Horizon Forbidden West brings a lot of new machines into the fold, allowing the game’s revamped combat system to truly shine. With new mechanics blending well with returning ones, it’s no surprise that this balanced approach bleeds over to enemy designs.

The Dreadwing being the exception, of course. Based on a vampire bat, this machine doesn’t just hit like a truck. It plays tricks with Aloy’s mind too. While some of its attacks may remind you of the Stormbird, this magnificent airborne predator brings a whole lot more to the table.

Is It a Bird? Is It a Plane?

Aloy encounters her first Dreadwing during the story mission Seeds of the Past, which sees her track down the missing GAIA sub-function DEMETER. It is quite easy to see why she promptly labels it a “flying terror,” with its bat-like design supporting a wide arsenal of offensive weapons.

The Dreadwing can prevent the use of healing potions with certain attacks and even block the use of Aloy’s Focus. What’s more, it can go invisible with on-board stealth generators just like Stalkers and even power up by gorging on machine carcasses.

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With the ability to launch attacks from the sky, accompanied by devastating melee capabilities, the Dreadwing can indeed be very challenging. But its offensive options are not the only tricks it has up its sleeve (or wings).

Aside from the one encountered in the story, there are Dreadwings to be found in the open world at locations like the Valley of the Fallen, No Man’s Land, Isle of Spires, Sheerside Mountains, and in the Burning Shores DLC.

Apex Dreadwings may also turn up at some of these locations. All you need it to do is switch to plasma damage if you run into one. The rest of this guide still applies to the Apex Dreadwing.

For starters, equipping weapons and ammo that deal fire damage should give Aloy an edge in the fight. Aside from that, frost-resistant armor can be a smart choice, as the Dreadwing lobs ice bombs from the air when it is invisible, with alarming status buildup on them.

How to Defeat Dreadwing in Horizon Forbidden West

Once the fight begins, your first target should be the Dreadwings ears, which are the source of its flashbang attacks. The blinding lights stun Aloy and render her unable to use her weapons or dodge attacks. Taking these out of the equation early on makes the rest of the fight a lot safer.

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The shield generators on the Dreadwing’s lower torso are next, which disables invisibility and keeps the Dreadwing in your sight for the rest of the fight. It also negates a lot of the threat from its ice-bomb attacks, as it is easy to dodge the bombs when you can see where they are coming from.

At close range, the Dreadwing can send out pulse waves by scraping its claws along the ground, unleashing a flurry of melee strikes with its wings, or going into a divebomb attack. All of these attacks can and must be dodged, as they can demolish Aloy’s health bar very quickly.

At range, the Dreadwings launched either bombs or plasma missiles at Aloy, which caused a lot of damage in addition to the aforementioned ice bomb attack if you’ve yet to disable its shield generator. It can also spit acid at Aloy or emit gas clouds that can disable her healing.

All of these attacks can be disabled by targeting the bomb launchers on the Dreadwing’s chest, allowing Aloy to turn the weapon against its owner. With it in hand, the metal bite sac on the throat should be your next area of focus.

Finally, hitting the purgewater canisters along the Dreadwing’s back with either purgewater or shock arrows can cause an elemental explosion for huge damage. The Dreadwing should be on its last legs at this point, and with its minimal armor plating, acid arrows should be enough to finish it off.

Dreadwing components like its Circulator, Primary Nerve, and Metal Fang are valuable for trade and crafting, so it might be a good idea to learn how to best handle the threat they pose.

After you master the Dreadwing, perhaps the Slaughterspine could be your next target. Or maybe you could look for other machines to fight in our collection of exclusive Horizon Forbidden West guides. We just hope that flying a Dreadwing is on the cards in the series’ grand finale.