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Horizon Forbidden West

Trial 12: Heavy Weapons Trial

By
Jarrod Garripoli

Hunting Grounds are challenges that will test your mettle with various weapons in the game. This page will detail the Heavy Weapons Trial at the Hunting Ground in The Raintrace.

The Heavy Weapons Trial at the Hunting Grounds in The Raintrace

Where to Find the Hunting Grounds in The Raintrace

There doesn’t seem to be a story prerequisite for this Hunting Grounds, as long as you can freely explore the western portion of the map. For the exact location, if you’ve found the Fall’s Edge village, then the Hunting Ground will be to the southwest of there. If you’ve found the Thornmarsh village, then it will be to the northeast of that location. You should see a large, brown clearing on your map and that will be where you find the Hunting Grounds.

Stripes

Stripes Time Needed Rewards
Quarter Stripes 10:00 4 Hunting Medals, 70 Metal Shards, 2 Small Machine Cores
Half Stripes 04:00 5 Hunting Medals, 80 Metal Shards, 5 Volatile Sludge, 1 Medium Machine Core
Full Stripes 03:00 6 Hunting Medals, 90 Metal Shards, 5 Volatile Sludge, 1 Elemental Clawstrider Sac Webbing

Grounds Keeper’s Tips

  • Use your Focus to tag any of the Cannons on the Tremortusk. This will make them easier to spot.
  • Make sure you use Tear Ammo to remove the Cannons from the Tremortusk. Other kinds of damage will destroy them instead.

How to Complete the Heavy Weapons Trial

This can be one of the toughest, if it definitely isn’t already, Trial at the Hunting Grounds. Your goal sounds simple, as you need to break off the cannons on the Tremortusk’s back, then use those to kill the three Clawstriders. There are two problems with the simplicity of things, though, with one being the Tremortusk itself. Since you are on a time limit to get the Full Stripes, you will need to move quickly and that means invoking the wrath of the Tremortusk. Breaking off the Cannons is super easy, as a weapon with good Tear damage should be able to do that within a few shots (there is some slight armor covering on the one side, but it isn’t much).

Of course, the problem stems from the fact the Tremortusk is one of the more powerful machines in the game, so it will be coming after you the whole time, once you start getting things moving. The other major problem involves actually shooting the Clawstriders with the Cannons. These Cannons fire slow-moving electric balls of energy, and the Clawstriders can move very quickly, meaning that they has a possibility of dodging the shots. Since it will take multiple shots to down a Clawstrider from full health and you only have six shots per Cannon, you can see the dilemma a bit. So, with all of that knowledge in mind, you can probably develop a bit of a strategy.

You can go about this trial in a few ways, with one way to go straight after the Cannons from the start and try to avoid the Tremortusk, while you kill the Clawstriders with the Cannons. While this straight approach might be dangerous, since you will be facing the attacks of the Tremortusk the entire time, you get right to the point. However, there are smarter strategies out there, one of which involves a Valor Surge. In the Machine Master skill tree, the first Valor Surge there is called Part Breaker. With this active and fully upgraded to level 3, removing a component from a machine will knock it down. Using this can help keep the Tremortusk at bay, even if it’s only for brief moments, since you can knock off a component to knock it down, then concentrate on shooting the Clawstriders with the Cannons.

To go along with the Part Breaker strategy, you could run around and use normal weapons to lower the health of the Clawstriders, ensuring that you only need a single shot to down the Clawstrider with the Cannons. You can only try to aggro a single Clawstrider at a time like this, too, since having all three chasing after you might be too much, especially with the Tremortusk also blasting you with its attacks. If all you want to do is get the Quarter Stripes rank, then you could also just try to kill the Tremortusk, too, before going after the Clawstriders. Doing this and trying for the Full Stripes rank will be very tough, as the Tremortusk is not the quickest of kills.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Platforms,
    PS4, PS5
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    16 February 2022
  • Last Updated
    31 March 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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This guide for Horizon Forbidden West includes the following:

  • A Walkthrough for Main Quest
  • A Guide for all Errands, Side Quests and Cauldrons
  • An in depth analysis for Weapons and Armor.
  • Information on all new and returning Machines
  • How to find and complete all four Melee Pits
  • How to unlock and complete all stages of the Arena
  • How to find and override all five Tallnecks
  • Locations on all Collectibles
    • Ornaments
    • War Totems
    • Vista Points
    • Survey Drones
    • Signal Towers
    • Black Boxe

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