How to defeat Specter Prime in Horizon Forbidden West?

The Specter Prime is one of the toughest machines in Horizon Forbidden West. This is not a machine that players will accidentally encounter in the wild, but will rather act as the final boss in the game's story. Facing Specter Prime can be a real challenge but there are some ways to enhance your chances of a victory. Focusing on the machine's weak points leaves it vulnerable to heavy attacks and can even disable some of its own attacks.

Taking out the Specter Prime's Pulse Cannon disables its ranged projectile attack, which is one of the most devastating attacks that it will throw at players. Its Grenade Launcher is another obvious choice, as it will disable grenade attacks when broken off.

Specter Prime's information

Strengths and Weaknesses

Players can attack machines with different kinds of elemental attacks. Elemental attacks in the game include Fire, Shock, Frost, Plasma, Purgewater, and Acid. The Specter Prime will be weak to damage from Acid and Plasma attacks. They are strong against damage from Fire, Shock, and Purgewater attacks.

Related: How to defeat Tideripper in Horizon Forbidden West?

Body Parts

There are a few different body parts on a Specter Prime but each one will drop different loot and deal different amounts of damage to the machine when attacked by players. The body parts on a Specter Prime are:

• Body
• Plasma Unit
• Siege Mortar
• Pulse Cannon
• Resource Repository
• Nano Plate
• Shock Unit
• Regeneration Unit
• Control Nexus
• Lancer Prime
• Vector Thruster

Loot

Machines in Horizon Forbidden West will drop different loot items, with many being specific to each kind of machine. Some can be looted from a fallen machine, while others will need to be removed (shot off with an arrow or removed with a hit from the spear) while the machine is still alive. The Specter Prime will drop a long list of loot items:

• Sparker (Common) - Dropped from Body and Shock Unit
• Glowblast (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body and Plasma Unit
• Crystal Braiding (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body, Siege Mortar, Lancer Prime, and Vector Thruster
• Blastpaste (Rare) - Dropped from Body and Vector Thruster
• Metal Shards (Common) - Dropped from Body
• Piercing Spike (Rare) - Dropped from Body, Resource Repository, and Control Nexus
• Machine Muscle (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Braided Wire (Common) - Dropped from Body, Siege Mortar, Resource Repository, Control Nexus, Lancer Prime, and Vector Thruster
• Sturdy Hardplate (Common) - Dropped from Body, Siege Mortar, Resource Repository, Control Nexus, Lancer Prime, and Vector Thruster
• Metal Bone (Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Luminous Brainstem (Very Rare) - Dropped from Siege Mortar, Resource Repository, Control Nexus, and Lancer Prime
• Useable Weapon (Very Rare) - Dropped from Pulse Cannon
• Volatile Sludge (Very Rare) - Dropped from Resource Repository and Control Nexus

*Loot items marked with an asterisk are exclusively dropped from the Specter Prime machine.

Cauldron

In Horizon Forbidden West, Cauldrons allow players to override the machines within that Cauldron once they have completed it. Completing a Cauldron usually means traversing through its dungeon-like corridors and facing off against a boss at the end. The Specter Prime is not a part of any Override Cauldron.

Interested in other machine guides in Horizon Forbidden West? Check out How to defeat the Slitherfang in Horizon Forbidden West on Pro Game Guides!