Game:

Horizon Forbidden West (2022)

Duration: 7:40

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1

Full run playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX5QeKJZun4HOLLB0GX30TgnWFQOoEJ1z
For run rules see part 1: https://youtu.be/4toVZAv7nuo

When I started this run I thought this was going to be one of the worst battles in the entire game. Turns out, I was right! Although not for the reasons I thought. I thought this Grimhorn would be as bad as the first Grimhorn boss, since Aloy hasn't changed significantly in a No Upgrade Run, and the addition of Apex Leaplashers, and the removal of Varl and Zo, would make this a worse version of that fight.

That's not really what's happening. The Grimhorn, actually, isn't much of an issue at all, except for him raining projectiles on you while you're trying to deal with the Apex Leaplashers. They're the real problem. If you're doing a challenge run and you have a better notion of what your run rules are than I did at this point, I highly recommend the Elite Ropecaster for this encounter. It can tie a Leaplasher down in two shots even at level 0, and that makes all the difference in the world for this encounter.

Otherwise, the idea here is simple even if execution is a nightmare. You want to use Power Attacks to knock the Leaplashers down and then get in as many Critical Strikes as you can, while focusing on keeping both of them in Knockdown loops if possible. Preferably while doing this the Grimhorn won't be making your life difficult with projectile spam, but that's mostly a matter of luck in my experience.

2:40 I take the first Leaplasher out. This is the hardest checkpoint to reach in the fight and is generally a good sign. Now I've just got to get rid of the second before the Grimhorn becomes a major problem.

3:15 Unfortunately the second Leaplasher walks me right over to the edge, riling up the the Grimhorn.

4:15 Both Leaplashers are down and now I can focus on the Grimhorn. I retreat to the same position as I used in the previous video against the Longlegs.

4:45 Notice right here that when the Grimhorn moves past the smelter here, his tail takes damage. This is significant, and why this guy isn't nearly the problem the first boss fight was. These smelters do big damage, and the Grimhorn is so large that he gets himself caught up in the nearly constantly once you lure him over to this area. Unfortunately these aren't nearly as helpful against the Leaplashers, as they're smaller and their positioning is harder to manipulate.

5:05 I take a hit from the Grimhorn's rockets here, which is my own fault. As long as you stay near the back of this upper platform, his rockets get caught on the ceiling and can't fire down properly, so they aren't a threat. You still have to watch out for the fireballs from his horns, though.

6:35 Here the Grimhorn goes all the way into the smelter, taking significant damage across several body parts.

7:00 With some terrible luck, he knocks me off the balcony. At this point I'm fumbling through my item wheel (what an awful system) trying to find my Smoke Bombs so I can try to use his removed cannons against him, when fortunately the Grimhorn runs into the smelter and kills himself for me. Thank goodness.

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