloy.
  • Frostclaws can make Ice spikes erupt from the ground beneath you.
  • It can pick up Aloy in its arms and crush her before throwing her to the ground.
  • It will lunge and swing its claws at you in swift attacks.
  • The machine will break down trees to get to you.
  • It will surround itself with ice and send an ice-based attack out in all directions.
  • It can lift up large rocks and use them to shield itself before throwing them at you.

Weak Spots

A Frostclaw has a few weak spots, but the best thing to do is scan it with your Focus first so that you can keep an eye on where the machine is.

The main weak spot you should focus your efforts on is the Freeze Unit located on its chest. This component is completely exposed when the machine is standing on its hind legs. If you destroy this with Freeze arrows it will engulf the machine in ice and temporarily freeze it, making it vulnerable to any attacks. By destroying this you stop it from being able to use any ice-based attacks.

The next weak spots you can target are the Freeze Sacs at the top of the machine's arms. They look a lot like shoulders and they carry the same liquid cargo as the Freeze Unit on its chest. You should do the same as you did with the Freeze Unit and attack the Sacs with Freeze arrows so that it causes an explosion. When the machine is Frozen, you can hit it with Hardpoint arrows or Tearblast arrows.

The final weak spot you can hit is a little harder to get to. Frostclaws have a Power Cell located on their backs, between their shoulder blades. If you hit this and destroy this with Shock arrows it will cause an explosion that can briefly electrocute the machine. When it's under the influence of Shock damage it can be immobilized for a short period of time.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Frostclaw is resistant to Freeze based attacks, so if you're going to use Freeze arrows then make sure they're aimed at the spots that are weak to that element.

  • Tearblast arrows.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Fire-type arrows - the body of the Frostclaw is weak to this.
  • Shock-type arrows - aim these at the Power Cell.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Fire Traps.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Frostclaw Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Frostclaw Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Chillwater

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Fireclaws

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Fireclaw Post Flame Attack

Breakdown

Fireclaws are the same machine type as a Frostclaw, but their elemental attacks are all fire-based. These machines are far more ferocious than their frozen counterparts and they can be surprisingly fast. They can walk on their hind legs, which allows them to be more precise with their elemental attacks.

You won't meet a Fireclaw until you spend a lot of time in the Frozen Wilds expansion area, so you don't need to worry too much about them at the start.

Abilities

  • Can stand on its hind legs and cover vast distances very fast.
  • Has a flame-thrower-style attack where it will fire a stream of flames towards Aloy.
  • They can create miniature lava eruptions beneath and around Aloy.
  • It can lunge and swing its claws at you in a melee attack whilst its claws are on fire.
  • It will surround itself with fire then send it shooting out in all directions surrounding it.
  • It can lift up rocks and use them as a shield, or throw them at you.

Weak Spots

The main weak spot that you should target is the Fire Unit on the chest of the machine. This easiest to target whilst the machine is standing on its hind legs. If you hit this and destroy it using fire-type arrows, then it will cause an explosion that will engulf the machine in flames for a short period of time. This can allow you to get in a few extremely damaging hits with Hardpoint arrows. Also, by destroying this you stop the machine from using its fire attacks — not counting its claws.

RELATED: Horizon Zero Dawn: How To Defeat A Fireclaw

The next weak spots you need to target are the Fire Sacs at the top of its arms. Again, these behave like the Fire Unit. If you destroy them using fire-type arrows then it will cause an explosion of the same element which can briefly weaken the machine.

Fireclaws have a Power Cell on their backs between their shoulder blades. If you target this using Shock arrows then it will cause an explosion that will expose the machine and anything around it to take Shock damage.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Fireclaw is strong against Fire-type ammunition. If you're going to use this, then make sure you're aiming it at the parts of the machine that are weak against it.

  • Tearblast arrows
  • Freeze arrows - the body of a Fireclaw is weak to this.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Fire-type arrows - only effective when aimed at the parts that are weak to this element.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Blast Traps.
  • Shock arrows - only really useful when aimed at the Power Cell.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Fireclaw Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Fireclaw Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Crystal Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Large Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Echo Shell

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Scorcher

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds How To Defeat A Scorcher

Breakdown

The Scorcher is an extremely agile and very dangerous machine that is prowling the land of Frozen Wilds, and it can be a serious problem when you come up against one. They can be found alone or in groups, and they can often be found around other machine types. They have powerful fire elemental attacks and powerful ranged weaponry.

