Horizon Forbidden West XP And Metal Shard Farming

Skill points and metal shards are two core elements in Horizon Forbidden West that can make Aloy overpowered in the early, mid, and late games. Guerilla Games have added tons of side activities besides the story quest so that you can complete and earn XP and skill points faster and get skills. Still, the skill trees are revamped in the sequel, and there are so many skills to invest skill points. The same is the case with metal shards, as you have more than a dozen of weapons, armor, and weapon mods variety. While you can still play the game, earn XP and metal shards naturally as you progress. You can, however, go through a cheesy approach of farming XP and metal shards in Horizon Forbidden West.

Horizon Forbidden West XP And Shard Farming Spot

We know that farming beats the purpose of playing and progressing the story of the game, or the challenges you get to face may have a toned-down difficulty because you overpowered your character via farming. That being said, some players just love a cheesy approach and have this eagerness to buy or unlock it all, and in the case of Horizon Forbidden West, players who’d want to farm will likely do because they want to have the best weapons, best bows, and best armors in the game.

Whatever approach you take, you can still unlock all skills from the skills trees buy all weapons, armor, and weapon mods even after ending the story mode. Also, this is a legit way of farming XP and farming shards and does not involve any glitch or exploit that can have consequences later on your PSN account. 

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Unlocking The Shelter Point

Before we actually move towards fighting the Thunderjaw, the first thing you should do is visit and access the campfire located at the Shelter. Here is an image for your reference. The shelter point is not far from the Thunderjaw site, which makes it the perfect spot for farming XP, machine parts, and shards. If you have it unlocked already then fast travel there. 

Another excellent reason why we think this method or farming point generates the quickest and the highest amount of XP and shards is that The Shelter point has everything you need. You have a workbench to upgrade your weapons, a campfire to save or change the time cycle, and Aloy’s stash. The Shelter offers the complete package a farm point should have in Horizon Forbidden West.

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Going To Thunderjaw Site

After you are all caught up at the Shelter point, look for the Thunderjaw site at the bottom right of the map. Here is an image for your reference, in case your map still has fog. You must realize by now how close the Thunderjaw site is to the Shelter campfire point. We at Exputer think developers put it intentionally so that players who love cheese moves can grind Thunderjaw site to farm XP, machine parts, and shards in Horizon Forbidden West. Well, that is just our thought; what do you make of it? Share it with us in the comments section below.

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Strategy To Destroy Thunderjaw Faster

Now that you’ve discovered the spawn or refresh point and the Thunderjaw site, which contains only one large-sized machine, the next step should be to take it down faster. The quicker you destroy Thunderjaw, the faster you’d be able to loot valuable resources from it and earn XP in Horizon Forbidden West. That is why we have devised a short strategy that is efficient and effective in taking out Thunderjaw.

1. Climb Rocks: Observe that Thunderjaw circulates rocks higher than its own height in the area. The machine cannot effectively deal with melee attacks while you are on top of these rocks. Utilize this strategic advantage to avoid its powerful melee attacks, including charged attacks and head bashes.

   

2. Acid Arrows: Thunderjaw is weak to acid damage. If you have unlocked acid arrows in the game, use them to exploit this weakness. You can obtain acid arrows by upgrading your Hunter bow, which is the starting weapon. Even just one level of upgrade grants access to craft and use acid arrows, making them effective against early-game machines.

   

3. Purgewater Damage and Chillwater Canister: Another weakness is purgewater damage. You can deal this damage by using ranged weapons that unlock as you progress through the story. However, for early-game efficiency, stick to using acid arrows.

   

4. Frost Elemental Attack: Target Thunderjaw’s chillwater canister with frost elemental attacks, causing a chain reaction and an elemental explosion. This adds an extra layer of damage to your strategy.

   

5. Detach Disc Launcher: A detailed focus scan of Thunderjaw reveals that you can detach the disc launcher attached to its back. Once detached, you can equip and use Thunderjaw’s own weapon against it. The disc launcher has limited ammo but deals massive damage to Thunderjaw.
6. Detach Tail: Thunderjaw’s tail contains a legendary machine part. Breaking the tail allows you to loot this legendary part after the machine is defeated. Ensure you detach the tail before destroying Thunderjaw to obtain this valuable item for XP, metal shards, and machine parts.

   

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Horizon Forbidden West XP And Shard Farming Tips

Now that you know the location or whereabouts of the Thunderjaw machine for XP, metal shards, and machine parts farming, let’s get down to a few more tips to expedite the process.

1. Toggle the Story Mode: Change the game difficulty to “Story” mode. In this mode, loot mechanics are altered, making it unnecessary to target individual machine parts to scavenge them after defeating the machine. By doing this, you can easily obtain Thunderjaw’s tail, which is the machine part that yields the highest amount of metal shards when sold to a merchant. This simplifies the farming process and maximizes your rewards.

   

2. Focus on Ranged Weapons: While the primary goal is to damage and defeat Thunderjaw, it’s advisable to primarily use ranged weapons such as bows and apply acid elemental effects. Engaging Thunderjaw up close with a disc launcher can leave you vulnerable to its attacks. If you’re attempting this farming method in the early game, exercise caution, as Thunderjaw is a formidable opponent.
3. Sell Thunderjaw Tails and Resources: After successfully defeating Thunderjaw, visit a nearby settlement and sell the valuable machine parts and resources you’ve scavenged. While it’s a good idea to keep a few Thunderjaw tails for future upgrades, selling the surplus will yield a substantial amount of metal shards. This provides a quick source of currency for purchasing items and upgrades.

   

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That is pretty much everything you need to know about farming XP, metal shards, and machine parts in Horizon Forbidden West. Did you try our method yet? Have you got another farming spot in the game? Let us know more of your thoughts in the comments section below.

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