Odd Grata¶

You should have received this Errand when you talked to Rost after finally gaining control of adult Aloy in the beginning of the game, and it makes a fine first sidequest (well, technically an “Errand” - again, don’t ask). Return to the Strider Site northwest of Mother’s Cradle and from there head north to find a Campfire. Continue along the road west of this Campfire to find another Campfire near a bridge. Expect to encounter more Striders and Watchers near the Campfire, and avoid or destroy them as neccessary - and ignore the man calling for help north of the Campfire. You’ll get to him later.

Cross the bridge to the west and dispatch another three Watchers, then continue uphill, past two stones with directions on them. Follow the path and you should find Grata’s camp, with Grata praying on a rock to the south. Talk to Grata and, in her own indirect way, she’ll end up asking you to catch her some food and recover her Prayer Beads. In “conversation” the two will mentions rabbits, but the meat source doesn’t really matter - five of any sort of meat will do, and if you’ve already done some hunting, this step will be acknowledged and completed in coversation. If not, just use your Focus to spot animals, then run them down with your spear. Once you have found five pieces of meat, your next objective is to recover her prayer beads from the eastern overlook.

Follow the path given to you on the map to reach the overlook (north of the Campfire north of the Strider Site), taking out any Watchers that may be patrolling the base. Head up the slope that breaks off from the road and climb some stairs to reach a gap, where you’ll see the first of two climbing elements that’ll be seen repeatedly throughout the game: yellow ropes and white-crusted ledges, both of which symbolize jumping/climbing spots, which are somewhat automated. Jump across the gap (you need merely walk across - Aloy will do the rest) then jump onto the cliff (press [X] to jump) and maneuver from point to point by using the [Left Analog]. Longer leaps will require you to aim with the [Left Analog] and press the jump button ([X]) - if you’ve played Assassin’s Creed or Uncharted, then this should be second nature to you.

Climb until you reach a zipline, the use said zipline to descend to the overlook. Grata’s Prayer Beads can be found in a Supply Crate on a bench. Grab them, then make your way southwest to find a log with yellow ropes wrapped around it, which you can use to rappel down (press the [Triangle] button). Now you just need to return to Grata to complete this quest. Errand. Whatever.

In Her Mothers Footsteps¶

Leave Odd Grata’s and make your way back downhill to the east, past the sign-stones, across the bridge (be wary that the Watchers and Striders here haven’t respawned) and to the Campfire. There’s a man calling for help to the north, and, well… somebody should probably help him. Talk to this man (named Thok), to find out that his daughter, Arana, went off on her own to hunt down a Scrapper and he wants you to go find her.

To find Arana head east down the nearby road and at the first fork turn south. When you reach a river, cross it by leaping across some logs, then save at a Campfire. You might want to turn the volume down, too, because Arana is… quite annoying. Speaking of which, you’ll find her in a tree south of the Campfire, screaming the same few lines over and over again. Seems she’s in a bit of a precarious situation, as she is surrounded by four Watchers. Take them out however you want - good old Silent Strike and Lure Call should suffice. Once they’re gone, Arana will leap down from her perch, not the least bit troubled by a twenty foot drop.

Talk to her and… well, the bad news is that you aren’t quite finished yet with the sidequest, as she’ll ask you to retrieve her mother’s prized spear from the Scrapper she was hunting. The good news is that you get to kill more stuff, so more loot and experience will be acquired, which is rather the purpose of these diversions. After Arana leaves, you need to activate your Focus with [R3] and look around for some purple triangles and ghostly images along the ground. When you’ve found it, press [R1] to highlight the track so it will be present when you don’t have your Focus active. Follow Arana’s southeast trail until it goes cold, then bring up your Focus and scan for another trail - the Scrapper’s - and follow that further southeast past Mother’s Cradle until you reach a river. Cross the river, scan to regain the Scrapper’s tracks, then follow them past a Campfire to their source.

Eventually, you will end up in the southeast corner of the area, where you will spot the Scrapper on top of a cliff as it walks away. You will want to be extremely careful as you walk up to this area, as there are two Watchers roaming about and there are two other Scrappers, although the Scrappers should be busy doing their thing… scrapping disabled machines. The Watchers have to go first, as they’ll alert the Scrappers if they see you, and they’re far more wary than the Scrappers, which in turn are more dangerous than the Watchers.

