Horizon Forbidden West: Hunting Grounds: Plainsong - Hunting Trials Horizon Forbidden West guide, walkthrough

This page of the Horizon Forbidden West guide contains a walkthrough of all the trials in Hunting Grounds: Plainsong.

Last update: 22 February 2022

On this page of the guide to Horizon 2 Forbidden West you'll find a walkthrough for all the hunting trials in Hunting Grounds: The Daunt. You'll learn about the hunting challenges you must overcome in The Daunt region, how to prepare for them and how to successfully pass them.

• Location of Hunting Grounds in the Plainsong region
• Challenge 1 - Silent Looting Trial
• Challenge 2 - Silent Strike Trial
• Challenge 3 - Silent Gliding Trial

Location of Hunting Grounds in the Plainsong region

This activity's recommended level is 10.

The hunting grounds are located northwest of the Plainsong settlement.

There's a hunter here who also serves as a trader, selling ranged weapons. You won't need them for the Plainsong trials though, as they all require only Aloy's basic gear.

To start the challenge you must talk to Ivinna, then to Ziverra who serves as the Grounds Keeper. You can browse the available trials and attempt them. There are 3 trials available, with each one letting you get 3 kinds of Stripes.

Challenge 1 - Silent Looting Trial

This trial tasks you with looting supply caches while staying undetected by the patrolling machines (you can lightly alert them, but then you must wait for their yellow condition to end). You can't also eliminate any of the machines. To get the best Stripe you must loot 3 caches in less than 3 minutes 30 seconds.

You should take advantage of the fact the timer doesn't start until you drop down into the Burrowers' area. Use the vantage point to familiarize yourself with your surroundings. We suggest setting out for the cache on the right first.

During this challenge you must be as sneaky as possible. Use tall grass to avoid detection. You can also tag the machines and display their patrol routes.

In addition to tall grass you can also use smoke drums, as pictured above. Shooting a drum creates an obscuring smoke cloud.

You can also pull yourself to the handles on top of poles. These allow you to look around without being spotted by the machines below.

Before you loot the first cache wait until the patrolling Burrower finishes a scan and goes in the opposite direction. The game won't let you loot the chest if there's a machine nearby, even if it's unaware of Aloy's presence.

We suggest you loot the center cache second, as it's relatively close to the one you just reached. You can quickly pull yourself up and head in its direction (pictured above).

Keep hiding in tall grass along the way, remember to scan your surroundings and tag the Burrowers. You'll find two of them in this area.

We recommend hiding in the tall grass right by the second cache and patiently waiting for the machines to go away. You should have enough time to loot the crate.

On your way to the final cache you can choose the same path one of the machines is patrolling. Hide in the bushes and wait for the Burrower to go in the opposite direction.

You can walk along a hanging rope to reach the third cache, although you may also pull yourself towards one of the poles.

Looting the third cache completes the trial. You don't have to sneak any longer on your way back to the Grounds Keeper, who'll reward you for completing the challenge.

Challenge 2 - Silent Strike Trial

This trial tasks you with using Silent Strike or Strike from Above to kill machines while remaining hidden. To get the best Stripe you must destroy 3 machines with sneak attacks in less than 1 minute 30 seconds.

Once the challenge begins, jump down and sneak towards the nearest Burrower using tall grass.

You'll have more freedom with deciding how to eliminate the remaining two Burrowers. Try not to alert them, as then the Burrower will start looking around and scanning the area, which will probably put you over the 90 seconds limit.

Remember you can execute a Strike from Above after jumping (pictured above). This can save you some time dealing with a machine, therefore letting you complete the challenge quicker.

Challenge 3 - Silent Gliding Trial

This trial tasks you with killing machines via Strike from Above while gliding on your Shieldwing. To get the best Stripe you must destroy 2 machines with sneak attacks in less than 1 minute.

As soon as you begin your attempt, glide toward the nearest Burrower. To execute a Strike from Above you must be at medium altitude. If you make a mistake and end up making a regular attack, you should just restart the trial right away.

Your new priority should be to quickly find an elevated point to start gliding yet again. One of the poles should do - pull yourself onto it.

Choose another machine you wish to attack, turn towards it and glide once again with your Shieldwing. Just like before, you must be at an optimal altitude to successfully execute a Strike from Above.