Caravan Under Attack¶

Exit the Cauldron, much richer for the experience and now capable of hacking more machines. Good stuff. Before you return to Mother’s Crown, however, there’s a quest you picked up along the way, which you might as well resolve before continuing. Head southeast from Cauldron SIGMA to return to the nearby Campfire, then head south along the road to find the troubled caravan. Talk to Marzavid, who will explain the situation: seems like a simple clerical error has left them without the supplies necessary to repel machine attacks, and the current state of the caravan suggests how much of an issue this is.

Before too much chatter can occur, the dangers at hand will be emphasized by the arrival of a group of machines: several Watchers led by a Longleg. It’s a new enemy, so naturally, it’s time to discuss this bot. It has a wide variety of components, some of which are weak to shock damage, some of which are weak to tear damage. The most vulnerable component is, of course, the Power Cell, and it’s weak to both, but generally the Longleg will take more damage from Shock, so it might be a good time to whip out your War Bow and expend some Shock Arrows.

Other than that, you have the Concussion Sack, which will disable its ranged sonic attack (a blast of energy it’ll release in front of it with a surprisingly wide front and range), and it’s in a vulnerable location on the front of the bird-bot’s body. On the back of its head is the Alarm Signal Antenna, which it uses to call in reinforcements, and finally there are the wings (you’ll probably hit these going for that Power Cell) which allows it to perform its charge attack. A fine way to take down the machine is to simply shoot it with Shock Arrows until it’s stunned (the blue shock circle will fill as you inflict shock damage), then circle to the side of the Longleg and shoot both of its Power Cells and get away. The ensuing blasts should be enough to kill it.

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Your War Bow comes in very handy against the Longleg, as you can use Shock Arrows to stun the machine (left) and subsequently target its Power Cells (right).

Dismantle the Longleg and its pet Watchers, then a pack of Scrappers will show up. Scrappers are, of course, also vulnerable to Shock Arrows, and there’s enough of them here that successfully hitting the Power Cell of one with a Shock Arrow could temporarily incapacitate other nearby Scrappers. Once the Scrappers are down, talk to Marzavid, who thanks you before asking you to track down a man named Dirid, who made off with the Songcores the caravan was transporting.

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After fending off a host of machines, the caravan will discover mor resources missing (left) after which you’ll need to use your Focus to track down the thief (right).

Dirids Dirty Deeds¶

Loot the machines you maimed, then activate your Focus east of the caravan to find Dirid’s tracks. Once acquired, follow them to find Dirid, who didn’t make it very far before sneaking off. Talk to him and Aloy will accuse him of wrong-doing, which he’ll readily admit to before getting some karmic retribution. Unfortunately, you’re caught up in the karmic backlash, and will have to fend off yet another new machine: a Stalker.

As the name implies, this stealthy bot is the sniper of the machines. Being shaped like a large cat, it’s capable of pouncing around fairly quickly, but it’s most fond of firing shots from its Dart Gun, usually in three round sequences. It also can cloak, and while the invisibility isn’t complete, its speed, range and opacity does make it an effective - and often annoying - foe. There is a solution, however: Shock Arrows to the rescue again! While none of its components are vulnerable to shock, it is a general weakness of this machine, and it can be stunned pretty easily (especially with Double Shot or Triple Shot), at which point its components can be targeted with tear-damage.

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Before you can reacquire the stolen goods, a Stalker - a machine capable of stealth (left) will interfere. Like the Longleg, the Stalker is weak to Shock damage, too (right).

Speaking of which, its components include the Dart Gun (above its shoulders) the Mine Launcher (on its hips), and its Stealth Generator (on the back of its front legs). Simply pelt the machine with Shock Arrows, stun it, then either melee it or use the time to detach some components. when pressured the Stalker is fond of leaping about and dropping mines, and it’s not above taking some blind shots with its Dart Gun, if it doesn’t know exactly where you’re at. Failing that, it can always try to perform a taser-bite.

Defeat the sneaky robot, then check on Dirid, who will try to make a good last impression. Loot him for the Songcores, then return to Marzavid to finish up this quest.