Use the tall grass as cover as you head south and resist any urges to ascend the slope to the southeast, as a Watcher patrols there. If you’re quick and your aim is good you can probably shoot the Watcher’s eye before it can cause you trouble, but there’s an easier path you can take. Instead continue south to find a ladder you can climb. Climb the first ladder but ignore the second, instead continue south down a snow-covered slope, taking shelter behind some rocks. Consider scanning the area to mark the Watchers as they patrol and when the coast is clear, continue down the slope into some tall grass. From here, barring some catastrophic failure of judgment, it’s hard to see how you can fail - just use Silent Strike and Lure Call to disable both the Watchers, after which you should be able to dispatch the preoccupied Scrappers at your leisure.

If something does go wrong, however, the Scrappers will prove tenacious foes. In such a case you should honestly probably just flee, regroup, and try again. Even if you think you’ve given the Scrappers the slip, be careful of their Radar, which they can deploy to sniff out your location - even while hiding in tall grass. Aside from their melee attacks (especially ones appending a leap) Scrappers can bombard you with a series of projectiles, and a laser, so don’t be seduced by the notion that putting distance yourself and a Scrapper provides a measure of safety.

As far as defeating them in a fair fight goes, you may be disappointed to notice that they also don’t have Blaze Canisters, instead possessing a Power Cell. It works the same way in principle, you need merely strike it, wait a moment, then watch with glee as they explode. Unfortunately Fire Arrows won’t do the trick, as you’ll need to strike their Power Cell with shock damage. This sort of elemental payload can be deployed via the War Bow in the form of Shock Arrows, which you can pick up from Karst (or any number of other merchants), but it’ll set you back 100 Metal Shards. It’s not immediately necessary, certainly not for this quest, but it is something you should keep in mind for later.

However you manage it, once the Scrappers are dead, search them and the machines they were scrapping to find Arana’s Spear, amongst other goodies. After that’s done you need merely return to Arana and Thok, who are now together north of the Campfire by the bridge, northwest of the Strider Site. Your reward - in addition to XP - is a welcome boost in power for your Spear, which gets a rarity upgrade and enjoys a damage boost from 23 weapons damage to 32. Neat.

The Forgotten¶

One more quest, then a little blast from the past, and it’ll be time to continue with the main story. From the campfire near which Thok and Arana can be found turn west and cross the bridge, then at the fork, head down the trail to the south… toward’s Mother’s Watch, or so the stone-sign says. At another fork turn south-west and you’ll walk under some rocks, which a woman named Olara is using as a perch from which to call out to someone named Brom.

Circle around ot the southern side of these rocks to find the signature yellow ropes marking an ideal climbing spot. Ascend to the Olara’s camp and talk to her to discover the cause for her cries - Olara’s brother, Brom, was cast out of the tribe, but his sentence has ended and he hasn’t returned yet. Worse yet, all that was found at his camp was a bloody mess, and Olara is suffering from worry… not enough to actually get off her ass and go search for him herself, but that’s where you come in.

Use the convenient zipline to get down from Olara’s perch, then make your way west along a trail. Carefully, though, as there’s a Scrapper Site here, and you can expect several of the machines to patrol near the river. Sneak past or dispatch them, then cross the river and continue following the trail until you reach a bridge near a watch tower. Use a zipline to continue on, or cross the bridge and drop down a ledge. Either way, continue west to find Brom’s hilltop camp, which is currently occupied by two Watchers.

Walk up to the campfire and examine it when prompted, then you’ll have to track a trail with your Focus. Press [R3] to bring it out and look for the purple trail and once you find it, press [R1] to track it - you know the drill by now. The trail will lead up a small path to the south, where you’ll find a knife embedded into a log. Examine the knife, then use your Focus to scan - and track - another trail leading southeast, which ultimately terminates at a bucket.

Examine the bucket, then use your Focus to scan and track yet another trail. This one will lead you back east, over the bridge and to a shrine near the Mother’s Watch settlement, the only difficulty perhaps being three Watchers you may encounter along the way. Investigate the shrine, then use your Focus and scan for yet another trail, following this one to the remains of a destroyed Watcher, which is currently being scrapped by two Scrappers. One of them is actually seeing to the task (nom-nom metal!), while the second one is busy patrolling. This should be a simple enough matter, simply reach some tall grass and use the good ol’ Silent Strike/Lure Call combo, then sneak behind the preoccupied Scrapper and deactivate that one, too… with your spear.

