How to defeat Shellsnappers in Horizon Forbidden West?

Shellsnappers are extremely dangerous machines in Horizon Forbidden West. They have a complex body filled with intricate armored pieces. This can both hinder players and give them an advantage, as there are plenty of places to hit on the Shellsnapper that can cause devastating damage to the machine.

Shellsnappers pose the most threat to players in their massive attacks. They have surprisingly fast movement for a turtle-like machine and use their body parts to launch elemental attacks at players. If these are taken off, players will have a much easy time fighting these machines. Their Frost Blaster and Plasma Generator will both disable dangerous attacks when removed in battle, and it is a good idea to do this early on in the fight.

Shellsnapper'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 Shellsnapper will be weak to damage from Acid and Fire attacks. They will be strong against damage from Frost and Plasma attacks. Exploiting their weakness to Fire and Acid damage is a must for players facing this machine in battle.

Related: How to defeat Tideripper in Horizon Forbidden West?

Body Parts

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

• Body
• Processing Capsule
• Energy Shield Shell
• Shell Bolt
• Frost Blaster
• Plasma Generator
• Sparker
• Refining Core
• Kinetic Dynamo
• Chillwater Sac
• Resource Container

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 removes with a hit from the spear) while the machine is still alive. The Shellsnapper will drop a long list of loot items:

• Metal Shards (Common) - Dropped from Body
• Purgewater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Sturdy Hardplate (Common) - Dropped from Body, Processing Capsule, Refining Core, and Resource Container
• Large Machine Core (Rare) - Dropped from Body, Refining Core, and Resource Container
• Shellsnapper Circulator* (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Shellsnapper Primary Nerve* (Rare) - Dropped from Body, Refining Core, and Resource Container
• Machine Muscle (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Braided Wire (Common) - Dropped from Body, Processing Capsule, Refining Core, and Resource Container
• Luminous Brainstem (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Processing Capsule
• Crystal Braiding (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Metal Bone (Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Blastpaste (Rare) - Dropped from Processing Capsule, Refining Core, and Resource Container
• Shellsnapper Shell Bolt* (Very Rare) Dropped from Shell Bolt
• Useable Weapon (Very Rare) - Dropped from Frost Blaster
• Glowblast (Uncommon) - Dropped from Plasma Generator
• Sparker (Common) - Dropped from Sparker
• Volatile Sludge (Very Rare) - Dropped from Refining Core
• Chillwater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Chillwater Sac

*Loot items marked with an asterisk are exclusively dropped from the Shellsnapper 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 Shellsnapper is a part of the CHI Overrides 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!