How to Defeat Slitherfang in Horizon Forbidden West

After the massive success of Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games came up with an exciting sequel to continue the adventure of Aloy. In Horizon Forbidden West, not only does the story get more thrilling, but also, Aloy faces more challenging enemies than ever. From the starting moment, the in-game world opens up with all its brutal nature. Therefore, survival requires skills, and abilities to take down challenging opponents. Slitherfang is one of the earliest enemies to encounter in Horizon Forbidden West.

Machines are pretty difficult to handle in Horizon Forbidden West. Some of them are deadly. Being the first boss of the game, players probably expect Slitherfang to be an easy one to deal with, but this idea will eventually get shattered. Despite this giant mechanical snake appearing early, it can eliminate you instantly, if you are not careful. Therefore, finding some help to beat the boss is normal. 

In this guide, we will tell you the process in detail, but going to fight an enemy without some prior information about it doesn’t seem to be wise. So, let’s check out some basic information about this giant machine Snake including its location.

Horizon Forbidden West- Slitherfang Location and Basic Information

This Snake machine will appear at the end of the first story mission of the game: Reach for the Stars. This mission requires Aloy to bring down a large spaceship ship which causes lots of Slitherfangs to die, except for one. The survived one is the first boss of the game that Aloy needs to take down. Before starting the fight, use Aloy’s Focus to scan the machine.

The Metal Snake machine is an agile enemy that doesn’t let go of any chance it gets to attack Aloy. So, players need to be aware of the attacks and make sure to dodge them as much as possible. The tricky part is the enemy is capable of doing some unpredictable attacks that are difficult to understand if players are not enough careful.

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Before, you begin the fight, scan the enemy properly to know the strengths and weaknesses of Slitherfang. A proper scan will reveal that this giant snake is weak to Fire, Frost, and Plasma damage. Alternatively, Purgewater damage, Acid damage, and Shock Damage won’t have much impact on it.  Now, it’s time to set your strategy based on these information. 

Horizon Forbidden West- How to Defeat Slitherfang

The fight comes early in the game when Aloy is still a beginner without many powerful abilities in her stock. So, the most important thing to focus on in this fight is to defesne; so the incoming attacks don’t deal tons of damage. The boss fight has two phases to survive and both phases are differentiated by a short cutscene. 

Fortunately, the boss doesn’t have a range of attacks in any of these phases. During the first phase, it will use two attacks. First is the Venom attack, where the boss starts spitting venom at the players. To protect Aloy, make sure to hide behind a rock. The battle arena is open, so, you will find a lot of rocks scattered here and there. Take cover; otherwise, survival will become the real challenge. 

Next, comes the second attack of the phase which is the Charge attack. Well, this one is a damaging attack to drain lots of health from players. So, make sure this attack doesn’t hit you. Whenever the boss initiates his Charge attack, dodge it. 

Once you deal enough damage to the boss, a short cutscene will hint at the beginning of the second phase. Once we talk about the attacks Aloy will face during this part, we will go to the way she will plan her offense strategy. 

In the second phase, the boss becomes more dangerous and agile. This time, again he comes with two deadly attacks and the first among them is the Electrifying attack. In this attack, the boss will use its tail to electrify Aloy and deal tons of damage. Once again hiding is the best option. During the second phase, the battle arena has only a few covers left, a few big boulders. Use them to avoid the attack.

This time the boss comes with an unpredictable second attack where he goes underground and randomly comes out anywhere to attack the players. Keep a careful eye everywhere. Even the slightest mistakes can cause you a huge damage and at this point, if you die, all your efforts will be wasted. Dodge the attacks and stay safe.

Apart from these, the boss doesn’t have any other move in the entire fight to surprise you. Now, let’s check some of the vital points about the fighting strategy. The first one is, to keep a safe distance from the giant snake enemy during both phases. It not only helps players to dodge or hide from incoming attacks but also, players can use long-range weapons like Sharpshot Bow or Spike Thrower to deal damage.

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Next, another vital thing to know is the weaknesses of the boss. Apart from the damages the machine is weak to, players need to understand the vulnerable parts in its body to deal the maximum damage. Often the enemy stands straight, revealing the Metalbite Sac which contains the acid it spites towards Aloy. that’s the most vulnerable part of its body. Once you can destroy the Metalbite Sac, it will be easier to take the Snake boss down.

Apart from that, look for the Earthgrinders, these are metalling cylinders, that the boss uses for digging. These are located next to the Metalbite Sac. Start hitting these cylinders and once you destroy these, the boss will encounter a massive health loss. Keep attacking the boss and deal damage to it, until the boss falls on the ground.

That’s everything players need to know about how to Defeat Slitherfang in Horizon Forbidden West. Slitherfang will appear again as you keep progressing through the game’s story. However, the fighting process will be the same when you fight it for the second time. As the first boss fight, the enemy is difficult, but keep your patience and stick to your strategy to get the final smile.