Date played: March 7th
Platform: PS4
Yesterday, most of my time playing Horizon was dedicated to hunting ground challenges. There's this ex-Nora guy who hangs out on a plateau near the gates to the Embrace. He explains that he wanted to hunt machines, so he and a friend left the Nora tribe to hunt. They had many dealings with the Carja tribe, the guys who attacked the Nora during the Proving. They grew homesick and returned to their homelands, but of course, would not be welcome back into the tribe. So instead, they set up a hunting challenge training ground.
Apparently, by winning these trials, I will be able to speak with a group of Carja hunters, so I spent a lot of time trying to get the best score in these 3 trials. The hunting grounds are a relatively small area where a large group of Grazers and some Watchers hang out. The Grazers are kind of like deer. They get scared easily and run in packs. They also have some components on their back that can be destroyed, or ignited to create a large explosion.
The first challenge was to shoot off a certain amount of canisters off Grazers in a set amount of time. The time limit is pretty strict, but this challenge was relatively easy by just using the bow. The second challenge was a lot more difficult. I had to use some log piles in the environment to kill 3 Grazers. These piles are held by some wood planks that must be shot off so that the logs roll down and hit the robots. This was much harder than it sounds, since the Grazers run quickly and are somewhat unpredictable. After a few tries, I got it.
Finally, the third challenge required that I make a few purchases... The first item is the Carja Tripcaster, an upgraded version of the tripcaster that adds giant explosions. My job was to kill 6 Grazers with it within the time limit. Similarly to the previous challenge, what made this difficult is the erratic behavior of the Grazers.
After multiple attempts at setting up elaborate traps that simply failed time after time, I decided that I should try something different. I bought another weapon, the Blast Sling, which shoots out little exploding projectiles. I would then launch these in a way that would direct the Grazers toward my traps. After getting the sling, this challenge became rather easy, so maybe it would have helped with the second challenge as well... For my efforts, I was rewarded with some loot and will be able to speak with the hunter group when I reach them.
I then spent a bit of time completing some training quests, which can be done anywhere in the map. Then I moved on to the story a little bit, reaching the place where the war party was ambushed by the Carja and their corrupted machines. I couldn't find much here, but I did meet with a man who had been with Sona, the missing war chief. He explained that she was still alive and was tracking the Carja. I must now pick up her trail.
Throughout my travels, I've met many people, and most of them have little quests. There's really a shit ton of stuff to do... One of the cooler missions had me track down a Tallneck, very large machines that look a bit like a giraffe. These things act as typical open world towers, revealing much of the map. The thing moves around though, and it's not easy to climb. I had to find high ground and clear out some enemies before I was able to climb the Tallneck.
I also completed a side quest where I had to check some caches left by Nora Braves for some medicine. A woman from a nearby camp explained that he is dying, and would greatly benefit from a special plant, Dreamweave, to alleviate his pain. The woman believes there was some in the caches, but after checking them, I found nothing but metal scraps. I also picked up a quest to destroy a bandit camp and have been heading North, slowly but surely.
It's easy to get lost in the world of Horizon... Many times, I get distracted by collectibles, hunting, robot fighting or gathering, and I just love it when a game does that for me.
Platform: PS4
Yesterday, most of my time playing Horizon was dedicated to hunting ground challenges. There's this ex-Nora guy who hangs out on a plateau near the gates to the Embrace. He explains that he wanted to hunt machines, so he and a friend left the Nora tribe to hunt. They had many dealings with the Carja tribe, the guys who attacked the Nora during the Proving. They grew homesick and returned to their homelands, but of course, would not be welcome back into the tribe. So instead, they set up a hunting challenge training ground.
Apparently, by winning these trials, I will be able to speak with a group of Carja hunters, so I spent a lot of time trying to get the best score in these 3 trials. The hunting grounds are a relatively small area where a large group of Grazers and some Watchers hang out. The Grazers are kind of like deer. They get scared easily and run in packs. They also have some components on their back that can be destroyed, or ignited to create a large explosion.
The first challenge was to shoot off a certain amount of canisters off Grazers in a set amount of time. The time limit is pretty strict, but this challenge was relatively easy by just using the bow. The second challenge was a lot more difficult. I had to use some log piles in the environment to kill 3 Grazers. These piles are held by some wood planks that must be shot off so that the logs roll down and hit the robots. This was much harder than it sounds, since the Grazers run quickly and are somewhat unpredictable. After a few tries, I got it.
Finally, the third challenge required that I make a few purchases... The first item is the Carja Tripcaster, an upgraded version of the tripcaster that adds giant explosions. My job was to kill 6 Grazers with it within the time limit. Similarly to the previous challenge, what made this difficult is the erratic behavior of the Grazers.
After multiple attempts at setting up elaborate traps that simply failed time after time, I decided that I should try something different. I bought another weapon, the Blast Sling, which shoots out little exploding projectiles. I would then launch these in a way that would direct the Grazers toward my traps. After getting the sling, this challenge became rather easy, so maybe it would have helped with the second challenge as well... For my efforts, I was rewarded with some loot and will be able to speak with the hunter group when I reach them.
I then spent a bit of time completing some training quests, which can be done anywhere in the map. Then I moved on to the story a little bit, reaching the place where the war party was ambushed by the Carja and their corrupted machines. I couldn't find much here, but I did meet with a man who had been with Sona, the missing war chief. He explained that she was still alive and was tracking the Carja. I must now pick up her trail.
 |
| My first Tallneck encounter |
I also completed a side quest where I had to check some caches left by Nora Braves for some medicine. A woman from a nearby camp explained that he is dying, and would greatly benefit from a special plant, Dreamweave, to alleviate his pain. The woman believes there was some in the caches, but after checking them, I found nothing but metal scraps. I also picked up a quest to destroy a bandit camp and have been heading North, slowly but surely.
It's easy to get lost in the world of Horizon... Many times, I get distracted by collectibles, hunting, robot fighting or gathering, and I just love it when a game does that for me.