Search the Watcher’s remains, then… you guessed it, scan another trail and follow it east to reach a rock you can scale. Do so and search a Supply Crate, then scan one more trail on the ground to the east, then drop down and follow it to find a Fast Travel Pack and Full Health Potion on the road. Continue east, cross a bridge to the north, then scale some rocks to find Brom, who is busy speaking to some voices in his head. You’ll get a choice as to what to say to him, but all of them will get Brom to step away from the edge to listen to you - it’s the choice that comes after, when Olara appears, that determines the true outcome of the sidequest. Pick the bottom option twice to have both family members go off together, as well as get a close-up of Aloy’s smug face. If you pick the top option twice, you’ll convince Brom to manage his insanity by leaving on his own and staying away from others.

Ancient Armory (Part 1)¶

Now it’s time to return to the past. Humanity’s past, and your own. East of the Mother’s Watch settlement (and southwest of where you found Brom) you’ll find some ruins. Specifically the ruins into which Aloy fell into when she was a child. The fall isn’t quite so daunting now, however, and getting into - and out of - the hole shouldn’t be a problem. Descend back into the darkness and note the Rats scurrying about - they’re harder to hit than most critters, but you’ll need some Rat Bones and Rat Skin for various upgrades. Pick on rodents as you explore the place, at your discretion.

Make your way through the complex, heading down the first flight of stairs and prying a door open to the south. Being a physically fit adult does have its perks. Head south into the room beyond and turn west to find a doorway blocked by stalactites and stalagmites. Use strong attacks to smash them with your spear (hooray, adulthood!) and loot the Supply Crates containing a treasure-trove of useful resources.

Plunder the past, return to the room to the west then go through a door to the south and head upstairs. Exit the stairwell and turn east to find another doorway blocked by the ravages of time, which will yield to brute force. First, however, turn north and scan the glowing wall console to pick up the Audio Datapoint “For Director Evans”. In the office beyond you’ll find a Power Cell on a desk (a very useful treasure which you’ll hang on to for quite a while), two Supply Crates full of goodies, and a corpse which can be scanned for the Text Datapoint “All Good Things…” . Picking up the Power Cell starts the quest “Ancient Armory”. Don’t let the level of it scare you, though - you’re in no danger here.

Just one more thing to nab while you’re here. Exit the office and open a door to the west, head downstairs and cross the room where Aloy found her Focus. Now that you have the benefit of age, climb back up onto the ledge to the west and turn north at the first opportunity to find another stalactite/stalagmite blocked room. Smash your way in, loot a Supply Crate, then exit and head down some stairs to the south. Once out of the stairwell turn east and smash some more blockage to reach a surprisingly verdant room. In the middle of this flora you’ll find Metal Flower - Mark 1 (A) . Everybody loves collectibles!

Metal Flowers and Scrapper Treasure¶

Assuming that last setence was true, let’s go find another collectible, and perhaps some choice loot? There’s no quest leading you here, but it’s well worth doing. Leave the ruins and make your way west past Mother’s Watch, taking the same trail you took on your way to Brom’s camp. Before you reach Brom’s camp, however, cross the river to the north and climb up the rocky shore to find a trail leading into the mountains (this trail should be easily visible on your map).

Continue along this trails to the north and northwest, crossing a bridge as you go. The trail will turn southeast, then revert to the northwest again, at which point keep your eye out for a zipline to the west. Ride the zipline down, then hop on a rope and walk across it to the north, northwest to find Metal Flower - Mark 1 (B) in its customary flower triangle.

Use the rope to return back west, then climb across some ledges (the zipline is a one-way instrument, after all) to reach the mountain path. Descend back down the mountain path and return to Brom’s camp, from which you shoudl continue following the trail north, cross two bridges, then turn south to find a Campfire. From here just follow the river southwest until the mountains impede further progress. In the lowlands to the south prowl four Scrappers, at least two of which are likely to be employed tending to the task for which they were created. This is also the site where a young Aloy saved the Nora hunter so long ago, for what that’s worth. That being the case, there’s plenty of tall grass to hide in, so dispatching the Scrappers should be no problem.

It’s well worth your effort to do so, too, as the Scrapper Resource Heaps that are piled up here can be looted for a variety of resources and modifications - the latter of which can often be of Very Rare quality. And yes, the loot in these resource heaps will respawn in time, making it a fine way to reliably obtain high-quality modifications.

With that, you’re done questing and hunting collectible in the Embrace. Be sure to return to Karst and sell any junk you don’t need and buy that Tripcaster, if you haven’t already. Time to meet up with Rost.