Horizon Forbidden West’s first expansion Burning Shores is out now and presents tons of content for players to explore. Of course, that also means new challenges and bosses. There aren’t too many big bads, but they still require some work to bring down.
Here are all the boss fights and how to beat them.
How to Defeat the Apex Slaughterspine
After coming to the rescue of Seyka’s sister, Londra will unleash an Apex Slaughterspine on Aloy. If you’ve fought this in the base game, you’ll know how frustrating it can be. The Apex version in the base game has about 11,250 HP, but it’s unknown if that also applies here. It’s weak to Fire and Acid, and strong against Frost, Shock, Plasma and Purgewater.
You’ll want to be careful of its Plasma attacks, but it cools down when using them continuously. Avoid them, then target the energizers on its hips for massive damage. If you also damage the one just above the Earthblaster, you can effectively disable its Plasma attacks. It will still attack physically and moves extremely fast, so remain on guard.
This is a good opportunity to try out the Specter Gauntlet, dealing massive damage to the Machine. Don’t bother shooting off the Plasma Lancer or Plasma Spine Launcher and using them – they won’t deal much damage since the Slaughterspine is resistant to them. Be careful of its roar, since it can deafen Aloy and leave her vulnerable.
How to Defeat the Apex Bilegut
Bileguts are one of the new Machines that Aloy will combat, but you’ll find an Apex version inside Cauldron Theta. It’s weak to Plasma and Purgewater and resistant to Acid, Fire and Frost. Not only does it shoot fire, but it will often leap around, seeking to crush players with its mad hops. Be careful of its tongue, since it can deal Acid damage. Use Plasma Ropes to hold it in place and trigger massive status damage.
There’s a massive Blaze Sac under its chin – hit that for explosive damage and to set the Bilegut on fire. You can also destroy its Purgewater canisters, spreading the status to the Machine for more damage. Take care of the Egg Launchers on its sides to prevent them from creating Stingspawn. One particular attack to watch for is when the Apex Bilegut leaps overhead, dropping fireballs as it passes. Dodge to the left or right to avoid its path
Though it’s resistant to Frost, you can use Frost Arrows to make it brittle and then switch to precision arrows to destroy the Egg Launchers. This deals immense damage and can outright end the fight if it’s weak enough.
How to Defeat the Horus
The penultimate boss in Burning Shores sees Londra controlling a massive Horus Titan. Before the fight, you must platform out to the water. When the Horus passes overhead, scan for heat sinks and shoot them to cause overheating. The Horus will unleash fire as you do so. Be careful when it comes to a halt, as fire can emit from some of its legs near you.
Once it’s overheated, the Horus will start charging up a large electric field. Get as far away as possible. Londra will throw some Corruptors at you in the meantime – use the Specter Gauntlet to take them down.
As you return to the Horus, the next heat sink requires climbing up one of its legs. Some portions will become electrified – these don’t seem to deal any damage, but be careful of the fire that can emit from vents. That can very much hurt you. Grapple onto the metal cover of the heat sink, and stab it to expose it. Now fire at it to cause overheating. Londra will still attack with turrets and even rain down explosive projectiles, so keep that in mind.
Once the heat sink is destroyed, retreat to a safe distance to avoid the electric field Londra charges up. Eventually, it will stop, but lest you think the fight is over, the Horus rises again.
Your task is to destroy the primary heat sink on the front of the Horus. First, wait for the tendrils to come crashing down and shoot their heat sinks when exposed. Eventually, Londra will sink two tendrils into the sand and have them emerge from beneath Aloy. Run around and dodge to avoid them, then target their exposed heat sinks.
Londra will then resort to turret fire and explosives from the sky. Keep targeting the exposed heat sinks on its tendrils, and avoid any tendril smashes. Once the last heat sink on its tendrils is gone, the primary heat sink on its chest is exposed. Destroy it, and the Horus is finally down.
How to Defeat Walter Londra
But wait, it’s not over yet. You now have to venture inside the Horus Titan and take on Londra. He’ll be connected to the core and shoot waves of electricity. Look for cables attached to the core, and destroy their connectors. The floor will vent out jets of fire, so stick to the sides. Once the connectors are destroyed, attack the Primary Distributors with your spear.
You now need to destroy the connectors on the core itself, just behind Londra. Every time Londra launches waves of electricity, the shield around the core will go down, and you can use that time to destroy the connectors. The floor and sides will vent fire during all this, so be careful. Also, shoot the slow-moving electric spheres that Londra throws and avoid the hanging cables since they deal damage.
When the core is down, Londra will fall, and you can use Aloy’s spear to finish the job. Congratulations – you just beat the last boss of Burning Shores.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is available exclusively for PS5. Check out our official review. You can also read our Trophy Guide for everything necessary to Platinum the game.