Trouble in the Quarry¶

Talk to the Quarry Foreman standing on a wooden platform northwest of the Campfire and he’ll complain about his slaughtered men. This starts the quest “Blood on Stone”. From his tale, whatever prowls the quarry must be a powerful foe, and he’s right - having a suit of Nora Protector Heavy armor modded with Resist Melee Attacks Weaves will increase your odds, as will having a high damage Hunter Bow and a War Bow capable of spitting out potent Frost Arrows. If you think you’re up to the task, head down into the quarry and make your way towards the suspicious mound to the northeast, and note the rumbling ground as you run. When you reach the mound, you’ll find out why - turns out the miner’s blasting caused something to stir in the bowels of the earth…

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Talk to the Quarry Foreman to lean about a massacre in the quarry (left). The Rockbreaker is particularly vulnerable to freeze damage (right).

Battling the Rockbreaker¶

The Rockbreaker is no easy foe, capable of doing wretched damage with its melee attacks. This is why any protection you can get against them is quite welcome, and it’s one of the few cases where mitigating damage via armor has a significant impact. That’s not to say the Rockbreaker has no other attacks, as it can also spit rocks, but its primary form of offenses involves burrowing underground and trying to strike you from below by emerging from the ground under you. It’s also capable of longer range leap attacks. Either way, armor will prove quite welcome.

The trickiest part about fighting a Rockbreaker is its absurd mobility. It moves through earth the way seals move through water, ignoring all terrain impediments while doing so - even large boulders, they’ll plow through with ease. This isn’t the movie Tremors, you won’t find refuge from Rockbreakers. Their most common attack - the vertical burrow-strike, you’ll just have to run away from, and dodge when they get close. They’ll often do this in succession, making it difficult to mount counter-attacks, but the Hunter Bow may be quick enough to get off a shot or two. You’re better off running and waiting for them to remain above ground for a while.

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Target the frozen Rockbreaker’s Exhaust Port to deal massive damage (left). After the battle, return to the Quarry Foreman for your reward (right).

When these massive machine-moles are above ground is when you need to mount your offense and make the most of it. They’re week to Freeze attacks, and against Rockbreakers, this element truly excels. Freeze them and they’ll take massive damage from all attacks - even unarmored body-shots will be worth exploiting. You can attempt to shoot off all their feet to prevent them from burrowing, but there are arguably better targets - their Fuel Sac on their belly, and their Exhaust Port on their back. The latter usually proves the easiest to hit, and it’s clearly exposed while they’re above ground, and they’ll take triple damage from shot to it. This can amount to massive damage if they’re also frozen at the time. So, when they surface hit them with Freeze Arrows until they’re afflicted, then switch to a high damage Hunter Bow. Stay reasonably close when they’re above ground and don’t bother aiming - the Rockbreaker is a big enough enough target to make unaimed shots from your bows worth the lack of accuracy.

Once the Rockbreaker is demolished, loot it for the obligatory high-quality modifications it drops, then return to the Quarry Foreman for an additional reward.

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Climb some cliffs along the road to Meridian (left) and use your Focus to scan the Vantage - Eagle Canyon (right).

Vantage Point - Eagle Canyon¶

You’re almost there now, just one more diversion before Meridian! Follow the road out of the quarry to the southwest, and near where desert transitions into jungle, veer off the road to the west and look some some ledges you can climb on the cliffs. Use the hand-holds to reach the top of the cliffs, where you’ll find the “Vantage - Eagle Canyon” collectible. Loot the Supply Crate nearby, rappel down to the ground, then continue along the road towards Meridian.