How to beat the Slitherfang in Horizon Forbidden West

The first boss you’ll encounter in Horizon Forbidden West is the Slitherfang, a powerful machine that can take out Aloy in a few hits. Thankfully, there’s a way to take this beast down.

The snake-like machine starts to attack you after bringing down the space shuttle on its friends. When you first clash, aim your arrows at the gears on Slitherfang’s neck. This is its weak point at this point in the boss battle.

In retaliation, the Slitherfang will start spitting out acid at Aloy. Hide behind the rocks located throughout the battlefield to take cover. It will also swing its tails at many points of the battle, so make sure you don’t stand close to this snake machine. You may want to keep moving between cover as it will lunge at you with its terrifying teeth.

You’ll likely run out of arrows for your bow, so whenever this occurs, get to a safe place and craft more to refill your quiver.

As you’re working your way around the arena-like setting, look for some treasure chests on the ground. They will give you potions, medicinal berries, and other materials to keep the fight in the right direction for you.

At a certain point of the battle, the Slitherfang will fall to the ground. This is the perfect opportunity to get to its head and thrust Aloy’s spear into it to cause extra damage. After that, make sure to hit the components on the Slitherfang’s head.

Once you’ve caused significant damage to the Slitherfang, a cutscene will play out. You’re now in the second phase. It will start moving around and attempt to bash you with its head. Avoid these attacks by dodging.

You’ll notice on the floor a weapon that has two electrical panels splashing in blue energy. Pick it up, and you can start using the creature’s own coil blaster against it. These bursts of electricity will cause a significant amount of damage to your foe, but be careful of the Slitherfang’s constant slew of tail whips.

Towards the end of the fight, the boss will get more desperate. If you see the Slitherfang’s tail spark, get ready to dodge as it will cause a large area of effect attack towards you. As you near the end, make sure you target the cylinders popping out of its lower chest. They’ll be colored in blue and yellow. It will likely fall to the final blows of your arrows after this.

Congratulations, you have beaten the mighty Slitherfang! For your efforts, you’ll gain three Blastpastes, one Sturdy Hardplate, 15 Metalbites, three Braided Wires, and 65 Metal Shards. You should make sure to pick up any other items that may have been decapitated from the snake machine as well.