Thankfully, the Hunting Grounds trials in Horizon Forbidden West are generally quite a bit easier than the ones found in the game’s predecessor. That’s not to say that they don’t still pose a challenge, but, with a good understanding of what’s required and the right strategy, players shouldn’t have too much trouble doing the trials within the Full Stripes time constraints. This guide will help them to do so.
Shock and Remove Trial

Stripes | Time Required | Rewards |
---|---|---|
Quarter Stripes | 10:00 |
|
Half Stripes | 3 o’clock |
|
Full Stripes | 02:00 |
|
The Shock and Remove trial requires players to tear off two Tremortusk tusks after inducing the shocked state. The groundskeeper’s tips section of the trial information page recommends that players use Purgewater to remove the enemy’s resistance to shock damage first, which would be very good advice if the aim was to actually inflict damage on the Tremortusk. As it’s still possible to inflict the shocked status even if an enemy is resistant to shock damage though, it ends up being a little redundant here.

In order to inflict the shocked status, players simply need to hit an enemy with shock ammo until the icon above its head fills up. Boltblasters are particularly useful in this regard due to their high firing rate, but any weapon capable of firing Shock ammo will do the job. Once the state begins, the enemy will collapse for a short period of time, and players can set about shooting off its tusks with a bow that has a high Tear stat. Scanning the Tremortusk with Aloy’s focus before attacking can be very useful here, as it will make its tusks much easier to spot and target.
Mounted Combat Trial

Stripes | Time Required | Rewards |
---|---|---|
Quarter Stripes | 10:00 |
|
Half Stripes | 3 o’clock |
|
Full Stripes | 02:30 |
|
The Mounted Combat trial is probably the easiest of the three challenges at the Raintrace Hunting Grounds. It requires players to override and mount a Clawstrider and then use it to kill two other machines. Attacking while riding a Clawstrider is a little bit like using Aloy’s spear, with R1 performing light attacks and R2 performing heavy ones. Both are incredibly effective, so players shouldn’t have too much trouble getting the kills that they need to complete the trial.

At the beginning of the trial, players should slide down the rope to the right and then make their way into the central area, being sure to avoid catching the attention of the nearby Tremortusk. There should be a Clawstrider prowling around to the left, which players can sneak up behind and override by holding the Triangle button. From here, they just need to mount it with Square and then bring down a couple of enemies with its attacks. Any two enemies will do, but the smaller ones are a bit easier to kill than the mighty Tremortusk.
Heavy Weapons Trial

Stripes | Time Required | Rewards |
---|---|---|
Quarter Stripes | 10:00 |
|
Half Stripes | 04:00 |
|
Full Stripes | 3 o’clock |
|
To complete the Heavy Weapons trial, players will need to shoot a cannon off the Tremortusk and then use it to kill three enemies (this number can include the Tremortusk itself). There are numerous canons to choose from, but the Tremortusk Shock Cannon on top is arguably the best, due to its high power and large projectile size. The latter is particularly useful as it gives players a much higher chance of hitting weakpoints, which will deal significantly more damage and can even trigger explosions capable of taking out any nearby enemies.

Perhaps the trickiest thing with this trial is getting the weapon without being overwhelmed. Attacking the Tremortusk will quickly draw the attention of the other enemies inside the hunting grounds, so players should aim to dislodge its canon as quickly as possible so that they can get started on thinning the herd. Though the Clawstriders do go down faster, hitting the canister on the underside of the Tremortusk will cause a massive explosion, which will all but certainly take out it and any machines unlucky enough to be nearby.
Completion Rewards

Level | Rewards |
---|---|
Grand Quarter Stripes |
|
Grand Half Stripes |
|
Grand Full Stripes |
|
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.
Read Next
About The Author