Walkthrough for the Side Quest, The Second Verse, in Horizon: Forbidden West.

At one point during the main story, you will have three main quests from which to choose. They can be done in any order, but as soon as you complete the first one (or two, if you chose The Broken Sky first, as there’s a follow up to that one which must be completed first), you will have to do another quest, called Cradle of Echoes. Upon finishing that main quest, Zo will have this side quest ready for you, back at The Base. Note that you will also need to have the Diving Mask from The Sea of Sands (available early on in the quest) and the Vine Cutter from Seeds of the Past, since both tools are needed to complete the second portion of the side quest.

Find the Grimhorns¶

Zo is looking to heal the Land-Gods for her tribe and with some help from GAIA, she has a means of doing that, thanks to a reboot code. In order to create this reboot code, she will need some Control Cores from machines that are similar to Plowhorns, which are Grimhorns, of course. You will need to meet Zo at a specific Campfire, north of the Memorial Grove. Once you get there, press the Triangle button to call Zo and bring her to the place, where you will set off together to find the Grimhorns. They aren’t that far, but they won’t be alone either, so you will have a few more machines to deal with once you arrive. In addition to two Grimhorns, there is also a Fire and Frost Bellowback, as well as a Skydrifter.

The Bellowbacks should be fairly easy to take out, as they have huge targets with their elemental sacs. You can also use them to your advantage, if you can get the other machines nearby when you destroy the sacs, as the explosion will hit those other machines and also inflict that elemental state. The Frost Bellowback is the better option here, since Brittle makes you deal more damage. The Skydrifter can be an annoying problem, especially if it takes to the skies, so it might be best to go after that one first. Thankfully, the Skydrifter doesn’t stay in the sky all the time, so it’s not too bad once it manages to land, and they don’t have a whole lot of health.

As for the Grimhorns, they will be the most challenging machines out of the bunch. They can shoot fireballs in your direction, as well as spray a flamethrower from its horns. In fact, getting rid of the horns should be your first priority with the Grimhorns, as that eliminates the flamethrower attack. There are also heavy weapons on their back, which they use to launch explosives into the air that then quickly come back to the ground. You can shoot these weapons off of them and use them against the creatures, but since the horns are exclusive loot (they share these with Plowhorns), it’s best to use the explosive weaponry after getting the horns.

Once you’re done with the machines, loot the two Grimhorns for their Control Cores, then speak to Zo nearby to hand them over to her. She will return to The Base here, so go back and speak to her to be presented with a new problem. Since the Land-Gods are all linked to a network, the reboot code has to be delivered to each one. Most of them are still in Plainsong, but there are three of them still out in the wild. Zo will take care of the ones in Plainsong and you volunteered to go to the three still out there. The Utaru have shrines near each of the Land-Gods, so it will be easy to spot their general location.

Where to Find the Land-God, So¶

So is one of the Land-Gods you need to find, and is the easiest of the three. In order to do this part of the quest, you will need the Diving Mask, which is gotten during the early stages of the main story quest, The Sea of Sands. This is one of the first things you do during that quest, so you won’t need to finish it. Zo mentioned it is located underwater and you will find it in a small lake southwest of Plainsong, a bit in the mountains. Upon arriving there, you will see the small lake, with a Snapmaw swimming in it. Since you cannot hit things underwater, you will need to be a little careful in avoiding the machine.

There will be some algae to use, which functions the same as tall grass, so hiding in that until the Snapmaw passes by is preferred. Swim to the debris in the middle of the lake and on the one side, you should get the prompt to “Pry Open.” The Land-God is buried underneath some rocks, so you have to loosen it in order to gain access to the install point. Once the rocks are out of the way, you can install the reboot code on So, then leave the lake, as you’re finished with this part.

Where to Find the Land-God, Ti¶

Ti is the most involved one of the three, which will be located in the Cinnabar Sands section of the map. It will be located a little east of the Tallneck in the area and will have you facing some machines before being able to apply the reboot code. There only seems to be a few Scroungers and a Ravager here at first, with the Ravager being the most dangerous, of course. Try to quickly shoot off the Ravager Cannon on top of the machine, as that will prevent it from shooting at you, although it still has that electric shockwave attack (just jump over it). The Scroungers should be nothing more than fodder at this point of the game.

Upon killing all of the machines, go over to the Land-God and attempt to apply the reboot code, when a Stormbird appears. The Stormbird can be quite a nuisance to fight, especially if you don’t disable the cannon on its chest first. If you don’t, then you have to deal with the electric energy shots constantly bombarding you. Once you shoot it off, the Stormbird seems to be a lot less dangerous, as it will attempt to do some melee attacks, or produce a strong gust of wind. Of course, due to it moving around a lot, getting good shots on anything but the cannon can be challenging, so the battle might take a good while here. When the Stormbird has been killed, then you can install the reboot code on the Land-God, finishing up this part of the quest.

Where to Find the Land-God, Do¶

Before doing this part of the side quest, make sure you have finished the main story quest, Seeds of the Past, as you need the Vine Cutter tool in order to proceed. You will be venturing to the northwest of the Relic Ruin at Restless Weald, where you should find a Metal Flower. Use your Vine Cutter tool to get rid of it and its vines, then enter the little canyon area. As soon as you enter, you will find the Land-God right up a hill on your right, but it’s also covered in vines, so you need to find the corresponding Metal Flower. If you look on top of the cliff right next to the Land-God, you will see the Metal Flower, but you have to find a way to get to it.

To the west of the machine will be a cliff you can climb, leading to a second Metal Flower in the canyon. Use the Vine Cutter on this to remove some vines, gaining you access to a little cave just below it. In the wall of the canyon here, you will find a Dreadwing carcass, so just look at it and move onward. A little past it, pulse your Focus to highlight some more handholds on the one wall. Climb it, then look for the grapple point across the gap, which should put you right next to the required Metal Flower. Get rid of the vines, then drop down to the Land-God and install the reboot code.

Once you’ve done the reboot code on all three Land-Gods, meet up with Zo at Plainsong. She will be right outside of the main gate, attending to one final Land-God. Speak to her for a cutscene, bringing you to the end of this side quest.