Abilities

  • They are fast — so fast that it's easy to lose track of them, which means they can ambush you.
  • They can hit the ground and send a wave of fire towards you.
  • They have powerful and dangerous front claws.
  • Scorchers have a Mine Launcher on top of them that will fire Proximity Mines directly at you.

Weak Spots

The main weak spot on a Scorcher is the Mine Launcher on its back. If you remove this using Tearblast arrows then you can pick it up and use it against the machine. This is the most effective weapon to use against a Scorcher, as it does the most damage and can often destroy the machine in a few shots. If you choose to destroy it, it will still do a lot of damage to the Scorcher.

The next weak spot you can focus on will be the Power Generator located on the rear of the machine. It's extremely weak versus all ammunition types, but the best type to use is Hardpoint arrows. If you destroy this component then it will create an explosion that will cause Shock damage to anything surrounding it.

There is a Blaze Canister that sits below the Mine Launcher. It's easier to hit when you've removed the Mine Launcher first. Then, you should target the Canister with a fire-type arrow and it will cause an explosion of the same element.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against It

Important: The body of a Scorcher is strong to any fire-based attack, so if you're going to use this ammunition then make sure you're targeting the parts of the machine that are weak to the element.

  • Tearblast Arrows.
  • Freeze ammunition - The body of a Scorcher is weak to this element.
  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Blast Bombs.
  • Fire-type arrows - only on the components that are weak to this element.

Resources

Resources

What They Can Be Used For

Scorcher Heart

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Scorcher Lens

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Luminous Braiding

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards

Medium Machine Core

  • Selling For Metal Shards

Wire

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Sparker

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Blaze

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Selling For Metal Shards
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Metal Shards

  • Trading With Merchants
  • Crafting Items
  • ​​​​​​​Crafting Ammunition

Control Tower

Breakdown

A Control Tower is a machine that can be found across the Frozen Wilds landscape and it can corrupt all machines in the surrounding area. They can even override your mount and make it useless, so if you're riding past one then be prepared to say goodbye to your machine. If you have the Shield Weaver armor on then it will be deactivated whilst the Tower is still operational.

Defeating Control Towers is quite straightforward, it's the machines around it that will cause problems.

If you override the Tower it will send out a pulse that will electrocute all of the machines around it for a short window of time, which will make them vulnerable to your attacks.

Weak Spot

There is a Cooling Element situated at the top of the Tower. All you need to do is destroy this with Tearblast or Hardpoint arrows and it will shut down the Tower.

Best Ammunition Type To Use Against It

  • Hardpoint arrows.
  • Tearblast arrows.

Resources

None.

Daemonic Machines

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Daemonic Machines

Breakdown

Daemonic Machines are far more ferocious and far more dangerous than their original forms. Whatever they are infected with has made them especially deadly opponents. If they spot you, then their only goal is to eliminate you. Daemonic machines are almost always found in herds, which makes fighting them even harder.

They are strong against Shock ammunition and Corruption, but they are weak to all of the other elemental ammunition types.

Weak Spots

Daemonic machines have the same weak spots as their original forms and they are more susceptible to elemental damage.

Best Ammunition Types To Use Against Them

  • Any ammunition that is not Shock or Corruption based.

Tallnecks

Horizon Zero Dawn Tallneck

Tallnecks are a special type of machine that you will find across the map, both in the base game and Frozen Wilds. You do not need to fight these machines — which is a bonus, because they're intimidatingly huge.

You need to scale these machines and reach their heads. Once you've reached the head, you can use your Spear to override them and they will reveal a large portion of the map to you. They will mark different machine sites and points of interest, allowing you to find some pretty awesome areas you might have missed. There are almost always other machines surrounding a Tallneck that you will need to fight through to be able to scale the machine.

There are five Tallnecks in the base game and one in the Frozen Wilds expansion. The Frozen Wilds Tallneck is special, but we will let you find that out for yourself.

NEXT: Horizon Zero Dawn: Tips You Need To Know When Fighting Machines