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Horizon Forbidden West: Slaughterspine Boss guide

Here’s how to defeat the Slaughterspine boss in Horizon Forbidden West.

Updated: Mar 13, 2022 4:53 pm
Horizon Forbidden West: Slaughterspine Boss guide

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Most of the main quests in Horizon Forbidden West involve defeating a boss machine, and the Slaughterspine features in the Gemini quest. This machine resembles a tyrannosaurus-rex but has a weapon-loaded tail. Aloy faces off against this beast in a dome arena, and the recommended player level is 30. 

How to Defeat the Slaughterspine in Horizon Forbidden West

The fight starts off with the Slaughterspine charging up its Plasma Energizers. The Slaughterspine uses Plasma Attacks, so use this charging time to quickly set up traps in the environment around the beast. Make sure to scan the beast using Focus to identify the weaker points to target. 

The Slaughterspine is weak against Purgewater and Frost attacks, so you’ll want to solely use these weapons while facing off against it. Set up Purgewater traps, and load up on frost attacks like Freeze Arrows or the Frost Blastsling. Do not use any fire, acid, shock, or plasma attacks against the Slaughterspine since it will deliver little to no damage at all. 

Once the Slaughterspine has charged up its Plasma Energizers, it will let out a loud sound and begin to shoot Plasma bolts at a rapid pace. This is when you want to be further away from the machine, so set your traps and take cover at a good distance. If you’re too close to the Slaughterspine, you can succumb to the Plasma attacks since they deliver considerable damage. 

Use speed to your advantage as this beast cannot move too fast. Try to take it down as early as possible – the longer you wait, the more time it has to charge up the Plasma attacks. A particularly effective move is to dislodge its Spinetail Lancer and use it as a weapon against the Slaughterspine. 

Slaughterspine Attack Moves

Watch out for these attack moves. 

  1. Tail Swipes: The Slaughterspine swipes its long tail that can be deadly in a closer-range melee attack. 
  2. Leap Attack: The machine’s eyes flash red before it leaps on Aloy. 
  3. Plasma Ray: The Slaughterspine will shoot a plasma ray from its mouth.

Defeating the Slaughterspine is no easy task, but it’s an essential part of completing the GEMINI quest. The next fight in the game is against Regalla.


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