Key Takeaway
There are four Hunting Grounds in Horizon Forbidden West. There’s one in the Daunt, another in Plainsong, in Sheerside Mountains, and the last one is located west of Fall’s Edge.
There are four Hunting Grounds in Horizon Forbidden West that allow you to train and prepare for the challenges ahead. Although they’re completely optional activities, completing them will help you become more knowledgeable about the game’s combat mechanics.
Table Of Contents
Hunting Grounds: The Daunt
This hunting ground is most likely the first one you’ll encounter in Horizon Forbidden West. It’s located northeast of Barren Light.
The trials in the Daunt Hunting Grounds revolve around Tear damage and the Shock buff. Here are the trials you can find here.
- Tear Trial – Tear off and loot a Scrounger’s Power Cells. Do this twice in under 1 minute and 30 seconds to earn Full Stripes.
- Shock Trial – Shoot a Scrounger’s Power Cell with Shock ammo to overload it while other machines surround it. To earn Full Stripes, shock 3 machines with a Scrounger’s overloaded Power Cell in under 3 minutes.
- Shock and Trap Trial – Kill machines using the traps in the environment while in a Shocked state. Complete the trial in under 3 minutes to earn Full Stripes.
Hunting Grounds: Plainsong
Hunting Grounds: Plainsong is located northwest of Plainsong. This place highlights and trains you with stealth trials.
These are the trials you can expect from this hunting ground:
- Silent Looting Trial – Loot 3 caches without alerting enemies. Complete the trial in 3 minutes and 30 seconds to earn Full Stripes.
- Silent Strike Trial – Use Silent Strike or Strike from Above to kill 3 machines without being detected. Complete the trial in 1:30 to earn Full Stripes.
- Silent Gliding Trial – Kill 2 enemies by gliding over them with your Shieldwing and using Strike from Above. Complete the trial in 1:00 to earn Full Stripes.
Hunting Grounds: Sheerside Mountains
The Hunting Grounds: Sheerside Mountains is located east of the Bulwark and south of Stone Crest. At this Hunting Ground, your knowledge of your weaponry and some of its elemental capabilities are tested.
These are the trials present at this hunting ground:
- Frost Trial – Use Frost ammo on Bellowbacks and build up its Brittle state. While in that state, destroy their Cargo Refining Sacs. Do this 3 times to complete the trial. Complete it under 3 minutes to earn Full Stripes.
- Shredder Catch Trial – Hit 2 machines with a fully charged shot from a Shredder. To earn the Full Stripes, complete the trial in 2 minutes.
- Plasma Blast Trial – Put a machine in a Plasma Blast state and build it up to deal maximum blast damage. Do this twice in under 2 minutes to earn Full Stripes.
Hunting Grounds: The Raintrace
Hunting Grounds: The Raintrace is located west of Fall’s Edge. This hunting ground will show you how to overpower giant machines. Aside from that, it also highlights taking advantage of mounting and using machines’ weapons against them.
Here are the trials you can do at this hunting ground:
- Shock and Remove Trial – Use Shock ammo on a Tremortusk. Once its Shocked state is built up, shoot off its tusks. Remove two tusks in under 2 minutes to earn Full Stripes.
- Mounted Combat – Override and mount a Clawstrider and kill 2 machines with it to complete the trial. Do so in under 2:30 to earn Full Stripes.
- Heavy Weapons Trial – Remove a Tremortusk’s cannons and use them to destroy 3 machines. Complete the trial in under 3 minutes to earn Full Stripes.
