Frostclaws are formidable machines that are a part of the Frozen Wilds expansion for Horizon Zero Dawn. A Frostclaw (alongside a Fireclaw) is the biggest machine you will come up against in The Cut. This is the Banuk Territory that was added in the expansion.

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There is no doubt that the machines added in the expansion are far more ferocious than their predecessors in the base game. Frostclaws are huge, but their size doesn't slow them down. In fact, they are one of the fastest machines in the entire game. This is just one of the things that makes them so dangerous.

The Abilities Of A Frostclaw

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Frostclaw Ability Ice
  • Powerful Claw swipes that will knock you down and take a large chunk of your health away.
  • Firing balls of ice from its chest in a precise stream.
  • Grabbing you and crushing you in its arms before throwing you to the floor.
  • Creating Ice Spikes to appear on the ground around them. These will spear you if you are near them.
  • If you damage it enough, it will Freeze itself. It doesn't make it any more susceptible to damage, it will just damage you if you get too close.
  • Speed - It will catch you off guard with how quickly it can move.

What Ammunition Types Work Best Against A Frostclaw?

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Frostclaw Hind Legs Stance

Frostclaws are susceptible to Fire-type ammunition. You can collect Bluegleam to trade in for powerful weapons at Banuk camps.

Hardpoint arrows are also effective against the machine, as the Bows that use them have quick re-load speeds. This gives you the chance to cause a lot of damage whilst being able to do rapid-fire attacks.

It's not as effective as Fire ammunition or Hardpoint arrows, but Tearblast ammunition is still useful. The downside to this ammunition is that it takes longer to load it into your bow. However, you can shoot this from a far distance so you can put valuable space between you and the Frostclaw.

Frostclaw Weak Spots

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Frostclaw Weak Spots Highlighted

The Frostclaw has a few weak spots. The Freeze unit is located on the underside of the machine and can be easily hit with arrows once it stands up on its hind legs. If you destroy this bit, an elemental explosion will happen, freezing the machine and making it easier to damage for a short period of time.

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Many of the Frostclaw's attacks happen whilst it's standing up so it becomes an easy area to target.

Tip: Destroying the Freeze Unit will remove the machine's abilities to create Icicles

The second best weak spot is the Freeze Sac. Like the Freeze Unit, if you destroy this, there will be an elemental explosion that will temporarily freeze the machine.

Tips To Fight A Frostclaw

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Frostclaw Claw Swipe

Fill Up Your Health Bar

Fill up your Health Bar and Health Inventory before confronting this machine. You can do this by collecting medicinal flowers across the land.

Tip: The best place to get medicinal flowers is in the Nora territory of the Embrace by the hunting grounds. Walk up and down the river in this area and you will find a ton of these flowers.

Stock Up Your Ammunition

If you are intentionally seeking out a Frostclaw to fight then it's a good idea to stock up on the ammunition you are going to be using. This is a little bit less doable if you stumble upon one in the wild, though.

Tag It With Your Focus

When you know you are going to battle a Frostclaw, use your focus to highlight its weak points and tag it. This way, you can keep track of where it is, should you lose sight of it on your screen.

Tagging it also means you can plan your counter-attack slightly better. If the Frostclaw loses sight of you, it will stop looking for you after a time. By tagging it, you will still be able to see it and you can position yourself to get the ultimate attack on the machine whilst being out of their reach.

Dodging Is Crucial

With some machines in the game, you can go in arrows blazing with a careless attitude to safety and still come out on top. Frostclaws are not one of these machines. They have deadly and surprisingly swift attacks that can deal a serious amount of damage.

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If you are fighting against one and you know your arrow will not reload in time, try to get out of reach of the machine.

Also, the Frostclaw will reach its large arm up before it launches a claw swipe attack at you. When you spot its arm go up, dodge and roll out of the way.

Keep Your Distance

A lot of the Frostclaw's more dangerous attacks rely on you being close to it. The best way to counter this is to keep your distance. Fortunately, in the environments you will find it in, there should be plenty of areas for you to climb to get the higher ground.

The Frostclaw does have ranged attacks too, so you need to stay alert. However, by getting the higher ground and keeping your distance from it, you're protecting yourself from the worst attacks.

Also, keep moving on the ground. If you stay in one spot too long, the Frostclaw will launch itself at you. It moves quickly. 

Watch Your Environment

You need to keep an eye on the surrounding environment. It can be really easy to lose track of where you are when you are battling a Frostclaw, and this is where it can get you.

If you are in an area that is dense with trees then it will be harder for you to dodge out of the way of attacks without rolling into something. Also, if you are backed against a cliff or are stuck in a narrow valley, then the Frostclaw will have the upper hand.

How To Defeat The Frostclaw

Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds Frostclaw Defeated
  • You need to wear the Frostclaw's health down
  • Spear attacks will not work effectively on a machine of this size.
  • When its health is low, it becomes more ferocious, so be careful.
  • Repeatedly aim for the main weak spots.
  • Aim for the Blue sections on its shoulders when the other weak points have been destroyed.
  • Do not get too close.
  • If you can, get to higher ground.
  • Repeatedly attack it and it will eventually go down.

If you follow all the tips and information given in this guide, then fighting a Frostclaw will be less daunting!

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